Hummus with Roasted Red Bell Pepper

Hummus is one of our favorite snacks. It's very healthy and also versatile as far as different flavor profiles you can achieve with various ingredients. I usually buy the canned garbanzo beans, but I recently picked up some dried ones at the Mediterranean market. These produced a far superior product compared to the canned beans. Also a 32 ounce bag produced almost 10 cups of finished hummus! One of the best parts is that the bag cost $1.69! Tahini sauce, sesame seed paste, is also an intricate part of hummus. In the supermarket they usually charge way to much for a mediocre sauce at best. I found a jar of great sauce that was twice the size and half the price at the same market. One thing to remember is that you have to soak the beans overnight in water. You can roast your own bell pepper, which is really easy, but you can also buy them already roasted. I prefer to do it myself simply because I don't know how long ago the store bought was roasted. 

2 cups dried garbanzo beans

6 tablespoons tahini sauce

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon baking soda 

1 red bell pepper, roasted 

3 cloves garlic 

The juice of 1 lemon 

Water

Cumin

Dried or fresh herbs 

Olive oil 

Place the beans in a bowl big enough to hold them and enough water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Don't be surprised by how much the beans fluff up overnight, so cover them loosely. 

The next day drain the beans and place them in a large pot with the salt and baking soda. Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a low boil and cook for one hour or until the beans are very mushy. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. 

In a food processor or blender place the garlic, lemon juice, roasted red pepper, tahini sauce and beans. Process together while slowly adding the water. Once the texture is smooth and firm it's ready to plate.  

Place the hummus in a serving dish and drizzle with olive oil and your favorite spices. I used a little cumin and some dried herbs! Enjoy!

Roasted Spicy Pumpkin Seeds with Herbs

Pumpkin seeds are very healthy and fairly inexpensive. I got an eight ounce bag for $2.50 at the Mediterranean market. It makes a great party snack and you can serve several versions at one time. You can season them with just about anything. I chose to use to make this batch with rosemary, parsley, sea salt and jalapeño powder. There is a recipe a few posts back for the jalapeño powder. 

4 ounces raw pumpkin seeds 

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary 

1 teaspoon fresh parsley 

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil 

Pre heat your oven to 350. Place the seeds on a an oven sheet and spread out evenly. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until they start to crackle. Remove and let cool. Add the oil to a pan over medium high heat and put in the seeds while moving the seeds in the pan add the rest of the ingredients. Keep moving until you can no longer see the grains of salt and you can smell the Rosemary. Remove from the heat and serve! Enjoy! 

Dijon Style Mustard

Dijon mustard is my all time favorite mustard. It's actually super easy to make, you just have to be patient. I got the mustard seeds at the Mediterranean market. They came in a large container for only $2! This recipe makes about a cup and I used less than half of the container, so do the math on that! This is a basic recipe and you can make many versions of it. I made one jar plain then I added tarragon to the rest and gave it a couple spins in the food processor until it was well incorporated. It's also really good with pickeled jalapeños blended in! 

1/2 cup mustard seeds

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 champagne vinegar 

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Mix the mustard seeds, wine, and vinegar in bowl. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for at least 48 hours. I used a sparkling wine but any white wine with high acidity will work. 

After a couple of days put the mixture          in food processor or a blender add the salt and sugar and process. Get it as smooth as possible. You will not get it as smooth as store bought. So don't freak out when it is a little grainy. Now is the time to put any other flavors in. Place your mustard in air tight containers and place in the fridge for at least 2 more days. This time in fridge will mellow out the bitter taste. This will keep for about a month. Enjoy!!

Shrimp Stuffed Pork Loin

I love stuffing and smoking pork loins! I usually stuff then with different kinds of cheeses or sausage. This time I decided to go with a seafood stuffing. The stuffing is similar to a shrimp Creole except I used red bell pepper and added arugula to add some pepperiness and color. After I tied the loin up I smoked it with orange wood for about 2 hours!   

1 two-four pound pork loin

1/4 pound fresh shrimp

1/4 cup onion

1/4 celery

1   Red bell pepper

4 cloves garlic 

1 hot chili pepper

1 cup loose packed arugula

1/4 dry white wine

Fresh herbs

Salt and pepper

Start by finely chopping your vegetables and sauté them in a hot pan with oil. 

Prep the peeled and deveined shrimp in bowl with herbs, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Let marinate in the fridge until your ready to use them. 

Next it's time to perp your pork loin by butterflying it. 

Finely chop your herbs and salt and pepper the loin on both sides and set aside. 

Once your vegetable mixture in nice and soft add the shrimp until they turn pink. 

Once the shrimp are done add the arugula and cook until slightly wilted. 

Pull the shrimp mix from the heat and let cool. Once it's cool, spread the vegetable  evenly on the loin. You can either chop the shrimp and spread them with the vegetables or keep them whole, like I chose to go, and spread them down the middle. 

Roll the loin up and tie up with butchers twine and it's reddy for the smoker! 

After about 2 hours here's what you have! 

Untie and slice this beauty up!

I served it with some simple sautéed asparagus! 

This came out really fantastic! A new version on surf and turf! Enjoy! 

