Delectable. Delicious. Spicy.

I love jalapeño poppers. I posted a recipe for grilled jalapeño poppers (using chorizo) back in July of 2009. Believe it or not, it is one of the most-viewed recipes on CatholicFoodie.com. This is a variation of that recipe. Here we are using ground beef instead of chorizo. But, we are kicking that beef up a notch by using the Chai Chipotle Chup by Intensity Academy.

This recipe is part of a BIG PARTY on Twitter this Super Bowl weekend. On Twitter you can find more awesome recipes by searching for the hashtags #SaucySuperBowl and #SundaySupper.

#SundaySupper is a wonderful initiative to encourage folks to get back in the kitchen and to cook good, healthy meals for their families… and to share those meals together around the family table on Sunday. I love it! And I am very happy to be a part of this initiative, which was started by the Family Foodie. Please be sure to pay Isabel a visit at FamilyFoodie.com. She is cooking up some great stuff over there!

And don’t forget to visit all the other good folks who are posting excellent #SaucySuperBowl recipes this weekend. You will find links to their sites below!

If you want to learn more about the #SaucySuperBowl #SundaySupper party, check out what the Family Foodie has to say about it over at FamilyFoodie.com. Here’s a list of all the folks who are participating today (besides YOU, of course!):

“Renee Dobbs from Magnolia Days is bringing her Famous Loosen your belt Chili Skins I can’t wait to try them!

Erin Meyer from Big Fat Baker is bringing Pulled Pork with Homemade Kaiser Rolls,  she had to get some baking in there.

Launie Kettler is bringing Coffee Smoked Gypsy Gold Dust Chickenfrom her Teeny Tiny Kitchen guaranteed to be amazing!

Donna Currie from Cookistry is bringing Chai Thai Teriyaki Zucchini Rounds I love Zucchini and am so excited!

Samantha Ferraro has been busy finalizing her fabulous Fish Tacos fromThe Little Ferraro Kitchen

Sunithis Selvaraj will blow you away with her Sweet Glazed Pineapple Shrimp Kebobs from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz 

Emily Robinson’s recipe for Chai Chili Sauce stuffed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp is amazing Ultra Epicure

Jeff Young from The Catholic Foodie created Chai Chipotle Chup Jalapeno Poppers that are to die for!

I am bringing my favorite Intensity Academy Appetizer…. Chai Thai Meatballs. So easy and soooo good and they can be prepared in a Crock Pot which is perfect for Super Bowl Sunday!

And for Dessert we have the most amazing Cupcakes Chocolate-Chai Sweet Chili Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache made by Rashmi Primlani from Primlani’s Kitchen.

Every good Super Bowl Party needs a signature drink and Eileen Gross from Wine Everyday  is providing the Sangria!

With these awesome Foodies and this amazing Menu we are guaranteed to have a Saucy Good Time during #SaucySuperBowl.”

- from FamilyFoodie.com

INGREDIENTS

• 12 Jalapeño peppers
• 1 cup medium or sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 to 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Tamari sauce
• 12 strips of bacon, cut in half width-wise
• 1.5 lbs. ground beef (chuck or round)
• 1/2 cup  Chai Chipotle Chup (by Intensity Academy)
• Kosher salt & cracked black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the grill to medium (can also be done in oven at 350). Stem and seed the jalapenos. Slice down the middle length-wise. Make sure to spoon out all seeds AND the white membranes.
2. In a medium-sized bowl shred 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Add the ground beef, egg, green onions, garlic, cumin, Chai Chipotle Chup, kosher salt and black pepper. Mix well by hand.
3. Divide the “stuffing” among the peppers, packing it in well.
4. Wrap each popper (around the middle) with half a strip of bacon. Pierce popper with toothpick from side-to-side. (It’s a good idea to soak the toothpicks in water for about an hour or so before grilling).
5. Place, pepper side down, on grill. Grill for 7 to 10 minutes. You really want the pepper to soften. When the pepper starts to soften and brown on the bottom, turn the pepper over onto the “top” side. Grill for another 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Check for doneness. Pull from heat when the pepper is soft and the beef is cooked.
7. Serve immediately. Reserve some of the Chai Chipotle Chup for dipping.

Yields 24 poppers. Good as an appetizer. The jalapeños are not as spicy as you might think. The heat is reduced by seeding and cooking the jalapenos.

However, I recommend wearing gloves when handling raw jalapeños.

Bon appetit!

We’re in the middle of Carnival season down here in New Orleans. Only one more week before the parades start to roll! Can’t wait!

You may have never been to Mardi Gras. You may not even have pleasant thoughts when you think of Mardi Gras… Maybe the only thing you know about Mardi Gras is what you have seen on MTV and the news channels. For those folks bad news is good news, so they like to portray the seedier side of things. But that’s not what Mardi Gras is all about. Believe it or not, Mardi Gras is Catholic through and through. And on today’s show, were going to talk about the Catholic roots of Mardi Gras and the delicious tradition of the King Cake.

Sarah Reinhard joins us with her Mary in the Kitchen segment, and today Sarah reflects on finding Mary in the hunker-down days of winter and discovering the kitchen as the heart of her home.

All this and more right here, at the Catholic Foodie, where food meets faith!

As we start this episode I want to thank our sponsor DivineOffice.org. Divine Office Catholic Ministry provides top-of-the line Catholic apps for your mobile devices… and for your Mac. The full Liturgy of the Hours, an app of Catholic prayers, a Bible app, and now an app of the Catholic Encyclopedia. These folks know what they’re doing and they do it so well. Not only are these apps beautiful to look at and easy to use, but they also help you to live out and grow in your faith. You can find out more about these apps at DivineOffice.org.

