America I AM Pass It Down Cookbook (6 page)

Eric Spigner’s Everything in the Pot Gumbo

Dallas, Texas

SERVES 20

Eric Spigner, a professional chef who owns his own catering business in Texas, was originally taught at home in South Carolina at “Grandma’s” cooking school. He says the inspiration behind this recipe was his son’s first birthday party. Wanting to create something that would bring all the guests together “while blowing their culinary minds,” he decided to kick up a Southern classic with a wider variety of meats and vegetables. Thai sriracha sauce, rather than Tabasco, adds a spicy new twist to this dish, which is so ample that it’s ideal for a large party, family gathering, or church supper.

¾ cup canola oil
3 large Vidalia or other sweet onions, roughly chopped
3 large green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
3 large red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
12 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped
12 garlic cloves, crushed
2 jalapeño peppers, minced
1 boneless chicken breast chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 smoked beef sausage chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 cup flour
8 cups water
4 cups seafood stock or fish stock
1 large bag frozen cut okra
1 large bag frozen sweet corn
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
3 teaspoons sriracha pepper sauce (available in Asian markets)
4 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons turmeric
3 teaspoons coriander
2 pounds crawfish meat
6 ounces catfish, filleted and chopped in 1-inch chunks
1 pound medium shrimp, tailed, peeled, and deveined
2 tablespoons kosher salt (or more to taste)

Pass It Down TIP

An incredibly simple seafood stock is easy to make quickly and on an as-needed basis. Simply toss 1 cup of shellfish tails, heads, and shells into 6 cups of water and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the stock is reduced by one-third. Use or freeze for later use.

Heat ¼ cup of canola oil in a large fry pan and add the onions and red and green bell peppers. Fry on low-medium heat until the onions are translucent and peppers are softened. Add the scallions, garlic, and jalapeño peppers and fry for 2–3 minutes more or until garlic just begins to brown. Add the chicken breast and beef sausage, and fry until the chicken breast is lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large, deep stockpot and add the flour. Cook over low medium heat, stirring constantly until you achieve a dark paste (roux) the color of molasses.

In another saucepan, heat the water and stock to a simmer. Add the water and stock to the roux and mix, using a whisk until totally dissolved and combined.

Add the pepper and onion mixture to the pot with the roux mixture and add the okra, corn, black pepper, sriracha pepper sauce, cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Mix well. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the crawfish, catfish, and shrimp. Simmer 20 minutes more. Mix in the salt and simmer 10 minutes more.

Serve over white rice.

Did you know?
Sriracha is a Thai pepper sauce made from chilies, vinegar, salt, and sugar. While it is most often found in Asian and Middle Eastern markets, more and more regular supermarkets sell sriracha sauce in the Asian food aisle. But be careful, it packs one spicy punch!

Leslie Forde’s Grilled Shrimp Salad with Veggies

Boston, Massachusetts

SERVES 4 AS A STARTER, 2 AS A MAIN DISH

Heart & Soul

This is a light, fresh recipe that is big on taste thanks to freshly grilled veggies and a sweet and sour vinaigrette. The recipe can be a nice starter salad for a summer meal or a meal in itself for two. Showing her Caribbean roots, Leslie Forde says she prefers wild-caught versus farm-raised shrimp for this dish because of their fresher, sweeter flavor.

SALAD

10 large or jumbo-size shrimp, peeled, and deveined
2 tablespoons lemon zest
juice from ½ lemon
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
½ pound baby yams or sweet potatoes, sliced thinly
6 large white mushrooms, cleaned with stems removed
1 Scotch bonnet (or another spicy pepper, like a habañero)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 cups baby spinach (rinsed and dried if not already prewashed)
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced into halves

VINAIGRETTE

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste

Pass It Down TIP

Clean mushrooms without waterlogging them by wiping them gently with a paper towel immediately after washing.

Marinate the shrimp: Rinse shrimp in cold water and place in a small bowl with the lemon zest, juice, garlic, and rosemary. Stir lightly to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4.

While the shrimp is marinating, prepare vegetables for the grill by placing them into a bowl and adding the olive oil. Toss well to coat and add the balsamic vinegar, salt, and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir well and set aside.

Heat grill to about 500° F.

Place marinated vegetables on the grill and cook until the potato slices are soft and turn a lighter orange color, about 4 or 5 minutes per side. Remove from grill and set aside.

Grill mushrooms until they’re dark and soft, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Grill Scotch bonnet pepper, turning often, until there are grill marks on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside. When cool, remove stem and seeds and slice thinly. Set aside.

Place marinated shrimp onto the top rack of the grill or away from direct heat, if the grill has only one level. Grill on each side until the shrimp is pink, about 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Divide the spinach and tomatoes into two or four salad bowls, depending on whether it’s an appetizer or main dish. Divide the grilled vegetables between the bowls, arranging them evenly over the spinach and tomatoes.

Top each salad with 5 grilled shrimp for two, or 2–3 for serving four.

Whisk all the sherry vinaigrette ingredients together and pour over each salad. Serve immediately.

Pass It Down trick:
The “gills,” or the brown flesh on the underside of the cap, absorb a great deal of oil, which is not only less than healthful but can prevent even browning or grilling. For larger mushrooms with gills, like portabellos, gently scrape away the gills from the underside of the cap using a small teaspoon. Reserve the trimmed gills for vegetable stock.

Ron Duprat’s Jicama Slaw

Naples, Florida

SERVES 4 TO 6 AS A SIDE DISH

Heart &Soul

Haitian-born chef Ron Duprat rose to fame after a Season Six stint on Bravo’s
Top Chef.
Mr. Duprat has known poverty, near starvation, and a harrowing 27-day passage as a teenager in an open-hull boat with little water and even less food in the company of 250 others fleeing his native Haiti. The chef says that some of his earliest memories are of working alongside his grandmother in Haiti, cooking the fish they caught to survive and gathering fresh produce from his father’s garden. “The unique tastes, smells, and feelings created alongside my grandmother are things that cannot be taught in a sterile classroom but are learned by immersion.It comes with the territory, as food is not only designed to nourish us, but serve as life-long memories,” says Chef Duprat, who nourishes a larger culinary goal: “to bring people together in my personal cause to fight childhood hunger, especially in Africa and Haiti.” His slaw recipe uses crunchy Caribbean jicama and plain yogurt for a refreshing side to traditional fried chicken, barbecue, and roasted meats and vegetables.

1 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups shredded or julienned jicama
½ bunch green onions, sliced thinly on the bias
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced