Roux has forever intimidated me. I always burn it then have to resort to the instant roux. But, for a recent New Orleans-themed celebration, I decided it was time to go for the real stuff.

Great news! Roux is not that difficult. No reason to be intimidated. It takes some time…but not as much as I had thought. It takes some attention and stirring, but again, not a big deal. The real secret to roux success is the right kind of cooking vessel. My 8 qt Staub cast iron cocotte (also called a dutch oven or a casserole) made the difference. Cast iron slowly heats and then retains a consistent temperature. That’s the key to great roux. Previously I had used stainless fry pans and, yes had even tried it with non stick (which really doesn’t work). Staub cast iron is my secret to great and easy roux.

So what about the rest of the gumbo-making? For me, fresh ingredients added at the right time are essential. Scallions need to be added just before serving for bright green which contrasts nicely with the rich brown color of the gumbo. I also add okra toward the end to keep it from getting too mushy as well as to help retain its color.

Here’s the gumbo recipe you see in the photos. I compiled it from several different recipes, including one from a friend who’s a New Orleans native and fabulous cook. Oh yes….the New Orleans celebration was a great success…as measured by requests for my gumbo recipe!

The Roux:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
Combine oil and flour over medium heat. Stir slowly and constantly for 15-25 minutes, depending on how deep of a brown color you desire.

The rest of the Gumbo:
1 cup diced onions
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup diced green peppers
3 lbs of boneless chicken meat cut into mouth-sized cubes(I like thigh meat)
2 lbs of andouille sausage, sliced
34 oz chicken stock (home-made or I like low sodium from the supermarket)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp basil
1 cup of chopped parsley (added in ½ cups)
½ lb of sliced okra (frozen is just fine)
2 cups of sliced green onions
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
Cayenne and/or black pepper to taste

1. Stir in onions, celery, green pepper and garlic into roux. Saute for 3-5 minutes until vegetables are wilted.

2. Add chicken and sausage into the mixture above and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

3. Add chicken stock, one large ladle at a time, constantly stirring. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook approximately one hour.

4. Add ½ cup of chopped parsley, the bay leaves and basil.

5. Skim any fat or oil that rises to the top.

6. At this point, I let the partially prepared gumbo cool and then refrigerate it overnight.

7. The next day, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour before you’re planning to serve the gumbo, skim off any additional surface fat.

8. Heat the gumbo over a VERY low heat.

9. When it gets to the serving temperature you like, taste it and add any Louisiana hot sauce or cayenne or black pepper to your taste.

10. Add the okra and cook for approximately 5-10 minutes (time depends on frozen or fresh okra)

11. Just before serving, add sliced green onions and cook for about 2 minutes.

12. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley

Staub Cast Iron Helps Overcome Roux Fears is a post from: MetroKitchen Blog

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2. New All-Clad Karahi Pan

Tying on an apron, turning up my music, and spending time in the kitchen cooking and baking – that’s my idea of a relaxing evening. But after work, I’m hungry, so I like to make dishes that don’t take too long and that don’t require a lot of clean up. My ideal meal can be cooked in one dishwasher safe pot or pan. Recently I discovered a pan that I wish I had found years ago. Known for cooking curry, the All-Clad Karahi pan is versatile and small enough to fit on one burner, as opposed to other bowl-shaped pans that monopolize the stovetop. The handles are well-placed, sitting higher than an average pan, and do not grow hot while the pan is on the stove, making it touchable, holdable, and moveable without potholders or burning fingers. As to the cooking itself, for my first Karahi pan adventure I stir-fried chicken and broccoli (see this quick and easy recipe below). The stir-fry cooked evenly and nothing stuck to the bottom or sides of the pan. Despite its compact design, I cooked a pound-and-a-half of chicken and two large bunches of broccoli in the pan. It looks small but it cooks large. Like my other All Clad pots and pans, the Karahi is dishwasher safe, which I adore.

