Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2013 i Louisiana Cookin'

Thanksgiving is much more than just a meal. It is a time, and sometimes the only time, for families and friends to get together to share stories, food, and feel, well, like a family. This year, we travelled to Monroe, Louisiana, to produce a story about a joint Thanksgiving menu between Miss Kay Robertson of the popular Duck Dynasty television show and Chef Cory Bahr, owner of Restaurant Cotton in Monroe and a 2011 Louisiana Cookin’ Chef to Watch. The meal that they came up with is striking in its honesty and fidelity to Northern Louisiana’s cooking style, which is neither Cajun nor Creole. Though those styles dominate the popular consciousness of Louisiana cooking, they are by no means the only fare served in the Bayou State. In the northeastern…

A longtime staple of the Thanksgiving table, cranberry sauce is easy to overlook when preparing the annual feast. Here, we’ve taken a tart cranberry sauce and infused it with sweet Louisiana satsumas. Satsumas, a local gem of the citrus crop, are widely available throughout South Louisiana from late fall through early winter. Their quick-peeling skin makes them easy to snack on, but we love them for cooking. Their flavor is similar to clementines, though they tend to grow a bit larger and have a sweet-tart flavor. As the feast nears, remember that this sweet and spicy chutney can be prepared up to one week in advance. CRANBERRY-SATSUMA CHUTNEY MAKES ABOUT 6½ CUPS 1 pound satsumas or tangerines • ¾ cup chopped yellow onion • 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño • 2…

Everyone loves tart cranberries and Louisiana's fantastic sweet potatoes this time of year. Combining them with toasty pecans, this Sweet Potato Salad with maple citrus dressing is full of the flavor and spice of the season. Serve this hearty salad, and you will definitely add flair to any festive holiday meal. With all the parties and events coming up, you will need an outstanding, easy pick-up appetizer, and Sweet Potato Skins are just the ticket. You’re probably very familiar with the all-American classic, but this savory twist, using nutrient-rich Louisiana sweet potatoes, will please any crowd. _ Nutritional information per serving: 149 calories, 36% calories from fat, 6g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 47mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate, 3g dietary fiber, 9g sugars, 2g protein. Dietary exchanges: 1½ starch, 1…

When I was a little girl, like many families across Louisiana, we had a pair of large pecan trees. Each fall, their bounty would rain down on our backyard, just waiting to be picked up, cracked open, and enjoyed. We spent many hours around the kitchen table cleaning and savoring our treasures, even managing to put some aside for later use. As the holidays approached, large quantities of delicious pecans showed up in every sort of dish from savory salads, stuffings, and casseroles to sweet cakes, pies, cookies, fudge, and quintessential pralines. I especially loved Mama’s sweet potato pone with spices and a rich topping of buttery pecans and her exotic stuffed dates. When I was 10, we moved into a new house and left behind our pecan trees. We…

TUNE IN Duck Dynasty airs Wednesdays on A&E. as one of the ultimate American meals, Thanksgiving is a celebration of food, family, and prosperity. In Northern Louisiana, where wild game is woven into the local fabric, a turkey may be replaced by a duck, goose, or covey of quail. Any of these birds may end up being the meal’s centerpiece, but the focus on family is always paramount. As Miss Kay Robertson, a mother of four and the matriarch of the Duck Commander family, prides herself on her Southern cooking and ability to get her family together around the table. Each episode of the family’s hit television show, Duck Dynasty, ends with a heartwarming North Louisiana meal. The iconic image of the Robertsons’s supper ties together the show’s sense of…

Sometimes it’s something simple that turns a good cocktail into a great one. This riff on the classic Manhattan from Pamplona in Lafayette, Louisiana, is taken to the next level with homemade brandied cherries. Aft er one taste of the sweet and spicy syrup, you’ll be hooked. FIVE BOROUGHS MAKES 1 SERVING Courtesy of James Wise Pamplona, Lafayette, Louisiana 1½ ounces bourbon, such as Woodford Reserve ½ ounce sweet vermouth, such as Martini and Rossi ½ ounce amaro liqueur, such as Gran Classico ½ ounce ginger liqueur, such as Domaine de Canton ½ ounce brandied cherry juice* 1 brandied cherry (optional) 1. Fill a rocks glass with ice and set aside. 2. In a separate glass, combine bourbon, sweet vermouth, amaro liqueur, ginger liqueur, and brandied cherry juice. Add ice,…

Send a letter to editor@louisianacookin.com. I recently tried the Coffee-Rubbed Short Rib Cheese Burger (September/October 2013) and wanted to let y’all know how awesome it was. It was a production, aging the short ribs and then grinding them, but the flavors were kickin.’ The Cajunized Onions were the best part! I’m going to put them on steaks, with pork, you name it! —Roger Sanchez Chalmette, Louisiana Now that my fig tree has grown, it’s producing so much more fruit than my family and I can eat. The fig recipes in your last issue were a lot of fun to make, and the Fig and Pecan Crostada is hard to beat. I usually freeze the extra figs, but now I’ll have to try my hand at canning. —Glenda Welks Lafayette, Louisiana…

