Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2021 i Louisiana Cookin'

MARDI GRAS is my favorite holiday. I love everything about it: the lively parades, the colorful floats, the upbeat music, the delicious food, the feeling of merriment and joie de vivre that permeates the air. With all of this excitement, how could you not be ready for Carnival season? Due to current events, I expect that Carnival 2021 will be quite different from years past, but there are still ways we can celebrate from home. This year, I look forward to indulging in my favorite king cakes and trying a few new ones, but I also plan on baking some of my own. In this issue, we included four king cake recipes that will help make that feat a little easier with the use of store-bought dough. Our Easy Cinnamon…

OYSTERS ARE MUCH MORE VERSATILE than you might think. With their sweet, briny flavor and plump texture, they are nearly perfect served straight from the shell, dressed with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon or a splash of hot sauce. But for those times when you’re craving something different, oysters can be just as spectacular baked, fried, poached, or roasted. This winter, we have a few new oyster recipes for you to try. Whether you bake oysters with herbs and butter, fry them and pile them on slider rolls with crunchy slaw, or poach them in a savory pan sauce, you’re bound to fall in love with one of these stellar ways to cook with oysters. BAKED OYSTERS WITH HERB BUTTER AND FRIED SHALLOTS MAKES 18 Herb butter adds…

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEARLY TWO DECADES, there is a new face leading the kitchen at Commander’s Palace. Last October, the restaurant announced Meg Bickford as the new executive chef to helm the kitchen at the famed New Orleans restaurant known for its “Haute Creole cuisine.” Meg is no stranger to the Commander’s Family of Restaurants. She has been working for the restaurant group since 2008 and previously served as executive chef at the now closed Café Adelaide, where she was named as a Louisiana Cookin’ 2017 Chef to Watch. Meg earned her dream job as executive chef at Commander’s Palace following Chef Tory McPhail’s departure to pursue an opportunity with a restaurant group in Bozeman, Montana. “I have very big shoes to fill. There’s a very short list…

MANY OF US GREW UP eating Pop-Tarts, but have you ever tried making your own? Though it’s tough to beat the convenience of the store-bought variety, making them at home is a fun baking project. This is our Mardi Gras-inspired take on the beloved breakfast pastry, complete with a flaky pastry crust, sweet brown sugar-cinnamon filling, cinnamon icing, and Carnival-colored sugars. They are the perfect breakfast before a busy day of parades, and you can also make them throughout the year and change up the sugars to fit whatever occasion you are celebrating. KING CAKE TOASTER PASTRIES MAKES 8 A brown sugar-cinnamon filling and festive sugars make these homemade pastries a delicious Mardi Gras treat. 1⅔ cups unsalted butter, cubed3 cups plus 3 teaspoons all-purpose flour, divided1 tablespoon kosher salt⅔…

THE COCKTAILS WE SERVE at Belle Époque Absinthe Lounge are intended to gently introduce people to absinthe and the culture surrounding its long and storied history. Our Tremblement de Terre is an after-dinner cocktail that reimagines a historic cocktail created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, a French painter, printmaker, and illustrator. It dates to the Belle Époque, or “Beautiful Era,” a time of intense innovation in France after the Franco-Prussian War and before World War I. Absinthe was invented in Switzerland and was originally used as an herbal tincture taken daily to ward off common ailments. It made its way to France and was packed in soldiers’ medical kits to ward off malaria while they were fighting in Algeria in the 1840s. Sailors returned with an affinity for the herbal elixir,…

MODESTO TACOS TEQUILA WHISKEY BATON ROUGE The Baton Rouge restaurant group behind Izzo’s Illegal Burrito, Lit Pizza, and Rocca Pizzeria opened its latest concept, Modesto Tacos Tequila Whiskey, on Burbank Drive in September. The menu features a taco section with options such as Chicken Mole and Brisket Birria, as well as enchiladas, salads, and appetizers including Queso Fundido. As its name suggests, the restaurant offers an extensive selection of tequila and whiskey in addition to fresh margaritas and craft cocktails. eatmodesto.com RED STICK SPICE COMPANY BATON ROUGE Red Stick Spice Company recently unveiled its new 1,800-square-foot teaching kitchen directly next door to the retail location on Jefferson Street in Mid City Baton Rouge. The new kitchen features four full-size Monogram ranges, a hearth oven, a 12-seat dining room table, and an…