Now, to make my chicken stir fry I found a recipe I liked online a few years ago and have continually edited it to fit my tastes. I encourage you to do the same. First, whisk together three tablespoons of red vinegar, three tablespoons of soy sauce, a few squeezes of honey (depending on how sweet you like your chicken), two cloves of chopped garlic, and some red pepper flakes.  Then, take a Santoku knife and cut your chicken into thin strips. (This ceramic knife is lightweight and does not require a lot of muscle. It glides through chicken. Plus, it’s socially responsible.) Place half of the liquid in a Ziploc bag, add the chicken, and marinate for 15 minutes. Save the other half of the liquid. Next, wash the vegetables of your choice. Again take your Santoku knife, which is chopalicious, and easily chop your veggies. You are ready to cook. Grab your Karahi pan, turn on the burner, and add a small amount of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the marinated chicken to the pan and breathe in the smell of your Karahi at work. Cook the chicken thoroughly, then remove it from the Karahi and add your veggies. While your veggies are cooking, wash your knife and place it back into your knife block for a color splash. After the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add the chicken back into the All-Clad Karahi. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of room in the pan. Add the reserved liquid, plus some water (a few teaspoons). A minute or two later, your stir-fry is ready to eat. Enjoy your meal, and of course, happy cooking.

New All-Clad Karahi Pan is a post from: MetroKitchen Blog

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I had to get it done fast so I could support my beloved Red Sox. I did it, thanks to Scan Pan’s fry pan and All-Clad’s slow cooker. The Red Sox did too!!

Here’s the story. I am the proud owner of a significant amount of antelope meat (yes, of the home on the plain fame). For those of you, like some co-workers who are totally turned off by game, think of the antelope in this way. They are not fed hormones. They live on the plains (truly). So they’re, if you will, the original organic meat. Anyway, moving past that, I had a hankering for chili, since it dropped below 80 in Atlanta. But my regular chili recipe requires some planning (actually finding fresh chiles etc). So, it was all about what’s in the pantry.

That was:

1 lb of hamburger – I used antelope, but any meat will work

1 lb of chuck, lightly browned and cut into small chunks.

1 can of beans (I used kidney, but prefer black and dried, but alas, none in the pantry and dried would have taken too long)

2 big cans of tomatoes – 1 organic, fire roasted whole tomatoes and 1 organic diced tomatoes

2 medium cans of tomatoes with chiles

4 tbsp of cumin (I love this spice, but I think it’s a love/hate thing for most people)

3 tbsp of chili powder– I used arbol, but go for your favorite chile, varying the amount by your tolerance for heat

1 tbsp of sea salt – adjust based on your salt preference

4 bay leaves (be sure to remove when cooking is complete)

1 tbsp of dried basil and parsley

3 tbsp of sun dried tomatoes

I would also add chopped onion, preferably red, but again, the pantry was sadly lacking

I browned the meat in my Scanpan non-stick fry pan. I really like Scanpan because it doesn’t require any extra fat and, most important, can be put into the dishwasher. I really hate washing pans. I also don’t have to follow the normal non-stick rule of no metal utensils – use what you like for stirring.

Once the meat was browned, I dumped it and all of the other ingredients into the All-Clad slow cooker and turned it on for 8 hours.

In the middle of the night, I was hungry for that yummy smelling chili, so the cats and I headed downstairs to have a small sample. Loved it. Fast and yummy. All in all a great night for the family and the team!

Fast chili in a slow cooker is a post from: MetroKitchen Blog

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I was recently passed the “torch” to try out in my own kitchen. What is the “torch” you ask? Well it’s the new Viking Hand Blender, of course! It actually does resemble Miss Liberty’s “torch”, and it also gives new meaning to the word “freedom” in the kitchen, just as the “torch” exemplifies freedom to Americans. The Viking Hand Blender provides you with the ability to work anywhere in your kitchen, from your stove, to your countertop to your wine bar.