Today’s feedback:

• Craig Poirier from Vancouver
• Capt. Jeff of Catholic Weekend (and the Airline Pilot Guy podcast)
• Fr. Mike Werkhoven from Tennessee

King Cake & Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Today we are talking about King Cake. Now I know what a King Cake is, because I eat and make King Cakes every year. But you might be wondering what exactly a King Cake is. Well I’m here to tell you all about it.

First of all, a King Cake is a brioche. Brioche is a simple yeast dough that is enriched with eggs and lots of butter. According the Joy of Cooking, “the high butter content gives the impression that the dough is wetter than it actually is, leading to the temptation – which you must resist – to add more flour.

Brioche is also very easy to braid, which is why some King Cakes you find are braided.

King Cakes are always round or oval, which is a sign of a crown. It is a symbol of royalty.

Some King Cakes are the basic cinnamon brioche, others are filled with anything from cream cheese, raspberry or strawberry filling, or even a praline type of filling. Some King Cakes are topped with colored icing, others are topped with a white icing and different colored sugar sprinkles. The colors are always the colors of Mardi Gras: purple, green and gold.

But what does all of this mean? Why the reference to royalty? Why the specific colors? And for crying out loud, what’s up with the plastic baby inside the cake?

Excellent questions!

If you go back to the origins of the cake (and there are similar traditions in Mexico, Spain and France… and other places too), the basic symbolism comes from the Catholic celebration of Epiphany, also known as King’s Day. Epiphany, the culmination of the twelve days of Christmas, is traditionally celebrated January 6th. The celebration commemorates the scene in Luke’s Gospel of the Magi from the East (also thought of as wise men or kings) coming to pay homage to the new King… the King of Kings. The celebration of Epiphany officially closes the Christmas season.

But for those of us who live in south Louisiana, the celebration of Epiphany also opens something up… it kicks off for us Mardi Gras season… or Carnival season.

“Carnival” comes from the Latin “carne vale,” which literally means “good-bye meat.” For centuries, Catholics did not eat any meat or meat products during the entire season of Lent. So, on Carnival day, they celebrated by eating up any meat that they could find. In French (including Creole French down here in Louisiana), Carnival is called Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. It’s always on a Tuesday because Lent always begins on Ash Wednesday.

Down here in south Louisiana, New Orleans in particular, we can come up with just about any reason to throw a party. We like to celebrate. So, we stretch out Carnival. For us, it is not just a day. It’s a season. Between January 6th and midnight Mardi Gras day we celebrate so that we can enter Lent “properly.”

Our modern celebration of the carnival season includes the baking of an estimated 750,000 King Cakes in the New Orleans metro area alone. During Carnival Season, King Cakes are bought or made and brought to offices to share with co-workers and to parties and family gatherings. The modern tradition dictates that whoever gets the baby has to provide the next King Cake. But where did that tradition start?

Well, in New Orleans at least, it began in 1871. The local newspaper, the Times-Picayune, ran this story back in September as it recalled the beginnings of some of our Mardi Gras traditions.

Now that was 1871. And, I should mention, that this stretches back to the very beginnings of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Some have said, and Capt. Jeff alluded to this last episode, that Mardi Gras actually started in Mobile, AL, not New Orleans. Well, that’s true… and false.

Here’s what happened.

The first Carnival krewe in New Orleans was founded in 1857 by former members of the Cowbellian de Rakin Society out of Mobile. [I can’t help but think that we need some cowbell sound effects right about now.] Anyway, the Cowbellian de Rakin Society was founded in Mobile in 1830… 27 years before New Orleans’ first krewe. However, Mobile’s parades were held on New Year’s Eve, not Fat Tuesday. Mobile did not switch to Fat Tuesday until 1866, 9 years after Mardi Gras was rolling in New Orleans.

Very interesting.

So what about the colors? Why the purple, green and gold?

Well, purple represents justice, green stands for faith, and gold stands for power. These colors were chosen by Rex (which means King) for his first parade in 1872. People must have liked the look of those colors together, because they stuck. They are now known as the Mardi Gras colors.

Ordering a King Cake

So how can you get your hands on some of these good goodies known as King Cakes? Well, in our age of online orders and overnight shipping, you can have a genuine King Cake in your hot little hands by tomorrow.

Of course, you can always make one yourself.

I’m going to tell you how to do both.

Epiphany comes every year and opens up for us a season of celebration… and argument. The argument being who makes the best King Cake. It’s seems like everybody is in one of three camps: McKenzie’s Bakery (even though they’re closed now… And Tastee Donuts supposedly has their original recipe. McKenzie’s must have been a great King Cake if people are still arguing about it!), Haydel’s Bakery is another camp, and finally there’s the Manny Randazzo’s camp. Now, some of these arguments can be heated. King Cake is serious business

I must confess that I am in the Randazzo’s camp. Besides homemade, Randazzo’s are the best in my opinion.

But they’re not cheap to order and ship. Randazzo’s basic “Traditional Medium” with shipping included is $46.95. Prices can go has high as almost $70.00. Wow!

It’s much cheaper to make it yourself. And it’s fun too! That’s why I am going to tell you how you can make your very own King Cake this year at home.

The recipe that I use is an adaptation of one by Chef Emeril Legasse. You can find it over at CatholicFoodie.com.

