Stadium Rat

Whittingham's father, Fred, played for the Saints.

That looks great and I bet it tastes even better.

A few years ago, a neighbor gifted me some venison that he had been given. It was labeled steaks, but I don't know what part of the deer it was from. I had just read about a guy "corning" deer meat, so I decided to try it.

It came out great and when I gave the neighbor some, he couldn't believe it was the same meat.

My curiosity satisfied, I never made it again. (I also never came across any more venison.)

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I would make some type of bean soup with it.

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I've got the hambone for red beans or soup, too.

Everclear and diet Walmart cola. Can't beat that.

We enjoy this every Christmas and Thanksgiving. It's in the F&D Board's Recipe Collection.

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Raisins

This is so awesome, even people who say they don't like sweet potato will love it:

1 Tbs unsalted butter
3 tart apples, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 lbs sweet potatoes, also cut into small bite size pieces
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 Tbs flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chicken broth, fat free
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 by 13 cooking dish with Pam (or similar).

Melt the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over med. heat. Add the apples and stir, cooking for about a minute or two until the apples start to release a bit of juice.

Add the brown sugar, then cook for two minutes until the apples start to get soft. Place the apples, sweet potatoes and raisins in the baking dish.

Now, place the flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the broth until it all dissolves, then add in the rest of the broth and pour the whole thing over the fruit and into the dish.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for one hour, then remove foil and sprinkle in the pecans and bake a few more minutes until the pecans are toasted.

Source: Stadium Rat

Tulane.

Dad played for them:


Scoring a TD vs Auburn.

Paul Prudhomme's Dirty Rice

Seasoning mix:
2 tsp ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp black pepper
1 ¼ tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried thyme leaves
½ tsp dried oregano leaves
*
2 Tbs chicken fat or vegetable oil
½ lb chicken gizzards, ground
¼ lb ground pork
2 bay leaves
½ cup finely chopped onions
½ cup finely chopped celery
½ cup finely chopped green bell peppers
2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 cups Basic Chicken or Pork Stock
¾ lb chicken livers, ground
¾ cup uncooked rice (preferably converted)

Procedure
Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the chicken fat, gizzards, pork and bay leaves in a large skillet over high heat; cook until meat is thoroughly browned, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the seasoning mix, then add the onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic; stir thoroughly, scraping pan bottom well. Add the butter and stir until melted. Reduce heat to medium and cook about 8 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping pan bottom well (if you’re not using a heavy-bottomed skillet, the mixture will probably stick a lot). Add the stock and stir until any mixture sticking to the pan bottom comes loose; cook about 8 minutes over high heat, stirring once. Then stir in the chicken livers and cook about 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir thoroughly; cover pan and turn heat to very low; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered until rice is tender, about 10 minutes. (The rice is finished this way so as not to overcook the livers and to preserve their delicate flavor.) Remove bay leaves and serve immediately.

Yield: Makes 6 side-dish servings

Source: Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen

In my opinion, the reason that eggplant comes out so good and crispy is that the flour mix she uses has cream meal in it.

Cream meal is a corn product with grains between corn meal and corn flour in size. It gives a crunchy mouth feel without being too big like corn meal may be. Cream meal is not usually available in grocery stores, but I found it at a restaurant supply in 25-pound bags. I don't need near that much, so I didn't buy any.

Some of you big-time seafood fryers who like to customize your breading, might want to give this product a try at your next cook.

I was on it and there was an inside joke that I can't unremember. Somebody was writing about cooking a pork loin but mistyped it as "pork lion".

I can't see pork loin written without that coming to mind.

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Would then a range of cookbook roux to stick ratios over 6-1 and up to 20-1 be much thicker? Or were you referring to stick to roux rations?

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I'm sorry. I don't know what you're asking.

5 Ways To Make A Cajun Roux

Traditional Stovetop Roux

The old-fashion or traditional method for making roux.

In a heavy skillet (I like to use my Cast-Iron Skillet) over medium heat, heat vegetable shortening or oil (or fat of your choice) until hot.

Add flour gradually, stirring or whisking to combine with the shortening or oil.

After adding all the flour, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, about 45 to 60 minutes or until roux ranges from a peanut butter color to a dark brown (red brown or color of milk chocolate) and has a nutlike odor (it will be very thick and pasty).

This process takes some time, depending on how high the heat on your stove is. The slower, the better, but be ready to remove skillet from the heat and stir more rapidly if the roux appears to be getting too hot. If you stop stirring - the flour will burn. Never walk away from your roux. If you see black specks in the roux, you've ruined it. Dump it out and start over. The secret to getting perfect roux is to take your time and stir constantly.

