hipcook's Reviews
5 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 5Sort by: Title | Date | Rating
The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook
By Ella Brennan, Dick Brennan
Clarkson Potter - 1984
Bananas Foster : page 164
I am truly shocked at how easy this classic dish is. My caramel technique needs work, and this dish comes together fast so mise en place is essential, but I will be returning to this recipe.
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Gumbo Ya Ya : page 38
Terrific recipe. Should go into my frequent rotation. I didn't let my roux go quite long enough, and I would have liked a little more of that deep dark flavor, but I bring this up because even with a roux that was more milk chocolate-colored than brick, it was in the right neighborhood. The flour on the chicken also lightens the roux and adds thickening - I found it took ~7 cups of stock, not 6, to get the desired consistency and even then it got gloppy when cold.
Similarly, I think there's room to be more aggressive in the seasonings. As written it was fine, but I noticed people adding hot sauce and salt and black pepper at the table. Again, that depends on a lot - the stock, the degree to which you season the chicken, personal preference.
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Jambalaya : page 115
I didn't follow the recipe exactly, substituting about a pound of smoked Polish sausage, a pound of gator, and a pound of crawfish tails, for the 4 and a half pounds of meat otherwise called for. (I also used 1/3rd of the hot sauce, so my 3 year old would eat it.) I think it did miss the flavor of the ham, frankly. But the sauce is excellent, hearty and heady with herbs and spice. Definitely will keep experimenting with this as a base.
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Milk Punch : page 9
I am not a fan of egg nog, but this is a pretty pleasant alternative for a holiday cocktail. The Brennans say to serve it ice cold, but given that it's basically milk and vanilla with some booze, I think warmed up it would make a lovely Christmas nightcap.
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Pecan Pie : page 183
Really, this is a 5 for the pie filling, which is delightfully reminiscent of a New Orleans praline. Nuts, butter, and of course sugar, but not that cloying gelled filling which so many pecan pies have. (A friend suggests this may only be because it hadn't been refrigerated between baking and serving, and she could be right.) But a 3 for the oil-based pastry crust, which shrank surprisingly during the blind bake and was a little thicker on the bottom than we expected.
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