The “good” husband.

What does that really mean? I’ve been on a journey to figure that one out for the past six years, and discover a new meaning to this question every day. I’m sure those of you who have been married for much longer, would agree, that the answer to that question will change on a daily basis.   That said, the important thing is to create your own definition, approved by your spouse, of course, and then to try and create ways to live up to that definition.

For some, a good husband means being a good father. Perhaps being a good son or brother. A good friend perhaps? The list can go on and on. For me, although there are many facets to trying to achieve the Good Husband Mojo, this blog will be about finding your way through cooking.

First, let me tell you a little about myself. I’m not a chef. I’m not a professional cook, sous chef, line cook or restaurateur. I’m just Spence. A professional fundraiser for a non-profit in Michigan who uses the glories of good food, local food and local ingredients, to connect with my wife (and three dogs) on a daily basis.

I cook out of joy, out of sadness, for relaxation and for accomplishment. Most of all, I cook to commune with my wife and to nourish our souls. Pretty cool, right?   Needless to say, I hit on some successes and learn from my failures. My hope is that you will do the same. My kitchen is filled to the brim with countless cookbooks from noted celebrity chefs, to local restaurateurs, to family recipes.

My hope is that we can go on a journey together. Explore the ups and downs life has to offer and with any luck, have a little fun cooking along the way.

What this is NOT is a recipe source. Most of the recipes I’ll share will be variations on recipes I’ve collected over the years. I’ll make sure to reference each recipe and credit each chef. My hope is to share some of my favorites and together we will make some life connections.

Thanks for taking the journey with me. I look forward to hearing your stories along the way.

All the best,

Spence

DAY 1   November 10, 2014

Today was tough. Unusually tough. I just arrived back to Detroit from Memphis late last night after spending the last five days caring for my ailing parents. My father suffers from a debilitating disease called Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) a Parkinson’s like disease that attacks the mind and body in a wickedly rapid way. My mother is in a long-term rehabilitation facility after a nasty fall. Neither are able to care for themselves. I have two sisters and none of us live in the same town. A perfect recipe for a helping slice of Disaster if ever I saw one. We’ve hired caregivers to take care of my dad 24/7 and are in the process of locating an assisted living community for them both to move into to.

We’ve narrowed the search down to two communities. The question, of course, is how to pay for it. I’ll save that for a future post.

Tonight, I thought Gini (my wife and inspiration for this blog) and I could use a dose of Southern comfort food in honor of our journey…and it really is “our” journey. A good husband never makes a journey alone. Let’s go for a Sausage Gumbo with Emmett’s Baked Rice! It makes enough for about 8 servings. You’ll have enough for several meals. As you will soon discover, I’m a big fan of leftovers. The Good Husband certainly cooks, but doesn’t have to cook every night! Serving leftovers at least twice a week is perfectly acceptable in the Good Husband Cooking handbook. Or so I’ve been told.

Sausage Gumbo with Emmett’s Baked Rice

First you need to get the rice dish started. Once it is baking you can jump into preparing the Gumbo.

A word about your ingredients. I like to source ingredients locally if possible. I’m not as concerned about organic ingredients as some people are. If I can get both local and organic, that’s ideal. However, I’ll choose local over organic any day if I have to choose. Do you really want an apple that has travelled 2000 miles across the country and has had every ounce of taste refrigerated and gassed right out of it? I don’t.

I’d rather go down to Detroit’s Eastern Market or the Royal Oak Michigan Farmer’s market and see what’s in season that week.   This approach may mean I only get my Honey crisp Apples in September and October, but the one’s I do get, are REALLY REALLY Good!

Now, back to our dinner for tonight.

First, let’s start with an ingredient list:

Emmett’s Baked Rice (named in honor of my second father, my godfather, the late Emmett Garner, Jr.)

2 cups of long-grain/whole grain wild rice

4 cups of chicken stock

One small onion

2 to 3 celery stalks

On red bell pepper/chopped and seeded

Salt

Black Pepper

White Pepper

Garlic Salt

Spicy Sauce (My favorite is Tobasco—love that it is still family owned!)

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees

Chop up the onion really fine, chop the pepper, the celery

Mix the chopped veggies with the rice and the chicken stock. Now add a couple of shakes of salt, the black and white pepper, garlic salt and a few shakes of the Tobasco. Stir it real well and then pour it into a medium sized Pyrex dish or Dutch oven.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If your mixture is still soupy, then keep checking it every 10 minutes. You want the rice to be baked, tender and fluffy.

While Emmett’s Baked Rice is, well, baking…. (about 20 minutes into the cooking time)

Assemble the following ingredients for the Gumbo

Gumbo Ingredients (recipe based on Mark Bittman’s Gumbo recipe from How to Cook Everything Fast)

1 pound of sausage. I usually get my sausage fresh from John Henry’s Meats  at the Royal Oak Farmer’s Market. I love this family. They provide all of our meat and dairy needs every week! Check them out at www.johnhenrys.net.

I 27 ounce can of Marzano tomatoes

Salt

Black Pepper (fine to medium)

Green Beans

4 tablespoons of real butter (I like salted)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

½ cup of all purpose flour (unbleached—I like Bob’s Red Mill, but whatever you can find at your grocery store will do

One small yellow onion

The key to this is to get the gumbo nice and thick. You may need to increase the amount of flour to achieve this, but I think a ½ cup should do it.

Take your sausage and slice it into several small round medallions. You should probably get 10 to 12 out of a pound of sausage. Since you are dealing with raw meat, please-please, use one cutting board and one knife for this job. Once you have finished handling the meat, wash the knife and cutting board thoroughly with good warm soapy water. Try to avoid using the same cutting board and cutting utensils with meat as you use with fruit and vegetables. Keeping your raw food separated and your kitchen clean is very important for good health.

In a Dutch oven, or whatever stock pot you can find, turn the burner on medium heat and begin to melt two tablespoons of the butter. Take the sausage and neatly place them in the bubbling buttered pot and cook until the medallions are browned on each side. About 3 to 4 minutes per side should do it. If they aren’t browned, keep them in the pot and keep turning them with your tongs until they are.

Once browned, take the medallions carefully out of the pot and place on a plate until you need them again.

Now, add the remaining two tablespoons of butter and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.   Add the chopped onion. You want to get the onion a golden brown, but not burnt. Now add the flour and stir this real well. Add a couple of splashes of salt and pepper. Keep stirring. Now add that beautiful can of Marzano tomatoes (any kind of chopped or diced will do) and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once at a boil, turn the heat down to low and add your green beans and sausage medallions. Add a couple of shakes of salt, pepper, and tobacco. Put the lid on your Dutch oven and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Taste, taste, taste. Adjust salt and pepper to your desired level of seasoning.

Turn the burner off. Take Emmett’s rice out of the oven and put a couple of spoonful’s in a soup bowl, pour a little gumbo over it and serve with cornbread.   Delicious and will impress your spouse as your first attempt at being a Good Husband Cook!

Enjoy!