"Breakfast at Brennan's and Dinner, Too" by Pip, Jimmy and Ted Brennan, Proprietors of Brennan's, New Orleans - Shrimp Creole - Mardi Gras!

Date I made this recipe:  February 28, 2017 – Fat Tuesday and the start of Mardi Gras!

Breakfast at Brennan's® and Dinner, Too by Pip, Jimmy and Ted Brennan, Proprietors

Published by Brennan's Inc.

ISBN: 0-9639819-0-0; © 1994

Purchased at Barnes and Noble (Used), Roseville, MN

Recipe:  Shrimp Creole – p. 159

Ah, Mardi Gras!  Every year, it arrives before we know it, kicking off the Lenten season with one big party in the Big Easy (and your "Little Easy's," i.e. other southern cities that celebrate Mardi Gras).  After using this cookbook, I realized that I am going to have to beef up my "Mardi Gras" cookbook collection as supplies are getting low.

This cookbook, Breakfast at Brennan's – and Dinner, Too!, is from one of the leading restaurant families in New Orleans, the Brennan family.  Starting in 1946, various Brennan family members started creating some of New Orleans's most beloved restaurants (and food) and are still going strong today.  The first of these restaurants – Brennan's – kicked off the restaurant boom, but they are also known for the restaurant, Commander's Palace, from which notable chefs Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme got their starts.

Like many restaurant families, the Brennan's have had their share of controversies, starting with the contentious 1974 departure of (aunt) Ella Brennan from her family's restaurant group.  She left Brennan's to manage Commander's Palace and never looked back until 2014 when she returned Brennan's for a visit.   Wow—that was a long-lasting family feud although I do believe it ended with that visit. Ella made a name for herself at Commander's Palace and is the subject of a 2016 documentary about her life and her loves – New Orleans and food.

This book though, is about the restaurant run by Ella's nephews, Pip, Jimmy and Ted Brennan.  Their father, and Ella's brother, Owen, gave the family its start in the business and after Ella's departure, they took over running Brennan's. 

Although I've been to New Orleans twice in my life, I have never been inside either restaurant although I would love to some day, particularly Brennan's.  Brennan's interior has been much discussed and is much-photographed as it is classic south:  soothing green and pink abound and I love it. Even the exterior is pink! Although the interior has been redone from time to time, the private party room remains the same and you can't beat classic design like that.  Locally, Murray's steak house was known for their pale pink interior but then was redesigned and painted yellow a few years back.  I have not seen the new interior and I get why the Murray family wanted to upgrade, but still.  At any rate, some of you may consider Brennan's interior downright gaudy in which case, please leave the reservation lines open for someone like me who would appreciate, nay, bask in it!  (I am an old soul.)

At any rate, when it came time to find my Mardis Gras meal, I didn't have to look too far and honestly, could have probably cooked my way through the entire book (save for the frog leg's) but time was of the essence (hmm...Emeril's "Essence?") and so I selected a New Orleans's classic, "Shrimp Creole."   And you can't go wrong with Shrimp Creole but I tell you, you can also "go right" by this dish and make it up the day before you are going to eat it to let the flavors really settle in.  I enjoyed the dish "fresh," but I really enjoyed it the next day.

Another reason to make it up and let it settle in is that it calls for 2 tablespoons paprika which is an awful lot, but it brings unique flavor to this dish that I liked.  If you are around my age (late 50's), you grew up during an era when paprika was something you sprinkled on a plate of lettuce that was topped with a canned peach half and cottage cheese to make a fancy salad.  Back then, paprika was used to add color to a dish rather than as a flavor-enhancing spice.  To be honest with you, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that much paprika but finally ended on the side of "She likes it, hey 'Mikey!'"  (1972 Life Cereal commercial). 

In addition to the paprika, the recipe's other spices include cayenne pepper (naturally—this is New Orleans we are talking about), white pepper and Italian seasoning which again, only added to the flavor profile...and now I'm sounding like the judges on Chopped!

And as always, no god-fearing New Orleans' [Creole] cook would ever consider making a dish like this without the "Holy Trinity" i.e. you green pepper, onion, and celery, which is why they are pretty much the first ingredients on the list right after butter – ha! 

Now should you for some reason (allergy, dislike – other) decide shrimp is not your thing, you should be able to find something equally delicious in this cookbook as it supplies you with a wide-range of options.  Here are the Table of Contents categories:

• Appetizers
• Soups
• Sauces
• Salads
• Salad Dressings
• Breakfast
• Entrees
• Side Dishes
• Desserts
• Drinks

Note though, that many dishes in this cookbook are heavy on seafood, especially shrimp and oysters, even some of the breakfast dishes.  And unlike other parts of the country, salad dressings are almost as important as the salad itself; this holds true for sauces as well. Then there's the drink menu and you should know that Brennan's drink menu is almost as famous as the restaurant itself.  My personal preference though, for making a meal is to make an entree and that's why I went with the Shrimp Creole but feel free to roam about the cabin.

All right then, so Mardi Gras is underway, Lent is underway and the whole thing will come full circle on Easter Sunday, April 16^th when it's time for ham.  Meanwhile, this dish makes a great and tasty entree for those of you observing a Lenten meatless Friday so have at it and enjoy!

Shrimp Creole – 8 servings

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1 ½ cups chopped green bell pepper

1 ½ cups chopped onion

1 ½ cups chopped celery

1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup tomato paste

2 tablespoons paprika

1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 ½ cups chicken stock or water

1 cup tomato juice (Ann's Note:  I cheated.  I did not want to stock up on tomato juice just for this dish so I pureed some of the tomatoes this recipe uses and added that juice to the mixture.)

