Category Archives: south louisiana food

Red Beans & Rice and Football

15 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in lafayette, la food blog, Louisiana food blog, Red Beans and Rice, south louisiana food

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My husband and I have been waiting all week long for the LSU game tonight…why?  Not only because we love football season….so we can cook something and have a little excitement in the house!  Robert (the great guy I married 26 years ago!) decided last weekend that on Thursday night, for the LSU game, he would cook Red Beans and Rice.  Bright and early Sunday morning, he went to Rouses and bought his Camelia Red Beans, Savoie’s Sausage and Tasso.  He came home, all fired up, with Thursday Night Football on his mind!

I can tell you that I don’t have the same reasons for loving football as my husband does….I am all about the commotion and cooking!  Football Season excites me because when there is a big game on, there is a feel in the air (and in my house) that signals a party somewhere! It means food, gatherings and cooking something long and slow.  Even if, God forbid, I find myself alone and there is a big game on, I will cook something!  Imagine that…I can have fun alone…cooking!  Sometimes, I don’t eat what I cook that night, but I sure enjoy myself.  But, it is sooo much more fun to cook and watch a game with another person or maybe a lot of people.  Maybe I don’t even sit down (I have this little TV in my kitchen) during the game….just stirring a pot and walking back and forth, talking to my husband will do.  To me, that is a great day or night!  Now, if you put me at a camp in Pecan Island, cooking, having cocktails, walking around with a fire blazing outside AND watching a big game…well that is all lagniappe!

Robert’s Red Beans and Rice…..(Serves around 10 fans!)

Ingredients:

1 lb. Camelia Dried Red Beans

3 lbs. Savoies Smoked Green Onion Sausage – cut into 1/2 inch rounds…then into 1/4 pieces

1 lb. Savoies Smoked Turkey Tasso – cut into small pieces

3 small onions-chopped

2 garlic cloves-chopped

1 large green bell pepper-chopped

6 dashes of tabasco

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 Tsp. Old Bay Seasoning!

Water:  enough to cover beans plus 2 inches.  Robert uses the water that he soaks the beans in plus whatever amount you need to get to your 2 inches…All approximate, depending on how thick you would like your sauce to be.

1)     Soak beans…most important step!  Cover them with cold water,  and soak(at least a couple of hours).  If you don’t, you will never get them tender!! Believe me, it has happened!

2)     Drain and reserve water

3)     Brown sausage and tasso

4)     Remove sausage and put on platter

5)     Sauté onions, bell pepper and garlic in drippings, until translucent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)     Pour sautéed vegetables, drippings, red beans and water into a dutch oven or other heavy pot

7)     Add bouillon cube, tabasco and Old Bay Seasoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8)     Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer

9)     Cover and simmer for about 2-3 hours or until the beans are tender.  (if you want it to cook faster, then increase the flame to a low medium)

Serve over white rice, sit back and enjoy the game!!!!  When Robert makes food work, you better believe it’s good….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS….The “Old Bay Seasoning” is a tip from one of the best cooks I have met lately…Ms. Rita, head cook, at St. Joseph’s Diner in Lafayette, Louisiana.  She said that she never cooks Red Beans and Sausage without it!  Try it, you’ll like it!

Crabmeat in the Fridge

12 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by in Acadiana food blog, Carolyn Wright Blog, food, food blog, lafayette, la food blog, Louisiana food blog, south louisiana food, Uncategorized

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It’s tough to get back into the swing of things, on a Monday morning, after a great weekend with friends, family, food and great weather!  Dragging myself out of bed, walking out to the front of the walkway in my pj’s to pick up the paper….can’t start the morning without the paper and a cup of coffee. Neighbors don’t even notice me anymore! While going to the refrigerator to get milk for my coffee (so I can read the paper to see what the rest of the world is doing, or not doing!) I see this little container of lonely jumbo lump crabmeat sitting in the middle of the upper shelf.  Totally untouched and forgotten…and did I mention expensive?  Buying this crabmeat on Saturday morning  seemed like a good idea, at the time.   I fully intended on treating someone to a “crabmeat something or another”!  Bringing it to some party or treating my husband to a Godchaux Salad, maybe.  But here it sat, untouched and unused.  You know, it’s never the same after you freeze it!  God forbid… I could hear my mother’s voice.  Looking to see what else I forgot to use (because Monday is not my best day to go to the store and usually a busy day at work), I saw Half and Half cream, a jar of pimentos and wonderful butter.  All the makings of my version of Crabmeat Imperial.  Simple, easy and delicious.  So, that’s when supper became a breakfast thought that lasted throughout the day.   Here it is, folks:

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat

4 oz butter

2 cups half and half cream

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

3 oz jar sliced pimentos

Splash of any white wine you might have (or might be drinking!)

Salt and pepper to taste

It’s optional to add a few dashes of tabasco or hot sauce, a little lemon juice, fresh herbs or a few grates of fresh parmesan cheese.  Just remember, this is not about the cheese, it’s about the crabmeat!

Empty the container of crabmeat into a colander and “gently, very gently” feel the lumps and remove any shells.  This is very important!  Nothing worse than enjoying a delicious crab dish, then starting to feel shells in your mouth….

