Gumbo, Cauliflower Au Gratin, and Programmable Pressure Cookers

I had an unexpected day off today, so I slept in until an ungodly hour, made Todd a nice brunch of scrambled eggs with green onion, potato, mushrooms, and cheese with toasted homemade bread rounds, and went to Walmart to replenish some kitchen essentials I had sold before our move from Houston. One of the things we agreed not to give up at move time is an electric programmable pressure cooker I bought on ebay for about 80 bucks and we use at least once a week or more. It's made by Cooks Essentials and has been worth every penny. Who can say no to dinner in about 30 minutes? I decided to put it to use today:



I wanted to surprise Todd with a dinner I've never made for him before so I chose 4 meat Gumbo and Cauliflower Au Gratin as the side:


He had never eaten Gumbo before and absolutely loved it! I made sure that the Cauliflower still had a bite to it as we don't care for mushy vegetables as a rule and it was a huge success. Definitely one of the best meals I have made in a while.

Gumbo Recipe:

Create a dark roux by melting a stick of real salted butter in a medium sized saute pan. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and mix until smooth with a silicone spatula. Keep stirring over medium heat until the color of milk chocolate. This process will take 10-15 minutes and is essential to the final product.

When finished remove from heat and set aside.



Additional Ingredients:

3 chicken breast tenders cut into small chunks
1/2 lb jalapeno kielbasa sliced about 1/2 inch thick
15 peeled and deveined medium shrimp
3 whitefish fillets cut into chunks
1 14.5 can peeled diced tomatoes
1 whole roasted red pepper roughly diced
1 dozen fresh or defrosted okra pods cut into large chunks
6 cloves fresh garlic smashed with flat side of chef's knife
1-1/2 tsp. course sea salt
8 twists of fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tomato cans of warm water

Scrape roux into pressure cooker. Add all ingredients except shrimp and fish and stir well, making sure to incorporate roux with liquids.

Set pressure cooker on high for 25 minutes. After releasing steam, set to low cook mode for 15 minutes uncovered to thicken up broth. Add shrimp and fish the last 5 minutes.


Cauliflower Au Gratin Recipe:

1 head cauliflower cleaned and sliced thin
1/2 large white onion chopped
1/2 stick salted real butter
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
2 Tbl. flour
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fine seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
3-4 twists of grated pepper


Toss cauliflower and onion together in baking pan and set aside. Melt butter in small non-stick saucepan and add flour stirring constantly to create a blond roux. Add cream and blend thoroughly. Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese, parmesan, salt & pepper, and remove from heat when cheese is melted. Pour over cauliflower and distribute evenly. Cover in foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the cauliflower is cooked but still firm. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and remaining shredded cheese over top and continue baking uncovered for 8-10 minutes until topping starts to brown. Remove from oven and let sit and cool for at least 5 minutes.
























Changes I will make next time:

The gumbo broth was fantastic as made but there was too much of it. When I make it again I will double the amount of meats, roasted pepper, and okra. Todd likes lots of booty in his soups and stews.