1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes

1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of white pepper

1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons water

3 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

4 cups white rice (Ann's Note:  cooked white rice, made however you want to.)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the bell pepper, onion, celery, and garlic until tender, 5 to 8 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, and Italian seasoning and cook an additional 3 minutes.  Add 1 ½ cups chicken stock or water, tomato juice, tomatoes, Worcestershire, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and white pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a small bowl, blend the cornstarch with 4 tablespoons water until smooth.  Gradually add the cornstarch to the shrimp sauce, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens.  Add the shrimp and parsley to the sauce and bring mixture to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through; do not overcook.

Serve the Shrimp Creole over cooked rice.  Pasta can be substituted for rice.

"Cookin' Up a Storm" & "Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking" - Cheese Coins (crackers) and Creole Corn and Crab Bisque - Hurricane Katrina Anniversary

Date I made these recipes:  August 29, 2015 – Hurricane Katrina's 10 year anniversary

Cookin' Up A Storm – The Life and Recipes of Annie Johnson – Updated 2^nd Edition by Jane Lee Rankin

Published by:  Grace Publishers

ISBN:  0-9657387-2-8

Recipe:  Cheese Coins – p. 70

Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking by Emeril LaGasse & Jessie Tirsch

Published by:  William Morrow and Company, Inc.

ISBN: 0-688-11284-6  

Purchased at Hopkins Library Used Book Sale

Recipe:  Creole Corn and Crab Bisque – p. 59

Today – August 29 – marks Hurricane Katrina's 10^th anniversary when a good portion of New Orleans as well as other places along the Gulf Coast went underwater after a massive storm surge.  Some of those images are forever engrained in my brain and likely yours as well.  I cannot imagine the horror but am cheered that New Orleans is slowly rebuilding – not fast enough - but it's getting there.

Now the title of Cookin' Up a Storm is somewhat misleading as it has nothing to do with Katrina and nothing to do with New Orleans but I liked the title so much that I had to include it in this post.  This cookbook is subtitled "The Life and Recipes of Annie Johnson," domestic help to the Rankin household of Louisville, KY.  As with many southern African-American women, Annie Johnson was a fabulous cook and her recipes here are all basic, delicious, (mostly) southern specialties like the cheese coins I made. 

I love books like this that are half memoir, half cooking and could have easily cooked up my own storm by making all the recipes in this book.  I chose Cheese Coins because they are a southern specialty (I hardly know a southern cookbook that doesn't contain this recipe or one for cheese straws) and I was intrigued by the use of the puffed rice cereal – not to be confused with Rice Krispies.  I know this because I Googled "puffed rice cereal" and saw that it was as I remembered i.e. a lot bigger than Rice Krispies and made by Quaker Oats.  But alas, folks, finding this cereal was like looking for the unicorn.  Four stores later (I am not kidding), we found what we wanted at Lunds & Byerlys.  This is sad because I'm thinking that today's preferences for sugary cereals is why the basics are disappearing off the shelf.  So thank you, L&B!

And wouldn't you know, we both loved these very easy cheese coins and are placing the recipe into our "consideration" pile for our annual holiday party, especially since we know now where to find the rice cereal.  It's the littlest things that please us.

At the same time I was cooking up a storm with the cheese coins,  I started Emeril's bisque recipe.  Our elusive ingredient for this recipe was the seafood broth.  I knew, with certainty, that Swanson made this broth and yet our grocery store no longer carried it so that was another thing to add to the list of treasure-hunt items.  We found that, and the puffed rice cereal at Lunds & Byerlys. Coastal Seafoods, where I stopped to inquire about crabmeat, also sold homemade fish broth but it was more expensive and I would have had to freeze it.  Coastal Seafoods also had lump crab (frozen) but it was more than what I needed and very expensive so I ultimately went with canned crabmeat. All was not lost at Coastal though as they carried the small bottle of liquid shrimp and crab boil I needed so I bought that. 

After rounding up all the usual ingredients, I set to work and the first order of business was to make a proper roux for the bisque.  Epic fail.  While making the first one, I spooned too much flour into the butter and it turned into pie dough.  Dammit!  So I tried again and it was better but still not like the pictures.  This Yankee doesn't get much practice making a roux so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Roux is a thickener made with flour and butter (fat) and it thickened my bisque all right to the point that I ended up with chowder.  And folks, I didn't even add all the roux required!  Luckily, this mattered not as the dish was delicious, even if we settled for canned crab meat.

All in all, this was just a lovely repast showcasing the best of southern cooking.  Hurricane Katrina was a very sad event but the resilience of people in New Orleans and other coastal areas is inspiring.  Cooks and chefs of all kinds have rebuilt New Orleans, considered by many to be the culinary capital of America.  May they all continue to cook up a storm.

Cheese Coins – Yield:  4 dozen

 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 pound (4 cups) cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups puffed rice cereal (Ann's Note:  NOT Rice Krispies.  Quaker makes this cereal.)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.

With an electric mixer or by hand, mix the butter and cheese together.  Sift the flour, salt and cayenne pepper together.  Add to the butter and cheese, mixing until a soft dough is formed.  Add the puffed rice by hand or with a spoon, mixing well.

Form 1-inch balls and flatten to make coins.  Place on lightly greased baking sheets 1 inch apart.

