Most people have at least one thing they cook really well (Many have lots more) and I thought interested members could share one or more recipes. I'll take my favorite: Chicken/sausage gumbo. 1/ Use chicken broth in the can (1/3 part chicken broth to 2/3 water). It's a little salty so be careful how much salt you add. 2/ I like to make my gumbo pretty thick- at a minimum, you should not be able to see bottom of the spoon you sample with but I like it quite a bit thicker than that. 3/ Don't put the sausage until 8-10 minutes before you turn off the heat- the sausage won't be saturated with water and holds flavor better. 4/ Make it the day before you want to serve it to guests, put it in the refrigerator and it will be better when you reheat it. I don't know if it's some kind of fermentation that takes place or what but you'll notice a difference. You can also take out most of the grease because it becomes semi-solid and will be at the top like a small layer of ice on a bucket of water in the yard after a mild freeze.
I'll share one more that people won't believe but if you try it I promise you'll love it. When you make a pork stew, instead of putting white potatoes, put sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoe absorbs a lot of the stew taste.It's not overpowering at all and is a very smooth minimally sweet taste. When I was coaching an 8 yr. old team we had a late game in Gonzales one year and got one of our parents to cook a stew at the park so we could feed the kids right after the game and get them to bed as soon as we'd return to the hotel. The parent cooking it wanted me to taste it and I didn't want to but he was so drunk he was very persistent so I did and now I never make a stew without them.
Less is more on steaks. I just put soy sauce, a small bit of meat tenderizer, garlic powder, and fresh cracked pepper on them. I let it set up for a couple of hours in the fridge, and thrown them on the HOT Weber. Five minutes a side, and they're perfect. Nothing fancy to get in the way of the taste of the beef.
I've found that to be a real good prep method too. I don't season mine too far ahead of time either........I used to marinade them overnight but have found the salt to pull too much moisture from the meat. I've found that the grill, skillet, or whatever they'll be cooked on, needs to be HOT because it's important to seal the cut when it's put on, and cook it fast so it stays tender. I have finally learned to eat them with just a LITTLE blood and I find the less they are cooked (Rare, Medium well, Well) the better they are cause they don't get tough.
For you garlic lovers, try making your own roasted garlic butter. Not that hard to do and keeps well in the frig for weeks. Roasting garlic gives it a sweeter and milder taste. It's great on steaks, poultry, seafood, bread and anything else you can think of. Cut a head of garlic in half, lengthwise. Place on aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Tightly wrap and put in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until golden and caramelized. Let cool. Squeeze the garlic out in put into food processor. Add 2 sticks of unsalted butter (room temperature) and blend well. Store in a plastic container in the frig. You can also experiment with different herbs and spices ... basil, oregano, cumin, etc. I added some poultry seasoning and used this on my xmas turkey by spreading it under the skin. Kept the bird moist without having to inject the turkey and produced a great garlic flavor.
Real Texas Red Chilli, which means no beans and no tomatoes. Just diced beef, cumin, ground red chillis, diced onions, beef broth, a little garlic and mesa flour. Cook for a long time until the beef falls apart and the gravy is thick. I serve it over hash brown potatoes. good stuff.
My fav too, can you post the complete recipe? I'll suppose you use roux from a jar since you use canned broth. I like it dark.
Remove plastic from the container and heat for 2 minutes. Let set stand for 1 minute. Warning the container and contents may be hot. Cook times are based on a 1000-watt microwave.
I do use roux from a jar cause my grandmother used to stink up the kitchen making he own and I never found a difference in the taste. What part of the recipe do you need in addition to what I posted?? I don't measure water and all that, just depends on how many people I'm feeding and how much juice I need. I also put white onions and I don't add my green onions (Onion tops, chives, whatever you like to call 'em) until I add my sausage at the end.
