2 for tea

I'm trying to make up for the first few days of the new year that i didn't do a new recipe, so you get two today. i made some bunuelos for the girls to have snacks when they got home from school. i found this recipe in The Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes From Famous Eating Places. the recipe itself is from a place in California called the Padua Hills Restaurant.
Bunuelos

4 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/4 c melted butter
3 c sifted flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
oil for deep frying
sugar
cinnamon

Beat eggs; add milk and melted butter. sift dry ingredients into this to make a soft dough easily handled without sticking. make into walnut-sized balls; roll on slightly floured board into a large circle like a tortilla or very thin pancake. fry in deep fat until golden brown. drain and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.




i made shrimp etouffee for dinner. it was so much better than yummy. the recipe came out of the chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook.

i thought the ingredients alone sure looked pretty.

crawfish (or shrimp) etouffee

seasoning mix:
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 c chopped onions
1/4 c chopped celery
1/4 c chopped bell peppers
7 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 c all-purpose flour
3 c, in all, seafood stock
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, in all
2 lbs peeled crawfish tails or medium shrimp
1 c very finely chopped green onions
4 c hot cooked rice

thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. in a separate bowl combine he onions, celery and bell peppers.
in a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over high heat until it begins to smoke, about 4 minutes. with a long handled metal whisk, gradually mix in the flour, stirring until smooth. continue cooking, whisking constantly, until roux is dark red-brown, about 3 - 5 minutes (be careful not to let it scorch in the pan or splash on your skin). remove from heat and immediately stir in the vegetables and 1 Tbsp of the seasoning mix with a wooden spoon; continue stirring until cooled, about 5 minutes.
in a 2-quart saucepan bring 2 cups of the stock to a boil over high heat. gradually add the roux and whisk until thoroughly dissolved. reduce heat to low and cook until flour taste is gone, about 2 minutes, whisking almost constantly (if any of the mixture scorches, don't continue to scrape that part of the pan bottom). remove from heat and set aside.
heat the serving plates in a 250 degree oven.
in a 4-quart saucepan melt 1 stick of the butter over medium heat. stir in the crawfish (or shrimp) and the green onions; saute about 1 minute, stirring constantly. add the remaining stick of butter, the stock mixture and the remaining cup of stock; cook until butter melts and is mixed into the sauce, about 4 to minutes, constantly shaking the pan in a back-and-forth motion (versus stirring). add the remaining seasoning mix; stir well and remove from heat (if sauce starts separating, add about 2 tablespoons more of stock or water and shake pan until it combines). serve immediately over rice.




both of the items were well received. the hubby thought the etouffee needed more spice so he added Tabasco to his. it was absolutely delicious. i have included an extra picture of the wee finches holding a cookbook.

aren't they the sweetest things you've ever seen. her heiness is showing off some bubble bath that she got. let me know what you think or if you have questions. until tomorrow happy cooking.