Bake in a 375 oven for 15 minutes, or until coins start to turn golden brown.  (Ann's Note:  About 13 minutes seemed right.)

Creole Corn and Crab Bisque – Makes 7 cups, 6 first-course servings

3 tablespoons Roux (see below or see page 5 if you have the cookbook)

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup minced onions

1 cup uncooked corn, scraped from about 2 ears

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced celery

1 cup Crab Stock (page 11) or Fish Stock (page 9) (Ann's Note:  or store-bought.  Swanson's makes a fish broth but not all stores will carry it.)

2 teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

3 bay leaves

3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon liquid crab boil (Ann's Note:  Zatarain's makes this product.)

½ pound (about 1 cup) lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage (Ann's Note:  Coastal Seafoods in St. Paul had it frozen but way more than I needed so I used – gasp – canned lump crabmeat.)

¼ cup chopped green onions

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

For the roux:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter

1 cup flour

Prepare the roux, set aside 3 tablespoons, and refrigerate the rest for future use.  (Ann's Note:  See instructions below on how to make the roux.)

Heat oil in a large pot over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and corn and sauté for 1 minute.  Stir in the garlic and celery and sauté for 30 seconds.  Add the stock, salt, pepper, and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Stir in the milk, cream, and crab boil.  Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whisky in the roux 1 tablespoon at a time until thoroughly incorporated into the soup.  Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, whisking until the mixture thickens.

Stir in crabmeat, green onions and Worcestershire and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes.

To serve, ladle 1 generous cup of the bisque into each of 6 soup plates.

To make the roux (makes about ¾ cup)

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour 1 tablespoon at a time and cook, whisking constantly, until the roux is thick and forms a ball, for about 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat or incorporate some immediately into a dish you're preparing.  If you prefer, allow the roux to come to room temperature and refrigerate it, covered, for a week or two.

"Jazz Cooks - Portraits and Recipes of the Greats" - Harry Connick, Jr.'s Red Beans and Rice for Mardi Gras 2015

Date I made this recipe:  (Tuesday) February 17, 2015 – Fat Tuesday!

Jazz Cooks – Portraits and Recipes of the Greats by Bob Young and Al Stankus

Published by: Stewart Tabori & Chang

ISBN:  1-55670-192-6

Purchased at Strand (Bookstore), NYC

Recipe:  Harry Connick Jr.'s Red Beans and Rice – 186-187

People, I try normally to make a dish to commemorate a holiday or two during any given month but this month is insane!  First we had Valentine's Day, then two days later, President's Day, then the next day (today) is Fat Tuesday, kicking off Mardi Gras, then this coming Thursday the Chinese New Year gets underway.  And to cap off my cooking pain, on Sunday we have the Oscars.  Who planned this?!  So I'm telling you right now that if I am a tad behind on my dish of the day, you'll just have to live with it. 

So okay, today I have a lock and load on Mardi Gras and am using a newly-acquired but already-a-favorite cookbook, Jazz Cooks – Portraits and Recipes of the Greats.  I bought this at the Strand (Bookstore) in NYC last summer for all of $6.00 – sweet deal!  And sure, you get the recipes but you also get biographies and a brief discography of some of the greatest players/singers from the jazz world. What's not to love about this?

The book is separated into sections by instrument and since I am a woodwind player (clarinet and sax), I wanted to show respect by sticking to that section...except there were so many other greats in other instrument sections (brass, percussion, strings, keyboards) that I thought I would have to switch camps.  And then, just as I was approaching near-meltdown, I got to the vocals and people, there I stayed.

When it comes to music, as with other things in my life, I was a late bloomer. Piano lessons got underway when I was in 6^th grade.  I "learned" (if we can call it that) to play the clarinet and sax as an adult student of MacPhail Center for Music.  But voice – now there's something I had from the get-go.  I'll have you know I was a proud member of the Sacred Heart Catholic School Children's Chorus, participating in a community musical event in 6^th grade.  Prior to that though, I made my mark in various grade school productions and was even one of six students who sang at daily mass during the "guitar-mass" portion of our program in the late 60's.  "Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbaya..."

Anywho, I had a love and a (I'll just go ahead and say it) talent for singing at an early age and the more I listened to vocalists like Doris Day and Frank Sinatra on my parents albums, the more in love I fell.  And so what the heck - as long as I was taking clarinet and saxophone lessons at MacPhail, I signed up for some vocal lessons as well, performing in many studio recitals along with several other "jazz" vocal students.  Oh, the fun.

So I was especially enamored with the Vocals section of this cookbook and might have gone with a recipe by a female vocalist like Shirley Horn, Abbey Lincoln or even Nancy Wilson but then along came Harry Connick, Jr. and his Red Beans and Rice recipe and that was that.

First, how much more Mardi Gras/New Orleans can you get with that recipe and second, I love his voice.  In fact, hearing him sing It Had to be You on the When Harry Met Sally Soundtrack prompted me to instruct my wedding band to play that as the bridal party dance number at my 1991 wedding.  It almost took top honors for the bride and groom's first dance but we reserved "Embraceable You" for that spotlight moment.  My husband, bless his heart, means well when it comes to dancing but anything faster than a slow sway is asking for trouble.  Embraceable You is a slow sway; It Had to be You is not.

No doubt many of you only know Harry from his recent stint on American Idol but what you missed is that he was a child prodigy who was playing and singing in New Orleans' jazz halls from a very early age.  I mean for crying out loud, the guy "joined the musicians' union at nine!" What were you doing at age 9? (I tell you what I was doing:  singing The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music, that's what! Oh, if only there was an American Idol for kiddies back then.).

