Roger's View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo!
Seize the Day! Put no trust in the morrow! — Horace
I call this my ‘starter kit’ for my bread pudding. I’ll let this sit around in the refrigerator before I go to the day old bakery to find the perfect ‘stale’ bread, cake, and croissants for my bread pudding. The ‘sauce’ I’ll make at the last minute….
Although this dessert descends from humble beginnings, there is nothing humble about this wonderful dish by itself, a la mode or at the conclusion of your dinner.
Can’t wait!
My wife and my mother both love lemon squares and until recently, I really didn’t see the appeal. I found that folks didn’t use real lemons and the ‘crust’ wasn’t very tasty. So, with a little trial and error I found something that I could even enjoy, something with a Real shortbread crust. Here’s how I made this very simple yet elegant treat:
There are two parts: 1) preparing and baking the crust the crust and 2) preparing and baking the filling.
91/2 by 13 1/2″ pan
the crust
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups flour
2 1/4 cubes of butter (.6 lbs)
3/4 tsp salt
combine and cook at 350 degrees F. for around 20 minutes
the filling
2/3 cup lemon juice
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
4 eggs
3/4 tablespoons
3 tablespoons
1 teaspoon baking flour
350 degrees F. for 30 minutes
Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar
enjoy!
I get asked questions like: How much seafood do you put into your gumbo? The answer is… it depends. I use chopped crab, tiny shrimps, and diced clams in the sauce. I use larger pieces of shrimp and crab when I am assembling the gumbo at the end. The reason is simple, when you cook seafood together it tends to blend into a harmonious wonderment… but you do want your friends to be reminded of what is in it, so you naturally add some larger cooked pieces into the sauce prior to serving.
Most of our spices don’t give up their flavorings easily and it is nice to have your first taste of gumbo have all of the original spices up front. For this reason, I add my various spices to my wine, stock, and clam juice cocktail and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days… a spoonful of this and… ZOW-WEE!
Tomorrow, I make the rouge and begin putting this all together.
Bon appetite!
Most people who know me realize that I am seldom impressed with on-line recipes as they leave too many good things out… or take unnecessary and unwanted shortcuts. However, Tyler Florence has done a nice job with his Beef Wellington… and I love his version of a Green Peppercorn Sauce.
Here is my link to a few of the pictures in the process… it was delicious!
Bon Appetite!
Roger
PS. the biggest change I made is to use 12 ounces of Prociuto … instead of 6 ounces.
My bride of nearly 39 years loves white chocolate and who can blame her? The best is made – in my humble opinion- by Peters Chocolate Company and when you want the best… this is the go-to chocolate for me!
Nothing very fancy in my cheesecake unless you call ‘richness’ something unexpected… but we have amarula liquor and white chocolate in both the filling and the cap. Delicious!
Here is the basic recipe that I tweaked to make this one happen.
Roger