Boudin Crusted Jumbo Shrimp

So, this idea was inspired by St. Patrick's Day and a delicious sounding recipe from Raised on a Roux.  The St. Paddy's idea was a boudin Scotch egg, while Genet made an andouille crusted shrimp.  Both sounded delicious, but think I started wondering--has anyone ever made a boudin-crusted shrimp?  After a quick Google search, it appears the answer is "no"...

UNTIL NOW.

Heads up--this is a messy recipe, and the boudin can get a bit crumbly, so prepare to get a little frustrated.  Also--PREP NOTE: You need to chill the crusted shrimp in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour to help the boudin crust set up, otherwise it will start to crumble when you're pan-frying.  But the end result is SO tasty.

INGREDIENTS: (makes 8 jumbo shrimp)
2 links boudin, removed from the casing (we use Zummo's with is the most common one found outside of Louisiana)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup panko
8 jumbo shrimp, peeled, tails on
olive or coconut oil for frying (add as needed)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the boudin and egg in a small dish and mix well. In a separate dish, combine the breadcrumbs and panko. 
Then grab a handful of the boudin mixture, place a shrimp in the middle, and then squeeze your palm lightly to wrap the boudin around it.  Add more if needed to fully cover the shrimp.  If too loose, squeeze some of the egg out.  Then gently set into the breading mixture, shake the bowl to coat the sides, and then use a spoon to make sure the shrimp is fully coated.  Then gently place onto a sheet pan.  Repeat until you run out of shrimp or boudin.  Then place the coated shrimp in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour to help them set up.

Meanwhile, heat up a small skillet and add your cooking oil of choice. (I like to use a small skillet because it takes less oil to get about a 1/4 inch of oil in the pan.  You can cook up to 4 shrimp at a time with the small skillet.

Once the oil is hot, place up to 4 shrimp in the pan (again, gently--the boudin always seems to want to crumble because the rice is only par-cooked) and fry until golden, then flip.  Once golden on both sides, you can brown on the "back" side of the shrimp.  Then remove from the pan and place on paper towels to remove the excess oil.
These would make a great appetizer, or you can have them for dinner like we did.  Serve with "shrimp boil style veggies"--we did fresh Missouri sweet corn and red potatoes, but you could do mushrooms, onions, etc.

Sausage, Peppers & Polenta

So, polenta is probably one of those things I would never have eaten when I was younger. I mean…I don’t even like grits*.  So congealed “cornmeal porridge”???  No thank you.

(*Unless served with bacon and a cheese:grit ratio of 1.5:1)

But now that my palate is a bit more refined, I’ve opened my mind (and mouth) to this gluten-free starch alternative.  A while back, I made some red beans & rice & served it up with some pan-grilled polenta instead of rice:

Note my less-than-subtle nod to the “Crescent” City…

If you haven’t experimented with polenta, I highly recommend it.  Especially since, if you’re busy like me, you can buy these shelf-stable pre-cooked rolls of it in various flavors:

If you get the unflavored kind, it serves the same purpose of rice, noodles, or even mashed potatoes.  It has a mild flavor that compliments just about anything.  It also has twice the protein of rice.  One slice of polenta grilled with a small amount of cooking spray has about 50 calories (comparatively, a 1/2 cup of rice has about 100 calories).

So, this go round, I decided to sauté up some smoked sausage & veggies to go with our grilled polenta.  This is a SUPER fast & delicious dinner, ready in about 20 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

Pre-cooked polenta (two 1/2 inch slices per person)

1 lb smoked turkey sausage, sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 onion, sliced into strips (NOTE: You could also easily throw some fresh mushrooms in here. T’would be DEELISH. I , alas, did not have any.  And yes, I’ve been watching too much Sleepy Hollow.)

1/2 tsp crumbled dried rosemary

salt & pepper

olive oil

oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning

 

DIRECTIONS:

Lightly spritz a large frying pan with olive oil using a mister.  Heat pan to medium & add the sausage & veggies.  Season the veggies with rosemary, salt & pepper to taste.  Sauté for 5 minutes & add the garlic & Cajun seasoning.  Cook for another 5 minutes or until the veggies are tender. 

 

Transfer the sausage & veggies to a bowl & cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. 

