Tom, I'm not sure CA has it's own food. Mexican or Southwestern, maybe? The term California Cuisine is not very specific. It usually means pretentious and served on a patio.
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Originally Posted by clevagirl73
I live in California but my paternal side is from Alabama and Mississippi and my maternal side is from South Carolina and the Philippines. We ate alot of soul food (southern black cooking developed during slavery and will kill you ,if you don't modify it) and Filipino food (just pork, pork and more pork).
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Those look great! (I'd rather have sweet potato pie, too, btw.)
I'm from CA, too, but my Mom's from Mississippi and gumbo was the first thing she taught me (well, cheesecake was
probably first...).
Fortunately, you can make a good gumbo that's pretty good for you if you're willing to give a huge amount of roux. I fill mine with extra veggies and let people make their own decision on the rice. Not traditional, but people out here don't know it's not. It's still great, just different.
Chicken Gumbo Maigre
The word "gumbo" means okra, but this has no okra. Whatever, it's still gumbo
Makes four bowls
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 yellow onion
2 stalks celery, including the greens
1 quart high sodium chicken stock
4 servings of greens (turnip, collard, spinach, etc. uh, no lettuce or cabbage, please)
4 chicken thighs (clothing optional)
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp file powder
extra salt
extra file powder
serve with Tabasco sauce (not any of those fancy new ones, either)
serve with rice, if desired
Mince garlic. Chop the onion and celery. Chop the greens into bite size pieces.
Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the onion and cook until translucent.
Add celery and cook until the onions are lightly browned.
Get the stock ready, but don't do anything with it. Just look at it, sitting and waiting next to the stove.
Add the garlic to the onion and celery and stir constantly for a minute or two. The garlic must not burn. When this happens, go back in time 30 seconds and dump the stock into the pan to stop it from happening.
Add the greens, chicken, marjoram and cayenne. Bring to a low simmer and cover the pot for about an hour.
Add the file powder and stir well. Add more salt, if necessary.
If you're having rice, serve in a soup bowl, with a small scoop of rice in the center. Serve with a bottle of Tabasco and extra file powder for those that want more.