EVERY WINTER, my brothers and I looked forward to the boucherie, a social event that gathered neighboring German, African American, and Cajun families to slaughter several hogs. This laborious task provided fresh meat as well as smoked and salted meats for families’ use throughout the winter, spring, and summer seasons. Everyone was assigned a task, from fire-stoker to bristle-scraper to boudin-maker. Before dawn, large cauldrons of scalding water were prepared over hot, open fires. Several 300- to 800-pound pigs were slaughtered by cutting the jugular vein, with the blood gathered and salted to make red boudin. The pig was scalded and the bristles removed, which were sold later to brush manufacturers. Then the pig was strung from a tree, and the intestines removed and cleaned to use as casing for…

BARBECUE SHRIMP AND CREAMY WHITE GRITS MAKES 6 SERVINGS (photo on page 67) Inspired by the bold flavors of New Orleans barbecue shrimp, this saucy take on the classic combo packs a punch of savory spice. 1 (12-ounce) bottle India pale ale beer1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce*1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce2 teaspoons Louisiana Hot Sauce1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary1 teaspoon minced garlic2 pounds large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails left on)⅓ cup plus ¼ cup salted butter,cubed and divided1 lemon, thinly sliced2 cups water2 cups chicken broth½ teaspoon kosher salt1 cup quick-cooking white grits1 cup shredded extra-sharpwhite Cheddar cheese¼ teaspoon ground black pepperLemon wedges, to serve Garnish: fresh rosemary 1. Preheat oven to 400°. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together beer, chili sauce, Worcestershire, hot sauce, rosemary, and garlic.…

BY ITS VERY NATURE, jambalaya is a relatively quick-cooking dish. To make it, all you have to do is brown some meat, sauté Louisiana’s holy trinity, add rice and liquid, and simmer until the rice is cooked through. All in all, it takes about an hour of combined prep and cook time. In this recipe, we sped things up even more by using frozen vegetables, instant rice, and rotisserie chicken. SHORTCUT JAMBALAYA MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS The addition of tomatoes gives this Creole-style jambalaya brightness and acidity. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter1 (10-ounce) bag frozen vegetable seasoning blend8 ounces andouille sausage, cut into ½-inch slices1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes2 cups chicken stock2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning*3 cups instant rice*2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (about 8 ounces)1 tablespoon…

WHILE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY unwinds from the busy holiday season, Louisiana prepares to move into Carnival season and welcome back the beloved king cake. While cinnamon-filled brioche king cakes can be found in nearly every bakery and grocery store in the state, the galette des rois, or French king cake, is an elegant specialty offered at select bakeries. These king cakes start appearing inbakeries on Epiphany (January 6), a Christian feast day observing the arrival of the three kings to visit the infant Jesus after his birth, and are available through Mardi Gras day, which falls on February 16 this year. Originating in the northern region of France, this style of king cake features layers of delicate puff pastry filled with frangipane, a decadent pastry cream made from…

New Orleans is famous for its beignets. These deep-fried delicacies served underneath a pile of confectioners’ sugar became popular at the French Market during the 1920s and have been an essential part of the city’s cuisine ever since. Exactly how the beignet ended up in New Orleans is unclear. Some believe that the recipe for beignets made its way to New Orleans in the mid-18th century with French Acadian settlers, who brought their culture and cuisine with them as they migrated south to Louisiana. Others think they came to New Orleans even earlier with the arrival of the Ursuline nuns of France in 1727. No matter how they got here, today, beignets are a beloved treat in New Orleans and throughout the state of Louisiana. They are typically made from…

TASSO HAS LONG BEEN an indispensable ingredient of Louisiana cuisine, used to impart flavor to red and white beans, gumbos, jambalayas, and more. Tasso (pronounced “tah-so”) is often referred to as ham, but it is actually made from flavorful pork shoulder, which is heavily seasoned and smoked to create the finished product. Although tasso can be eaten alone, it is most often used as a seasoning meat to add spicy, smoky flavor to a variety of Cajun and Creole recipes as well as some creative new dishes, like this unique take on the grilled cheese sandwich. GRILLED TASSO PIMIENTO CHEESE SANDWICHES WITH PEPPER JELLY MAKES 4 Tasso adds a spicy, salty flavor to the pimiento cheese in this recipe. 2 teaspoons olive oil½ cup finely chopped tasso1 (8-ounce) package extra-sharp…