Back to the point....
There is so much interesting food in Louisiana. I can't even skim the surface of explaining the fundamentals of Cajun cooking, as I only began to learn about it 4 years ago. Even then I only was able to eat these cajun meals every few months when I visited Natchitoches. I have always loved trying new foods, and I hope in the next few months and years to be able to better my skills when creating some of these dishes. I LOVE eating them, which is good, because if I didn't my dining options may be a little limited. (Ok ok this is an exaggeration... there are plenty of other things to eat here. I don't eat Red Beans and Rice every day.... though I think I probably could!)
This week we tried our hand (and by "we" I really mean Paul... I cut up vegetables and handed him things upon request as he cooked) at Gumbo, which can really have just about anything in it, and literally has thousands of variations. We chose to do something fairly traditional and used sausage, chicken and crawfish.
The sausage was not Andouille sausage, which would have been slightly more authentic, but this Cooks Thesaurus says that Keilbasa is an appropriate substitute, so we were on the right track! The crawfish were hand-shelled by yours truly about a year ago at a crawfish boil we attended with friends, and had been kept frozen. I was a little skeptical whether or not the Mudbugs (Crawfish slang for you folks up north... hence the title of this Blog!) would still be fresh, but they tasted great.
Some other other things that really make a Gumbo a Gumbo are a Roux and the "Holy Trinity" of vegetables, which includes celery, green pepper and onion. I love this reference.
Roux??? Yes I had absolutely no idea what this was until Paul moved to Louisiana a few years back. Foods I grew up eating didn't use a "Roo." (Love you mom, but let's be real, you weren't a French or Cajun cook!) I have since learned that this mixture of fat and flour (Paul used Oil) is really what gives many Cajun dishes their thickness... and charm. Making a homemade Roux can be tedious but the product provides the Gumbo with the right color and texture. Paul took his time stirring and it worked perfectly.
Put it all together, let it simma, serve over rice ... and Voila!!!!
It was delicious. Really. If I was on my own cooking show right now I would take a bite (being careful to skim the spoon with my teeth only, so as not to mess up my lipstick), close my eyes, say "mmmmmm" and congratulate myself on making the most delicious meal ever known to man.
So while the Gumbo was primarly Paul's magic work, the dessert was mine!
I chose to make Cuppa Cuppa Cake. Yes... the one mentioned by Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias.
There will be a lot of Steel Magnolias references in this blog... as the Movie was filmed in Natchitoches.... but that's a whole different post.
A couple weeks ago my friend Stacey sent me a link to a Cuppa Cuppa Cake Recipe. It seemed so simple that there was no way it could work, but I gave it a go.
1 Cup flour (I added 1 1/2 tsps of Baking Powder and 1/2 tsp Salt to my all-purpose flour so that it would rise a little)
1 Cup Sugar
1 Can of fruit cocktail
Mix and bake for 45 mins at 350.
I served it with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Tasty and easy!!!! I am not really much of a baker and I could do it!
The tasters approved......
While the Cajun Cuisine was extremely tasty and I hope to learn more about it as I live in LA, I'm not going to lie, the biggest highlight of my week was a couple of days later when I discovered this morsel of culinary excellence at a Kroger (yes there are some Kroger grocery stores down south!) in Alexandria, Louisiana. It does take me an hour to get there, but trust me, its comforting to know this is there when I need it.
Drumroll please................
What can I say... I'm an Ohio girl at heart :-)
This week we tried our hand (and by "we" I really mean Paul... I cut up vegetables and handed him things upon request as he cooked) at Gumbo, which can really have just about anything in it, and literally has thousands of variations. We chose to do something fairly traditional and used sausage, chicken and crawfish.
The sausage was not Andouille sausage, which would have been slightly more authentic, but this Cooks Thesaurus says that Keilbasa is an appropriate substitute, so we were on the right track! The crawfish were hand-shelled by yours truly about a year ago at a crawfish boil we attended with friends, and had been kept frozen. I was a little skeptical whether or not the Mudbugs (Crawfish slang for you folks up north... hence the title of this Blog!) would still be fresh, but they tasted great.
Some other other things that really make a Gumbo a Gumbo are a Roux and the "Holy Trinity" of vegetables, which includes celery, green pepper and onion. I love this reference.
Roux??? Yes I had absolutely no idea what this was until Paul moved to Louisiana a few years back. Foods I grew up eating didn't use a "Roo." (Love you mom, but let's be real, you weren't a French or Cajun cook!) I have since learned that this mixture of fat and flour (Paul used Oil) is really what gives many Cajun dishes their thickness... and charm. Making a homemade Roux can be tedious but the product provides the Gumbo with the right color and texture. Paul took his time stirring and it worked perfectly.
Put it all together, let it simma, serve over rice ... and Voila!!!!It was delicious. Really. If I was on my own cooking show right now I would take a bite (being careful to skim the spoon with my teeth only, so as not to mess up my lipstick), close my eyes, say "mmmmmm" and congratulate myself on making the most delicious meal ever known to man.
So while the Gumbo was primarly Paul's magic work, the dessert was mine!
I chose to make Cuppa Cuppa Cake. Yes... the one mentioned by Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias.
There will be a lot of Steel Magnolias references in this blog... as the Movie was filmed in Natchitoches.... but that's a whole different post.
A couple weeks ago my friend Stacey sent me a link to a Cuppa Cuppa Cake Recipe. It seemed so simple that there was no way it could work, but I gave it a go.
1 Cup flour (I added 1 1/2 tsps of Baking Powder and 1/2 tsp Salt to my all-purpose flour so that it would rise a little)1 Cup Sugar
1 Can of fruit cocktail
Mix and bake for 45 mins at 350.
I served it with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Tasty and easy!!!! I am not really much of a baker and I could do it!
The tasters approved......
While the Cajun Cuisine was extremely tasty and I hope to learn more about it as I live in LA, I'm not going to lie, the biggest highlight of my week was a couple of days later when I discovered this morsel of culinary excellence at a Kroger (yes there are some Kroger grocery stores down south!) in Alexandria, Louisiana. It does take me an hour to get there, but trust me, its comforting to know this is there when I need it.
Drumroll please................
What can I say... I'm an Ohio girl at heart :-)
1 comment:
Have you tried boudin yet? Amazing. Also, there is a way to make a dry roux, if you want to make your gumbo a little healthier. Basically you just use dry flour and cook it slowly, stirring the whole time until it browns. I always use dry roux, just to save some calories. I will also sauté my trinity in a little olive oil instead of the huge stick of butter my Dad uses. I've never tried crawfish in gumbo.. we usually do shrimp & crab or sausage & chicken... never mix the water and land animals, but I'll bet it was amazing. Gah. Can you tell I'm a little jealous that you live in LA?
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