Gumbo Bread Pudding

Two N'awlins classics, baked into one: gumbo and bread pudding!

With some leftover chicken, a Cajun-spiced bagel, and the makings of "the trinity" - celery, onion, and peppers, which are the heart of Louisiana cooking - it only seemed fitting to take some of the essential elements of gumbo and combine them with the legendary dessert ... only making it savory. This is quick, easy, no-fuss, and delicious! It's a bit reminiscent of a frittata, and perfect for a light supper or a brunch.

You could also add some shrimp, which is often an ingredient in gumbo. But my dear friend Candace, a native of Louisiana who now lives in New Hampshire, told me that "Shrimp would be delish but they are unnecessary" given all of the other goodies already in the mix.

A colorful way to spice up leftovers - enjoy!

An update on my shoulder (mentioned in this post): I've been vindicated - my shoulder pain is more than just tendinitis! Not necessarily good news, but at least an answer to symptoms that weren't supported by the initial x-ray and MRI and an explanation of why physical therapy made it all worse. New x-rays show that the top bone in my shoulder, the acromion, has a slight dip to it that has apparently spent 50+ years abrading the tissue underneath it. So I have an impingement, to quote the orthopedic surgeon, which is severely restricting movement because of considerable scar tissue. I have edema in the bursa, and I do indeed have rotator cuff tendinitis - a trifecta! Had the thrill of a steroid shot (with ABUNDANT thanks to Craig for being the brave one who held my hand and actually looked at the needle), with hopes that it will reduce inflammation and pain as well as breaking up scar tissue. In a month, I get reassessed. No sling, as immobilizing it is counterproductive to maintaining already limited motion ... gee, and I was making plans to bedazzle one!


Gumbo Bread Pudding

2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 Cajun-spiced bagel (or 1 plain bagel and 1/4 teaspoon Cajun spice)
generous pinch of kosher salt
generous pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup chopped chicken
1 cup chopped Andouille sausage
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Grease a standard souffle dish or 8"x8" baking dish.

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, pepper, and onion; cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Place into a large mixing bowl.

Cut the bagel into 3/4" pieces and add to the mixing bowl along with the salt, red pepper flakes, chicken, and sausage.

Combine the eggs and milk; pour over the bagel mixture, stir, and let soak for 10 minutes. Pour into the prepared dish and bake for 40 minutes until the top is golden and puffed and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve warm.

Serves 4.

Bookstock

I went to Bookstock yesterday, for the very first time.

I've tried to get there each year, but something always seems to come up to keep me from it.  But not this year!  This year I perused through thousands of used books, piled 'em up in my arms 'til I couldn't hold any more, and wished all the while that I lived closer so I could meander over each day for the week that this fest is being held, just to see what new goodies arrive as it all progresses.

Here's how Bookstock describes itself:


Bookstock, Used Book & Media Sale, is a community service project through which donations of books and media continue to provide enjoyment and knowledge. Proceeds from the sale support education and literacy projects in the Detroit metropolitan area and beyond.


The entire process of collecting and sorting gently used books and media, organizing and staffing the sale is 100% volunteer driven. This approach to recycling used books and media in order to raise money for education and literacy is what makes Bookstock a win-win endeavor for the community. All leftover books from Bookstock are donated to non-profits and charities in our community.

Now, one might think that I'm a bit limited to have bought 7 cookbooks, most of them about Jewish cuisine!  But not only are these books I didn't already have, some of them are also theoretically work-related.  I write about food, and I often write about Jewish food; I'm also writing regularly now for the Washtenaw Jewish News about holidays ... and food!  So to collect a few of the basics among the pantheon of Jewish cookbooks - The 92nd Street Y's International Kosher Cookbook, The World of Jewish Entertaining, and Joan Nathan's The Jewish Holiday Kitchen ... well, how could I resist???

