Akin Family Giblet Gravy

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To round out the Akin Family Christmas trilogy, we now have the quintessentially Southern giblet gravy. I know words like “gizzard” and “turkey neck” turn some people off, but for real Southerners, they just mean flavor.

This is my Aunt Sylvia’s gravy recipe, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to turkey or oyster dressing. And it’s actually pretty darn good over everything, but people look at you funny if you cover your whole plate in it, so consider yourself warned.

turkey neck, liver, and gizzard
1 boiled egg, chopped
chicken stock
1 large spoonful of dressing
cornstarch

1. Boil turkey neck, liver and gizzard in chicken stock. Chop.
2. Add one large spoonful of dressing and the egg and stir until mixed.
3. Thicken with cornstarch to desired consistency.

Akin Family Oyster Dressing ~ Groundhog’s Day 2K12

So despite my moral dilemma of yesterday, I’ve decided to go ahead and pull this one out of The Vault. (As it turns out, my threshold for withholding secret recipes is quite shallow, which is probably to be expected from a person who has a blog about recipes on the Interwebs.)

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Anyway, perhaps the groundhog will take a page from my book – you know, bringing things to light and such – and ignore his stupid shadow so we can get on with Real Spring instead of this faux Fall we’ve been having.

Annnnnd, rambling is now over. As I mentioned previously, this recipe has been a long time coming. My cousin Melissia had to watch my Aunt Sylvia make it three times to come up with the recipe because it had never even been written down. So it’s old school traditional is what I’m saying.

I’m also saying it is delectable, so even if you have to tinker with it a little bit to get it right, your efforts will be rewarded.

1 pan cornbread
4-6 biscuits
3-4 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 raw eggs
2-3 boiled eggs, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 can oysters
1 tsp+ poultry seasoning
1 tsp+ sage
salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook celery and onion in broth until tender.
3. Crumble breads and mix all ingredients together. Taste and season accordingly. (This is where the extra sage or poultry seasoning comes in.)
4. Pour into 9×13 pan.
5. Bake for at least 40 minutes (longer if all of the excess moisture hasn’t evaporated).

Crawfish Cornbread Stuffing

So I probably should have posted these recipes last week before Thanksgiving, but I forgot and I wanted to test them out twice to get all kinks out of the way.  I was lucky to have two Thanksgivings this year, a “friendsgiving” down in NOLA (which was way better then my family Thanksgiving) and family Thanksgiving.  I still never want to eat again.   Below is an amazing crawfish stuffing that Chef John’s family has requested a double batch of for next year.  Perhaps you can save in your Thanksgiving recipe file for next year or break it out for the December holidays!  Chef’s note: make sure to use dry corn bread so it soaks up all the sauce. – ts

Chef John Says: Everyone knows that the best part of Thanksgiving is the stuffing. I usually dedicate about 3/4 of my plate to it. My family always has a traditional stuffing/dressing but this past Sunday we had a pre-Thanksgiving feast at our friend’s house in New Orleans and it was decided that we should make a more NOLA-style dressing. Tanya came across this beauty: Besh’s Crawfish Corn Bread Dressing. Like ALL of Besh’s recipes, this is very easy and delicious.
You can make the corn bread ahead or use leftover corn bread. In fact, the dressing may be prepared a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator until an hour before serving. I used more andouille, hot sausage, and garlic than it calls for… obviously. This recipe makes 8–10 cups, more than enough to stuff a turkey, but at our Thanksgiving we stuff our bird separately and serve dressings like this alongside. Serves 10

4 tablespoons rendered bacon fat (I used a couple tablespoons of butter instead)
¼ pound andouille sausage, diced
¼ pound hot pork sausage meat, removed from casing
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups peeled crawfish tails, chopped (you can usually find a package of frozen tails)
2 green onions, chopped
1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Leaves from 1 sprig fresh thyme
2 tablespoons Basic Creole Spices
6 cups crumbled Basic Corn Bread
2 cups Basic Chicken Stock
½ cup heavy cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the bacon fat, andouille, and pork sausage into a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the pork with the back of a wooden spoon.
2. When the pork sausage meat has browned, add the onions, celery, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the crawfish and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the sausage and crawfish and stir together until well combined. Spoon the dressing into a large heatproof dish.
4. At this point, the dressing may be covered and refrigerated (for up to 1 day) until you are ready to bake it. Bake the dressing in a preheated 350° oven until it is piping hot and golden brown, 15–30 minutes.

Lemon Sesame Vinaigrette

It’s Monday, and due to the fact that I spent the better part of my Sunday sitting in traffic on I-40, all I want to do today is watch Netflix and play on Facebook as I normally would on Sunday. Unfortunately I have this stupid job thingy that’s totally ruining my plans.

So I’m giving my brain a break and posting something simple and fresh that I wish I’d had for lunch instead of the cold chicken fingers I actually ate. The Chef served this vinaigrette over roasted shrooms and carrots, and I must say between this and the baby carrot recipe, he’s actively proving that they aren’t just lame ranch-covered OM-related snacks from my childhood.

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 sesame oil
1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of toasted sesame seeds

1. Whisk together.
2. Dress your veggies.
3. Intake.

The Chef says this also works well as a marinade for lamb or beef. I cannot, however, vouch for lamb yet as that is one of the foods he has yet to make for me in an attempt to prove that it doesn’t, in fact, taste like dirt and barnyard like I think it does. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

Seared Scallops with Mango Vinaigrette

So as it turns out, mangoes are kind of amazing. As in you know you like them but you’re not sure how much until they’re all dressed up in their killa heels and slinky black dress.

