Our Romantic Cajun Meal

This past weekend was a three day weekend. My husband and I took advantage of the long weekend, by cooking and eating our way through the days. I think life should always be this way, centering your day around the next meal.

For Valentine's Day, we just stayed home and cooked a meal that reminded us of our early days together, crab cakes, shrimp poboys and chicken and sausage gumbo. My husband and I met while working in a restaurant called the Acme. I was the chef, he was a very good-looking waiter, that I was instantly in love with. After a while, we felt we had made it as far as we could at the Acme, so we both moved over to another restaurant, a Cajun bistro. We both worked int the kitchen, and developed our love of Cajun cooking. We worked long hours, and worked very hard, but we were always together, usually sharing a shrimp poboy. Now, whenever we have a romantic meal, it is usually Cajun food. It takes us back to the good old days...just me and him and a kitchen.
We had so much fun making this meal. It was and all day, collaborative effort. We started the Gumbo at 1:00 in the afternoon, and got to savor the process all day, and of course, we had to
taste it all day...just to make sure it was turning out okay.


Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 stick of butter
8 tbsp flour
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Creole seasoning
1 1 1/2-32 oz. boxes of chicken stock
1 whole chicken, giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry
1 link of sausage, sliced into rounds (use what you like, we like V&V garlic or jalapeno sausage)

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour in a tablespoon at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon, continuously, to make a roux. Cook, stirring the whole time, until the color of the roux is halfway between peanut butter and chocolate. Add your onions, bell pepper and sausage to the roux. Cook, stirring continuously, until the vegetables become fragrant and tender. Add the garlic and about 1 tablespoon of creole seasoning. Stir in the chicken stock slowly. Put the whole chicken in, breast side down. Add more stock, if necessary, to mostly cover the chicken. Bring up to a boil, stir, and reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is done. You can tell the chicken is done when you grab the leg with a pair of tongs, and the leg starts to come off. Remove the chicken and let it cool. Leave the gumbo simmering, adding more stock if it gets thick. It should be a hearty soup consistency, but not thick. Taste and re-season, if necessary.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and pull the meat off the bones, adding just the meat back into the pot. Use a ladle and skim the fat off the top of the pot. Serve over rice. We like just a couple of tablespoons of rice, so it doesn't dull down the flavor.

Creole Seasoning

3 tbsp kosher salt
3 tbsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp dried sweet basil
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried mustard powder
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper

Grind all ingredients in a food processor or spice grinder. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 months.

Crab Cakes with Lemon Caper Sauce

1 1/2 c lump crab meat
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp mayo
juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
1 1/2 c fresh bread crumbs, made from a day old baguette

Put first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, and stir gently so you don't break up the crab meat. Fold in the breadcrumbs, and add more if the mixture is too wet to hold together. Taste and re-season, if necessary. Form the mixture into cakes, (I like them smaller, so they get crispier) and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Heat a large skillet, with enough canola oil to coat the bottom, over medium-high heat. Pan-fry the crab cakes on each side until golden-brown. Serve with lemon caper sauce.

Lemon Caper Sauce

3 tbsp mayo
juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp capers + 1 tbsp caper brine (or more, to taste)
pinch of salt
black pepper, to taste
4 dashes hot pepper sauce

Stir all ingredients together, taste and re-season as necessary