There's also Love and Knishes by Sara Kasdan, which is very cute and chatty, with lots of traditional recipes and generous sprinklings of Yiddish, which I wish I could speak - you can't say anything in other languages as expressively as you can in Yiddish!  My favorite part, though, is the chapter on Yom Kippur Cookery, which totals 4 sentences: "Ah ha!  You looked.  Shame on you!  You should be fasting."  Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the one day on the Jewish calendar on which no food or water are permitted ... :)

But I also indulged in other interests beyond Jewish food, and bought a cookbook devoted solely to my beloved shortbread, one by Paul Prudhomme and his family, and one devoted to menus inspired by artists such as Brueghel, Rousseau, Mattisse and Monet.  Regular readers have followed along as I've written numerous posts about shortbread, both sweet and savory; about New Orleans and its food; and about art exhibits.  I may be obsessive and single-minded in buying cookbooks almost exclusively, but I'm a happy single-minded obsessive!

And I also have to share with you my moment of amusement.  I once wrote a post about finding copies of In the Kitchen with Rosie: Oprah's Favorite Recipes in every single thrift shop I meander through.  So to find one at Bookstock (and then, in looking at the picture, finding another copy tucked into the pile to the right-hand side of the one I photographed) made me chuckle ....

Red Beans and Rice, Because "It's Monday, Darlin'"

Red Beans and Rice is a dish that traditionally cooks all day long. But sometimes you just don't have all day at your disposal; or your craving doesn't hit until you're riding the bus home, and you need to get your fix now once the notion has started to tease you.

And so I present this quicker - and thus inauthentic, but delicious nonetheless! - version of the famous dish, with apologies to folks (like my beloved blogging buddy Candace) who are from Louisiana and cherish the true vision of Red Beans and Rice.

I also apologize to the late, great Louis Armstrong, who loved this dish so much that he would sign letters "Red Beans and Ricely Yours." Louis adored this classic food to such a degree that the ability to make it properly was a litmus test of sorts for his fourth wife, Lucille - a northerner who won his heart by cobbling together a recipe that Louis declared to be "very much delicious."

But sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, even if it's not entirely traditional. Because it's Monday, and that calls for Red Beans and Rice.

Back in September of 2005, I read an article in The New York Times about New Orleans' earliest attempts at recovery after the horror of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the city 6 years ago today (just as Irene is wreaking havoc on the East Coast). Red Beans and Rice was a critical component of the story.

The resilience of the people who live in New Orleans, and the tragedy of the unfathomable damage to a city I've only visited once and adored, struck me deeply.

And there is one portion of the article which has stayed with me for all these years as the city has come back to life. It is haunting for the normalcy it portrays in the midst of chaos; and it demonstrates the importance of the cherished comforts of food, tradition and familiarity after inconceivable trauma:

"Monday isn't Monday in New Orleans without red beans and rice. That's because back when laundry was done by hand, Monday was the day for doing it. A dish that could simmer all day was called for. People throw their laundry into washing machines any day of the week now, but red beans and rice is still the dish you eat on Monday in New Orleans.

On this Monday, two big pots were cooking on propane stoves on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant Alex Patout's, just across the narrow street from Antoine's.

The building's owner, Finis Shelnutt, was manning the pots, despite the neighborhood's stench, the approaching darkness and the near-barren streets.

Why?

'It's Monday, darlin',' he said."


Quicker Red Beans & Rice

3 strips bacon, cut into 3/4" pieces
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 large garlic cloved, minced
1 link cooked Andouille sausage, sliced lengthwise then cut into 1/2" pieces
1 15-ounce can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce (Clancy's Fancy Hot Sauce, if you can get it - a fine Ann Arbor product!)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups white wine (I used Flip Flop Wines Riesling, a most generous marketing gift!)
1/2 cup water
rice, for serving

In a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until it is starting to brown and has released some fat. Add the onion, red pepper, celery and garlic; cook until the vegetables have softened and the onion is translucent, stirring frequently. Add the remaining ingredients and turn the heat to high; bring to a boil, then continue cooking for 15-20 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated but it's still quite soupy. According to the Armstrong family recipe: "Beans and meat should always be just covered with water (juice), never dry."

Serve in a deep bowl, over rice.

Makes 4-6 servings.