Now don't get your gander up! I've been noticing the feathers flying over what to eat for a holiday dinner, and what bird brain thinks turkey is the only way to go. Well you can stuff that idea, the world is an oyster, and we must open it up to see what pearls are in store. However, there is something fishy about this thread, Lets see....
Seafood and Okra Gumbo
- 2 pounds fresh or frozen shrimp, head on about 40-50 count per pound
- 2 small blue crabs, fresh or frozen
- 3 quarts water, with 2 Tablespoons of cooking oil
- 1 quart fresh or frozen okra, sliced into rounds
- 2/3 cup cooking oil
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
- 1 16 oz. can chopped tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Peel and de-vein the shrimp, and set aside, covered in the refrigerator. Rinse the shrimp shells and heads, place in a non reactive stock pot along with 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes to make a stock. Strain, discard the shells and heads and set the stock aside. Meanwhile, wash the crabs well under running water, place in a non reactive pot with 1 quart of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. Strain, reserving stock and crabs. When the crabs are cool enough to handle, snap both claws off then break the body in half. Set aside.
In a heavy bottomed skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil , add the okra and sauté over medium high heat for about 10 - 15 minutes or until all the "ropiness" is gone. This step may take a little longer if fresh okra is used. Frozen vegetables are usually plunged into boiling water and blanched before freezing, so they are partially cooked.
Place the 2/3 cup oil in a large (8 quart) heavy bottomed non reactive Dutch oven type pot. Add the flour and, over a medium high fire, make a dark brown roux. As soon as the proper color is achieved, add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally until tender. During this process, allow the vegetables to stick to the bottom of the pan a bit, then scrape the bottom with a metal spoon or spatula. This allows some of the natural sugars in the onions to caramelize, rendering great depth of flavor.
When the seasoning vegetables are tender add the tomatoes, bay leaves and the three peppers and a little salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, repeating the stick and scrape process with the tomatoes. Add the sautéed okra and cook for 10 more minutes.
Add the crab stock and half of the shrimp stock to the pot. Stirring constantly, bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat a bit, partially cover and simmer for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. If the gumbo appears too thick, add more stock to adjust. Add salt to taste and adjust the pepper if desired. Add the broken crabs and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the peeled shrimp, return to a boil and simmer until the shrimp are firm and pink, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat.
As is the case with most gumbos, this dish is best prepared either early in the day it is to be served, or even the day before, thereby allowing time for the flavors to marry. When reheating, stir often and be careful to avoid overcooking the shrimp.
Serve in large bowls over steamed rice. This recipe will yield about 6 entrees or 10 to 12 appetizers.
Holidays are wonderful, if you don't let'em kill ya! LOL
EAT CHOCOLATE!!!
- Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived
- from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.
- To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.
- Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
- If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.
- The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car.
The solution: Eat it in the parking lot. - Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you'll eat less.
- If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves. (We're testing this with other snack foods as well.)
- If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?
- Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. Therefore, you need to eat more chocolate.
- Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.
- A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?
- If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?
- If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. You can't let that happen, can you?
- MEDICAL NEWS FLASH "Stressed" spelled backward is "desserts."
Send this to four women and you will lose two pounds. Send this to all the women you know (or ever knew), and you will lose 10 pounds.
If you delete this message, you will gain 10 pounds immediately. That's why I had to pass this on. I didn't want to risk it.