Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: le pain (lu pain) – bread
Stale bread is bread pudding in waiting. When bread pudding is mentioned, we think dessert. Recently our stale bread consisted of wheat, French, lemon rosemary, and olive. Thinking of the bread combination dessert was not in the vision. Besides the stale bread, we also had vegetables that were in need of cooking. What evolved was a vegetable bread pudding that became a side dish, part of a stuffing for flounder and used in an omelet.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le cachat (lu ka-sha) – squash
Spring time means squash blossoms!
We get excited when squash blossoms are available at the farmers market. They are fragile flowers yet so much fun to cook with. The first ones of the season are always for stuffing. Unlike most recipes, we do not batter and deep fry; we stuff and pan fry. Pan frying allows the flavor of the squash and its flower to blossom to its fullest flavor.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Stuffed Squash Blossoms and Catfish”
Cajun French: l’huile d’olive (l’ū-eel d’ō-leev) – olive oil
Pasta? Yes, please.
Pasta is very versatile and can be a main dish, side dish or snack. This salad fits all three descriptions. The salad is a great lunch during the heat of the summer or an afternoon snack while enjoying the spring breezes. It is also one of the best potluck dishes for a crowd. Anytime, anywhere this is a great dish!
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la patate (la pa-tat) – potato
Fresh lump crabmeat is an advantage of living in south Louisiana and we enjoy it whenever we are able. We purchased a pound of lump crabmeat this past Saturday from the Outlaw Katfish Company at the Red Stick Farmers Market. Not wanting to freeze the crab we have been enjoying it in various ways. Also having fresh mushrooms we decided to stuff the mushroom caps and serve them with pasta. The Zapp’s Potato Chips adds a crunch and kick to the caps.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Crab Caps”
Cajun French: bourrer (boor-ā) – stuff
“Have you tried pop up shrimp?” We were asked this question and had no idea what Letti was talking about. What she meant was dried shrimp and no we had never used them. We were familiar with the shrimp and knew many Cajuns used them in gumbos; yet we had not tried them. Never ones to let something go; we purchased a package of dried Louisiana shrimp and put it in the pantry. Last night that bag of shrimp was staring at us and so it was time to give them a try. They are different and not like any shrimp we have used before. In researching we found the dried shrimp are used in oriental cooking especially in soups and stews. We decided to go Italian with them and stuff pasta shells. The taste is definitely different and we will probably give them another try in some other cuisine. The saga continues….
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Pop Up Shrimp”
Cajun French: la casserole (la kas-rol) – casserole
Farmers markets not only offer fresh local items, they also offer local homemade items. Finding fresh homemade vegetarian tamales at the Red Stick Farmers Market made our mouth’s water. We purchased six warm tamales and knew lunch was ready. Very few times we can remember being disappointed with a farmers market purchase, yet the tamales are now on that list. The vegetables tasted like a bag of frozen mixed vegetables that was defrosted and added to the tamales – no taste except the mesa. What to do with the tamales? We are victims of the “starving children in China” generation – eat all your food. Deciding the tamales needed sauce and seasoning, a casserole was in the works blending Cajun with Mexican.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: l’artichaut (l’ar-tee-shō) – artichoke (globe)
Rotini with shrimp = twisted shrimp.
Rotini is pasta we generally use for salads. In preparing dinner we were looking for penne and pulled out rotini instead. What the heck, we used rotini and liked the results. It is always fun to try different pasta shapes especially when the pasta is used in a different way or for a different recipe. This is not a heavy sauce so the rotini worked great allowing the sauce to flow between the spirals of the pasta.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le plie (lu plee) – flounder
Morning in the Gulf, evening on the grill – can’t get much fresher.
Fishing on Grand Isle can be frustrating, exhilarating, boring and exciting all within an hour’s time.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la bétrave (la bāt-rav) – beet
The beet greens from the Red Stick Farmers Market were beautiful, almost too pretty to cook. Not a chance. This is one of our dishes that evolved and then un-evolved. It was breakfast time and we were cooking eggs, beet greens and shrimp wraps – sounds good and it was. Only problem, we forgot the eggs. Hunger pains took over with the shrimp mixture smelling so good, we totally forgot we were planning to add scrambled eggs. No problem, the wrap was fantastic without eggs. This is a great any meal dish and quite easy.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: Louisiane (Loo-ee-zee-on) – Louisiana
Valentine’s Day Dinner
Romantically speaking, oysters say it all. Combine fresh Louisiana oysters with fresh Louisiana shrimp and crab and romance is in the air. We paired this trio with a stuffed portabella mushroom that will leave your taste buds sizzling. Light candles, chill your favorite wine, grab your honey and you will have a night in paradise.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Louisiana Seafood Crowning Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms”
