Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2020 i Louisiana Cookin'

EACH YEAR, we look forward to introducing our new class of Chefs to Watch in this issue. When making our selections, we look for individuals who respect Louisiana’s traditions while drawing from their own backgrounds and pushing the culinary envelope. Our 19th class of Chefs to Watch is comprised of an incredibly talented group of up-and-coming chefs who inspire us with their ingenuity and passion for their craft. This year’s class represents a variety of backgrounds and cooking styles, all contributing to Louisiana’s ever-changing culinary landscape. It has been a pleasure getting to know these chefs better and finding out what makes them tick in the kitchen. We will be honoring the 2020 Chefs to Watch in August with a socially distanced dinner at the beautiful Southern Hotel in downtown…

ONE OF OUR FAVORITE TIMES OF YEAR for Louisiana produce is satsuma season, which typically starts in October and peaks in December. Much of the citrus grown in Louisiana comes from southeast of New Orleans, in Plaquemines Parish. Satsumas are easy to peel and usually seedless, making them great for eating out of hand as a quick snack, and they have a sweet, fragrant flavor that works well in all sorts of recipes. We love tossing satsuma segments into salads and desserts, as well as juicing them for vinaigrettes and sauces. SATSUMA AND PEAR PARFAITS MAKES 4 SERVINGS The flavors of satsumas, pears, and ginger cookies pair well in these creamy, elegant parfaits. 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened1 tablespoon honey2 cups heavy whipping cream½ cup confectioners’ sugar¼ teaspoon vanilla…

“EVERYTHING I COOK, I COOK IT WITH LOVE. I’m not going to do it any other way,” says Reta Nell Durgan, chef and owner of Mama Reta’s Kitchen in downtown Lake Charles. At her restaurant, Reta serves a simple menu of soul food and Southern home cooking that draws a loyal lunch crowd. The youngest of eight, Reta learned to cook by watching her older sisters and taking a home economics class in high school. After working in the restaurant industry for three decades, she decided to fulfill her dream of owning a restaurant. Reta happened upon the building that now houses her restaurant one day when she went downtown to pay her water bill. When she saw that the building was vacant, she inquired about it and felt a…

THE COMMISSARY NEW ORLEANS The Commissary, which opened in April, was designed as a commercial kitchen to streamline operations for the Dickie Brennan & Co. family of restaurants; a market to sell direct-to-guest steaks, seafood, and prepared refrigerated items like Turtle Soup and Crabmeat Cheesecake; and an eatery with New Orleans-inspired salads, sandwiches, and entrées. The Commissary offers pickup for same-day orders and preorders. thecommissarynola.com CUVÉE THIBOBAUX Cuvée opened in Thibodaux in July with Nathan Richard as executive chef and general manager. Owner and wine director Dr. Jody Plaisance worked with Nathan to create a wine bar and bistro with a menu that highlights regional ingredients. The menu features house-made bread and charcuterie, small plates, and an expansive selection of wine and craft cocktails. enjoycuvee.com DAKAR NEW ORLEANS Serigne Mbaye,…

WHAT OTHERS USE AS BAIT or try to exterminate, Louisianans use as the main ingredient in bayou delicacies. Crawfish, opossum, raccoon, nutria, alligator, and tree perch (that’s squirrel for the uninitiated) are just a few examples of our exotic cuisine. In Louisiana, wild game cooking is generational; it’s in our DNA. If we don’t know what something is, we just heat up a pot of rice and put it on top. Outside of Louisiana, alligator as a menu item is virtually unheard of. Most highly prized is the firm, white flesh of the tenderloin and tail meat. Alligator meat is tasty, many say somewhat a cross between chicken and tuna, though the meat is tough if not properly prepared. Once listed on the endangered species list, there are now approximately…

For the past 19 years, Louisiana Cookin’ has identified up-and-coming chefs around the Bayou State as Chefs to Watch. These chefs are passionate individuals with a dedication to their craft and a talent that enriches Louisiana’s ever-evolving culinary scene. This spring, Louisiana’s restaurant industry was faced with one of its toughest challenges, when the coronavirus pandemic forced dining establishments to close their dining rooms. Throughout the past few months, we have watched in awe as local chefs and restaurants adapted their business models to continue serving their communities. We are honored to present our 2020 Chefs to Watch, a group of people who have continued to impress us with their perseverance and commitment to their customers. The 2020 Chefs to Watch are Logan Boudreaux of Cinclare in Thibodaux, Ana Castro…