 

Pan-grill your polenta in the same pan, & lightly season the polenta with the oregano.  Let cook for about 2-3 minutes each side, or until lightly browned.  (PS—you can also grill polenta outside to get some tasty smoked flavor)

Top the polenta with your sausage & pepper combo & serve warm!

NUTRIFACTS: (Makes 4 servings) 

Calories 301.0

  Total Fat 10.1 g

  Saturated Fat 3.0 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g

  Cholesterol 60.0 mg

  Sodium 1,001.6 mg

  Potassium 102.2 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 20.9 g

  Dietary Fiber 0.9 g

  Sugars 3.1 g

  Protein 20.7 g

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Burritos!

Oh yes.  Yes indeed.  I saw these on Pinterest and there was no turning back.  Especially since we had some apples in our fruit basket that were starting to soften.  I don’t know about you, but once an apple loses that reallllly crisp crunch, I don’t want to have anything to do with it in its raw form.  In their baked form?  But of course!

As you know, I’m usually all about FeauxFrying foods by baking them at high heat in the oven.  But sometimes…you just really gotta fry something.  There’s a crispiness and a golden color that just can’t be matched by oven frying.  But we can make it healthier by pan-frying rather than deep frying, and using juuuuuuuuust enough oil to coat the pan, rather than several cups worth.

FYI….this is totally delicious and decadent.  AND super easy.  I whipped them up in under 15 minutes.

Ingredients: (makes 4 burritos)

8 ounces of fat free cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
4 flour tortillas (soft taco size, 6 or 8")
2-4 Tbsp vegetable oil, for frying (the original recipe calls for using a lot more, but it’s really not necessary.  You just need enough to coat the bottom of your pan.)

2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 stick light butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans
2 Tbsp sugar free caramel sauce
A few dashes of apple pie sice (for garnish)

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the apples, butter, sugar, pecans and cinnamon over medium-low heat, for about 10 minutes or until apples are tender.

On a separate burner, start a large skillet with the oil over medium high heat.  The oil should just barely start to smoke.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Use a spatula to divide the contents of the bowl into four fairly equal portions.  Lay out your tortilla, and place one portion of the cream cheese filling in the center. 

Fold in the sides, and then roll to make a cute lil’ flat burrito.

Place this in your skillet, fold-side down.  (Cooking the fold side first helps seal the packet and firms up hat side so it won’t flop open while cooking.)

It shouldn’t take long—just cook until lightly golden & then flip.  Once both sides are cooked, then let drain on a paper towel while you cook the rest.

Serve each burrito on it’s own plate, and top with 1/4 of the apple mixture.  Drizzle 1/2 Tbsp of caramel sauce over the top of each, and a dash of apple pie spice if desired (or just more cinnamon if you prefer).

De…freakin’…vine.  And so easy.

Now: is this a “healthy” dessert?  At 489 calories….err…Not quite.  But given that the original version (with extra oil, full-fat cream cheese, regular butter, and regular caramel sauce) would run about 850 calories per serving, we’re DEFINITELY doing better.  And this is a fairly decent sized dessert.  So if you’re looking to serve 4 people (who are all watching their waistlines), you could opt to make two burritos and have two people share.  After all, isn’t that half the fun of a dessert—the sharing?  :)

NutriFacts: (per burrito)

Calories 489.1

  Total Fat 22.5 g

  Saturated Fat 6.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 5.8 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 7.1 g

  Cholesterol 10.0 mg

  Sodium 902.1 mg

  Potassium 149.9 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 59.7 g

  Dietary Fiber 4.5 g

  Sugars 21.6 g

  Protein 13.6 g

Pan-Seared Fish & Boiled Veggie Medley: A creole-cajun hybrid fish dish.

Hello all! It's been a while! How've you been? Hectic as always here. But not too hectic for me to share my most recent creation with you. And by recent, I mean I just ate devoured it about half an hour ago.

This was inspired by an amazing dish I had at the famous Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Now, as you may or may not know, there are two primary "camps" of cooking here in Louisiana: Cajun, and Creole. Creole is typically associated with the city, specifically New Orleans, a more "classic" style of cooking, historically eaten by the upper class. Cajun is more akin to what the average "country" Louisianian might eat. For the math or word play buffs out there:

Cajun : Creole, as Ruth's Chris : your favorite local hole-in-the-wall diner

or even

Boeuf Bourguignon : Chicken Fried Steak

It's ALL good as far as taste goes, it's just stylistically different.

