It's Sweet Loretta's Birthday! Time For Crawfish Diablo!!

Hoo Hah!

Tomorrow (June 3) is my Sweet Loretta's Birthday!

My diablo sauce is probably her all time favorite thing I make so...

The Clock On The Wall sez...

it's time to cook up a batch of Crawfish Diablo!

Step 1. Make some of that Diablo Sauce:

Ingredients:

4 cups Beef Stock

Note: For my stock recipe, go HERE

2 Beef Bouillion cubes

1/2 cup canned sliced Jalapeno Peppers with their liquid

1/4 cup Gravy Master

1/4 lb unsalted Butter

1/4 cup White Flour

Cooking Procedure:

In a saucepan, combine the following...

beef stock, bouillion cubes, canned jalapeno peppers & the gravy master

Bring this to a boil

Stir well, reduce heat to low

Let this saucepan mixture simmer while you make a quick roux:

In a small skillet, melt the butter over high heat

Sift in the flour while stirring vigorously

Reduce heat to low

Cook the roux for 3 minutes while stirring

Add a 1/4 cup of the warm saucepan liquid to the roux

Stir well

Add teaspoons of the roux to the saucepan liquid...

whisking well after each addition

Let the diablo sauce cook down over low heat until it thickens

Keep the sauce warm while we bring home the rest of the dish

Step 2: Make a batch of Crawfish Diablo:

Ingredients:

1 TBS unsalted Butter

2 TBS Celery, chopped small

1/4 cup Spanish Onion, chopped small

2 large Plum Tomatoes, chopped coarse

1 1/2 lb Crawfish Tails

2 TBS Marsala wine

2 cups warm Diablo Sauce

Baked Rice

Note: For my baked rice recipe, go HERE

Dry Spice Mix:

1/2 tsp Basil

1/4 tsp Thyme

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

Cooking Procedure:

In a large skillet, melt the butter over high heat

Add the celery, onions & dry spice mix

Cook until the onions begin to soften & turn clear

Add the chopped tomatoes & crawfish tails

Stir well & let this cook for 2 minutes

Drzzle in the wine

Stir well & cook for 2 mintes more

Reduce heat to low

Add your warm Diablo Sauce

Stir well

Let this simmer for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally

To serve:

Spoon portions of the crawfish diablo over mounds of baked rice

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO

SWEET LORETTA!

American Food Writing

If you enjoy historical info on food then here's a great book to add to your summer reading list--- American Food Writing: An Anthology With Classic Recipes edited by Molly O'Neill (Library of America / March 2007). This book is a comprehensive collection of essays, anecdotes and recipes that chronicles three centuries of American food writing.

O'Neill was the perfect choice for editor of such a project as this. I've been an avid reader of her food column in the New York Times Sunday Magazine for years. As a writer, she's always been clear and concise in her approach to the subject of food. In fact, one of my favorite cookbooks is one of her efforts, 1992's The New York Cookbook which did a bang-up job of bringing the diverse ethinic elements of New York food to life.

The first sections of the book feature some fascinating entries by the likes of Thomas Jefferson (perhaps the first American gourmand?), Merriweather Lewis (detailing food eaten on the Lewis Clark expedition), Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. While the writings are of historical interest, they are not stuffy as they succeed in bringing the reader a fresh perspective on what Americans used to eat in the past.

In addition to the various articles on food, American Food Writing also features recipes which reflect the era in which they were created; many of them act as touchstones which illustrate the evolution of American food. O'Neill's use of recipes from over the years is brilliant in the fact that it underscores the true nature of our food traditions; one way each of us preserves our family history is by passing down recipes from generation to generation.

Some of my favorite pieces in the book were ones that contained a humorous take on the American food experience: "The Food Establishment: Life In the Land of the Rising Souffle (Or Is It the Rising Meringue?)" (Nora Ephron), "Francs and Beans" (Russell Baker), "from Manifold Destiny" (Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller), "Where Is the Grease of Yesteryear?" (Daniel Pinkwater) and "from Kitchen Confidential" (Anthony Bourdain). Even if you're not a "foodie", you'll probably find these pieces laugh out loud funny.

One of the best things about an anthology such as this, is that you can skip around the book and enjoy its various delights without having to follow a long plot line of any sort; this is what makes American Food Writing a perfect book to read out on the beach or at any other place you choose in which to recline and enjoy the pleasures of the summer season. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another book to read (and another Meatball Parm hero to eat).

You can find this book in the Essential Reading Section at....

The Chef From Hell Cookbook Store

The Chef From Hell USA Restaurant Guide

  Looking for a good meal?

Be sure to bookmark this particular blog post!

If you have a favorite USA restaurantthat's not listed here...

drop me a line at chefjphell@gmail.com

or leave a comment at the bottom of this here post, eh?