So.  Our Harry went out and did some really cool stuff and is now on American Idol and all is well with the world.  Oh, and he stared in a few movies to boot.  Honestly, I should hate him....

Before we get to this recipe, let me just whet your appetite for this cookbook and some jazz by listing some of the other jazz greats in this book:

Reeds: Pacquito D'Rivera (clarinet, saxophone); Illinois Jacquet (tenor saxophone)

Brass: Nat Adderly; Mario Bauza; Terence Blanchard; Mercer Ellington; Dizzy Gillespie; Wynton Marsalis; Doc Severinsen; Clark Terry

Percussion: Tito Puente

Strings: I must confess that I don't recognize any names which means I have homework!

Keyboards: Dave Brubeck; *Dave Frishberg; Marcus Roberts; George Shearing; McCoy Tyner (*I heard the late, great singer, Blossom Dearie, perform a bunch of Frishberg's compositions a few years before she died and my favorite song of his/hers is "My Attorney Bernie."  As an attorney, this amuses me to no end, especially this refrain "Bernie tells me what to do, Bernie lays it on the line, Bernie says we sue, we sue, Bernie says we sign...we sign.")

Vocals: Harry Connick, Jr.; Shirley Horn; Abbey Lincoln; Helen Merrill; Joe Williams; Nancy Wilson

And folks, these are just the ones I know and/or whose CDs!  So if you have a chance to score this book off the internet, start searching!

Okay then, as to the recipe, Red Beans and Rice is pretty damned easy and in fact, Harry Connick, Jr. says that you can either go by the instructions on the package of beans (his favorite brand is Carmellia) or you can customize it like he does.  I went with his version and really liked it.  I'm giving you both so you can choose but honestly, it's rather tough.  Just decide already, then sit back and listen to some Preservation Hall Jazz if you have it, or Harry Connick, Jr., if you have that or some other jazz that tickles your fancy.  New Orleans is all about good food, good music and, if you are so inclined, a good cocktail.  Have at it!

Red Beans and Rice – serves 4 to 6

1 pound red kidney beans, preferably Carmellia brand

½ pound ham

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped celery

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

8 to 10 cups water

1 large bay leaf

Salt and pepper

The package version:

Soak the beans overnight in enough water to completely cover them.  In the morning, drain, rinse the beans, and discard any debris.  Render the ham in the skillet by cooking until the fat becomes liquid, and remove the meat and place to the side.  In the fat that remains, sauté the onion, garlic, celery and parsley. 

In a large pot, combine the beans, water, meat, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Bring to a slow boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender.  (If necessary, add more water).  Remove the bay leaf and serve over rice.

Harry's version:

Make a stock using ham bones.  Soak the beans in the cooled stock overnight.  "This gives the beans a really great flavor," Connick says.  (Ann's Note:  I didn't have a hambone so I didn't make a ham stock but I did have frozen leftover Easter ham and that added a lot of great flavor.)

"Also, I grate my onions – usually two – and don't usually sauté any of the ingredients.  I just put them into the pot uncooked with the beans.  I also allow my beans to cook until they begin to get creamy."

Ann's Note:  I hate grating onions – what a mess – so instead, I use a mini-food processor and pretty much puree the onions in small batches until I get the consistency I'm looking for.  

"The New Orleans Restaurant Cookbook" - Jambalaya

Date I made this recipe:  February 24, 2013 (Academy Award night)

The New Orleans Restaurant Cookbook by Deidre Stanforth

Published by:  Doubleday & Company, Inc.

© 1967

Recipe:  Jambalaya (from Dunbar’s restaurant) – p. 171-172

My friend, David, recently went to New Orleans to present a paper at a conference.  When he mentioned this trip on Facebook, he was inundated with well-meaning individuals like me who couldn’t wait to offer up suggestions on where to eat and drink.  I think we scared the guy.

Sure, there are things to see and do in New Orleans but let’s get real here:  there’s eating and there’s drinking and there’s eating and drinking.  And that pretty much summarizes the New Orleans’ experience.  And okay, there’s music but usually there’s eating and/or drinking involved in listening to music.  And this is as it should be.

Although it has been a long time since I’ve visited, many New Orleans restaurants that I visited on my last trip (and first trip many moons ago) survived Hurricane Katrina and/or rehabbed to reopen years later.  I had to chuckle that one of my favorite restaurants on the last trip, Mother’s on Poydras, became an instant hit with celebrities like Beyonce and Martha Stewart during the 2013 Super Bowl played in New Orleans.  Good to know that Beyonce and Martha recognize that I know what’s going on when it comes to food.

This book is fun because it gives the history of New Orleans’ most famous restaurants as well as exterior and interior photos.  The next time I’m in New Orleans, I should bring the book with me to compare and contrast and to see what’s changed.  Luckily for you and me, while interiors may change, food in New Orleans does not and so the restaurant recipes listed in this cookbook are likely what I will get on my next visit:  cooking traditions are sacred in The Big Easy.