A Few Last Minutes Items…

We’ve come to the end of another show, folks. I just have a few things I want to tell you about before we close down the kitchen for the night.

First of all, I want to remind you that SQPN – The Star Quest Production Network – is in the middle of its annual giving campaign. Are you a Friend of SQPN? If not, become one! Go to SQPN.com and click on the donate button on the right side of the screen. It is so important for us to support good Catholic content online, and SQPN is committed to producing excellent Catholic content. Please do become a Friend of SQPN today.

#SaucySuperBowl #SundaySupper

Also, this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately the Saints are not in the game this year, but there’s still cause to celebrate! I have teamed up with a group of fine folks… home cooks and foodies who love to cook and eat and write about it… and we are going to host an online Twitter party. It’s calledl #SaucySuperBowl #SundaySupper. We are committed to getting folks back into the kitchen and cooking so that they can have a delicious supper to share with their families. So we all have contributed some delicious recipes that will hopefully inspire you and many others to do just that… Cook and dine together. If you’re on Twitter, just search for the hashtags #SaucySuperBowl and #SundaySupper.

Of course, you can head over to CatholicFoodie.com for more information and for links to the Super Bowl goodies. I’m bringing some special grilled beef jalapeño poppers that I cooked up just for this event. Check it out at CatholicFoodie.com.

Also, before I close out, I want to thank my friend Paul Camarata of the SaintCast for a delightful lunch the other day. Paul was in New Orleans on business and we were able to get together for lunch at Chef John Besh’s Restaurant Luke. It was great to see Paul again and to share a meal with him. And please do keep an ear out… on an upcoming episode of the SaintCast, you’ll be treated to some foodie talk that we recorded at the table while having lunch that day.

Paul, thank you so much! It was a pleasure to see you again!

Well, I think that pretty much wraps things up for us today, folks. Don’t forget to check out the show notes at CatholicFoodie.com. You can also find me on Facebook at Facebook.com/catholicfoodie and on Twitter at Twitter.com/catholicfoodie. If you are on Google+, just search for me. I’m there. Search for Catholic Foodie.

Thank you for joining me today. It’s been fun. And until next time… Bon appetit!
To leave feedback for the Catholic Foodie, call 985-635-4974 and leave a message. You can also leave feedback for me at jeff@catholicfoodie.com.

Download episode 129 here or listen to it below:

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I love me a good gumbo.

As I have said before, I make chicken and andouille gumbo (or turkey!) throughout the year. But seafood gumbo is reserved for special occasions, like Christmas. One reason that we save the seafood gumbo for special occasions is that it is so expensive to make. But now I think I have found a variation of seafood gumbo that I can make more often. It’s a Louisiana favorite: Shrimp & Okra Gumbo. It’s still more expensive than chicken & andouille, but it’s not too expensive. I was able to pick up some fresh Gulf shrimp today for $4.75 / pound. Not bad.

The Roux

But what makes gumbo a gumbo? Well, as all good cajuns and creoles know, a gumbo always starts with a roux, which is equal parts flour and oil. Roux has two purposes: it colors the gumbo and it thickens it. And since gumbos are always thick and rich, rouxs are oh so important.

But, I have to tell you that making a roux is an act of love. It takes time.

If you ask several different cooks from south Louisiana how long it takes to make a roux, you’ll get answers that range from “two beers” to “two Bloody Marys” to “two sides of a Louis Armstrong album.” Everybody has a different approach. But since it is so easy to burn a roux, you can’t leave it. I used to take the easy road… I’d keep the burner on medium-low. But that took WAY too long. Like four beers too long. And since that’s not good for your health, I had to make a change. Now I make my rouxs at medium-high heat and it usually takes about 15 minutes. A roux for a gumbo has to be the color of dark chocolate. You want to take it to the gates of burndom and then add the “trinity.”

You’ll hear lots of Louisiana cooks talking about the “trinity.” They’re not talking theology. Down here, when it comes to cooking, the trinity means onions, green bell peppers, and celery… The basic ingredients to lots of Cajun dishes.

Why Okra?

OK. Gotta state this up front: Okra is slimy.

Some cooks want to “cook the slime out” of the okra before adding it to the gumbo. But, here’s the deal… Okra is an excellent thickener. Even if you try to “cook the slime out” before adding it to the gumbo, it doesn’t matter. Adding it raw is just the same. The “slime” will “cook out” after being added to the gumbo. In this recipe, I do “brown” the okra before adding it to the gumbo (in bacon grease, which is like a gift from heaven!), but that’s just because I wanted to bathe the okra in the delicious goodness of bacon. Everything – and I do mean everything – tastes better with bacon!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 or 5 yellow onions, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 strips of bacon (I prefer Applegate Farms)
• 2 lbs frozen okra, cut and thawed
• 2 cans Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Chilis
• 8 cups shrimp stock (can substitute chicken stock)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons Konriko Creole Seasoning (or similar seasoning)
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 lbs medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined (if the shrimp are too big, you can cut them into chunks)
• 1 cup green onions, chopped (will need extra for individual bowls)
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped (will need extra for individual bowls)

DIRECTIONS

For the roux

1. Heat your skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add canola oil and heat until it begins to sizzle.
3. Add flour and whisk to incorporate. Continue whisking until the roux reaches the color of dark chocolate. Be careful not to burn the roux.
4. Once the roux has reached the desired color, add the onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic. Stir well, and allow to cook down for about five minutes or so. You want the veggies to soften and become translucent.
5. Once the veggies have softened and become translucent, remove from heat and set aside.