There’s no doubt about it: barbecue is a big deal in the South. From Texas and North Carolina to Memphis and St. Louis, there are a variety of regional barbecue styles that highlight different meat cuts, cooking methods, and sauces. Unlike other states, Louisiana does not have a clearly defined barbecue style, but it is home to a number of smokehouses that hold their own in a region that loves barbecue. In New Orleans, many credit Hogs for the Cause for bringing barbecue into the forefront of the city’s culinary scene. This barbecue competition began in 2009 and has grown into a major event and fundraiser for pediatric brain cancer patients. New Orleans’ barbecue scene has exploded in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. In north Louisiana,…

COFFEE IS SYNONYMOUS with the city of New Orleans. From Café du Monde’s famous café au lait to the fiery spectacle that is Antoine’s Café Brulot Diabolique, coffee is ingrained into many of the city’s culinary traditions. One of the Crescent City’s longest-tenured coffee roasters is French Market Coffee, which first sold its cans of coffee at New Orleans’ famous open-air market more than a century ago. Coffee has a long history in the Big Easy. It was brought to the city in the 1700s, and by the 19th century, New Orleans had become the second-largest port in the country and one of the country’s premier coffee-handling ports. In fact, according to the Port of New Orleans, 250,000 tons of coffee beans currently move through the port each year—enough to…

IN THE LATER PART OF THE 2000s, around 2008 or 2009, I was working on a cocktail book called Rogue Cocktails. We put it out the second year Cure was open. It was an independently published book of drinks that offered different takes on things. A lot of the drinks were very bitters-heavy or vermouth-heavy, and it felt like a new frontier at the time because all these things were coming to market that had not been available. I made a drink as a triptych, which is the same drink built in three different ways, just to show how the same ingredients put through different processes have such different vibes. It was basically just this interesting idea to have a drink that was presented in three ways for the book,…

LET’S BREAK BREAD. A portion, a challah. Golden, braided loaves of airy, egg-rich, honey-sweetened challah bread are beloved by many, though the bread’s origins are deeply connected to the Jewish community. The word challah comes from the tradition to take a small piece of dough and burn it in the oven as a blessing. It is said that the word challah was coined in Austria during the 15th century and became a ritual bread as Jews migrated east from Germany, Austria, and Bohemia into Poland and Russia. Jewish immigration and migration to Louisiana is relatively modern. Around the mid-19th century, Jews formed communities all across the state, including Shreveport, Lake Charles, Morgan City, Bogalusa, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. With these new communities came their food traditions, adapted to the…

BELOVED THROUGHOUT CAJUN COUNTRY, tarte à la bouille can best be described as a sweet custard pie. French for “burnt milk tart,” this sweet treat is made up of a thick crust resembling sugar cookie dough and a silky custard filling made from everyday staples such as sugar, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Recipes vary from family to family, and some like to add a lattice crust or fresh fruit on top of their tarts. For this recipe, we made miniature versions of this iconic tart, perfectly portioned for a dessert you can enjoy any time of year. MINI TARTES À LA BOUILLE MAKES 6 (5-INCH) TARTS These sweet custard tarts are a delicacy in south Louisiana. ½ cup granulated sugar¼ cup all-purpose flour⅛ teaspoon nutmeg⅛ teaspoon kosher salt1 cup…

“I GREW UP not even knowing the word Cajun yet living a ‘Cajun’ life,” Melissa Martin writes in her cookbook, Mosquito Supper Club (Artisan Books, 2020). Melissa opened her New Orleans restaurant of the same name to share the stories behind the food she grew up eating, and in the book, she delivers a beautifully written and photographed narrative of her upbringing in Terrebonne Parish and an intimate glimpse into what life on the bayou is really like. “The stories came first, trying to debunk myths of what it was like to grow up on the bayou and what people believe Cajun to be,” Melissa says. Melissa grew up in Chauvin in a family of oyster fishermen and a long line of women who cook. She writes that the women…