Creole Shrimp Stuffed Peppers

We hope you haven't given up on us. It's not that we haven't been cooking. We just haven't been writing about it. Instead we are spending time relaxing, playing trivia, having fun, and all around enjoying these lazy, hazy days. But we definitely wanted to share these peppers we made a few weeks ago. We found some long green peppers of unknown variety at the farmers' market and Amy thought to marry them with some Creole-seasoned shrimp and goat cheese. They were very rich and spicy. And would work with any pepper variety, don't you think? Try 'em and let us know.

Creole Shrimp Stuffed Peppers

(serves 2-4)

Ingredients:

2 large peppers

1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (we suggest Tony Chachere's)

1 tablespoon olive oil 

4 ounces goat cheese

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

8-10 fresh basil leaves, shredded

hot sauce, to taste

1/2 cup panko style bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and cut out the insides and seeds. Set pepper halves into a large baking dish. Coat shrimp with Creole seasoning. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the shrimp 4-5 minutes, tossing often, until pink and cooked through. Allow cooked shrimp to cool and then chop them. Place chopped shrimp into a mixing bowl. Add cheeses, basil and hot sauce and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the peppers and top with breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 minutes, until hot and golden brown. 

New Year's "Challenge" Accepted: Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé

Amy writes:

2014 was a crap year and I'm glad it's over. It started with the death of a good friend of ours and didn't ever really improve that much. There were plenty of problems, lots of losses, and several stresses. I know I could have, should have, turned all that negative energy into creative cooking but I didn't. I stopped caring what, or even if, we ate. We did a lot of heat-n-eat and take-out. I stopped cooking, and I stopped writing about it. 

I, nay we, are in a better place now. Not perfect but better. And I've realized how much I've missed food. I started this blog on New Year's Day 2008 and I'm hereby reviving it today, exactly 7 years later.  I'll admit there have been times when it seemed like work and it added stress to our lives. I'm not going to let that happen again. I'm going to let it be what I meant it to be from the beginning - an online compendium of our recipes, a journal of the time we share in the kitchen, and a fun way to improve my own cooking, writing, and photography. 

What better way to restart than with a seeming challenge from the magazine Louisiana Cooking. The cover shot? "Make it at home: Commander's Palace  Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé." Yeah, I know what you're thinking - a dessert. And a dessert so famous there's an employee at that restaurant who makes only these. Full time. Challenge accepted. 

So on New Year's Eve, A Couple in the Kitchen spent the evening exactly there. We set a menu, we shopped, we prepped, we chopped, we cooked, we enjoyed, and yes, we even cleaned. And the challenging dessert? Creole bread pudding soufflé? The best dessert we've ever made. For rillz. Happy 2015!!! We are happy to be back. 

Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé 

(Adapted for two from Louisiana Cooking November/December 2014)

Ingredients:

Pudding and soufflé: 

Butter for greasing pan and soufflé dishes

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

1 large egg

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 cup raisins

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Whiskey sauce: 

1/4 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 tablespoon water

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 cup bourbon 

Make bread pudding: Preheat oven to 350. Grease a small baking pan with butter. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add egg and whisk until smooth; add cream and vanilla and stir to combine. Add bread cubes, and let soak until mixture is absorbed. Scatter raisins into prepared pan and top with bread mixture. Bake until golden brown and firm, about 25 minutes. Let cool. 

Make whiskey sauce: In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Bring cream to a boil In a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and return to a boil while continuing to whisk. Let simmer a few seconds meow and remove from heat. Stir in sugar and bourbon and cool to room temperature. 

Make soufflé: Grease 2 soufflé dishes with butter and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed until foamy. Slowly add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until meringue is shiny and thick with stiff peaks. 

Assemble: Crumble half of bread pudding into a bowl. Gently fold in 1/4 of meringue. Add a portion of this into each prepared ramekin. Crumble the remaining bread pudding into the bowl and fold in the rest of the meringue. Top the soufflés with this mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Poke a hole in the top of each soufflé and pour in whiskey sauce. Serve immediately. 

Creole Crab Imperial

We are traveling to New Orleans in about a month and Amy can't wait. She totally has New Orleans on the brain, particularly when it comes to food. Yes, the cravings are starting up - crawfish, Gulf shrimp, beignets, coffee with chicory, red beans, andouille, gumbo, the list goes on and on. This week, it was all about crab, and this recipe was inspired by another food blogger/teacher Chef Dennis. His recent recipe for Crab Imperial looked so tasty and sounded so easy, we decided to indulge our craving and made it ourselves, adding a delicious crunchy butter-and-breadcrumb topping to ours. This classic recipe really allowed the deliciously sweet lump crabmeat to shine through. A touch of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning gave it that Big Easy kick. With a salad made with romaine lettuce from our neighbor's garden and some delicious fresh bread, this was a wholly satisfying meal. Yum!

Make the imperial sauce

Look at that crabmeat!

Fold in the crabmeat, gently.

Top with buttery seasoned panko and place in oven.

Creole Crab Imperial

slightly adapted and used with permission from A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis, Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Imperial

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (divided)

1 teaspoon finely chopped Italian parsley plus a little more for garnish

1 large egg

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat

1/2 cup panko style breadcrumbs

1/2 stick butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix mayonnaise, sugar, 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning, parsley, egg and lemon juice. Gently fold in the crabmeat, taking care not to break it up. Place crab mixture into a casserole dish. Mix melted butter, remaining teaspoon of Creole seasoning, and panko together and lay on top of the crab mixture. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly with a golden brown top. Serve garnished with additional chopped parsley.