Restaurants featured in this book are:  Antoine’s; Arnaud’s; Brennan’s; Galatoire’s; Dunbar’s; Pontchartrain Hotel; Commander’s and Masson’s.  There’s also a photo of the gate outside Pat O’Brien’s and I would be remiss if I didn’t say a few words about Pat O’Briens, namely “Stay away from the Hurricane [drink]!”  I drink martinis and love scotch and brandy and whiskey and whatnot and so felt that I was prepared for another high-test drink but folks, I was wrong, wrong, oh-so-wrong!  A Hurricane is one of the drinks that I usually avoid for what should be obvious reasons – it contains several shots of booze (rum) and a fruity punch so of course it tastes way too good going down and it about knocked me on my ass!  So I was cheered to see that a friend of mine had about the same thing to say about a Mojito she just had in Miami.  I’m going to blame both our debacles on the fact that both drinks contain rum.  Bad rum, bad!!

Anyway, New Orleans is known for its oysters and there were plenty of recipes for oysters in the book but after an oyster incident this summer (that did not go well), I stuck with a favorite, Jambalaya.  Jambalaya combines shrimp, ham, rice, the “holy trinity” of onions, celery and peppers along with tomatoes and a few spices.  You can hardly go wrong with this recipe and I did not, in fact, go wrong and we were happy campers.  Because I was so behind on recognizing events like Mardi Gras, I made half of this recipe and then half of my Oscar night dinner’s pasta recipe on the same night and it was all good, plus we have delicious leftovers.

I have not had a chance to talk to David about his dining excursions in New Orleans except to warn him in advance not to take the easy way out and eat in his hotel.  So I hope he did as some of us suggested and just tiptoe into the cuisine by at least going to Café du Monde and Central Grocery for a few bits of glorious food.  For my money, if you only hit those two places, you will have experienced New Orleans; anything you do after that – food-wise – is just gravy.  (Yes, pun intended.)

Jambalaya – serves 8 (We made half)

2 onions, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1 can tomatoes

½ can tomato paste

4 cloves garlic

2 pieces celery, chopped

¼ bell (green) pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

½ teaspoon thyme

3 cloves, chopped (Ann’s Note: you ever try to chop a whole clove?  This instruction puzzled.)

1 pound boiled ham, diced

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and boiled

3 cups cooked rice

Salt, pepper and cayenne

Sauté onions in butter 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes and tomato paste and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add garlic, celery, bell pepper, parsley, thyme and closes.  Cook 30 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir in ham and cook 5 minutes.  Stir in shrimp and cook 5 minutes.  Stir in rice, season to taste, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring often.  Serves 8.

Author’s Note:  Jambalaya makes a good main dish for supper served with salad and corn bread.  It can also be served as a vegetable, decreasing the amount of ham and shrimp.  Although jambalaya is a leftover dish itself (its name is said to mean “clean up the kitchen” – and any odd bits of meat, chicken or seafood can be added), leftover jambalaya makes a good stuffing for peppers.

"LEAH CHASE: Listen, I Say Like This" - Chicken (and shrimp) Creole - Mardis Gras 2012

Date I made this recipe: February 21, 2012 – Mardi Gras

LEAH CHASE: Listen, I Say Like This by Carol Allen
Published by: Pelican Publishing Company
ISBN: 1-58980-048-6
Recipe: Chicken Creole – p. 62

Well, today is Fat Tuesday and that means it is Mardi Gras time again – time to let the good times roll! And it wouldn’t be Mardis Gras without a Creole recipe, right? And who better to advise on such matters than Leah Chase?

So who is Leah Chase, you ask? Well this fine New Orleans native, 89 years young, is now synonymous with New Orleans’ dining and Creole food. Leah’s husband’s family ran a small, family restaurant in New Orleans – Dooky Chase Restaurant – and after Leah married Edgar (Dooky) Chase II she started lending a hand (and her family recipes) to the business. Pretty soon, the restaurant earned a reputation as being one of the nation’s (and New Orleans’s) finest and most popular Creole restaurants. “Miss Chase” also had an affinity for African-American artists and their artwork now adorns the walls of her restaurant.

And then in 2005, Hurricane Katrina, roared through the Gulf Coast and life in the infamous 5th Ward where the restaurant is located would never be the same. Leah and her family spent over a year trying to get back into the restaurant and when she finally reopened, there was much rejoicing – seriously. There are sadly places in New Orleans that never recovered but happily Dooky Chase Restaurant is not one of them.

Leah’s book, which is more biography than cookbook, was published in 2002. I bought the book while in New York at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks (book store) in 2005 and I’m racking my brain to figure out if that was before or after Katrina. Either way, it’s a spooky coincidence. I do know that I keep a notebook filled with the names of older cookbooks that I want to find and purchase and Leah’s book was on my list a long time before Hurricane Katrina hit. It’s an interesting read so don’t be put off by the fact that there are very few recipes. I’d like to believe she culled the best ones just for us!

This Chicken Creole (and shrimp) recipe yields six servings and I’d say that was six generous servings. But it was mighty tasty so what do I care if I’m eating it for a month? Fat Tuesday is only the start of Mardi Gras and I intend to enjoy it and this recipe to the fullest!

Chicken Creole (with shrimp) – serves 6
6 5-oz boneless and skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp white pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup onions, chopped
½ cup green peppers, chopped
2 cups whole tomatoes with liquid
2 cups water
2 cloves garlic, mashed and chopped
½ tsp ground thyme (or 2 sprigs fresh)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
12 small whole okra
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and the white pepper. In large skillet or chicken fryer, heat the vegetable oil. Place seasoned chicken in hot oil, turning as it cooks (about 6 minutes). Lower heat. Remove chicken and set aside.

Saute onions in skillet until they are clear. Add the green peppers; stir and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Add whole tomatoes, mashing them as you stir them into the onion mixture. Add water, garlic, thyme, cayenne pepper and remaining salt. Let sauce cook on high heat for 4 minutes.