My mission was to create a desert smoothie without having to use a full-size blender, since I was just making a smoothie for two. One of the many great benefits of using the Viking Hand Blender is that it’s just the right size when creating smaller amounts of foods. Yet, at the same time, if you are cooking a butternut squash soup on the stove for a party of 8, the hand blender provides you with the convenience of blending the soup right on the stove in your pot. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and black berries, some crushed ice, mixed with non-fat vanilla yogurt and a dab of Cool Whip, was all it took to create a deliciously, creamy smoothie. The fact that all I had to do was place the ingredients in the 35 ounce mixing cup that came with the blender, and then immerse the blender into the yogurt mixture and lightly touch the speed button (I chose speed 1-the lower speed), and watch the Viking Hand Blender do its magic for literally 2-3 minutes, was amazing. I couldn’t get over how lightweight the actual blender was, and the ergonomic no slip grip provided great stability. Clean up was also a breeze, I chose to hand wash everything with mild soap and water. I never had to worry about bending down, pulling out my blender from the cabinet below and besides, cleaning a full size blender is never fun. Viking’s new Hand Blender is a great tool for the kitchen. You can store it easily or display it on your counter. You can also buy a separate chopper attachment as well. This product would also make a great gift, as it’s a multi-functional kitchen tool at a relatively low price. Create drinks at the bar, soups on the stove, or blend cake batter on your countertop, all with one tool. For more details about the Viking Hand Blender just click here.

Happy Blending!

Happy Blending! is a post from: MetroKitchen Blog

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Fall is here. For some that means its football season, for others it’s a signal to kick start holiday shopping, but for me it means less grilling and more indoor cooking! I’m so excited to start “cooking” all those feel-good, comfort meals again, and my family is ready to move on from turkey burgers, hot dogs and kielbasa, my staples from this past summer

I’ve been looking forward to trying my new Viking 13” fry pan; so I decided over Labor Day Weekend, I would incorporate cooking into our Labor Day holiday bbq. A favorite meal among my family and friends is sausage and peppers. The decision was we would grill the sausage and I would sauté the sausage and peppers. I tweaked my mother-in-law’s recipe, and it seems to be a hit every time. See the Italian Sausage and Peppers Recipe below.

The right tool for sautéing my peppers and onions was my new stainless steel Viking fry pan. Viking has recently risen to the top of my list as one of my favorites brands of cookware. Yes, this is the same Viking brand that creates and manufactures those stunning stainless steel commercial-size ovens. I actually felt like I was a professional chef while using this Viking pan. One word to describe this pan-superior. This pan was very roomy, (measuring at 13 inches), and the extended handle made the pan easy to lift and maneuver. The handle also stayed cool the entire time, even when cooking on high heat, thanks to the stay-cool vented handle. One of the greatest features of this fry pan was how fast and evenly it heated up. The Viking Fry Pan provided plenty of room to sauté enough peppers and onions to serve eight. In less than 15 minutes, the peppers and onions were sautéed and the sausages were grilled to perfection.

Metrokitchen.com now carries Viking cookware and small appliances.

Italian Sausage and Peppers Recipe

2 packages of mild Italian Sausage links

2 red peppers

2 green bell peppers

1 gold pepper

2 Bermuda onions

Italian seasoning

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 cup of sugar

8 hoagie rolls

Heat grill to 400 degrees. Place sausage on grill and grill to desired brownness. In large heated fry pan, pour desired amount of olive oil for sautéing. Chop peppers and onions into desired shape. Place onions and peppers in fry pan on medium heat. Sprinkle desired salt, pepper, and seasoning into pan. Sauté peppers and onions until desired tenderness, remove from heat. In separate sauce pan, mix seasoning, salt, pepper and 2 cans of stewed tomatoes to create sauce. Cook sauce for approx. 15 minutes. This sausage and peppers recipe tastes great on a hoagie roll topped with tomato sauce. The sausage can be served or cut into slices.

Cooking with the Viking 13 inch Fry Pan is a post from: MetroKitchen Blog

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