For the okra

1. Heat a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the bacon and cook until it’s crispy.
3. Remove the bacon and set aside.
4. In the drippings from the bacon add the okra and cook down (“brown”) for about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add Rotel Tomatoes (including the juice)

For the gumbo

1. In a gumbo (stock) pot add the roux and the stock.
2. Heat on medium-high heat.
3. Add the okra.
4. Stir well to help incorporate all the ingredients.
5. Add the wine, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, salt, and Konriko.
6. Stir well, and bring to a simmer. Allow the gumbo to simmer for about 20 minutes.
7. Reduce the heat to medium low, continuing to allow the gumbo to simmer.
8. Taste for seasoning and thickness. Make adjustments as necessary.
9. When your rice is made and you are getting close to dinner time, you can add the shrimp. You have to be careful not to overcook the shrimp. They will only need about five minutes of cooking.
10. Once the shrimp are cooked, you are ready to eat! Serve gumbo over rice in an bowl. Keep Tabasco or Crystal on hand in case anyone wants to add it to their bowl. Also have chopped parsley and chopped green onions available to add to individual bowls.

Bon appetit!

***This recipe was adapted from Frank Davis’ recipe.*** 

Since I am still recuperating from bronchitis, I decided to hijack an episode of SQPN’s Catholic Weekend (with permission, of course). I had the joy of joining the Catholic Weekend crew two weeks ago, and we talked about food, faith, Mardi Gras, King Cake, oysters, and more! Join us in the fun!

I’ll be back next week with a full episode talking about the history and tradition of the King Cake during Mardi Gras season. Until then… Bon appetit!

From Catholic Weekend:

Jeff Young, The Catholic Foodie, joins the crew this weekend. Of course, there’s talk about the saints Saints and food. Lot’s of food, including a little segment on oyster apologetics. And a little bit of Catholic insight, too.

Join us for a little Catholic lite.

You know, every year during Mardi Gras season, not only do I make lots of king cakes, but I also talk about them a lot on the Catholic Foodie podcast. I tweet pictures of the kings cakes that I make, and I post those pictures on Facebook too. And every year folks contact me to ask for my king cake recipe. Finally, I am making my king cake recipe available to readers of the Catholic Foodie.

I did not invent this king cake recipe from scratch. It’s based on a recipe by Chef Emeril Lagasse. I have tweaked it to our liking, and our family and friends love it.

I hope that you like it too.

I need to confess up front that I am a stickler for ingredients. I always use the best ingredients I can find… Kerrygold butter, King Arthur flour, local farm eggs, etc. I encourage you to do the same. Use the best ingredients you can find. It really does make all the difference!

And since Mardi Gras is a season, you could make a few (or several!) king cakes before Mardi Gras day. Experiment. Make this king cake recipe your own. And if you find something that you really like, please let me know about it!

Bon appetit!

- Jeff

The Catholic Foodie’s King Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 packets of active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 sticks of butter, melted (Kerrygold)
• 1 cup warm milk (about 110 F)
• 5 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (King Arthur)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon oil (regular olive oil)
• 1 lb. cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 plastic king cake baby or pecan half
• 5 tablespoons milk, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Purple, green, and yellow food coloring

METHOD

For The Dough

1. Combine the yeast and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. If you don’t have a stand mixer, don’t worry, you can do the same thing by hand in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add melted butter and warm milk and beat for one minute at medium-low speed.
3. With the mixer still running, add the egg yolks and beat for another minute.
4. Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest and beat until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball (or starts to climb up the dough hook). As with any dough, you may have to add water (a tablespoon at a time) or more flour to get the right results.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and, using your hands, form it into a smooth ball. Using regular olive oil (not extra virgin), lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, rolling it around to coat it on all sides with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours. You want the dough to double in size.

For The Filling

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar. Blend using a fork or an electric mixer on low speed. Set aside.

After The Dough Has Doubled In Size

1. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangle about 30 inches long and 6 inches wide.
2. Take the cream cheese filling and spread it out lengthwise over the bottom half of the dough.
3. Flip the top half of the dough over the filling and seal the edges with your fingers, pinching the dough together.
4. Shape the dough into a cylinder and place it on a baking sheet (I use a round pizza stone) seam side down. Shape it into a ring and pinch the ends together, doing your best so that there’s no visible seam.
5. Cover the ring with plastic wrap (or a clean kitchen towel) and set aside in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
6. Preheat oven to 350 F.
7. Once the cake has doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap or towel and brush the surface of the cake with 2 tablespoons of milk.
8. Place cake in oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until it is golden brown.
9. Remove from the oven and place the cake on a wire rack so that it can cool completely.
10. When it is completely cooled, insert the plastic baby, or pecan half, from the bottom of the cake.

For The Icing

In a mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir well with a fork. Once it is well-blended, divide the icing into three small bowls. Carefully, one drop at a time, add a different colored food coloring (purple, green and yellow) to each of the bowls, stirring in each drop to achieve the desired colored icing.

Once the cake is completely cooled, the icing can be poured over the cake with a spoon, carefully alternating the colors around the king cake. See photo for an example.

About this time last year I posted my recipe for Seafood Gumbo.

Now, I love gumbo. And I make it quite often. Usually the chicken and andouille variety. Sometimes turkey and andouille. But, seafood gumbo is special. And expensive. So, I usually only make seafood gumbo two or three times a year.

