Cajun Food Where You Find It
Cajun French: le goujon (lu goo-jon) – catfish
Catfish is a common fish in Cajun country. Growing up, we ate it often; mostly fired. As adults, we began experimenting with other ways of cooking catfish. Pan grilled has become one of our favorite cooking methods. Many types of sauces can be added and enjoyed. This recipe uses a simple cream sauce along with pan grilled shrimp.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Continue reading “Catfish with Shrimp and Cream Sauce”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!
Cajun French: la moutarde (la moo-tard) – mustard
Fresh Louisiana wild caught catfish – nothing like its sweet taste. We purchased catfish from Outlaw Katfish at the Red Stick Farmers Market and were ready for some of that sweetness. We wanted to try something different and our herb garden was calling us. Fresh tarragon and Creole mustard – yes! We made a paste using the mustard as a base and rubbed one side of the fish. The fish was served with our Rice with Broccoli Flowers.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le sel (lu sel) – salt
Brining has become very popular for meats and poultry. Since neither is on our menu, we decided to try brining fish and WOW! This brine is easy, simple and oh so good. We have used it for catfish as well as salmon and smoked the fish with excellent results. When smoking, we used apple wood which added an extra sweetness.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Fish Brining”
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: faire la cuisine (fair la kū-zeen) – cook meals
Sometimes preparing a meal is not about complicated recipes and fancy presentation; it is about quality ingredients fixed simply so the true taste comes out. That is what dinner last night was all about. We had catfish filets from Outlaw Katfish Kompany and fresh broccoli from Red Stick Farmers Market. It had been a long day, we were tired and not really into fancy cooking. The catfish from Outlaw is small, sweet and melts in your mouth and we were ready.
Mais C’est Bon!
Cajun French: le cypre (lu seep) – cypress
The Bald Cypress Tree is the official tree of Louisiana. This majestic tree grows in the swamps and wetlands of Louisiana and loses its needles in the fall, giving the tree a “bald” appearance. The tree will grow in any wet area, yet the cypress in the swamps will form knees that grow up from the roots. The knees are thought to help the tree with long term survival – giving stability and aiding in oxygen.
In the Cypress Tree swamps, fishing is great and is a favorite pastime of many Cajuns. To honor this area on the sixth day of Christmas, we grilled catfish.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!! Continue reading “Sixth Day of Christmas – 6 Cypress Knees”
Cajun French: le goujon jaune (lu goo-jon jon) – catfish (yellow)
Sweet and tender catfish come from the Outlaw Katfish Kompany, Des Allemands, Louisiana and we wanted to keep that flavor. We decided to bake the catfish and serve it on a Cajun Grain Jasmine Rice dish with a citrus topping made with Plaquemines Parish L’Hoste Navel Oranges and Bocage Honey. These items were purchased from the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge, La.
Mais C’est Bon!
