Chicken And Seafood Trio In A Basket

CHICKEN AND SEAFOOD GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine the oil and the flour in a heavy stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. With a wooden spoon stir the mixture slowly and constantly. After about 5 minutes the mixture will begin to foam. Keep stirring. As the roux cooks, the color will darken and the flour will have a nice nutty aroma. It should take about 15 minutes to fully develop a nice dark brown roux.
• When the roux is ready add the celery, onions and peppers (the Trinity) and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Once the vegetables have softened, add the bourbon and stir for 2 minutes, add chicken broth a little at a time to make sure the roux mixes well and is incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients, diced tomatoes, chicken, okra, bay leaves, Hot Sauce and season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface and stirring occasionally. In the last 7 minutes, add the shrimp and cook until no longer pink. At the very last minute add the fresh cilantro. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Remove bay leaves and serve with rice and crusty flat bread.
• Roughly chop the chiles and jalepenos discarding the seeds. Add to a food processor, along with the tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Process until desired consistency. If it's too dry add a little water. Pour mixture into a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes. At this point you can strain it for a loose hot sauce or leave it as it is for a chunky hot sauce. Season with more salt, if necessary.
• In a medium covered saucepan bring salted water to a boil. Add the rice, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 20 minutes until water is absorbed.

SEAFOOD TRIO W/SHRIMP, SCALLOPS AND CRAB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil in heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium-low heat.
• Add scallion and a good pinch of salt. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not allow to brown.
• Add flour and stir until all oil is absorbed, forming a heavy paste.
• Cook paste (this is a white roux with scallions in it at this stage) for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid browning.
• Add 1/2 of the clam juice, stirring well to incorporate and avoid lumping.
• Add 1/2 of the clam juice, repeating the process.
• Stir in the wine.
• Stir in the cream.
• Add cayenne and white pepper.
• Bring sauce to a very low simmer. Taste sauce and adjust salt to taste. (I usually add about 1/2 tsp, but salt varies so sneak up on it rather than use more than you like.).
• Test the thickness by dipping a spoon into the sauce and letting it run off. It should be just thick enough to coat and cling to the back of the spoon -- this is called "nappe" (pronounced "na-pay" by my culinary instructor but my college French professor would have said "nap",) in classical cooking. If it is too thick, add a bit more clam juice or cream until you get the desired thickness, and reheat to a very low simmer.
• Add parsley and stir to incorporate.
• Preheat 2 oval ramekins (we use about a 4"x6" size, but any oval large enough to contain 12 oz of seafood will work) by running them under hot water.
• Place 1/2 of shrimp in one end of each ramekin. Place 1/2 of crab in opposite end of each ramekin. Place 1/2 of scallops in the center of each ramekin. (Yes, you want the seafood separated into neat little sections. It works. Trust me.).
• Pour 1/2 of the sauce evenly over the contents of each ramekin. Don't worry if the sauce wants to stick on the top -- it will run down into the seafood as the "casserole" bakes.
• If desired, you can put a thin layer of panko to the top of each ramekin. (This is not how the original was done, but my sister likes a bit of contrast in her textures so I do this when I'm cooking for her as well, and it certainly doesn't hurt anything.).
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top begins to show signs of browning. If there is no sign of browning after 20 minutes, raise the shelf and turn your oven to broil. Broil for no more than 5 minutes! This depends on your oven, and if you cook the seafood too long, you will get rubbery seafood.
• Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.