Melt the butter in a skillet over a medium fire.  Slowly blend in the flour, stirring constantly, until it is nice, thick and smooth.  Make sure that all of the lumps are gone!  Slowly pour in the half and half cream, stirring as you pour.  This is when you could add, just a splash (no more than a 1/4 cup) of white wine. Continue to stir constantly until this becomes thick and velvety.  Add your pimentos.  Blend well.  Add your seasonings.  Finally, again…”gently” add in your crabmeat.  Make sure that you don’t break all of the beautiful white lumps!  Just sort of toss with your spoon, rather than stirring.   Pour this wonderful mixture into one baking dish or several ramekins.   Now, tonight, I decided that I had to add breadcrumbs to the top.  After rummaging through my pantry, not finding any ready-made, I took a piece of sliced bread (any bread will do) and put it in the toaster on high.  Cooled it, crumbled it up and added it to the top.  Just to add a nice crunch.  Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly and the top is nice and golden brown.  About 25 minutes.

As I was sitting down with my hubby (to eat in our laps as we watched “Mantrackers” on TV) WAIT… Did I really just say that?  Must have, oh well! After all of that “thraka” you would like to think that we could set a nice little place setting on one of our tables and eat like Ozzie and Harriet , but nooooo, tonight we are eating in front of the t.v…we don’t even have tv trays…perfect!
Even with that thought in mind, I couldn’t help but think that this worked…and when food works, it’s all good!  One happy husband and one happy Monday!

PS..I’ve got to get someone to hold this iPhone or a camera while I cook!  These pics are taken while I am holding my iPhone with my chin, snapping pictures, while I cook…not an easy task for a normal human being with only two arms and one neck!  (In my right mind I can’t ask my husband, who has had a triple bypass, to not go out and exercise while I am preparing to feed him food laden with butter and cream…he might call the cops on me!)  Have to figure this one out!

Cochon…the rest of the story!

11 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in Chef Donald Link, cochon Lafayette, lafayette, la food blog, Louisiana food blog, restaurants in lafayette, louisiana, restaurants in south louisiana, River Ranch, south louisiana food

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.  The Smoked Boudin was amazing.  Just the right amount of meat to rice combo (like it’s supposed to be!)  And the smokiness was surprisingly subtle.  Trying the Fried Chicken Livers with Pepper Jelly, just made me want to grab the whole tray!  Perfection is all I can say.   The Shrimp Salad on a thin crisp homemade potato chip was a wonderful treat to the palate.  The lightness of the creamy shrimp salad (chocked full of fresh shrimp), with just an edge of crunchiness, sitting on the crispy chip was to die for…  Then came trays of Lump Crabmeat, very lightly sprinkled with the most beautiful toppings of shaved pickled veggies, sitting on house made pepper crackers.  Melt in your mouth good.  Another fabulous treat.   Trays of nicely seasoned grilled smoked sausage, topped with a dot of mustard, were being circulated around the room.  Again, these were the happiest waiters that I have ever seen.   Chef Link must be doing something right to inspire so many happy faces!   I was told that their Wood Fired Roasted Oysters were the best thing since sliced bread, but didn’t get to try one.  Then, if all of that were not enough, I looked upstairs to see a fully dressed whole Roasted Pig (of course head, feet and tail intact) being carved and served.  Alongside the Roasted Pig, were Fried Cracklings and Roasted Pig Skin cut into nice size pieces with a huge bowl of Cochon’s refreshing Cucumber Salad.  What a site for my eyes!  To top off my evening and add to my collection, Chef Link signed one of their menus for me to take home.  Yes, I collect menus of the restaurants I love and if I can get the signature of the chef, it is even a bonus.  My husband swears that it will be our kitchen wallpaper one day!  As we packed ourselves into our car to go home,  I can honestly say that Cochon in Lafayette lives up to its reputation and  is a delightful surprise, in that it not only appeals to those of us that want “pork – the real deal”, but obviously serves knock out dishes that are lighter.   That is a perfect example of “When Food Works”, it’s all good.  They won my heart over….which reminds me…I need to call for a reservation in the morning!

Me…Food Blogging?

11 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in Acadiana food blog, Carolyn Wright Blog, cochon Lafayette, food blog, lafayette, la food blog, Louisiana food blog, restaurants in lafayette, louisiana, restaurants in south louisiana, River Ranch, south louisiana food

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Today is as good of a day as any to start this new adventure and let the whole world into my life as a long time food lover and cook.  Some call themselves “foodies”, but I don’t really like that word,  a little too trendy…and what does that really mean?  Not to knock those that love that term, I just prefer to say simply that I love good food and will cook just about anything.  And I can get a little obsessive, like when looking for a piece of pork belly and ending up buying a 60 pound case!  Anyone need a piece of pork belly?  But it did make a knockout Porchetta…later on that one.  Am I sure about opening up my “food life”  for public scutiny…not really, but this is a passion that I am willing to share,  Anyway, why not!  Do what you love and love what you do…isn’t that on some t-shirt somewhere…

Last night we went with a couple of close friends to a pre-opening party for the new restauant, Cochon, in Lafayette.  Chef Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski are officially opening this coming Thursday, September 15th.  Just couldn’t be a more beautiful setting overlooking the Vermilion River.  As we walked in, we were greeted with the most cheerful waiters with trays full of samples from the menu.