The Town Tart

As Promised: Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

And it will be worth the wait!  Yes, I was away for a bit but I have a good excuse:  I was in a faraway land eating and drinking... it took me awhile to get back to normal... re-entry is difficult!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand:  Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.

The Bodyguard told me he loved Bananas Foster, and since we were celebrating Fat Tuesday, New Orleans style, I thought it would be a perfectly appropriate dessert.  He also mentioned that he has never had bread pudding, so I thought, aha!  Let's combine them into one yummitygoodness mess.

Of course, Emeril beat me to it!  I don't really know how people and blogos feel about Emeril, but I am taking a stand to say I am a fan.  This guy knows how to cook and knows how to write recipes.  I never worry when undertaking an Emeril recipe that it will fail.  And his version of this bread pudding is to die for.  Of course, with all of that butter and rum and brown sugar, even one of my Doc Martens would be good after having a long soak in that!

So, without further delay, let's get on to it:

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

Adapted from Emeril's Delmonico by Emeril Lagasse

9 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar [TTT: I always use dark brown sugar -- it's just my preference]
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 firm, ripe bananas, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch thick slices
1/4 cup banana liqueur [TTT: I could only find 99 Bananas. It's about $20, so if you can find the little airplane-serving portion, all the better]
1/2 cup dark rum
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract [TTT:  I also used the contents of one vanilla bean]
Pinch of salt [TTT: You must taste as you go along. Don't be afraid of salt! I probably added about 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher]
6 cups (1/2-inch cubes) day-old French bread [TTT: I bought fresh bread, so I sliced it into 1-inch slabs, placed them on a baking sheet, and stuck in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes to dry them out a bit -- worked perfectly]
Vanilla ice cream
Caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 by 14-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.

Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup of the brown sugar and the cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and cook on both sides, turning, until the bananas start to soften and brown, about 3 minutes. Add the banana liqueur and stir to blend. Turn off the heat. Carefully add the rum and shake the pan back and forth to warm the rum. Again, carefully(!) light the rum with a match or turn the flame back on and tip the pan so the rum fumes ignite. Either way, just be damn careful! Let the flame die, remove from the heat, and set aside to let cool.

Whisk together the eggs, the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar, the cream, the milk, the vanilla (and bean seeds if using) in a large bowl. Add the cooled banana mixture and the cubed bread and stir to blend thoroughly. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake until firm, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes

To serve, scoop the pudding into bowls. Top with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Oh, So THAT'S Why They Call It "Fat Tuesday"

Actually, it's been fat Saturday, Sunday, Monday... sheesh.  This is what I get for trying to be topical in my blogging -- cooking for Mardi Gras.

I feel compelled to celebrate such a worthy occasion, even though I am not Catholic, nor am I a reveler who gets drunk in the streets and flashes my boobs for beads -- because to me it is simply a food holiday, and I like to celebrate those.  National Donut Day?  There.  National Banana Bread Day?  Of course!  (It's February 23 BTW.)

So, come Mardi Gras, I head to my New Orleans-inspired recipes, because that's my favorite food for this holiday.

Up for dinner:  Shrimp Etouffee and Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.  Get yer difiberlators out and charge 'em up.

The Shrimp Etouffee is a glorious thing -- it's rich and spicy (not overly so, just a pleasant heat that lingers like the heating pad I have under my covers to warm my tootsies on cold nights).  And it's pretty quick to come together.

The first step in putting together an Etouffee is to make a roux, which is butter and flour cooked together.  Roux comes in many stages of coloring, from blond to brick, which is achieved by the cooking time.  This recipe calls for a "peanut butter" roux -- which means exactly how it sounds.  Your roux should be cooked until it is the color of peanut butter:

This can happen pretty quickly -- I think mine took all of 15 to 20 minutes to get this color.  You have to watch it carefully and stir often... but it is magic to watch the colors turn!

Once the roux has reached the desired color, it's time to add the "Holy Trinity."  In traditional French cooking, many recipes start off with a base of mire poix, which is diced onion, celery, and carrot.  In Creole cooking, the carrot is replaced with green bell pepper... another food item The Bodyguard isn't fond of... and look at me, gettin' ready to serve him a heaping bowl of it:

Oh well... we have already agreed I am the "dom" in the kitchen, so I do what I want, and hopefully he'll like it.  ;)

So, once the roux is ready, you dump the Holy Trinity in and stir it around in the roux and cook it a little bit.

