Cajun Shrimp Boil

A Cajun Shrimp boil that can be done on the stove!

I live in New Mexico, so getting fresh crawfish, shrimp, and crab for a real Louisiana seafood boil is next to impossible. I used frozen shrimp from my local supermarket for this boil.

Ingredients:
12 Red Potatoes
1 lg package Mushrooms
2 Onions
2 whole Garlic cloves
2 Lemons
3lb Shrimp unpeeled
6 Andouille sausage
8 small Corn on the Cob
2 Tbsp Zatarains Crab Boil concentrate
1 Zatarains Seafood Bag Seasoning
10 Tbsp Salt

Directions:
5qts water into very large pot. Add 10 Tbsp Salt, 2 Tbsp Zatarains concentrate, 1 bag of Zatarains seasoning. Bring to a boil. Add Potatoes, onion, and garlic. Cook about 20 min. Add Sausage and Mushrooms and cook another 10 minutes. Add corn and cook another 5 min. Add lemons, and shrimp. Boil only 2-3 minutes more. Turn off heat, add 1 qt of ice to pot to stop the cooking. let soak about 3 min. Strain pot. Dump entire pot onto a table covered with plastic then top layer of newspapers. Enjoy!

Black Bean Corn Salsa

Easy dish I learned from my sister Sally. Of course I had to change it up a bit. This is great as a side dish, a salsa with chips, or my favorite as a topping for chicken or fish.

In a large bowl add:

Handful of chopped Cilantro
1/4 yellow onion diced
Juice of 1 Lime
Can sweet white corn
Can of yellow corn
1 can Black beans
1 can Hot Rotel Tomatoes
Salt, Pepper, garlic powder
2x Avocados

Tip- Be sure to strain corn and black beans well, you can even use a paper towel to get some of the excess moisture out. Also, if you don't mind the extra work, fresh sweet corn on the cob is best to use.

*Avocados not added in the picture below as I like to add it right before eating it to preserve the freshness.

Shrimp Tacos w/ Cilantro Lime Rice

After a 2 month hiatus, I thought it time for a new blog post. A shout out to my sister Jill for the marinade recipe. It is super easy to do and tastes fantastic.

Marinade

1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
3 Garlic Cloves
2 Tbsp fresh Basil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Add peeled shrimp and let marinade for 1-2 hours

Saute the shrimp on Med High with a Tbsp butter. Shrimp should be done in about 3 min. Do not over cook.

Heat up corn tortillas in pan or microwave. Add shrimp, cilantro, sour cream, avocado, and Cotija Cheese. Cotija Cheese can be found at any Mexican meat market. It really adds to this dish.

Side Dishes


1 pack Mahatmas Saffron Rice
1 Cn Black Beans

Cook rice as per package directions
Add juice of 1 Lime and a handful of Cilantro

Bacon/Fontina/Spinach Stuffed Chicken

This dish is very tasty, and not that difficult to make. I made this recipe up by using ideas from one of my sisters recipes she gave me a couple years back. Here is a link to her cooking blog. http://80percent-sally.blogspot.com/

You will need 3 large boneless skinless chicken breast. I pounded them out and trimmed them up into a nice square shape. I then seasoned with Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion powder on the side I will be stuffing.

Next I spread a layer of Chive and Onion cream cheese onto the chicken. I then add a slice of Fontina cheese, cover with a slice of bacon I cooked earlier, then top with baby uncooked baby spinach leaves. I would prefer to use a stronger cheese like Blue Cheese or Goat but went with Fontina this go round. Carefully roll the chicken up nice and tight. I use 3 toothpicks to ensure the chicken stays wrapped.

I then put the 3 chicken rolls onto a olive oil greased Pyrex dish. I sprinkle a bit of Tony Chacere's on top followed by a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375F for about 45 min. Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 min uncovered. Place the chicken on a cutting board and with a sharp knife, cut into medallions. Serve and Enjoy.

Airplane Food

Just completed a trip from Farmington, NM to Baku, Azerbaijan. I managed to use 2 of my upgrade certificates for a Business class seat all the way there. With a bigger more comfy seat, also comes slightly better food. Seeing that this is a Travel and Food blog, I felt it would be fun to make a post with mostly just pics of the food. I have attached the menus as well for reference. Enjoy!
Planes flown- CRJ regional jet, 747-400, A340-300

The Best Caesar Salad

I absolutely love a good Caesar salad. In all my travels, I tend to try it in every restaurant I go to looking for the best. I think I may have come close to mastering it. This recipe was given to my mom at the JW Marriott in Bangkok, Thailand by their chef. Of course, I don't use the proper measurements but it is very close.

The Dressing

In a food processor add 4 garlic pods, a couple Tbsp of Capers, 4 anchovies, and a hand full of fresh parsley. Pulse on high until very fine. Next I add about 1 small package of Mayo, 1 piece of cooked smoke bacon, a little black pepper, juice of 1 lemon, and then about 1 cup aged Parmesan. Blend all ingredients in the same food processor until very creamy. Removed and leave in refrigerator until ready to eat your dinner.

Parmesan Bowl

This next step is only for those that love a beautiful presentation with their foods. I call it my Parmesan bowl. Below is a short video of how to prepare it. Be sure to watch in 1080p HD so you can see my nose hairs.





Using fresh Romaine, give it a rinse with cold water. If you have a salad spinner, use it to remove the moisture from the lettuce prior to putting together your salad. I just shake it dry as I am to cheap to buy an 8$ spinner.