I made a seafood gumbo on Christmas day, and I talked about that on episode 128 of The Catholic Foodie. I changed things up a bit for that gumbo, making some adjustments to my original recipe that really amazed the whole family. My wife even commented that it was the best gumbo (of any type) that she had ever eaten. Wow! That was an awesome compliment!

There were some pretty significant changes I made to the original recipe, so I want to share the new & improved recipe with you now.

I should also mention that seafood gumbo is good not only for Christmas and Thanksgiving, but also for any Sunday Supper (#SundaySupper on Twitter.com).

Bon appetit!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 to 5 lbs shrimp (with heads on), peeled, retain the heads & shells
• 8 yellow onions, 4 chopped, 2 quartered
• 4 ribs celery, 2 chopped, 2 quartered
•  5 green bell peppers, chopped
• 8 to 9 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 lbs tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 lb of okra, sliced (1/2-inch slices)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of olive oil (not extra virgin), or canola oil
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• 3 bay leaves
• Sea salt, to taste
• Black pepper, freshly cracked, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 bunch of green onions, chopped
• 2 lbs lump crabmeat (or claw meat)
• 2 dozen raw oysters (with their liquor)
• 1 bunch of parsley (flat-leaf), chopped
• Rice
• Crystal Hot Sauce or Tabasco, to taste

METHOD

FOR THE STOCK:

Peel and devein the shrimp, removing the heads. Refrigerate shrimp until ready to use. Place heads and shells in a stock pot. Quarter 4 onions lengthwise. Half a head of garlic. Cut 2 ribs of celery into 3 to 4 inch pieces. Chop 2 bell peppers. Add 2 gallons of water to the stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Strain through fine-meshed sieve. Discard shells and veggies. Return stock to pot and set aside.

FOR THE GUMBO:

1. Chop the yellow onions and the celery. Seed, trim, and chop the bell pepper. Set aside. Peel and seed the tomatoes, chop and set aside. (Alternatively, you can use the equivalent in canned tomatoes). Trim and slice the okra into 1/2-inch slices. Set aside.
2. Make your roux. Roux is made with equal parts flour and oil. In this recipe, we use a combination of butter and regular olive oil to make the roux. Heat a deep skillet (stainless steel or cast-iron) on medium-high heat (#7.5). Add olive oil to the skillet. Cut up the butter and add to the skillet. When the butter melts and the butter and oil begins to bubble, start adding the flour slowly, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remember to stir constantly to prevent burning or scorching. The roux will quickly change colors. For the gumbo, you want a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. This should take about 15 minutes.
3. Once the roux has reached the right color, quickly add the onions, celery, and bell pepper, continuing to stir (with a wooden spoon) until all is mixed well. Sauté the veggies until they soften, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté, stirring another minute or two.
4. Bring reserved stock to a boil. Add the veggie-roux mixture to the stock using a large spoon. Stir in the spoonful of mixture until fully integrated before adding another spoonful. Add the tomatoes, okra, bay leaves and thyme. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about an hour or so (even as much as two hours… You’re looking for the roux and the stock to “become one”). Occasionally skim and discard any excess oil that pools on the surface.
5. Add the reserved shrimp. Allow to simmer for another 2 minutes. Add the crab meat and the oysters. Simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes, until the edges of the oysters start to curl. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add some of the green onions and the parsley (save some so that each guest can add to their bowl according to taste).
6. Remove bay leaves and discard. Serve in bowls over rice. Sprinkle bowls with green onions and parsley. Have Crystal Hot Sauce or Tabasco on hand, and gumbo filé, in case anyone wants to thicken up their bowl with a dash or two.

This is Jeff Young, the Catholic Foodie at CatholicFoodie.com and you are listening to episode 128 of the Catholic Foodie: Louisiana Oysters.

Welcome, Folks, to the Catholic Foodie, where food meets faith! I’m your host Jeff Young and today we are going to talk about oysters. You may love ‘em, you may hate ‘em, but one thing is certain… the Louisiana oyster has a certain mystique and a large loyal following. Although many would argue that the best way to serve oysters is in the raw, there are so many ways to prepare them. In this episode we are going to talk about a few of those ways. Drago’s famous Chargrilled Oysters (and our variation of it). I have a few recipes for you too: fresh cocktail sauce for those yummy, slimy raw oysters, and sauces for grilled or BBQ oysters. Oh, and a special recipe for what I call the Bayou Mary Oyster Shooter.

Sarah Reinhard joins us with her Mary in the Kitchen segment. and today Sarah reflects on resolutions, failure, and Our Blessed Lady.

All this and more right here, at the Catholic Foodie, where food meets faith!

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The Incredible, Edible Oyster

I didn’t always like oysters. As a matter of fact, my very first encounter with oysters happened when I was a senior in high school. I grew up in Baton Rouge, so oysters were always everywhere. I just never wanted anything to do with them. Then, one Friday night, I was invited to a friend’s house. The occasion? It was just a Friday. Probably in November. But oysters were the reason for the gathering. The host had purchased a goodly amount of shucked oysters and wanted to throw a party and serve oyster po-boys. I remember admitting that I had never eaten oysters, and I confessed that I probably wouldn’t like them. The chef’s response? She told me to add ketchup to my po-boy, and whatever you do, don’t look at what you’re eating. That was good advice. Yes, of course I looked. And it was gross! I mean the fried oysters looked delicious when they’re whole. Crispy golden. But once you bite into one, you see the slimy grey and black interior, which made me reflect on exactly what I thought I was doing. However, I did make it through the meal. I even had seconds. Why? Because it tasted great!