Lower heat; return chicken to sauce. Add okra and cook for 10 minutes until okra are just tender. Add shrimp; let cook until shrimp turn pink (about 5 minutes). Add parsley. Serve over buttered rice.

"Who's Your Mama, Are You Catholic, And Can You Make A Roux?" - Jambalaya

Date I made this recipe: February 24, 2009 (Mardi Gras)

Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic, And Can You Make A Roux? – A Family Album Cajun/Creole Cookbook by Marcelle Bienvenu
Published by: Times of Acadiana Press
ISBN: 0-9631637-1-X
© 1991
Recipe: Jambalaya – My Way – p. 72

Well Happy Mardi Gras everybody!

Today is Fat Tuesday, the official kickoff to Mardi Gras and Lent and what better recipe to make than Jambalaya?

I bought this cookbook a long time ago and then stashed it away until it dawned on me to take it out and make something for Mardi Gras. But let me just say that the Hunt for Red October for this cookbook was almost as arduous as finding the baby in the King Cake (a type of coffee cake made for Mardi Gras in which a plastic baby is hidden in the dough; luck follows the person who finds the baby as does the requirement that the person bring the King Cake to next year’s celebration).

At any rate, after searching all my shelves at least four times over, I finally discovered this book sandwiched in between two others on, of course, the very top shelf of my cookbook library. (Note to self: you might want to dust up there sometime).

There were a lot of tempting recipes in this book (that is also filled with family stories of growing up in Louisiana) but I selected the Jambalaya because it was easy. I got the entire thing all cooked and stored in time to get to a 7:00 community band rehearsal. (Sad to say, we northerners didn’t do much to acknowledge the day—no beads were thrown, no breasts were barred, and no cake was devoured—at least until after rehearsal when a few band mates went to the bar to celebrate Mardi Gras. No reports have been filed from the field so we’ll just assume that what took place in Minneapolis stayed in Minneapolis.)

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler! – Let the Good Times Roll!

Jambalaya – My Way – Serves 6
½ cup chopped green onions
½ cup chopped white onions
1 large sweet green pepper, julienned
1 cup chopped celery with leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup butter (note: this is a lot of butter and the rice ended up being a little greasy; you might want to consider cutting down just a bit)
½ to 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 dozen raw oysters or 1 cup chopped ham
1 pound can whole tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
Salt, cayenne pepper, thyme, bay leaf, hot sauce
1 cup uncooked rice

Saute onions, green peppers, celery, and garlic in butter until wilted. Add shrimp (and oysters); cook for 5 minutes. If ham is used, add when rice is added.

Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and seasonings, which can be salt and cayenne pepper, a pinch of thyme, a couple of bay leaves and a couple of dashes of hot sauce. Add the rice (and ham), stir a bit and cover. Cook 25 minutes or until rice is tender; mine cooked for about 40 minutes before I considered it done. Add a little tomato juice or chicken broth if the jambalaya becomes too dry.

Post-Script: What are the odds of this? Less than two weeks after writing this blog, my local paper, the StarTribune, featured an article on how to make a roux ("How Roux You Do?") with none other than today's blog's featured author, Marcelle Bienvenu, at the helm. Coincidence? I think not! http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/40712982.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

"Louisiana Real & Rustic" by Emeril Lagasse and Marcelle Bienvenu - Red Beans and Rice

Date I made this recipe: February 5, 2008 (Mardi Gras’ Fat Tuesday)

Louisiana Real & Rustic by Emeril Lagasse and Marcelle Bienvenu
Published by: William Morrow and Company
ISBN: 0-688-12721-5
Recipe: Red Beans and Rice – p. 226-227

“Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez, “ Mes Amis – Let the Good Times Roll, My Friends!

Today is Fat Tuesday for those cities, such as New Orleans, celebrating Mardi Gras (which means…Fat Tuesday!). Mardi Gras kicks off Lent and Fat Tuesday is a day of feasting and revelry before serious fasting (typically for members of the Catholic Church) begins. I’m all about feasting and am all about New Orleans, a city I visited a couple of times prior to the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. It is a testament to the resiliency of New Orleans and a love of celebration amidst devastation that the residents continued to have their Mardi Gras celebration before the city could even grasp what exactly happened. Talk about being down but not out.

Although not a native of New Orleans, Emeril Lagasse has come to embody New Orleans cooking. I first saw him years ago on PBS with Julia Child. He did a crawfish boil that made my mouth water. Years passed and then Bam! There he was on the Food Network, cooking his way through several different TV shows and several different cuisines. For a while, I suffered from Emeril overkill (much the same as the current Food Network Queen, Rachel Ray), but eventually I grew to really like the guy, so much so that I spent over 3 hours in line several years ago waiting to meet him and have him sign my cookbooks. Emeril looked exhausted having likely come from who know what city, but he stayed until the last person came through. I have a lot of respect for a guy like that.

Although I have several New Orleans cookbooks, most of them featured fish and seafood (plus the elusive crawfish—like I’m gonna find that in this state in the winter!) and while I love that food, I opted for something simpler and something that is really the essence of Louisiana and New Orleans cooking – Red Beans and Rice. It is such a staple in that state that famed trumpet player, Louis Armstrong, used to sign his letters “Red Beans and Ricely Yours.”

And so although this dish was traditionally a Monday dish (Monday was wash day and “when the laundry was done, so were the beans), I couldn’t resist making this New Orleans treat for Fat Tuesday.

