Kitchen Happenings: Cajun Napalm

Boy, time flies when you're sleeping until noon. I think that's how the old adage goes. I haven't posted anything over here on NOLA Foodgeek since last September. This definitely isn't to say that I haven't been eating well. In fact, I've been eating too well. This is probably to be expected in a city like New Orleans.

I think that I definitely need to get you guys caught up on that stuff. But one thing that I want to share with you guys is one thing that I've been doing in my kitchen. Specifically, it's been cooking flour and fat on the stove until it turns nearly black. A while back, I posted this little nugget on my Facebook wall:

If you've ever cooked gumbo, it's just about the most counter-intuitive thing to anyone who cooks regularly... you cook flour and oil until it looks like brownie batter, and then you cook it just a little longer.

And really, that's what you're doing. They call this process of cooking flour and fat "making a roux." And it's been dubbed "Cajun Napalm" by Paul Prudhomme, because if it gets on your skin, you are going to catch a burn. The stuff will run hot (maybe 350 degrees), so you need to be careful. But it's not something to be afraid of, merely something to pay attention to. Folks take this stuff seriously. Not just for safety, but in how you do it.

Apparently the fat you use matters. Classic French roux calls for butter. Vegetable or oilve oil works, as does a blend of oil and butter. What I've been digging is bacon drippings. Especially since I feel wasteful just throwing out bacon drippings. So I go with bacon drippings, plus some of my homemade chili infused olive oil. Then I add flour. Then you cook it for about 5 minutes longer than you would ever think to cook a roux. The goal is to straddle that line between adding as much flavor (you'll hear the terms earthy, nutty, smoky) to that roux before actually burning the roux. I sort of promised pictures. Here's my picture of my roux.

If I told you that this was dark chocolate ganache, you'd believe me.

Now, as you think about the other elements, of gumbo, you think trinity. Basically, this is the cajun version of mirepoix (carrots, onion, and celery), which differs by adding bell peppers and subtracting carrots. In either case, the point is to use these aromatics to add flavor to your broth. I've never really felt the need to be constrained by a style of cooking, so I use both carrots and bell peppers. When I make soup, I like the idea of cooking some elements separately, so that your seasoning is appropriate. So, as I'm doing my roux, I've also got my veggies going in the pan.

I don't really have a smart-ass comment here. It's friggin' veggies.

I go with a very rough cut on everything. This is country food. No need for perfect dices here. You'll also notice some tomatoes here. The point is to just get everything together. In fact, after the veggies get their sautee on, I actually add the water to the pan to get the cooking started up (since the roux takes so ridiculously long). Also add salt, pepper, some some spices (onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, thyme, cayenne, bay leaves), and a little cheater bullion since I don't have stock on hand.

In any case, start adding the liquid from the cast iron skillet into the pot with the roux. Add a little liquid at a time, and keep stirring. Eventually, the roux loosens up, and starts accepting the liquid. Then the veggies go in. Then you add in some gumbo crabs (basically these small blue crabs that don't have much meat that you add in just for flavor, and then fish out, and maybe gnaw on). Add a little chicken in there. Then, you can start tasting and seasoning. Then add some sliced sausage. Then you taste and season some more. Finally, you add in the fast cooking ingredients. I went with some shrimp and some corn. Then you taste and season some more. And then you're in business. Gumbo is supposed to be this thick, stew. Now, I know that okra is normally a staple (and I like okra, actually), but I don't generally have it on hand. The other option is ground sassafrass (or file, "fee-lay") which is sprinkled on top. I haven't used either. I've been happy with just using the roux to thicken things. Regardless, this stuff is addicting. I'm okay with it over rice, but prefer it straight.

Love this dish. It comes together surprisingly quickly. And it looks like a similar technique will make etouffee, another classic Louisiana dish.

Like I said. I'm definitely eating well. There are some fine restaurants in this town, though not everything's been light's out. But to move from a place like Champaign to a place like NOLA? Wow. Until next time.

-foodgeek

Restaurant Review: This Little Piggy... (Part II): Cochon

I promised you guys a follow-up post to the adventure at The Publican, my trip to The Publican's fraternal twin, Cochon.