Whenever I eat po-boys today, I never order oyster though. It’s not because I don’t like them. It’s just that I LOVE shrimp and catfish more. But, that was my introductory culinary experience of the oyster. It would take a few years before I ventured to try one raw.

That didn’t happen until 1992 or 1993, when I was the head bartender at seafood restaurant in Baton Rouge. It was a seafood restaurant, right? I worked in the lounge, serving up all kinds of delicious libations. But, one of the things that this restaurant was famous for was its raw oysters. The same family owned a seafood market next-door, so the oysters were always fresh and plentiful. They employed a full-time oyster shucker who worked with me in the lounge. On really busy nights I’d help him shuck. Believe it or not, it took me at least a few weeks of shucking before I finally decided it was time to try one raw. Shucked it myself. And enjoyed it with a draft beer.

Next thing I know, I’m going out routinely with co-workers for raw oysters. The restaurant closed at 9:00, and we were usually out of there by 10:00. Then we would head out to a late night place, like the Chimes right outside the gates of LSU. That was our favorite haunt. Tons of beer on tap. Cold raw oysters. Excellent fried seafood. And it didn’t close till 2:00 AM. I think I used to spend all the tips had made earlier that night whenever we went to the Chimes.

The Chimes was also where I ate the oysters that almost killed me. It was 1993 or 1994. One of our routine after-work gatherings at the Chimes. There were 10 of us. All ordering oysters on the half shell. And, the oysters were particularly good that night. What we didn’t know was that they were harvested from waters that were contaminated by some kind of bacteria. That fact began to dawn on us, one at time, between 24 and 48 hours later. It was not pretty. At least a couple of us went to the hospital. I did not. I did, however, honestly think I was going to die. It was awful. Awful. And, because of that experience, I did not eat raw oysters again for a number of years. As a matter of fact, I didn’t eat them again until I was on my honeymoon with Char. We were on a beach on Margarita Island, Venezuela. We were blessed with a two-week honeymoon. To make a long story short, I was lured into eating raw oysters by our driver, a local we had befriended. He was a great guy. He brought us to an incredibly beautiful beach. I haven’t seen its equal since. It was set between the ocean on one side and a saltwater lagoon on the other. Really incredible. While enjoying that day, he insisted that we had to try the oysters. Said they were the best on the island. And so… we did. We had a few dozen I believe. And didn’t get sick. So, I haven’t been as afraid of them since… especially during oyster “season.”

We call it a season, but is it really? I mean, we start to think Oyster down here whenever the weather turns cold. Or cool. Why is that? Well, we’ll get to that shortly. But, first, I tell you what I had always been told. You can only eat oysters during months that end in R. September, October, November, December. They all end in R. Those are the safe months, right?

That’s a myth. I always believed it. Everyone I know has always believed it. I was told it had to do with heat. Oysters are living creatures. They have to be kept cold after they are harvested. Apparently, a long time ago, before refrigerated trucks (and boats), transporting oysters in the summertime could be, well, dangerous. The oysters could go bad. That makes sense, right?

Well, just the other day, I came across this press release about oysters from the US Department of the Interior. When I read it, it had me laughing so hard. Listen to this:

Interior Exposes R-Month As Myth

So, how about that? The R-month thing is a myth. And we should have known that since 1964! Too funny!

Nowadays, oysters are pretty much safe to eat year-round.

And speaking of eating oysters….

We’ve been on something of an oyster kick. This time of year – Thanksgiving through New Year’s – oysters can be in short supply. Oyster dressing often accompanies Thanksgiving turkeys across south Louisiana. Seafood gumbo is a popular Christmas dish. Then there are all the oyster bars and hungry south Louisianians with a hankering for their oysters.

I did not do an oyster dressing this year for Thanksgiving. But, I did do a seafood gumbo for Christmas. And that was tricky. Mainly because we were going to be in Baton Rouge with family for a few days, so I had to get all my seafood a few days early. The markets were going to be closed on Christmas day.

So, I went to the seafood market on Friday the 23rd. I needed lots of fresh shrimp (with the heads on!), fresh crab meat, and of course the oysters. I scored easily with the shrimp and crab meat. 5 pounds of shrimp, and two pounds of crab meat. But I almost missed out on the oysters.

I mentioned that that oysters can be hard to come by this time of year. They’re in great demand. The real cause of the scarcity is the BP Oil Spill. It has taken a long time for the proper agencies to give the green light on harvesting oysters in Louisiana. There are lots of beds that are still not being harvested. So, the supply has been drastically cut. That has also made oysters more expensive.

At the seafood market, they had only one gallon of shucked oysters left. There was a delivery truck on its way with more oysters. But it wouldn’t be there for another hour, I just didn’t have the time to wait. So, mercifully, the owner of the market offered to split the gallon into two half-gallons. A gallon would have been too much for us. And that half-gallon cost $35.00. That’s quite a bit more than in years past. But, you know what? They were delicious. We grilled some and added the rest to the gumbo.

As a side note, that gumbo was absolutely incredible. I love making and eating all kinds of gumbos. We rarely do seafood gumbo because it is so doggone expensive. But, when I served Char her bowl, she looked me and said, “This is the best gumbo I have ever eaten.” I said, “Cool.” And then she said, “No. Listen. This is the best GUMBO I have ever eaten.” She didn’t mean seafood gumbo. She meant GUMBO. Wow. That blew me away. I used my usual recipe, which you can find at CatholicFoodie.com, but I did make a few adjustments. Adjustments that apparently made all the difference, at least for Char. So, I am going to update the recipe on CatholicFoodie.com. I haven’t done it yet, but it is on my To-Do list for this week.