So put on some Louis Armstrong, or even Louis Prima (Jump Jive an’ Wail, Oh Marie and I’m Just a Gigolo) who is also from New Orleans, or even (more contemporary) Harry Connick, Jr. and Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

Red Beans and Rice – 8 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped celery
1 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 bay leaves
1 pound boiled ham, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
6 ounces smoked sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (1 cup) (Note: I used up some leftover Kielbasa from the Beet Borscht recipe a few weeks ago)
1 pound dried beans, rinsed and sorted over, soaked overnight and drained
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (or “chawped gawlik” as Emeril would say)
8 to 10 cups water
Steamed rice

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, bell peppers, bell peppers, celery, salt, cayenne, black pepper and thyme for about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves, ham, and sausage and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beans, garlic, and enough water to cover the contents in the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours. Add more water if the mixture becomes dry and thick.

Use a wooden spoon to mash about half of the mixture against the side of the pot. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 ½ hours, or until the mixture is creamy and the beans are soft. Add more water if it becomes too thick. The mixture should be soupy, but not watery.

Remove the bay leaves and serve over steamed rice.

"Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts" by Maida Heatter - New Orleans Chocolate Layer Cake

Date I made this recipe: March 3, 2007

Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts by Maida Heatter
Published by: Alfred A. Knopf
© 1978, 1980

Recipe: New Orleans Chocolate Layer Cake – p. 84

My husband turned 50 last week. Like many people turning 50, he wasn’t excited about his birthday at all. But chocolate cakes trip his trigger and so since I knew it was his birthday, I baked him a cake. And not just any cake but a scrumptious chocolate cake with a chocolate “pudding” filling and a nice, light (not!) frosting made of whipped cream and confectioner’s sugar. Yum, yum!

Except it almost wasn’t “yum, yum.” I don’t know what I was thinking when I started to make the cake, but it wasn’t until after I put the pans in the oven on Saturday morning that I realized that the cake recipe called for 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, not the one ounce bar I put in. To be sure I had indeed screwed up, I checked the wastebasket and sure enough, only one foil wrapper emerged from the wreckage.

So, I pulled out the cake pans, tossed the cake batter and started again, this time with much better results. As my dad is fond of saying, “when all else fails, read the instructions.”

Our cookbook author recommends that you make and assemble the cake the day you plan to serve it. Leave ample time, regardless of whether you make one batch or two, to put the whole thing together.

My husband just finished munching on one of the last pieces of cake left and is in a considerably happier mood than he was on his birthday. Cake, especially chocolate cake, can do that to a person. Regardless of whether or not it’s your birthday, eat cake. You’ll feel better!

New Orleans Chocolate Layer Cake – serves 12 to 14 (Note: This recipe is in three parts: the cake, the filling and the frosting)

Cake
4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate
¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs (large or extra-large)
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water

Adjust rack to center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round layer-cake pans and line them with baking-pan liner paper or wax paper cut to fit. Butter the paper and dust the inside of the pan with flour, invert and tap to shake out excess. Set pans aside.

Place the chocolate and butter in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat and stir frequently until melted and smooth.

When the chocolate is almost melted, stir the sour cream and baking soda together in a small bowl and set aside.

When the chocolate and butter are melted, transfer to the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat just to mix. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating until mixed after each addition. Mix in the sour cream and baking soda and then, on low speed, add the flour, scraping the bowl and beating only until smooth. Now, on the lowest speed, gradually add the boiling water, scraping the bowl and beating only until smooth. The mixture will be thin. Pour half of it into each of the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes until the tops spring back lightly when gently pressed with a fingertip.

Cool the layers in the pans for 10 minutes. Then with a small, sharp knife, cut around each layer to release. Cover with the rack, invert, remove pan and paper lining, cover with another rack and invert again to cool right side up.

Chocolate Filling
2 cups milk
2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup less 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Scald the milk in a small, uncovered, heavy saucepan over moderate heat. (Note: Maida includes directions for scalded milk later in the recipe but since I’ve rarely scaled milk before –scaling myself is another story – I’ve moved them up so you’ll know what she means: Milk is scalded “when it has a slightly wrinkled skin on top.”)

Meanwhile, place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler, cover, and place over hot water on low heat to melt. When the chocolate is melted, remove it from the hot water and set aside uncovered. Note: my mom has an actual double boiler (and boy, didn’t I wish I had that with this recipe) but I’ve never bothered to get one myself. If you do not have a double boiler, place a small amount of water in the bottom of a saucepan, then place a larger pot on top of that pot. Put the whole thing on the stove and turn the heat setting to medium to high. The water in the lower pan heats the top pan to melt the chocolate without the chocolate having to be submerged in water and thus, ruined.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small custard cup and let stand.

In the top of a large double boiler (or pot combination as described above) that is off the heat, stir together the flour and sugar.

Add your scalded milk to the four and sugar mixture, stirring well to keep the mixture smooth. Place over hot water in the bottom of a double boiler on moderate heat. Stir constantly and scrape around the bottom and sides of the pot with a rubber spatula until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a thin cream sauce. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes more.

Stir the yolks slightly in a mixing bowl. Very gradually add about half of the hot milk mixture, stirring constantly, and then add the yolks to the remaining milk. Stir well and place over hot water again. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Add the softened gelatin and stir to melt the gelatin, then stir in the chocolate, vanilla, and salt. (If you wish, the mixture may be stained but it is not essential). (Note: I didn’t strain it—who has time?!)

