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Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Boudin done. About 3/4 of it made its way into casings, but a chat at the 'dillo with MF convinced me that a pastry wrap of some sort oughta be as least a part of it. Some Pillsbury canned crescent rolls which just happened to be in the fridge made a wrap for about 16 rounded teaspoons. Rolled them up from the wide end and baked 'em until brown. These are lovely, thanks MF! - I'll bring you some tomorrow! The remainder of this hot and tasty concoction is chillin' intwo short casings that I am already prizing too dearly. If they didn't have to be consumed in 2 or 3 days, according to the recipe, I would be loathe to share them at all. One thing bothers me - Sausage recipes always say to taste a patty before you stuff, so you can adjust the seasoning. What if you put in too much in the first place? (I didn't, just wondering...) 9:11:20 PM    comment []

Looks as though this book was the first of the two new ones to get a kitchen stain. One glance at the recipe for Hot Boudin and I was out buying pork butt. For some reason, having never made boudin, I thought it was a liver sausage. It can be (boudin blanc), but the stuff of legend, sold out of crock pots in Louisiana and usually consumed in the parking lot is just plain pork. First you boil about three 2-inch cubes, throw in the bones, in 4-5 cups of water seasoned with about a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, 4 bay leaves, a pinch of dried thyme and fresh hot peppers. The recipe called for two, maybe jalapenos. I picked up a pound this morning at Krogers' for the unbelievable price of 99 cents a pound. Also got habaneros for $1.99/lb. One of those went in with three jalapenos. This stuff simmers for a hour, quarter a large onion and throw that in for another 5-7 minutes, then strain it, keep the pork and onion, , discard the peppers and bay leaves, and reserve the stock. Then you cook a cup of long-grained rice in 1 1/2 cups of the pork stock, normal thing - simmer for 20 minutes covered. With the pork and onion cooled, you grind them through a 1/4-inch plate. Mix in two teaspoons minced garlic, 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons cayenne, 1 teaspoon ground sage, 1 teaspoon ground thyme, 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, a pinch of mace, 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley, 3/4 cup chopped scallions, and the rice. It chills in the fridge, about 30 minutes, and then you stuff it into casings. I'll need to buy a pickup truck so I can rest my foot on the rear bumper while I squeeze it out a bite at a time and wash it down with Dixie beer out in the parking lot. That, of course, after it gets steamed hot in the Mehu-Liisa. I'm burpin' already... (later...some recipes mention a nice crispy casing, which can be more easily accomplished if you warm it in a oven. Nix on the nuke) 5:10:56 PM    comment []

The great thing about Cooking Club of America is neither their magazine (October/November issue pictured) nor their website. It is all the other magazines you can subscribe to at a professional discount, like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking. Each about $12 a year. When I first signed up, they sent me a cookbook "on approval" ( = unsolicited and billed). I disapproved in an email and they quit sending me stuff. I don't know if Cuisine At Home came through them as well, but it's great food porn and conveniently 3-hole punched so you can put it right into a binder! 5:19:58 AM    comment []