For those of you who don't speak French (like me), Cochon means "pig." Despite the name, Cochon isn't quite as "pig-centric" as Publican seemed to be. They're focused on Cajun cooking, which is this hybrid of southern, country cooking with French tradition (note, this is somewhat distinct from Creole, which is apparently Cajun food's city-bred cousin). But they can still throw down with the pig. But the places have some similarities. First, they've got big-time chefs at the inspiration. Publican is one of Paul Kahan's ventures, and is definitely good. Cochon is run by Donald Link, who is the chef at a highly regarded Herbsaint here in NOLA (which I haven't had a chance to check out, yet). Both are James Beard award winners, and both restaurants have gotten national recognition. But more importantly, they both serve darned good food.

And since I had focused on the pork aspects of Publican, I was going to do the same at Cochon.

One thing that I loved was that the first thing that showed up wasn't even on my order. I was sitting at the kitchen bar, which overlooked the wood oven, which was worth the price of admission. And when my starter showed up, it arrived with an order of the terrine (quail and fois gras, if I recall correctly), which was served with some berries and a little salad. Very nice, and good enough to pay for. My actual starter was the boucherie plate, basically a plate filled with cured meats pickles, and some mustard. This wasn't quite the massive plate that we got over at Publican, but it was nice. Some house cured tasso, mortadella, and chorizo, plus some rillettes. The cured meats were all tasty, and the rillettes were awesome. Completely different style than Publican - much creamier, whereas the rillettes at Publican had chunks of meat. This was more like a spread than a meat dish. Both versions were great, though.

I also couldn't resist getting an order of fried pig ears. I have to say, this was a bit of a miss. In Chinese cooking, you'll see braised pig ears served cold (sliced into long strips). You get some of the soft, fatty richness, as well as some crunch from the cartilage. When I saw that they were going to be fried, I figured that you'd get some crispiness on the outside, the richness from the skin/fat, and still some crunch from the cartilage. Somehow, it was only one texture - just the soft. The taste was still nice, but I was hoping for some crunch in there, as well. Oh well. On to the entree.

My entree was the ham hock, which was served with some mashed sweet potatoes, some pickled greens, and a black-eyed pea and ham broth. This is a great, simple dish. Balanced flavors - a little sweet, a little sour, some smoke, some salt, and some earthiness. The ham hock was tender, and the skin and fat added some richness. This was definitely good eating. It's the sort of thing that you can make at home, and probably should from time to time.

I actually decided that I wanted some dessert, and I ordered the pineapple-upside down cake. It was solid, but not game-changing. Cornmeal cake. Nice caramel and pineapple action. It was served with some coconut-lime sorbet, which was also nice. All in all, it was something that I was happy to eat, but I'm not sure if I'd order it again.

In any case, Cochon is a great place to get some legit down-home food. It's not exactly cheap, but it's one of these pay-for-quality deals. And when I'm looking for a high-end choice, this place will definitely be on my radar.

-foodgeek

NOLA Sampler Platter

This is an amazing town for food. There's still a follow-up post that I need to write about Cochon, a restaurant that's similar in spirit to The Publican. But I've run into all sorts of great food down here, including Boucherie, which has some great modern American bistro food (definite write-up), Crabby Jack's, an uber-casual place with great 'po boys and cajun/creole food (definite write-up), and a number of small po' boy places (probably a combo write-up). There are two good sushi places I've been to, Ninja and Sake Cafe, and apparently a couple more worth checking out. And I wandered into Squeal, where I not only got comped a great plate of barbecue, I also got to chat up one of the owners, Patrick, who works for John Besh out here, and got some inside info on places to eat here.

This is 2 weeks in. I think that I can go out to 5 new places a week, and I wouldn't make a dent on the food scene. But that doesn't mean that I'll try. And hopefully, I'll be able to put up some posts that do the food justice. And one more thing. I'm going to try to remember to take photos... I've been remarkably Web 1.0 in my blog ventures. If I can include some pictures, maybe we can become a little more Web 1.5... right in time for everyone else to go Web 3.0, whatever that means.

-foodgeek