Jambalaya by John

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!!

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Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

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!

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BBQ Shrimp Louisiana Style

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!

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La Pines Café – Slidell, LA

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.

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Fish en Papillote

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!

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Chicken Pasta Salad

Cajun French:  le poulet farci (lu poo-lā far-see) – baked chicken


There are numerous, too many to count, of chicken pasta salad recipes. Why another one? We saw the basics of this recipe on Facebook and decided to make it our own. We gave ours a Mediterranean flair with a kick of Cajun and wow, it worked!

Mais C’est Bon!

 

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Joie de Vivre Coffee and Culture Café Revisited

Cajun French: faim (fain) – hungry

 

What's CookingLeaving church Sunday, as usual John was lobbying for donuts. Laurie was shaking her head fervently as we walked to the truck. The truck just so happened to be parked near Joie de Vivre Coffee & Culture Café with an outdoor sign of “What’s Cooking!” Laurie’s eyes veered to the sign and gazed upon Crawfish Flatbread. John was easily convinced and in we went to try the beckoning flavors. Continue reading “Joie de Vivre Coffee and Culture Café Revisited”

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Let’s Eat Cake – Boudin King Cake

Cajun French: pétrir (pā-treer) – knead

 

IMG_6803Cajuns are an adaptable people. We take what the area offers and make it our own. So we wonder why it took not only a non-Cajun, but also a non-native Louisianan to develop the Boudin King Cake. Granted Dr. Boudin (Bob Carriker) has been living in the Lafayette area since 1997; he is not native. He calls Louisiana home and has come to embrace our culture and food. In honor of Dr. Boudin and his Boudin King Cake, we have made our own, adapting it to our tastes.

One bread recipe will make a very large king cake. We made ours in our Dutch oven so we adjusted for the size of our pot.

Mais C’est Bon!

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Grilled Veggie Stack

Cajun French: le plat (lu pla) – dish (of food)

 

PictureWhen squash and eggplant appear at the markets, Laurie cannot resist. Living in an RV, space is at a premium and fresh produce is purchased as needed. That is except squash and eggplant – usually we purchase more than needed because there are so many different ones to choose. This week we managed to only purchase yellow squash and eggplant. Laurie was proud of herself for moderation. Grilling is a favorite cooking method of ours and tonight was grilled veggies. For a different approach we stacked the veggies and topped with grated cheese. Fresh corn was also a purchase so it was grilled also.

Mais C’est Bon!

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