Don't be afraid of the bottom browning up a bit -- you actually want that because that is where all of the flavor is!  Don't let it burn, but getting it nice and brown is actually a really great thing:

Once you add the remaining ingredients (aside from the shrimp), you won't care that it takes about 45 minutes to simmer because the house will smell so damn good.  It's absolute heaven!

One note:  the original recipe called for making your own shrimp stock, which I would have loved to do, but I didn't have whole shrimp or even shrimp with shells on -- just the tail bit.  So, I cheated and used 2 cups of homemade vegetable stock and two cans of something I have never seen before:  clam stock.  I've seen bottled clam juice, but never this:

It was really good and did the trick.  I would imagine that bottled clam juice would also work in the same proportions.

Do try this recipe -- you won't regret it.  Until Ash Wednesday, anyway.

Shrimp Etouffee
Adapted from New New Orleans Cooking by Emeril Lagasse

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped green pepper
2 cups chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes [TTT: I like the original Ro-Tel]
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons creole seasoning [TTT: I make my own -- see below]
1 quart shrimp stock [TTT: I used 2 cups homemade vegetable stock and 2 cans of the aforementioned clam stock]
2 pounds medium shrimp (21 - 25 count), peeled and deveined if needed
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Steamed white rice
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the flour and stir continuously to make a roux. Stir the roux over medium heat until the color of peanut butter, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic to the roux, and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the pot and season with the bay leaves, salt, cayenne, and 1 tablespoon of Creole seasoning. Cook the tomatoes for 2 to 3 minutes and then whisk in the shrimp stock or whatever liquids you choose.

Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook the etouffee, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Season the shrimp with the remaining tablespoon of Creole seasoning and add them to the pot, stirring to evenly distribute. Cook the shrimp for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Add the chopped parsley to the pot and stir to combine.

Serve immediately over steamed white rice and garnish with sliced green onion tops.

Creole Seasoning:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon allspice

And don't worry: I'll put up the recipe for the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding tomorrow! Can't overdo it in one day, right?!

Gorgeous Leeks

I love leeks.  I don't think there is another food smell that evokes visions of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fall, Spring, Winter... I love it when I open the car trunk after buying them at the store and get hit with that blast of fresh leeks.  Gorgeous.  And then cooking them?  Fughettaboutit!  It's a single word for me:  Comfort.

For The Bodyguard?  Well... we should pity him because he has told me the foods that he doesn't care for (beets, onions) but I seem to keep putting them in front of him and saying "Well, try it.  If you don't like it, no harm, no foul."  It's not very nice of me.  On the other hand, he has yet to say:  "I won't eat this again" and he is constantly surprised by how tasty some things are... so, maybe I'm not such a shrew after all.

Which brings us to that skillet full of leeks up there.  The Bodyguard did not know leeks.  What he did know is that they looked like giant green onions and he knows he does not like green onions, therefore he will likely not like leeks.  uh huh.  Step aside, Bam Bam.  Let the Tart work her majik.

One thing I know he never says "no" to is pig products.  We established earlier that we are a bacon-lovin' household... well, we are really a pork-lovin' joint.  So, to balance out the shock and horror of a skillet full of seemingly genetically-modified-for-giants scallions, I offered pork chops... AND bacon.  See how it works?  Push-pull, push-pull.

Would you say no to this?

He didn't either!  ;)

Pork Chops with Leeks in Mustard Sauce
Adapted from Epicurious.com

4 thick pork chops
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
Olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 3 large)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup créme fraîche or sour cream

Pat chops dry with paper towels. Mix 2 teaspoons coarse salt, thyme, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle seasoning mixture on both sides of chops. Let stand at room temperature 1 to 2 hours or wrap and chill up to 1 day.

Heat heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and sauté until crisp and lightly browned. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to small bowl. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chops to skillet. Sear until brown, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer chops to small baking sheet.

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Add leeks and sauté until soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add brandy, then broth and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Return bacon to skillet; add sage and stir to blend. Nestle chops in leeks in skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer 3 minutes. Turn chops over. Cover; simmer until thermometer inserted into thickest part of chops registers 140°F to 145°F, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chops to platter. Tent loosely with foil to keep warm.

Back in the skillet -- turn up the heat and boil until all liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and then whisk in mustard, then crème fraîche or sour cream (do not boil). Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over chops.