However...hybrids happen. Particularly when you're like me and have lived all over the state, and as an "outsider", have no loyalties to either camp.

So...that's how we have this: Feauxcajun's Fresh Catch Fish & Veggie Melange:


So, here's the breakdown & what's what about this dish:
Creole: classic plating, sauce separate from primary dish, creole mustard sauce
Cajun: "Boiled*" vegetable medley, cajun seasoning, freshly caught bayou Channel Catfish

(* I never experienced a traditional Louisiana seafood boil (you Northerners, think "backyard BBQ" only with a big pot of spicy water & seafood) until I moved into Cajun Country, so "boils" will always be "Cajun" to me.)

Shopping List:
- 1 tbsp Liquid crab boil
- 6 baby carrots, halved
- 1 rib celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, whole
- ½ mirliton (or chayote), cubed
- 6 mushrooms, quartered
- ½ cup fresh corn kernels
- 4 new potatoes, quartered
- 4 fresh fish filets (catfish, drum, redfish, flounder, or bass is recommended)
- Cajun seasoning, to taste (Feauxcajun recommends: Fontenot & A Half--more details later)
- White wine (for deglazing pan)
- 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 tbsp creole mustard
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp minced dried onion
- 1 tsp flour

Directions:
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water, and a medium pasta pot ¾ full of water, setting both to boil. When the saucepan water reaches a boil, add crab boil, stir, and remove from heat, letting cool.

When pasta pot comes to boil, add garlic & potatoes to the water and cook for about 15 minutes (or until potatoes are tender). Take half of the crab boil water & add to a bowl of ice to create an ice bath for the veggies. Remove the potatoes from the water, shock in the ice bath, then move to a colander to drain. Add the rest of the veggies plus ½ of the lemon to the boiling water and let cook until tender but firm (about 15-20 minutes).

Boiling veggies:


While that batch of veggies is cooking, season the fish filets liberally with the Cajun seasoning. This is where I pause to SHAMELESSLY promote a fantastic product made by two of my good friends. Fontenot & A Half is the ONLY cajun seasoning I use in my house anymore--it's less salty than the more commercial brands (read: Tony's or Zatarains) but still has a great flavor and perfect amount of heat. They're currently working on their website, but if you'd like to order, it's $3/can (plus shipping), and until the site's back up, it can be ordered by calling 225.749.4049.


Okay--back to the good stuff.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add fish filets & cook 2-3 minutes on each side. If fish begins to stick to pan, sprinkle a few teaspoons of white wine into the pan to loosen when flipping or removing.

The fish is done when it's flaky white on the inside, and looks like this on the outside:


I can see you drooling. :)

Once fish is cooked, set aside on a plate & cover with aluminum foil to rest. Add chicken broth, mustard, thyme, dried onion, a few splashes of white wine, juice from the other half of the lemon, & vinegar to the sauté pan & stir well. Sprinkle in flour & whisk until thickened (about 2 minutes).



While sauce is cooking, reheat the saucepan of crab boil water over medium-low heat. When veggies are done, shock in the ice bath, drain, then add all veggies back into the remaining crab boil water to reheat (about 1 minute). Drain well, then season with Cajun seasoning to taste. Arrange vegetables on plate, & drizzle mustard sauce over the fish. Serve with a fresh warm roll.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info
Calories 331.2
Total Fat 16.0 g
Saturated Fat 3.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.9 g
Cholesterol 91.8 mg
Sodium 471.5 mg
Potassium 997.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 17.9 g
Dietary Fiber 4.7 g
Sugars 2.1 g
Protein 30.6 g
Vitamin A 49.2 %
Vitamin B-12 67.0 %
Vitamin B-6 22.6 %
Vitamin C 53.3 %
Vitamin D 3.3 %
Vitamin E 4.3 %
Calcium 8.1 %
Copper 20.0 %
Folate 9.4 %
Iron 15.1 %
Magnesium 19.0 %
Manganese 18.5 %
Niacin 26.8 %
Pantothenic Acid 16.6 %
Phosphorus 43.6 %
Riboflavin 13.6 %
Selenium 41.2 %
Thiamin 50.3 %
Zinc 13.4 %