The criteria for making my USA Restaurant Guide :

1) Good, simple food

2) Non-chain eateries (no more than 3 locations)

3) Emphasis on regional food

~ MOST RECENT ADDITONS TO THIS GUIDE ~

Andy Nelson's BBQ (Cockeysville, MD)

Arthur's Tavern (Hoboken, NJ)

~ ARIZONA ~

Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe (Phoenix, AZ)

~ CALIFORNIA ~

Duarte's Tavern (Pescadero, CA)

Musso & Frank Grill (Los Angeles, CA)

Pink'a Famous Chili Dogs (Los Angeles, CA)

Sam's Grill (San Francisco, CA)

~ CONNECTICUT ~

Westfair Fish & Chips (Westport, CT)

~ DELAWARE ~

Helen's Famous Sausage House (Smyrna, DE)

~ DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ~

Ben's Chili Bowl (Washington, DC)

 Florida Avenue Grill (Washington, DC) 

~ FLORIA ~

 Bon Ton Mini Mart (Henderson, KY)

Lynn's Paradise Cafe (Louisville, KY)

Moonlite Bar-B-Q (Owensboro, KY)


~ IOWA ~

Miles Inn (Sioux City, IA)

~ LOUISIANA ~

Acme Oyster House (New Orleans, LA)

Bozo's (Metarie, LA)

Brigtsen's (New Orleans, LA)

Coop's Place (New Orleans, LA)

Domilise's Po-Boys (New Orleans, LA)

Galatoire's (New Orleans, LA)

Jacques-Imo's (New Orleans, LA)

Mother's (New Orleans, LA)

Mr. B's Bistro (New Orleans, LA)

Napoleon House (New Orleans, LA) 

Prejean's (Lafayette, LA)

R & O's (Metarie, LA)

Walker's Southern BBQ (New Orleans, LA)

~ MAINE ~

Becky's Diner (Portland, ME)

Big G's Deli (Winslow, ME)

Cole Farms (Gray, ME)

Moody's Diner (Waldoboro, ME)

~ MARYLAND ~

Andy Nelson's BBQ (Cockeysville, MD)

Buddy's (Annapolis, MD)

Obrycki's Crab House (Baltimore, MD)

The Crab Claw (St. Michaels, MD)

~ MASSACHUSSETTS ~

All Star Sandwich Shop (Cambridge, MA)

The Old Mill (Westminster, MA)

The Clam Box (Ipswich, MA)

~ MICHIGAN ~

Dobber's Pasties (Menominee, MI)

Zingerman's Roadhouse (Ann Arbor, MI)

~ MISSISSIPPI ~

Crystal Grill (Greenwood, MS)

Dinner Bell (McComb, MS)

Doe's Eat Place (Greenville, MS)

Hick's Tamales & BBQ Shop (Clarksdale, MS)

Lusco's (Greenwood, MS)

~ MISSOURI ~

Jesse & Jim's Steakhouse (Kansas City, MO)

~ MONTANA ~

Porkchop John's (Butte, MT)

~ NEBRASKA ~

Bohemian Cafe (Omaha, NE)

~ NEVADA ~

M & M Soul Food Cafe (Las Vegas, NV)

~ NEW JERSEY ~

Arthur's Tavern (Hoboken, NJ)

Rutt's Hut (Clifton, NJ)

~ NEW MEXICO ~

The Shed (Santa Fe, NM)

~ NEW YORK ~

All American Drive-In (Massapequa, NY)

Anchor Bar (Buffalo, NY)

Bigelow's (Rockville Centre, NY)

Carnegie Deli (New York, NY)

Cyril's Fish House (Montauk, NY)

Dumpling Man (New York, NY)

El Mariachi (Rockville Centre, NY)

Heidi's (Liverpool, NY)

Katz's Deli (New York, NY)

Keen's Steakhouse (New York, NY)

Lobster Roll aka "Lunch" (Amagansett, NY)

Mama's (Copiague, NY)

Nick Tahou Hots (Rochester, NY)

Pearl Oyster Bar (New York, NY)

Peter Luger's Steakhouse (Brooklyn, NY)

Second's BBQ (Amityville, NY)

Shagwong Tavern (Montauk, NY)

~ NORTH CAROLINA ~

Mast Farm Inn (Valle Crucis, NC)

 Flip's BBQ (Wilmington, NC) 

~ OHIO ~

Blue Ash Chili (Blue Ash, OH)

G & R Tavern (Waldo, OH)

Pine Club (Dayton, OH)

Price Hill Chili (Cincinnati, OH)

Sokolowski's University Inn (Cleveland, OH)

Zip's Cafe (Cincinnati, OH)

~ OREGON ~

Bread & Ink Cafe (Portland, OR)

Stahley's Family Restaurant (Allentown, PA)

~ RHODE ISLAND ~

Iggy's Doughboys & Chowder House (Narragansett, RI)

Evelyn's Drive- In (Tiverton, RI)

~ SOUTH CAROLINA ~

521 BBQ & Grill (Indian Land, SC)

82 Queen Restaurant (Charleston, SC)

Hominy Grill (Charleston, SC)

Sweatman's BBQ (Holly Hill, SC)

~ TENNESSEE ~

Loveless Cafe (Nashville, TN)


~ TEXAS ~


Bryce's Cafeteria (Texarkana, TX)

La Mexicana (Houston, TX)

Little Diner Restaurant (Canutillo, TX)

~VERMONT ~

P & H Truck Stop (Wells River, VT)





~ VIRGINIA ~

Southern Kitchen (New Market, VA)

~ TEXAS ~

Bryce's Cafeteria (Texarkana, TX)

La Mexicana (Houston, TX)

Little Diner Restaurant (Canutillo, TX)

  

~ WISCONSIN ~

American Serb Hall (Milwaukee, WS)

Kewpee Lunch (Racine, WI)

Mr. Perkins Family Restaurant (Milwaukee, WI)

White Gull Inn (Fish Creek, WI)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  

HAPPY EATING!