Summer has officially arrived in New Orleans. And I’m not talking about 70 or 80 degrees. Nah, we’ve had that for the last three months. I’m talking about the 90s! Along with its equivalent percentage in humidity. This means I’m ready to eat much lighter dishes. Unfortunately Cajun/Creole cuisine doesn’t offer many options that aren’t like gut grenades, so I’ve been looking to our Vietnamese population for inspiration lately.

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes is their good old beef soup known as Pho (pronounced in a way that makes Americans sound exasperated). It’s similar to Gumbo in that everyone makes it a little different, adding their own style, especially since its served with a huge variety of herbs and sauces. The soup normally starts with a broth base from ox bones cooked for hours, but city mommas like me ain’t got dat kinda time! If I move to a farm I’ll totally slaughter an ox and cook its bones, but for now I’m a bit space challenged for that. I don’t even have a garage!

Anyway, I made this cheatin’ version that was yummy, healthy, and fast – three requirements to be considered a regular in my kitchen. It took me under 20 minutes to throw together, and this batch makes about 4 large meal-sized bowls. Here’s how to do it…

INGREDIENTS:
For the soup:
2 lbs flank steak
7 oz wide rice noodles
1 tbsp canola oil
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 small heads bok choy
For the side:
Thai basil
Mung bean sprouts
Jalapeños
Cilantro
Limes
Soy Sauce
Sriracha, Hoisin or other Asian sauces

If possible, make a trip out to your garden for this one. Currently I’m able to provide the Thai Basil…

And the jalapeños… Oh damn, I just noticed some critter munched on my jalapeño leaf on the right there. Grr!

Now pull all of your ingredients together.

Slice the beef thin like this. Against the grain.

Give the bok choy a rough chop, and only use the green part.

Put 1 tbsp of canola oil into pot, and heat up on high. Then sear the hell out of the beef until it’s browned and cooked through. This takes only about two minutes. Do not overcook!

Transfer the beef out of the pot to another plate.

You should have a nice beef broth in the bottom of the pot.

Now add the bok choy and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes.

Then add the chicken stock and water and stir. Bring it back up to a boil.

Once boiling again, add the wide rice noodles and soy sauce. Cook until noodles are soft, about 5 minutes.

Now the beef can return from its timeout. Put it back in the pot with everyone else and cook until just warmed through again. Soup part is done!

Oooooh, wait, I forgot a few after-fixin’s you’re going to need – fresh lime and Sriracha sauce (pronounced S#$@&%!A. Ok, not really). You can find it at your local weird-ass foods store.

Put all the fresh greens (and whites) on a plate to serve nearby, along with soy sauce, Sriracha, and any other Asian sauces you prefer (Hoisin sauce is a great one for this too). Everyone will want to add different stuff. For instance, you will not find fresh jalapeño on mine!

Now serve it up into bowls like this…

And when everyone adds some foliage it should look like this…

Et voilà! That’s a busy city momma’s version of Pho. It’s light and fresh and won’t sink me to the bottom of the swimming pool this summer like a bowl of Crawfish Etouffee would. Speaking of that, I’m definitely going to look into healthifying some of the Cajun/Creole dishes too.

Bon appétit,
-Pistolette

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

You don’t have to twist my arm to get me drinking traditional Irish Coffee the morning before the Irish Channel Parade in New Orleans. I’m Cajun-Irish! But let’s be honest, it’s a harsh drink. And I thought it needed some sexin’ up. So I decided to blend parts of the classic recipes for Cajun Coffee and Irish Coffee and I think it works very well. You’ll end up caffeinated, inebriated, and pleasured. Bottoms up, chers!

Ingredients
1 shot Irish whiskey
2 cups brewed Coffee with Chicory
1 tbsp Molasses
Whipped cream
Cayenne pepper

Ok, get your ingredients together. These are the main players. Make sure your coffee has chicory in it, and make sure your whiskey has Irish bollocks in it.

Put 1 tbsp molasses in bottom of mug. Beautiful black sticky sweetness…

Then add 1 shot Irish whiskey (Oh shuddup, this ain’t for sissies.)

Then in goes the coffeeeee. Mmmm, the smell of mommy’s two favorite drugs banging like bunnies!

And now for yet more decadence – put some whipped cream on top. I highly recommend making your own because it’s easy and far more delicious, but the canned kind with the spout (you know, the one that makes your husband devilishly grin when he finds it in the refrigerator) works just fine.

Finally, sprinkle some cayenne pepper on top, DELICATELY. I’m not responsible for your pain, that’s your wife’s job.

Et voila! Enough Irish to kick your ass, enough French to make you beg for more.

I recommend stirring it well before drinking, lest you get a ‘layer’ of alcohol. Buvez!

Artichokes are finally in season! They are 10 for $10 at the local Rouses market and I’ve been eating them all week. While I adore a New Orleans-style stuffed artichoke as much as anyone, that can be a lot of work. Most of the time I just bring the ‘chokes home, boil them until tender, and devour with my favorite sauce – a crazy simple blow-your-head-off creole concoction that my hubby Q invented. My nose is usually running afterward but he puts the stuff on everything. So here goes – very easy…

Put a bunch of fresh artichokes in a pot of lightly salted water, and boil until tender (when you can pull a leaf off I think it’s done). Then drain them and rinse or submerge in cold water to stop the cooking process…

In a small bowl, pour a bit of red wine vinegar, sprinkle the top with Tony Chachere (most of these measurements are ‘to taste’ :-P), then add once minced garlic clove…

Now sprinkle parsley flakes on top, then pour in some extra virgin olive oil until the vinegar is completely submerged…

Whisk the vinaigrette with a fork, then plate up with a cooked artichoke…

Pull off a leaf and dig in…

Now drag your teeth across the base like this (Muahahahah!)… And voila, food porn! Om nom nom nom nom nom…

Originally published March 5, 2009.