And I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but combining mangoes with the fresh scallops from Paradise Seafood is simply and surprisingly blissful. I don’t know how, but all of their seafood that tastes like tiny sweet little lobsters. You put a perfect sear on one and hit it with this vinaigrette and you are dunzo.

Mango Vinaigrette:
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and rough chopped
1 lime, juice and zest
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon, fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon honey
salt to taste
1/2 cup of olive oil

1. Place all ingredients except oil, 1 mango in a blender or food processor.
2. Slowly add oil. Once blended, you are good to go.
3. Toss the chopped avocado and mango together and reserve to top scallops with.

Seared Scallops:

1. Heat a non stick skillet on high heat.
2. Dry off moisture from scallops. The Chef places them in between 2 paper towels.  Usually on Bonnie’s counter instead of a plate like a normal person, but it’s your life. Do what you need to do.
3. Salt and pepper scallops. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of butter to the skillet.
4. Add scallops to the pan and be sure not to mess with them or they will stick. Patience, my dear.
5. Sear 2 minutes on each side for medium rare.  “Cook longer for you and Bonnie,” says The Chef. Yes, I will eat meat that is still mooing, but for seafood I prefer it well done.
6. Top scallops with mango vinaigrette and serve with mixed greens. Refreshing and tangy. Nothing better.

Roasted Veggie Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This is by far my favorite salad The Chef has made to date. And not just because I got to eat it while watching The. Most. Shocking. Bachelor. Finale. EVER. (Which it wasn’t even – I mean, Brad picked Emily. That girl was so good-looking even I was in love with her, and I usually only go for Latinas. Sup Eva Mendes.)

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But I digress. Whenever you give me roasted mushrooms and tomatoes of any kind, I am happy, and the combination of both with the crunchy walnuts was fantastic. The Chef says the tangy vinaigrette is also great as a sauce on chicken or fish. I just thought it would be highly drinkable… if you’re into that sort of thing.

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Lemon Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1/2 shallot, minced
zest of one lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a mixing bowl, add everything except oil and combine.
2. Slowly add oil to emulsify.

Roasted Veggie Salad:
1 pound portabella mushrooms, sliced
arugula, half of a container
6 *yellow tomatoes, quartered
crumbled goat cheese, a few “sprinkles” (We’re very technical here.)
walnuts, chopped, a few “handfuls”
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Toss mushrooms and tomatoes in oil, salt and pepper. Lay out on sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes. (The Chef likes to serve these veggies at room temp, and I agree.)
3. Toss arugula with dressing and top with veggies, goat cheese, and walnuts.

*You can obviously use red tomatoes if necessary, but these are prettier and have a great flavor, so try to snag some if you can.
**Also fairly obvious is the fact that this picture is not of the same version of the salad written above. Mainly because I was too involved in finding out whether or not Chantal was gonna wig out and deck Brad when he basically denied ever liking her on “After the Final Rose” (She didn’t – LAME.), and I forgot to take a photo. The Chef says he makes this a lot, though, so we”ll replace this one shortly.

Benihana Salad Dressing

Another much-appreciated recipe from the Hutchison cookbook. I haven’t been able to make this yet due to the seeming impossibility of finding soybean oil, but I’m betting The Pet Store will be just the place to score it. Now if someone could just find me their mustard and ginger sauce recipes, my 12-year-old Benihana dreams would be realized.

1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup soybean oil
4 tbsp chopped onion
4 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Cover and refrigerate. This recipe is best made 2 days in advance.

Quail on Sage Cornbread Dressing

Another one of The Chef’s creations that was so good it forced sweet Bonnie to eat a tiny, adorable bird. It’s so good I’m not even angry that Bonnie, Barrett and JR spend the first 2 hours of the night letting me talk about how impressed I was with JR for shooting all of the quail only to learn one of Dr. Brantley’s patients gave them to us. Don’t let their faces fool you: The Brantley-Grosshans crew can b.s. with the best of them.

Here is the original recipe, but I’d stick with this version which uses two links of chopped andouille, a tweak by The Chef. Because that’s how he do.

Quail
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 farm raised jumbo quail (6 oz size)
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Fresh sage sprigs (optional)

Dressing
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium size onion
1 cup sliced celery
2 links andouille, chopped
6 cups day-old cornbread cubes
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage OR 2 teaspoons crumbled dried sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. To prepare sage cornbread dressing: In a large skillet, melt butter or margarine. Add chopped onion, sliced celery, and andouille. Saute vegetables until tender. remove from heat; stir in cornbread cubes, chicken broth, sage leaves, and black pepper. Toss in beaten egg, and parsley leaves.
3. Spoon dressing into greased, shallow, oval 2-quart or 13×9 inch baking dish. Spread dressing to cover bottom and sides of baking dish. Cover dish loosely with aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add quail and brown on all sides. Transfer browned quail to center of baking dish over dressing. Set aside skillet.
5. Bake quail and dressing uncovered, 15 minutes or just until juices in the thighs run clear when pierced with a fork. In same skillet, saute mushrooms in pan drippings over medium heat. stir in flour until well mixed. Sir in broth, wine, and pepper; cook until thickened and bubbly. Pour into serving bowl to serve with quail. To serve, garnish quail with sage sprigs, if desired.

This is great served with brussel sprouts, so check out that simple recipe here.