The oysters I got for Christmas were so good, we wanted to do a repeat of the grilled oysters. I’m going to give you that recipe shortly. But, here’s what happened. Every year around Christmas, Big D (my son’s godfather) comes over for a big Christmas seafood blowout. And a few days after Christmas we did it again. I went to the seafood market to get the oysters. I wanted a gallon this time. Guess what. They were out. Completely out. I must have looked pretty bummed out by that news. The guy behind the counter said, “I have a truck coming. Should be here any minute. But it’s only bringing me sacks. No gallons. And I think all those sacks have been reserved. Let me go check.”

He came back a few minutes later with a sack of oysters. I hadn’t planned on shucking, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. He got my name and wrote on the reservation card tied to the sack. That sack must have been an extra. But there was a waiting list for oysters too. But since I was there… wanting oysters… that gentleman took care of me.

The sack contained 100 oysters. I did a lot of shucking, but it was fun! We served lots of ‘em raw, and we grilled some too.

Coming up soon, I’ll share with you a recipe for our cocktail sauce (for the raw oysters), and a couple of different versions of grilled oysters. But, first, let’s take a listen to this story about Drago’s Restaurant in New Orleans (well, Metairie, really). This place is the home of the Chargrilled oyster. And here’s a clip from Food Network’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate.” This one is with Adam Gertler, host of Kid In A Candy Store. Take a listen….

Recipes

• Drago’s recipe from Cooking Up a Storm
• Our recipe for “Grilled” Oysters
• Our recipe for “Chargrilled” Oysters
• Our recipe for Cocktail Sauce

Mary in the Kitchen

Thank you very much, Sarah! That was Sarah Reinhard, folks. You can find more of Sarah over at SnoringScholar.com.

We are now officially in the Mardi Gras season. Lent is not too far away, and Sarah has a Lent book and an Easter book too! You’ll find links to those books in the show notes for this episode at CatholicFoodie.com.

Thank you very much, Sarah for producing Mary in the Kitchen each episode of the Catholic Foodie. It is a blessing for me personally and, I know, for all those who listen. You can find more of Sarah’s work over at SnoringScholar.com.

I also want thank L’Angelus for allowing us to use their Ave Maria in the show. You can find them at CajunRecords.com.

This brings us to the end of the show, folks. Are you hungry yet? If not, go check out all the past episodes of the Catholic Foodie over at CatholicFoodie.com. Lots of blog posts, recipes, and more over there too. CatholicFoodie.com.

I am looking for voice feedback. I want to hear from you. How does food meet faith in your life? You can call in your voice feedback by dialing 985-635-4974, that’s 985-635-4974. You can call that number day or night. Just leave a message, and I’ll be able to play that on the show. And, by doing so, your name goes into the hat to win either the DivineOffice app or the Catholicpedia app. Call your feedback in to 985-635-4974.

I look forward to seeing you again next week. Until then you might want to check out the Catholic Foodie on Facebook at facebook.com/catholicfoodie. Follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com/catholicfoodie. And don’t forget to check out the Catholic Foodie website at http://catholicfoodie.com.

Until next time… Bon appetit!

To leave feedback for the Catholic Foodie, call 985-635-4974 and leave a message. You can also leave feedback for me at jeff@catholicfoodie.com.

Download episode 128 here or listen to it below:

If you like what you see and hear at the Catholic Foodie, please consider leaving a tip!

$2, $5, $10, or any amount… Your tip is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Get new episodes of the Catholic Foodie by subscribing for free via iTunes or in another podcatcher. Find me also at SQPN.com.

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And over at http://jeffyoung.me

I have oysters on the brain.

Maybe it’s just that time of the year. Cooler weather. The holidays. I don’t know. This is just a good time of the year for oyster lovers in south Louisiana.

So, when I was invited to participate in a virtual progressive dinner with several amazing foodies, I offered to bring along the oysters.

Ideally, the oysters used for the following recipes should be freshly shucked. I enjoy shucking oysters, so that wouldn’t be a problem for me. However, to save time (and to avoid a mess) you can always buy your oysters already shucked.

I am very happy to be sharing this #SundaySupper with these fine foodies. After enjoying my “Bayou Mary” Oyster Shooters and raw and grilled oysters, make sure you progress to the other foodie blogs for a taste of the goodness they are all bringing to the table.

Bon appetit!

“Bayou Mary” Oyster Shooters

This cocktail works best if you first make a batch of Bayou Mary (my twist on the classic Bloody Mary). You could make these shooters to order, but it’s more expedient to make them in batches… especially for a party.

Ingredients for the Bayou Mary

• 1 quart tomato juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated horseradish
• Dash of cayenne
• Dash of kosher salt
• Dash of freshly cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients to taste. Then chill until ready to use.

Bayou Mary Oyster Shooters

• 1 freshly shucked raw oyster (with its liquor)
• 1/2 to 1 ounce of quality vodka (store in freezer until ready to use)
• 1/2 to 1 ounce Bayou Mary
• Squeeze of lemon

In a chilled shot glass (or a martini glass), add the Bayou Mary, then the vodka. Top with the oyster and its liquor. Finish it off with a squeeze of lemon.

Cheers!