Paul Prudhomme Method (from Louisiana Kitchen)

“The usual proportion of oil to flour is fifty-fifty.

Roux can be made in advance, cooled and then stored in an airtight jar for several days, in the refrigerator or at room temperature. If roux is made ahead, pour off excess oil from the surface and reheat (preferred), or let it return to room temperature before using.

In general, light and medium-brown roux are used in sauces or gravies for dark, heavy meats such as beef, with game such as elk and venison, and with dark-meat fowl such as duck, geese and blackbirds. They give a wonderful, toasted nutty flavor—just the right enhancement—to these sauces and gravies. Dark red-brown and black roux are used in sauces and gravies for sweet, light, white meats such as pork, rabbit, veal, and all kinds of freshwater and saltwater fish and shellfish. In addition, black roux are best to use in gumbos because the darkest roux result in the thinnest, best-tasting gumbos of all; but it takes practice to make black roux without burning them, and dark red-brown roux are certainly acceptable for any gumbo.

You’ll notice that I make exceptions to these general guidelines in some recipes. These exceptions simply reflect my preference for the flavor of a particular roux with the combined flavors of the other ingredients in certain dishes. (For example, I prefer the flavor of a medium-brown roux in Grillades and Grits—a veal dish—and in Sticky Chicken, rather than a darker roux.)

My approach to roux derives from the tradition of Cajun cooks, who view roux as being essentially of two types—medium brown and black; and who also classify meats as basically of two types—heavy, dark, somewhat bitter ones, and light, white, sweet ones. Traditionally, Cajun cooks use light roux with dark meats and dark roux with light meats. This is because they know intuitively, whether they can verbalize it or not, that these particular combinations lead to wonderful-tasting food. Working within this tradition, I’ve developed variations and given you in this book the roux-meat combinations which I think are best. You’ll find that as you gain more experience and skill in making roux, you’ll want to experiment with the endless combinations of roux colors and the flavors of other ingredients you’re using—especially meats—to find those combinations that excite your taste buds the most!

Several words of advice are essential:

Cooked roux is called Cajun napalm in my restaurant’s kitchen because it is extremely hot and sticks to your skin; so be very careful to avoid splashing it on you; it’s best to use a long-handled metal whisk or wooden spoon.

Always begin with a very clean skillet or pot—preferably one that is heavy, such as cast iron (and never a nonstick type). If possible, use a skillet with flared sides because this makes stirring easier and thus makes it less likely the roux will burn. In addition, use a large enough skillet so that the oil does not fill it by more than one-fourth of its capacity.

The oil should be smoking hot before the flour is added.

Once the oil is heated, stir in the flour gradually (about a third at a time) and stir or whisk quickly and constantly to avoid burning the mixture. (Flour has moisture in it, and adding it to hot oil often creates steam—another good reason for using long-handled whisks or spoons.)

If black specks appear in the roux as it cooks, it has burned; discard it (place it in a heatproof container to cool before discarding), then start the roux over again—c’est la vie!

As soon as the roux reaches the desired color, remove it from the heat; stir in the vegetables, which stop the browning process and enhance the taste of the finished dish, and continue stirring until the roux stops getting darker (at least 3 to 5 minutes).

While cooking roux (bringing it to the desired color), if you feel it is darkening too fast, immediately remove it from the heat and continue whisking constantly until you have control of it.

Care and concentration are essential for you to be successful with this fast method of making roux. Especially the first few times you make a roux, be certain that any possible distractions—including children—are under control. In addition, have all cooking utensils and required vegetables or seasoning mixtures prepared ahead of time and near at hand before you start cooking.”

Oven Method, with Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 to 375 degrees F. Start the roux on the stovetop to get it going, preferably in a cast iron pot, by heating the oil to medium high. Then reduce heat to medium and gradually whisk in the flour, a little at a time, until fully incorporated.

Carefully transfer the pot into the hot oven and cook for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, stirring about every 20 minutes (just set your timer and stir every time it goes off), until the roux turns a deep, dark, chocolate brown.

Oven Method – No Oil (from BooDreaux)

Use those aluminum full sized pans. Put some foil in bottom Put 4 cups of flour in it. Place in 375 degree oven and every 15 minutes or so stir it up and when it gets to the color you want take it out.

Microwave Method

Use the largest bowl you have that can fit into the microwave because as it cooks, the roux expands. Cook the oil on high for 10 minutes. Stir in the flour until no lumps remain and the mixture is smooth. ...