Tag: new orleans school of cooking

Grillades with Cheese Grits and a Poached Egg

 

 

My favorite part of my recent trip to New Orleans was my cooking lesson at the New Orleans School of Cooking. This was the main dish we made. We used veal but the recipe calls for round steak and I have used chicken upon returning home. The recipe is served on cheese grits and topped with a poached egg; both recipes follow. I don’t usually eat veal and probably will not use it for this recipe moving forward but it was delicious. Use the protein of your choice. Vegetarians could use tofu and vegetable stock. Over the years I have learned that any recipe can be manipulated to your own desire, it will change the flavors but it can still be amazing.

Grillades

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb round steak
  • 1 TBS Joe’s Stuff seasoning (or your own seasoning, see note*)
  • 1/2 cup flour + 2 TBS
  • 2 TBS vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 celery, chopped
  • 1 TBS sliced garlic
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup tomato, chopped
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 TBS sliced green onion
  • hot sauce to taste (optional)
  • additional Joe’s Stuff to taste

Directions:

Pound out round steak to about 1/4 inch thick. Julienne the beef into 1/2 inch thick strips. Combine flour with Joe’s Stuff and dust the pieces of meat in the flour, shake off excess flour. Heat the oil and brown the pieces of meat on each side; remove and set aside. Lower heat and add onion, bell peppers and celery until translucent. Stirring constantly, add the remaining 2 TBS flour and cook on medium heat until flour starts to brown. Add garlic, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, tomato and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add meat. Cook 30-45 minutes until beef is tender. Add hot sauce and seasoning to taste.

Serve over warm grits and garnish with a poached egg and green onions.

Poached Eggs

Ingredients:

  • Water
  • 1 TBS white vinegar
  • 4 large eggs

Directions:

Bring water and vinegar to a boil. Crack eggs gently into a large spoon or ladle and bring the boiling water to a swirl. Lower egg into simmering liquid. You may need to ladle the egg out to test that the whites are down and the yolks are not over cooked.

Tips:

  1. Poach 2 eggs at a time to not overcrowd pot.
  2. Use very fresh eggs at room temperature
  3. Pour a small amount of whites out prior to lowering into pot.

Cheese Grits

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup stone ground grits
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup Romano cheese, grated
  • 1 TBS cream cheese
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Bring water, milk and salt to a boil. Slowly whisk grits into the pot. Reduce to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Before serving, add Romano cheese and cream cheese. Stir until melted.

*Link to buy Joe’s Stuff seasoning:

http://store.nosoc.com/joes-stuff-4-5-oz/

You can make your own with salt, dehydrated garlic, paprika and dehydrated onion. I am sure they put some type of secret ingredient in there that I can’t give you.

 

Roasted Sweet Potato Tasso Bisque

I love Cajun and Creole food. I went to New Orleans for the second time and this time I had the opportunity to take my first cooking class. I took a hands-on class at the New Orleans School of Cooking and it was amazing. I really enjoyed learning about the cuisine of NOLA and meeting my 9 new friends. Chef Matt was an amazing teacher with a great personality. My favorite dish that we made was the bisque; so spicy, creamy and delicious. We used an immersion blender to puree. If you don’t have one of those you could use a food processor or blender in its place.

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sweet potato
  • 1 TBS unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup onions, diced
  • 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
  • 1/4 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 TBS garlic, minced
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup tasso (if your grocer doesn’t carry this you can use bacon or prosciutto in its place)
  • 1/4 cup green onions, sliced thinly
  • 1 TBS Joe’s Stuff seasoning (I have the link to order down below, but you can use a combination of salt, garlic salt, paprika and onion powder in its place)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and cook sweet potato for 45 minutes or until tender, remove from oven and let cool (poke holes in the potato prior to cooking and beware that it will leak all over your oven, so place it on a pan).

In a heavy bottom pot, heat butter and brown tasso on all sides at medium-high. Remove half from pot and set aside for garnish.

Reduce heat to medium and add onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic; saute until soft. De-glaze with stock, scraping the bits of the bottom of the pot. Add Joe’s stuff or your own seasonings and allow to simmer.

After sweet potato has cooled, split it in half and scoop flesh out with a spoon. Add potato to simmering liquid. Using the immersion blender, puree the contents of the pot until smooth.

Add heavy cream and return to pot to simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Garnish with tasso and green onions.

Here is where you can purchase the special creole seasoning:

Joe's Stuff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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