Homemade White Bread

Today my step-daughter Prudence taught me how to make yeast bread. I live in a high-altitude area, so knowing how to make bread rise can be a trick. She learned how to do it from a 90-year-old woman on one of her many travels. I have always wanted to know how to make bread, and now that I know the trick, a whole new world of possibilities has opened up before me! Maybe hubby will even buy me a bread machine in the future, who knows. So here's the recipe for high-altitude bread.

White Bread
(makes 3 loaves)
2 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. sugar
1 cup water
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1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp. salt
flour

1. Mix together yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Warm water to just before steaming, then add to yeast and sugar. Place bowl in a warm, dark place (such as a cupboard) and let stand for about 10 minutes, or until all the yeast has been activated.
2. Melt the butter, warm the milk to just before scalding, and warm the water, then mix all 3 liquids together in a large bowl.
3. Add the sugar, salt, and activated yeast mixture to the liquid mixture and mix. Mix in flour until mixture solidifies, then turn onto pre-floured surface and knead in more flour until dough is no longer sticky.
4. Grease a large bowl and place dough in bowl and cover with a tea towel. Place in pre-warmed oven that is turned off to let rise for about 2 hours.
5. Grease 3 loaf pans. Turn risen dough out of bowl and separate into 3 balls for the loaf pans. Place in loaf pans, making sure the dough fills the bottom of each pan. Cover each pan with a tea towel and put back in pre-warmed oven that is turned off and let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Remove pans from oven and set oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake loaves for 30-45 minutes.
7. Remove pans and let bread cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Gloss loaves with melted butter to produce a golden color and prevent them from drying out.

Note: While this recipe is likely not the most professional bread recipe available, I do know for certain that in this climate and at this altitude it works!

Dirty Rice

So to continue my series of Cajun recipes, I thought I would post my version of "Dirty Rice." It is rather a simple recipe, similar to fried rice, but made with ground beef - hence the "dirty" term. This dish can also be used as an alternative to stuffing.

Dirty Rice

2 cups cold, cooked rice

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

oil

soy sauce

dill weed

cajun seasoning

1. Heat oil in large skillet. Add onions and cook until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and brown for a few minutes.
2. Add ground beef and brown with cajun seasoning to taste.
3. Add rice and mix well until rice is hot. Add soy sauce and dill weed to taste.

Jambalaya

The latest cajun dish on the menu was a variation of Jambalaya - made with sausage this time. Jambalaya is a highly varied dish, and it also goes well with chicken or shrimp. The fancier versions will have a variety of meats in the dish.

Jambalaya

2 Tbsp. oil

1 1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

16 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup broth or water

2 cups cooked sausage, chicken, or shrimp

1 cup rice

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

hot sauce to taste

1. Cook onions, garlic, and bell pepper in hot oil until lightly browned. Add meat and rice and cook until rice is coated in oil.
2. Add seasoning, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and simmer until rice is done, about 20-25 minutes.

My Favorite Recipes

Cajun / Creole

Shrimp Etouffee

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo

Jambalaya

Dirty Rice

Bread

Homemade White Bread

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo

I made another cajun favorite of mine today - Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo. I've watched my dad make it so many times I don't bother with a recipe card, I just go with my instincts. I haven't been able to perfect it yet, but today's meal was pretty close. I find it turns out better when I make a large quantity of it. I need to get my dad to ship up some File (pronounced fee-lay), which is simply ground sassafras leaves. Most recipes I find online include okra in the ingredients list, but I find okra slimy and disgusting. My sister compromises by cooking the okra down until all you see are the seeds, but if you are going to do that, then why even bother? So here is my work-in-progress recipe for Gumbo.

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo

(Made in a 14-L stock pot)

6 stalks celery, chopped

1 whole onion, chopped

1 whole green bell pepper, chopped

several cloves garlic, chopped

3 lbs. chicken

1 whole smoked sausage link, sliced

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

poultry seasoning

poultry spice

dill weed

salt

red pepper / Cajun seasoning

black pepper

parsley

1 C oil

flour

1. Fill large stock pot with water and set over high heat to boil. Add bone-in chicken pieces to cook. Should cook 30 minutes to an hour before removing skin and bones. Pot should always be at least 2/3 full with water or broth, so add as needed.
2. Chop vegetables and add to cast iron frying pan with oil to cook down at low heat until vegetables are clear. Should take 30-45 minutes. Add to stock pot.
3. Pour cup of oil into hot skillet and mix in flour a little at a time until all the oil is absorbed. This is called the roux (pronounced roo) and can burn very easily, so be sure to stir it constantly or it will burn and you will have to throw it out and start over. Some people prefer melted butter to oil - I can't taste the difference. Stir until the mixture browns to a dark brown color. When you feel like your arm is going to fall off is a good measure that the roux is dark enough.
4. Next you need to combine the roux with the boiling broth mixture - how you do that is up to you as the roux can burn you very easily. Adding the roux to the stock pot can produce large, very hot splashes, so some recipes will suggest adding some broth to the roux first to cool it down a little. If your skillet is not large enough though, this won't work without risking burning the roux and/or producing a very unappealing sludge. I've tried both methods and can't decide which works better for me. Do what works best for you and your kitchen.
5. Add chopped sausage and seasonings to taste. Add shrimp about 15 minutes before serving to prevent toughness.
6. Serve over a bed of rice in a bowl to resemble soup.

Shrimp Etouffee

Today for supper I made one of my favorite dishes from back home - Shrimp Etouffee. It's basically shrimp in a tomato-based sauce over rice, but when it is cooked right, this cajun dish is fantastic. It's better with crawfish, but the remoteness of where I live makes obtaining crawfish impossible.

Shrimp Etouffee

1/4 Cup + 2 tsp. butter

1/2 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

clove garlic, pressed

flour

1 1/2 lbs. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 Cup + 2 tsp. chopped fresh mushrooms

2 3/4 tsp. paprika

1/2 can tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

crushed red pepper or hot sauce to taste

Worcestershire to taste

1. In a large skillet, melt butter and saute onions, celery, and garlic for about 45 minutes or until they are cooked down.
2. Stir in flour, but do not brown. Pour in 1/2 cup of water or broth and mushrooms. Stir in tomato paste and seasonings.
3. Add the shrimp and let cook for 30 minutes, stirring often. The sauce should be thick and have a gravy-like consistency.
4. Serve over cooked rice or pasta.