In a large salad bowl, add your Romaine, some dressing, fresh grated Parmesan, Croutons, and fresh cracked pepper. Mix evenly. Spoon out a good helping into each Parmesan bowl. The next step is optional, but I like to add some blackened chicken on top. Shrimp or even Salmon are great on top a Caesar. Enjoy and thank me later.

Green Chili Beef Jerky

Do you like beef jerky, but don't like paying what seems like 10-20$ a bag at the store? My friends and family usually rave about my jerky, so I thought I would post it up here for you all to try.

I don't measure anything in the kitchen so the measurements are estimates.

I got 10lb beef from the store. I just get the cheapest cut of meat they have. Rump roast, Round, Chuck, anything like that, then have the butcher cut it as thin as he can with their meat saw.

My marinade

4 cups hot water
3tbsp Salt
1tbsp Pepper
2tbsp Garlic Powder
2tbsp Onion Powder
1tbsp Cayenne
1tbsp Smoked Paprika
2tbsp Brown Sugar
2-3tbsp liquid smoke
2-3tbsp Worcheschire
2-3tbsp Soy Sauce

I let the meat marinade for about 12 hours, then I drain the marinade out and try to get any excess moisture out of the meat by pressing down on them.

The Green Chili Marinade

I use fresh roasted green chilis because I live in New Mexico and that's how we roll. I suppose you could use canned for you Yanks but it will not be as good. Anyways, with the fresh I take the skin off about 30 green chilis. and then put in the food processor. I then stir in about 3tbsp Salt. I then add about 1 cup warm water. I let the beef sit in this mixture for about 2-8 hours. Depends on when you are ready to dehydrate.

I have a dehydrator I bought online a few years ago that I use. Think I paid like 80-120$. I place all the meat on the trays.

I set the temp at about 160F and leave it on that for the first 3 hours. I rotate the trays from bottom to top every hour. After about 3 hours I turn the heat down to about 140F and continue dehydrating for another 5 hours still rotating trays ever hour or 2.

Take out what you want to eat now and then vacuum seal the rest of the jerky and enjoy.

Shrimp Po-Boys and Yam's Au Gratin

Fried Shrimp Po-Boys are a Louisiana favorite as well as my own. They are not that difficult to make in your own home. Au gratin potatoes are also very good, but i decided to change it up a bit by using yams. You could also use sweet potatoes.

Begin by making the Yam's Au Gratin first, as it will need 1.5 hours to cook.


Yam's Au Gratin

Slice about 5 yams in thin coins
Slice 1 yellow onion very thin in rings

Butter a casserole dish. Put down a layer of the yam coins in the bottom then a layer of onion on top of that. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Next add a big layer of the remaining Yam coins. Add more salt and pepper on top.

In a sauce pan add 3 Tbsp Butter and heat on medium. Add 1tsp Salt and 3 Tbsp Flour and wisk for about 2 min. Next add 2 cups milk and stir until thick, about 2 min. Add 1.5 cups of shredded Cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Finally pour over the yam dish. Cover with Aluminum foil and bake at 400F for 1.5 hours. Let cool about 10 min. Done.

Shrimp Po-Boys

First take the shells off the shrimp. Next I seasoned the shrimp with Tonys.

Toss the shrimp in the Zatarains shrimp fry. Heat up some oil in a skillet to around 375F. Fry the shrimp for about 3 min. Take out and let sit for a few minuted until warm.

A good fresh french bread is the way to go with a Po-Boy. I put Mayo, Ketchup, and tomatoes on my sandwich then layered the shrimp on. Most traditional shrimp Po-Boys have pickles on it, I wasn't in the mood though. Enjoy!

Healthy Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

Well, wrapped in Turkey Bacon. 1 pork Loin seasoned with Dave's Seasoning and Emirils rib rub, then wrapped in Turkey bacon. Baked it in Aluminum Foil for about 40min at 350F.

Steamed Broccoli with salt/pepper and Benacol healthy butter substitute.

1 box CousCous with wild mushroom and herb.

Churasco!!

A flavor of Brazil!


I found this recipe in Cook's Illustrated and thought I would try it out. Sorry I didnt get step by step photos of everything. i was to excited to get these steaks on the grill.

The Meat- New York Strip
In a small bowl mix 1 Tbsp Corn Starch and 2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
Rub the mixture onto both sides of your steaks.
Put steaks in freezer for 30 min.
Take out and add fresh black pepper.

Chimichurri Sauce

add 2 Tsp dried Oregano and 2 Tsp kosher Salt to 1/4 cup hot water, let sit for 5min
press 5 garlic cloves. To food processor, pulse large handful fresh parsley, small handful of fresh cilantro, the garlic, and 1 Tsp red pepper flakes. Next add 1/4cup Red wine Vinegar and the water oregano mixture. Pulse togther about 8 times. Next put the sauce in a bowl and wisk in slowly 1/2 cup extra virgin Olive Oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp for 1 hour.

Time to grill!

I used a chimney starter and fired up about 100 charcoal briquettes, once ashed over spread out in a single layer. Next put the grill grate on and close the lid. Let heat about 8min.

Add dry wood pieces on top of the charcoal. Add the steaks to the grill and cover. Cook 3 min then flip. Cook 3 more min the flip. Flip one more time and cook to your desired temp of meat. I like medium so I cooked an additional 3 min.

Take meat off grill and put on a plate and cover loosely with foil. Let sweat about 10 min. Slice and serve. Add sauce on top of steaks.

For a side dish I just cut up a sweet potato and rubbed it with olive oil salt and pepper and then baked at 425F for about 25 min.

Enjoy!