As Seen on TV! Chef Bill's Cajun Frittata

As seen on FOX this week, here’s Chef Bill’s Cajun Frittata recipe.  Serves 4-6 people, depending on how hungry you are!

 

Ingredients

• 2 andouille sausages thinly sliced
• 1 stick of celery finely chopped
• 1 small onion finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, sliced finely
• 6 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian flat parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black papper
• 1/2 tsp of hot sauce (if liked) or a sprinkling of Beck’s Devil Dust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in an overproof frypan. Add the andouille and fry until lightly browned. Add peppers, onion and celery and cook until softened. Take pan off stove.
3. Whisk eggs. Add pepper, hot sauce (if desired) and any other flavorings.
4. Pour this mixture over andouille/peppers.
5. Return pan to stove and cook egg mixture until the bottom is firm, but the top is not yet set.
6. Place the frypan/skillet in the oven and cook until the frittata is set and is turning brown.  
7. Remove from oven, serve and enjoy.

Try the frittata with a spoonful of Beck’s BBQ Onion Relish…smokin’

Soups of the South

Seeking soups of the south gave me a chance to tap two of my favorite cooking men:  my husband Matt, who hails from Arkansas; and Chef Bill Beck, who was raised in New York, but food-wise he's all New Orleans.

Matt's latest specialty is black-eyed pea soup.  He starts with a meaty ham hock, chops a large onion, a few stalks of celery and carrots, 3 or 4 crushed garlic cloves, a teaspoon of chili powder and salt, and tosses the lot into a big pot with a pound of rinsed black eyed peas.  Or navy beans.  Or whatever beans you have on hand.  He covers the mess with water and simmers for about 3 hours.  Then he pulls the ham off the bone into bite sized bits, tosses it back into the soup, and is ready to enjoy.  [Alternatively, skip the ham hock, buy a 1 lb picnic ham,  cut it into cubes, and add them to the pot--saves the work of picking the bones.]

He recently visited his elderly parents for a few days on the Chilly New England Coast, and while there filled their freezer with a vats of homemade soup--chicken, simmering in the picture above, and black eyed pea.  Clearly he's a keeper.


And no discussion of southern soups would be complete without a mention of Gumbo.  Strictly speaking, Cajun is different from southern, but geographically it's nearby, and since Chef Bill Beck of Beck's Cajun Cafe is a rising star on the Philly Food Scene he warrants some airtime.

Chef Bill Beck with a vat of gumbo.

Chef Beck will be competing in the Reading Terminal Cook-off on February 25 at the Valentine to the Market Gala, but he was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to chat soups with us.  "Gumbo is the quintessential Cajun dish.  The key is a good roux.  You really have to brown the butter and flour mixture thoroughly, constantly stirring for a good while to avoid burning.  The roux forms the base flavor as well as the thickener for the gumbo. "  In addition to gumbo, Bill was kind enough to share his famous oyster stew.  This recipe is a New Orleans version of a dish that is commonly served in coastal areas all over the US.  Bill's rendition would typically be served as a first course for a holiday dinner in New Orleans. 

And finally, we're dying to try this Cope's Corn and Shrimp Chowder, which appeared in the late, lamented Gourmet Magazine's "What is Southern?" issue from January 2008--the only one I saved from my vast subscription.  The chowder is definitely on our agenda soon.  We'll be sure to report the results.

Mudbugs for Dinner?

Crawfish, also known as "Crayfish", or by the fond (but seriously unappetizing) nickname "Mudbugs" are beginning to crop up on menus everywhere.  These lobster-like crustaceans are found in brackish water and streams where they bury deep into the mud, especially in the colder weather.  Think twice before trying to eat them immediately after catching them as they'll likely have a pretty muddy taste -- reflecting their natural habitat.  So says Bill Beck, chef and owner of Beck's Cajun Cafe at Reading Terminal Market: "It takes about two week's of them living in clean water for that taste to go," he explains.

Bill uses crawfish in his New Orleans inspired menu at the Market, preferring to import them directly from the South.  If you're interested in cooking with these beasties, then he suggests buying medium to large crawfish.  "In terms of the meat to shell ratio and the increasing toughness of the meat, you're better off avoiding the extra large ones".

One of the hot favorites at Beck's Cajun Cafe at the moment is Bill's Shrimp Crawfish Jambalaya. 

In Bill's version he adds potatoes, andouille sausage, corn and lastly the shrimp and crawfish.  "It's all in the timing," Bill advises, "timing is everything, you need to stagger cook everything -- starting with the potatoes."

We wouldn't expect Bill to divulge his recipe in full, so we found this one for you, Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya  on http://www.foodista.com/, which comes close to the mark.  Frozen crawfish tails are readily available from the seafood merchants at the market. 

Mudbugs come as cooked and flavored tails, or as tail meat.  "Best to buy frozen now, as they don't travel well;  they have no longevity out of the water", says Bill.

Everything - including this Louisiana etouffee - is always served with a smile at Beck's.  Whilst there this month, we got to sample the banana bread pudding with whiskey sauce, a soon-to-be released creole mayonnaise and snapper soup. 


Laissez les bons temps roulez!