Cajun Food Where You Find It
Growing up, Cajun Pap was a staple in our grandmother’s home. Pap was placed over cake, eaten as a custard and given to babies. It is a type of pan custard, cooked in a double boiler and eaten warm or chilled. Either way is delicious. We hope you enjoy Cajun Pap as much as we do.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Cajun Pap”SHRIMP & GRITS
Cajun French: le grue (lu grū) – grits
Shrimp & Grits is a south Louisiana favorite whether you are in Cajun Country or New Orleans. Our dish comes from Cajun Country with the added flavor of Andouille. Elegant entertaining or family dinner, shrimp & grits is perfect.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Shrimp & Grits”
Christmas lights and meat pies may not seem like a match. Yet in Natchitoches, LA, they go hand in hand. The only French settlement in north Louisiana has been home to a Christmas Light Tradition since 1927. Long before the Christmas Lights began, street vendors were hawking meat pies in the 1800s. Today there are no street vendors hawking meat pies, yet several restaurants offer meat pies on their menu.
Although Natchitoches did not invent meat pies, the city’s meat pie is the official meat pie of Louisiana. Below is an easy meat pie filling with refrigerator dough used for the crust. Generally one will not find sauce for Natchitoches Meat Pies. The sauce has been added to the recipe and adds an added depth to the meat pie. The meat pie filling is based on the Official Natchitoches Meat Pie Recipe.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Natchitoches Meat Pies”Great summer salad! Easy to make and even better the next day.
Continue reading “Cajunville Chicken Salad”Cajun French: le pain grillé (lu pain gree-ā) – Toast (Bread)
This recipe was originally designed as an appetizer for 4 people. The bread size was large enough to hold two shrimp and veggies. While this is great as an appetizer, it also can be served over pasta, used as a taco filling, pizza or whatever your imagination thinks up. This recipe is quick, easy and versatile. If you have leftovers, they are great the next day!
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Cajun Shrimp on Herb Encrusted Toast Points”Cajun French: la celeri (la sel-ree) – celery
Every Cajun has “their” Jambalaya recipe. All recipes are good, yours is the best. John’s recipe has been honed over the years and I guess it still is. Each time John would cook jambalaya Laurie’s Dad would tell John, “this is the best Jambalaya yet”. Part of the fun of cooking is always tweaking a recipe. That is what a recipe is for – a map or guideline – yours to add your touch and make it your special dish. We hope you enjoy this Jambalaya recipe and maybe add or change to make it your own.
Mais C’est Bon!!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Jambalaya by John”Cajun French: le piment fort (lu pee-mon for) – hot pepper
Big plumb Jalapeno Peppers are hard to pass up. So when we saw these green treasures staring at us, in our basket they went. We were already planning what the stuffing would be and discussing how to cook them before we even left the market. These were grilled on our electric pit and they were very tasty, full of flavor.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: la chevrette (la shuv-ret) – shrimp
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp does not have BBQ sauce or anything related to BBQ. In fact, no one is sure how the name came about. What is sure, the original BBQ Shrimp was developed at Pascal’s Manale Restaurant in New Orleans in the 1950s. The recipe was based on a dish had by Vincent Sutro, a regular at Pascal’s, while visiting Chicago. Unfortunately Sutro could not remember the exact ingredients; something about shrimp, butter and pepper. So chef Jake Radosta went into the kitchen, came out with a dish and served Sutro. Sutro said it was not the dish he had in Chicago, but it was better than the dish he had. BBQ Shrimp was born and has been on the menu ever since. Today many restaurants and home cooks prepare BBQ Shrimp, each having their own twist.
Being Cajun, we add our own twist to the recipe. To be honest, it is the way it was prepared in Laurie’s family. The Cajun Trinity is smothered down in olive oil before adding anything else. We like it this way because the trinity gives the gravy some substance, especially when dipping bread.
We admit there is an enormous amount of butter. But then that is what makes the gravy so good. Don’t shortchange on the butter. It is not an everyday dish, so make it and savor every bite.
Mais C’est Bon!
We travel the US in our RV and are always looking for local spots to visit. Breakfast out is one of our favorites and we thought we had found the perfect spot. Did our research, read reviews and headed to La Pines Cafe. Arrived to a crowded parking lot, another good sign. Walked in and found the seating more than we expected and were told to sit anywhere, another good sign. We had hardly warmed our chairs when the server brought menus and took our coffee order, another good sign. Coffee arrived bold and hot, another good sign. At this point we are thinking we are really going to like this place. Placed our order and enjoyed our coffee.
Cajun French: le poisson (lu poo-a-son) – fish
While traveling we are not always able to buy fresh fish and we had been fresh fish deprived for a while. Heading back to south Mississippi, we knew fresh fish was waiting. Laurie enjoys fish en papillote and had not had it for some time. John’s creative juices started flowing and below is the result.
Mais C’est Bon!