Place some ice and water in a large bowl and place the pan of filling into the ice water. Stir occasionally at first until cool; then stir more frequently but gently until the filling is thick enough to spread-it should be like a very thick mayonnaise-it must stiff enough not to run when it is spread on the cake.

When the filling is chilling prepare a large, flat cake plate or serving board by placing four strips of wax paper around the outer edges.

Place one layer upside down on the plate. Check to see that it is touching the paper all around.

If you have a cake-decorating turntable or lazy Susan, place the cake plate on it.

Spread the thick filling smoothly over the cake—do not spread it beyond the edges. It will be almost 1 inch thick. Then place the other layer right side up over the filling. Refrigerate.

Whipped Cream Icing
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup strained confectioners sugar
Scant 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the small bowl of the electric mixer (the bowl and beaters should be chilled). Whip the above ingredients until they are thick enough to spread. (As a safety precaution against overwhipping it is a good idea to finish the whipping with a wire whisk). (Note: I used my KitchenAid mixer and used the whisk attachment and that worked out great. I even chilled the bowl as directed – what the heck.)

Spread the cream over the sides and then over the top—it will be a thick layer. It may spread smoothly or into swirls and peaks. (Note: we chose “smoothly”).

Maida indicates the cake should be refrigerated for at least an hour or so before serving. Remember to remove the wax paper strips before doing so!

"Creole Jumbo and All That Jazz - A New Orleans Seafood Cookbook" - Shrimp Creole

Date I made the recipe: September 10, 2006

Creole Jumbo and All That Jazz – A New Orleans Seafood Cookbook by Howard Mitchum
Published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
ISBN: 0-201-04764-0
©1978

Recipe: Shrimp Jambalaya – p. 52

Well finally. After a couple of recipe misfires the previous weeks, I hit the jackpot on this one. It was simple to make and tasty to eat and the best part is we have leftovers that I will actually enjoy reheating.

I spotted this book at a Borders Bookstore years ago but I think I put off buying it because it was a reissue and I always like to find as close to a first edition if I can. A couple of years ago, I spotted this at Bonnie Slotnick’s bookstore in NY (only the best “used” cookbook stores on the planet) and it was mine for the taking. Sadly, it collected dust along with all my other New Orleans cookbooks until this past Sunday.

Originally, I wanted to commemorate the disastrous floods in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast wrought by Hurricane Katrina as close to the one year anniversary date (9/5/06) as possible by cooking up something from the region but you know how it goes…I was, as always, a day late and a dollar short.

Here’s what I like about this cookbook: if you have a hankering for oysters, there are tons of oyster recipes. Same with shrimp, same with crawfish and same with…you get the picture. Had I a hankering to make oyster jambalaya, it was in there. The recipe required me to buy very little in the way of ingredients (always important) and had just the right spice without being overdone. Note that I cut the recipe in half and that was plenty of food for me and my husband.

The second reason I like this book is that Howard includes tidbits, photos and lyrics of many New Orleans Dixieland/blues songs that make New Orleans the jazz center that it is. In my spare time, I play clarinet with the Calhoun-Isles Community band and am the vocalist for a small sub-group, the Calhoun-Isles Dixieland Jazz Combo. I belted out Basin Street Blues so many times last summer that I thought I would bust a lung. Tin Roof Blues was another one our group did and yes, “Lawd,” I did have “the Tin Roof Blues.” I’ve been to New Orleans and Mississippi before but now have a new appreciation for that genre of music, cemented, in part, by this cookbook.

So, for all you jazz lovers and/or seafood lovers, give this book a whirl and don’t telling me you still have the blues after cooking because I’ll know you’re lying!

Shrimp Jambalaya
4 lb. raw shrimp, peeled
2 c. raw rice
½ stick butter
4 T flour
2 medium white onions, chopped
3 scallions with their green leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 T parsley, chopped
1 16-oz can tomatoes, drained and chopped (note: the directions say to “add the tomatoes and their juice.” When I made the recipe, I used the “juice” created when I chopped the tomatoes).
1 16-oz cans beef broth (or 3 c. bouillon)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp thyme leaves
¼ tsp cayenne (or more. I’m a weenie so I used the exact amount listed)
Salt and ground pepper to taste.

People, have I mentioned yet how enamored I am with my Zyliss® food chopper http://www.zyliss.com/? This thing is the Ronco product (“It slices, it dices”) of the new millennium – http://www.ronco.com/. I don’t know how I lived without it, and trust me, if you do all the chopping required by hand for this recipe, you won’t know how you did, either.

Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, add the flour and cook over low heat to make a light golden roux. (For those who don’t know, a roux is the staple of Creole cooking and is found in about every other dish that graces a New Orleans table. A roux is simply fat, in this case, butter, and flour that is stirred until it becomes a cross between a gravy and a paste. The key to making a good roux is not to burn it.). A roux is used to thicken your dish.

Add the onion, scallions, green pepper, garlic and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft and transparent.

Add the tomatoes and their juice and the beef broth, and mix well.

Add the spices (cloves, allspice, thyme, cayenne and black pepper) then season with salt (he recommends a tablespoon to start). Add the shrimp and cook for five minutes. Stir in the rice and make sure it’s well mixed. The mixture in the pot should be just covered with broth so if necessary, add more broth or bouillon.

Bring the mixture to a boil then cut the heat very low, cover the pot and cook until the rice is tender. Adjust the salt and serve it up!