Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: l’ail (l’a-ee) – garlic
Having crabmeat and greens in the frig and needing to use them, we decided to put them together and serve with pasta and lots of garlic. This dish will make everyone smile and go back for seconds and thirds. The dish could be turned into a casserole and would be great for a pot luck.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la feve (la fev) – bean
In a truck stop in Alliance, NE we saw a five pound sack of dried Pinto Beans. Looking closer, we realized the beans were processed and packaged in Alliance. Always on the lookout for local items, we couldn’t resist. Beans are a staple in our diet; we cook them once a week on average. They are versatile food which can be used as an entrée, vegetable, or snack.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le vinaigre (lu veen-eg) – vinegar
This is a simple and quick grilling recipe that is full of flavor. The balsamic vinegar adds sweetness to the shrimp and complements the sweet potatoes. We eat plenty shrimp and are always looking for new ways to cook shrimp. Although grilling is not new, the addition of balsamic vinegar is a new twist in preparation.
The sweet potato fingerlings were a find at the Junction City, KS Farmers Market. We have used potato fingerlings yet had never seen sweet potato fingerlingers. The fingerlingers were great for grilling, were sweet and complemented the shrimp perfectly.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Grilled Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fingerlings”
Cajun French: la tomate (la to-mat) – tomato
We bought green tomatoes at the Red Stick Farmers Market specifically for frying. Yet we did not want to batter and deep fry the tomatoes. From somewhere in our gray matter we remembered a chef preparing fried green tomatoes with just cornmeal so we decided to give it a try. We use a locally ground cornmeal, Alexander Mill Stone Ground Yellow Cornmeal. We seasoned the cornmeal with Cajun seasoning and used the juice from the tomato for the binder and then we pan fried them. Cooking them in the manner gives you more of the tomato taste and not so much batter. Give them a try!
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Fried Green Tomatoes with Militello’s Cajun Cocktail Sauce”
Cajun French: l’ail (l’a-ee) – garlic
Having purchased a bunch of young kale at the farmers market, we were trying to decide how to use it in a different way. Pasta sounded good since we had not made anything with pasta in a while. We also had farmers market Creole red onion, peppers and garlic; so veggie pasta it would be. There were two stuffed crabs left that would add more flavor. A side salad of tomato, avocado, and shallots would round out the meal.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: la crabe (la krab) – crab
Des Allemandes Outlaw Katfish Kompany sells stuffed crabs, along with live crabs, soft shell crabs, and catfish, at the Red Stick Farmers Market. We enjoy making crab cakes yet when the Outlaw Katfish Kompany’s stuffed crabs are available we opt for them. Each stuffed crab is loaded with crab, seasoning and just the right amount of bread. We headed home with our usual four stuffed crabs and decided to jazz them up.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: la cibleme (la see-blem) – patty pan squash
A 2# white patty pan squash, from Robinson Organic Farm, reached out to us at the Red Stick Farmers Market this week. It was a beauty and a hallowed out bowl was calling. Laurie’s thoughts went to an etoufee stuffing while John’s thoughts went to a more summertime dish – a salad in the hallowed out squash. John won. Below is the dish’s progression as we built the salad and presentation.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: le vent (lu von) – wind
We saw a recipe where the shrimp were peeled and deveined with the head and tail remaining. Sounded interesting so we decided to give it a try. Laurie is the shrimp peeler so she began. It is not difficult just time consuming, thankfully we only had a dozen to “peel”. There are two advantages to shrimp peeled in this manner; plates beautifully and eats easily.
This dish reminds us of lazy days enjoying meals on the dock with gentle cooling breezes.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Cajun French: l’écrevisse (l’ā-krū-vees) – crawfish
An etouffee is a spicy Cajun stew made from a roux and is soooo good!
The word Etouffee comes from the French word etouffer which means to smother.
Having a pound of Louisiana crawfish and not having made etouffee in a while, we decided to make a homemade roux and etouffee. An etouffee is served over rice and we use a Cajun jasmine rice.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la crabe (la krab) – crab
Lunch time with simple combinations.
There is nothing better than fresh lump crabmeat and fresh tomatoes. Having both in the refrigerator, we decided on a Remoulade salad for lunch. The salad was refreshing on a hot summer day. All ingredients were chilled, crisp and full of flavor.
The salad became another simple combination.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Simple Combinations – Crabmeat and Tomato Salad”
