Category: My Family

Without a family, one seldom thinks long term

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fee fi fo Seafood GUMBO!

A little Seafood Gumbo for later! (CLICK picture for recipe)

It takes me a few days to make my seafood gumbo… but then, I have to ‘taste it’ as we go along so it isn’t really a problem for me!

I am reminded that some home cooks complain about wonderful old cookbooks like the Epicurean because a recipe may be for 24… and not for 2!   However, I really don’t see the problem? If you make a lot of Seafood Gumbo and you are ‘forced’ to freeze the leftovers… oh darn!

In any event, when I talk about seafood gumbo, I am talking about the use of : diced clams, crab, lobster ( if you can get a bunch cheap) and little shrimp! After making a nice saffron rice ( Bomba is my favorite), place larger cooked pieces of crab and shrimp on top of the rice then pour over it your Gumbo mixture! Sublime!

If you make it, make it for someone you love!

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it’s hot & miserable outside, so it is time for GUMBO!

seafood gumbo
Seafood... just for the sauce! CLICK on the picture for my 'hidden recipe' file!

I get asked questions like: How much seafood do you put into your gumbo? The answer is… it depends. I use chopped crab, tiny shrimps, and diced clams in the sauce. I use larger pieces of shrimp and crab when I am assembling the gumbo at the end. The reason is simple, when you cook seafood together it tends to blend into a harmonious wonderment… but you do want your friends to be reminded of what is in it, so you naturally add some larger cooked pieces into the sauce prior to serving.

the liquid ingredients blending together along with the okra! Remember, at least in my mind, you can never have too much okra! 😉 I will reduce this mixture a bit, as well.

Most of our spices don’t give up their flavorings easily and it is nice to have your first  taste of gumbo have all of the original spices up front. For this reason, I add my various spices to my wine, stock, and clam juice cocktail and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days… a spoonful of this and… ZOW-WEE!

Tomorrow, I make the rouge and begin putting this all together.

Bon appetite!

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remembering Australia

New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania... oh my!

Casanova toward the end of his life wrote that all he had to comfort himself was his memories. I do agree that happy expreiences and fond memories can be a comfort in anyone’s life. I am reminded on how we took some time and traveled to the South Seas, Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti and some other very special places with our young family.

Share your travel with your family and open a world to them.

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Baklava Cheesecake is extraordinary

My daughter Karen and her friend Monica were invited to a mutual friends home for Easter and they wanted to bring something extraordinary… something a man would like…. who — unfortunately — couldn’t enjoy chocolate. Karen thought it would be fun to combine her two favorite desserts: Baklava and Cheesecake!

It sounded a bit over-the-top to me, but the more I think about it, the more I think it sounds insanely interesting and delicious… it makes me wonder how I might make one?

Congratulations Monika and Karen for daring to try something fun, wonderful and from what I hear… it was a BIG hit!

Roger

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Happy Easter!

I think it is no secret that our daughter Karla has made many of the wonderful drawings that appear on our various blogs in our family… they are always charming and wonderful!

Today is a day of remembrance, celebration, dying eggs and munching a few chocolate bunnies!

Happy Easter to all.

 

Roger