 

Jalapeno Powder

Jalapeno Powder

I found some some beautiful jalapeno's at the produce market the other day. I wanted to pickle them because they were so fresh. While pickling I ran out of jars and vinegar. Since I was going to busy for the next few days I needed to do something with the remaining peppers before they started to get funky. Dehydrator to the rescue! I use my dehydrator a lot, particularly to dry herbs and veggies. I also love to make beef and salmon jerky! Those recipes will be coming soon. 

This is really a no brainier to make. First slice the jalapenos thin enough to to fit in between the dehydrator trays.

Arrange evenly on the dehydrator trays and dehydrate over night.

Remove the slices and crumble in a spice mill or coffee grinder. This is my old coffee grinder that I have dedicated for spices only. Grind until you have a fine powder and your done!

This powder adds amazing flavor to spice rubs. I also like to add it to sour cream. Its great on anything that you usually put sour cream on. My favorite thing to do with it is to sprinkle it on top of fried eggs! 

Guinea Gumbo

Guinea Gumbo

This was a standard where I grew up in Southwest Louisiana in a place called Le Blue Settlement. We raised guinea hens along side chickens just like everyone did in that place and time. I haven't had  guinea since those days back on the farm.

 It was a treat to find some local hens at the Urban Harvest farmers market last Saturday. 

Gumbo!Gumbo! Gumbo! 

That's all I could think about so, I made it happen! 

 The Guinea has a smaller body mass but a more intense flavor profile than a chicken. Almost like a wild chicken flavor. Which essentially that what a guinea is, a wild chicken.  Basically the white meat tastes like dark meat! It makes an amazing full flavored gumbo that you cant  seem to get from a store bought  chicken. 

I have a few new tricks that I've incorporated into my gumbo preparations and they have proved true in this dish! Enjoy,

Ingredients:

1 medium white onion 

1 pobaono pepper

2 stalks celery 

4 garlic cloves

Equal parts flour and oil

salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

1 Guinea Hen

Spice Rub: 

2 parts sea salt 

2 parts fresh cracked black pepper

2 parts ground jalapeno powder (recipe to follow)

1 part ground cumin 

1 part smoked paprika 

Wash and clean the hen.

 Pre-heat the oven to 400. Rub the hen generously with the spice rub inside and out. Place it in an oven proof pan. 

Place in the oven until golden brown and crispy. About 30 min.  Remove from the oven. Set aside and let cool.

The traditional vegetable mix, also called the holy trinity in Louisiana cooking, contains onion  celery and bell pepper. I like to use pablano peppers. They have a deeper more earthier taste. I think it adds another level of flavor to the over all taste. Dice up the veggies. 

Saute until the trinity is soft. Add beer or wine to keep the the moisture consistent. 

Now for the hard part, making the roux. If you have it, use a cast iron skillet or some form of heavy skillet. Heat the oil over medium heat  Once the oil is hot add the flour. Stir constantly until it turns your desired color. This could take a while. This took about 20 minutes. Once you have got the desired color remove from and let cool. You can do this ahead of time and place in the fridge for quite some time. I usually make a two cup batch and use it over a month long period. 

Quarter the Hen.

Boil 6 liters of water. Once you have a boil add the veggies and the hen. Bring back to a boil and add one cup of roux. Bring back to a boil and stir until the roux is well incorporated. Lower the heat to low and simmer for an hour. Remove the hen pieces and set aside to cool. Once cool pick the meat from the bones and add back to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste. I also like to add some Crystal hot sauce at this point. Simmer for another fifteen minutes and your ready to serve!

This is what you end up with!!

Serve over some fluffy, salty, buttery rice and top with some green onions!

Gorgonzola Potatoes with Panceta, Onion and Peppers

I know, another potato recipe? The last post was made because it was a,  what needs to be used up before it goes bad dish. This recipe is a take on my mothers dish that I have loved all my life. Its really easy to make. If you have a mandolin I advise using it. You can slice the potatoes and onions super thin and this allows it to cook quicker in the oven. You can also substitute any pepper or potato you like. I love the subtle and sweet  funkiness of Gorgonzola and especially the Sweet creaminess of dolce, but you can substitute your favorite soft blue cheese. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: serves 2

1/2 pound potatoes
1 medium white onion
1/2 poblano pepper
3 or 4 slices of Pancetta or bacon
3 ounces of Mountain Gorgonzola Dolce
Parsley for garnish
Dry white wine
Salt and Pepper
Oil


Saute your Pancetta until crispy. In the mean time slice your onions as thin as you can get them and dice the pepper very fine. After you have pulled the pancetta out of the skillet throw the onions and peppers into the pancetta fat. Saute on med-low until they are a light brown and very soft. Add a little white wine if it starts to dry out while cooking down.

Slice your potatoes as thin as you can. Oil the bottom of a small baking dish. Line the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of potatoes.

 Next place the onion and pepper mixture on top of the potatoes.

 Then crumble half the pancetta over the onion and pepper mixture. Add another layer of potatoes, onion and peppers. Finally crumble the Mountain Gorgonzola Dolce and the remaining pancetta over the top.

Place into a 350* oven for 25 to 30 mins or until its brown on top.  Finish with some chopped parsley or Basil.

I served this as a side dish with a Pecan smoked Rib-Eye, Venison sausage, and some black truffle deviled eggs!