If you are anything like me, you wait all year for this one moment when we can cast all of our good intentions aside and simply eat, eat, eat. It’s holiday time, and if that’s not the best excuse to overindulge, please tell me what is. I have been waiting impatiently to tell you about a few cookbooks that will make this year’s celebrations even tastier. First, one of the story editors from HBO’s series Treme, Lolis Eric Elie, has come out with Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans (Chronicle Books, 2013). Not only is Lolis a compelling writer, but he grew up in Tremé, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and the one I call home. Lolis’s book cleverly blends recipes from renowned…

Although gumbo is probably the most iconic dish for cold, wet evenings along Louisiana’s bayous, I remember my father claiming that besides gumbo, he loved a fresh pork sausage supper with creamy grits, smothered greens, and skillet cornbread drizzled with cane syrup when the wind rattled our windows. Of course, just about all the small grocery stores near my hometown of St. Martinville made their own signature fresh pork sausage, but my father oft en made his own. Mama would get out the old hand-operated meat grinder, clamp it to the kitchen table, and roll her eyes. Papa laid out his ingredients— chunks of pork shoulder, green onions, garlic, salt, and cayenne. He didn’t bother stuffing the mixture into casings aft er it was ground; he merely formed the sausage…

In a city where chefs are celebrities, it is only fitting that they be celebrated and immortalized in a book like Lorin Gaudin’s New Orleans Chef’s Table (Lyon’s Press, 2013). The tome, which is divided by neighborhood, is a collection of dishes from many of the most innovative and exciting culinary professionals in the Crescent City. According to Lorin, New Orleans cuisine changes constantly and is stewarded by chefs who respect the past while fearlessly looking forward. “No one has abandoned tradition in the name of progress—the two walk hand in hand. We embrace our food traditions, eat lovingly and happily from a plate of red beans and rice or let the juices run down our arms from a messy roast beef po-boy, but that doesn’t stop us from diving…

More than 200 years ago, wealthy families living in the French Quarter of New Orleans celebrated Christmas Eve as their ancestors from France and Canada did before them. Families gathered in splendid old homes just aft er Midnight Mass for a sumptuous meal that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Today, Réveillon meals are still hosted in many New Orleans households and restaurants throughout the holiday season. New Orleans native Sarah Landrum read about Réveillon dinners in Quebec, Canada, and knowing they were also an old New Orleans tradition, she decided to make them part of her family’s holiday celebration. Sarah began the process by researching the foods served by 19th-century New Orleans families and adapting them for the 21st-century palate. She cooks as much as she can…

Throughout the fall and early winter, hunters in the Sportsman’s Paradise test their skills and mettle tracking deer through the Louisiana wilderness. Aft er a successful trip, their freezers may be filled with hundreds of pounds of venison in a variety of cuts. Between the steaks, stew meat, backstrap, and sausages, these intrepid woodsmen must be creative in the kitchen. Jack Queyrouze, of Mandeville, Louisiana, sent us this recipe for his favorite venison sausage stew, which is studded with tender Brussels sprouts. To thank him for this recipe, we are sending him a Louisiana Cookin' Cajun Creole Recipe Collection CD. Send your favorite home recipes to editor@louisianacookin.com, and if we print yours, you’ll receive a fabulous prize. JACK’S HUNTER STEW MAKES ABOUT 6 SERVINGS 1. pounds sweet potatoes peeled•and cut…

The rabbits that roam the Louisiana woods and swampland are quite tasty when served up the right way, and my affection for them goes way back to childhood hunting trips with my father. Thankfully, there’s more than one way to skin a rabbit, so to speak. At Hot Tails in New Roads, Louisiana, Chef Cody Carroll and his wife Sam have featured rabbit on the menu since they opened. The golden fried rabbit is served with a hearty helping of classic red beans and rice. It is my go-to dish at their up-and-coming eatery. Another great way to eat rabbit is smothered in a fricassee. The lean meat cooks with a myriad of vegetables until it is tender enough to shred apart and melt in your mouth. Chef Chris Wadsworth,…

These incredible desserts feature classic Creole flavors and just the right amount of flare. From the tall, elegant Chocolate-Chickory Doberge cake to the fun and almost-addictive Bananas Foster Cupcakes, there is something for everyone. With time on everyone’s mind, our Test Kitchen has included tips and tricks to help you pull off these sweets without a hitch. Take note of what can be made ahead of time and what should be prepared just before serving. This time of year, a little bit of preparation goes a long way. When planning holiday menus, choose desserts that fit the overall mood of the evening. While the Coconut Soufflés may be the perfect cap to an elegant dinner with friends and family, the Praline Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce is a decadent…

Boudin, Bourbon and Beer New Orleans, Louisiana • November 8 What do you get when you combine the talents of 40 of the country’s brightest chefs, stellar bourbon, and top-quality local beer? One unforgettable night-long festival, that’s what. Chefs Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, and Donald Link started Boudin, Bourbon and Beer to celebrate and help preserve the culture around Louisiana’s artisanal meat and rice sausage— boudin. This year, 3,000 hungry fans are expected to partake in the festivities at The Foundry in New Orleans. In addition to the boudin, guests will enjoy music by the Lost Bayou Ramblers, sample bourbon from Buffalo Trace, and try specialty brews from Abita. Proceeds from the evening go to support the many charitable endeavors of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation. For tickets and more information…