Cocktail Sauce for Raw Oysters

When it comes to cocktail sauce for raw oysters, usually everybody wants to make their own. But, here are the ingredients for making a batch of it for a party. Just mix it all together, according to taste. Spoon some of the cocktail sauce on a freshly shucked oyster, then slurp it down and enjoy!

• Ketchup
• Fresh lemon juice
• Freshly grated horseradish
• Tabasco Hot Sauce

“Grilled” Oysters

This is a great appetizer. And if you don’t have a grill, no worries! You can also make this dish in the oven.

In the past we have used oyster shells on the grill, metal muffin pans on the grill, and even a stoneware muffin pan in the oven. These oysters are always a hit.

Below are the directions for preparing these oysters in an oven. Currently, my grill is out of commission… so I’m stuck with the oven. But the oven method works just fine.

In a small saucepan, melt a stick of butter at low heat. Add generous amounts of the following: fresh chopped garlic, Louisiana Hot Sauce, fresh lemon juice, and green onions (the green onions act as “flavor catchers” in this intensely poignant sauce!). Bring up the heat a bit to a simmer. Add a splash or two of whatever (good) beer you may have open. Beer pairs so well with Louisiana oysters!

This sauce says, “WOW!”

Adjust to your liking. Just remember that it should zing!

Add sauce to the bottom of muffin tin compartments. Add an oyster to each compartment. Top with grated hard cheese (Romano or Parmesan) and a touch of chopped parsley for looks. Cook at 450 until the cheese is bubbly.

Dive in as soon as the oysters come out of the oven. We arm ourselves with bamboo skewers. Attack and repeat.

It’s also good to have some good, light French bread on hand. You won’t want to leave a drop of the sauce behind. The French bread is good at sopping up every drop of deliciousness. Every. Single. Drop.

Enjoy!

Don’t forget to move on to the next “house” in this progressive dinner. You’ll find more from the participants below. You can also join us on Twitter by using the hashtag #SundaySupper.

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Christmas in New Orleans, the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the Reveillon tradition in New Orleans, @NOLAmaven on Twitter, SQPN Giving Campaign and more! This is an exciting episode of the Catholic Foodie. Listen and enjoy!

And don’t forget to leave voice feedback for the Catholic Foodie. I need to know how food meets faith in your life. As a reward for calling in, your name goes in the hat to win an app… either the Divine Office app or the Catholicpedia app… both from our sponsor, DivineOffice.org. Call your feedback in now! 985-635-4974.

Something I neglected to mention in the episode is that Susan Whelan (@NOLAmaven) was instrumental in the success of the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience.

Also, don’t forget to check out the pics of the Feast of the Seven Fishes below:

Norman at the helm.

There's lots going on here on this stove.

Here are the plates for the kids. YUM!

Look at these beautiful kids!

The shrimp were out of this world!

Here's a closer look at dem shrimp!

And here's my beautiful wife!

Here we are in front of a painting of the ingredients of Sriracha. I love that stuff!

Here's my very messy plate....

Here's the salmon!

Another pic of the shrimp after I got my hands on them....

Involtini!

Beautiful Lebanese women!

To leave feedback for the Catholic Foodie, call 985-635-4974 and leave a message. You can also leave feedback for me at jeff@catholicfoodie.com.

Download episode 127 here or listen to it below:

If you like what you see and hear at the Catholic Foodie, please consider leaving a tip!

$2, $5, $10, or any amount… Your tip is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Get new episodes of the Catholic Foodie by subscribing for free via iTunes or in another podcatcher. Find me also at SQPN.com.

You can also find me at:

the Catholic Foodie on Facebook

the Catholic Foodie on Twitter

And over at http://jeffyoung.me

A guest post by Shelly Kelly from Of Sound Mind and Spirit.

The Christmas holidays abound with memories and traditions, many of them grown and based on the foods that bring us together and define us as family.

Growing up  Christmas morning meant Mom would prepare a brown-sugar, butter, cinnamon, ooey-gooey Bubble Cake for breakfast.  An annual special treat that only appeared on Christmas morning, every childhood Christmas memory I have involves this sweet sticky concoction. Even though forks were encouraged, we commonly burned our fingers, picking at the hot melted sugar unable to wait for it to be cool enough to eat. In the years since I’ve become a mother, I’ve tried to find our own special breakfast, serving several “prepare-the-night-before” breakfast casseroles filled with egg, sausage, cheese, hash browns, or even French toast, but the one dish my children repeatedly ask for is Bubble Cake.

In a nod to our Italian grandparents, Christmas dinner absolutely must include Italian sausage. The accompanying prepared foods are inconsequential so long as the plate of crisp, fragrant sausage has its place of honor. Each year, seeing the Italian sausage at Christmas dinner calls to mind my grandmother’s kitchen table, filled with food, while we wait to be served at the “kids table” on the side.  Now I sit at my mother’s dining room table, my daughters and their cousins in the kitchen at their own “kids table.”

The evolution of a newer tradition is one of my favorite Christmas memories, when several years ago our father asked me to try to make a chocolate pie reminiscent of his mother’s pie.  We called her on the phone and quizzed her about the recipe, which naturally had never been written down.  We took what she said, compared it with other chocolate pie recipes, and that Christmas Eve we got to work, trying to figure out exactly how it should come together and in what order.  We threw away two whole pies before we settled on a mixture that had the right consistency and taste.  Every year since, I have made the infamous Chocolate Pie for our Christmas dessert.

No matter how you celebrate Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, or who you share it with, the foods you prepare and eat are going to have a very special place, building a foundation of memories that will last for years to come.