Cajun Food REsource

Cajun Soup and Salad

2006-05-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

by Shauna Hanus

Soup and salad is a simple and comforting lunch time menu. This spicy version lends a new twist to this classic favorite.

Crabmeat and Corn Soup

Thin White Sauce

1-2 Tbs Butter
1 Tbs Flour
¼ tsp Salt
1 Cup Milk
¼ Ounce Dried Shitake Mushrooms (this is equivalent to about 4 ounces of fresh sautéed mushrooms)

Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan. Stir in the
flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Add milk and turn heat to low,
whisking constantly. Cook just below the boiling point until the sauce
reaches the desired consistency. Add the dried mushrooms and whisk thoroughly.

¼ Pound Butter
1 Can Condensed Milk
1 pt. Half and Half
2 Cups Kernel Corn
½ Pound Crabmeat
¼ Cup Green Onions, chopped

Melt butter in a large pot, add all the other ingredients plus white sauce and simmer for 20 minutes.

Cajun Tomato Salad

Juice of 1 Lemon
1-8 oz Container of Plain Yogurt
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
½ tsp Thyme
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ Cup Green Onion, Chopped
½ Cup Celery, Chopped
½ Cup Green Bell Pepper, Chopped
3 Cups Tomatoes, Seeded and Diced
Salt to Taste
Pepper to Taste

Whisk together the first five ingredients then fold in the remaining ingredients, salt and pepper to taste. Chill and serve.

Your family and friends will enjoy this delicious meal.

About the Author

Shauna Hanus is a gourmet cook who has launched the Recipe of the Month Club. The Recipe of the Month Club is the perfect gift for all the people on your list who love to cook. With the Recipe of the Month Club you can give 3, 6 or 12 months of new and exciting gourmet recipes as a gift for Christmas, Hanukah or birthdays to all the cook-aholics in your life. Find out more at http://www.cookbookaddict.com

Cajun Food - REsource

The Greatness Of Gumbo

2006-05-22T01:32:00.000-07:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

Perhaps nothing is better known as a staple of Cajun cuisine than gumbo, a spicy, hearty stew or soup whose name literally means "okra". Called one of the greatest contributions of Louisiana Cajun kitchens to American cuisine, it came to that state with the first French settlers, who loved bouillabaisse, a highly seasoned French stew. Unable to find their usual ingredients to make bouillabaisse, they substituted local ingredients such as shrimp, fish, and okra. After a century mixing with Spanish, African, and native cuisine in the region, the step was no longer recognizable as its French precursor and was instead something completely new - gumbo.

Still extremely common in Louisiana, gumbo is also found all along the Gulf of Mexico, and is often eaten in the cooler months, when the extended cooking required to make the usually large batches of the dish will not heat up the room to uncomfortable levels.

Gumbo consists of two main components - rice and broth. The two are mixed together only for serving, and while new rice must be prepared daily, broth can be frozen and saved for future consumption.

Rice for gumbo is usually white or parboiled rice steamed or boiled with salt or a touch of white vinegar for flavor. There is some dispute over the proper ratio of rice to gumbo - "damp rice," for those who like a lot of rice with their broth, and, on the opposite extreme, only a modicum of rice. In some areas, it is also common to add potato salad to the gumbo, either with or without rice.

The broth comes in several varieties. One of the most common is seafood, containing crab, oysters and/or shrimp. Equally common is chicken gumbo with the Cajun sausage called audouille. There is also duck and oyster gumbo, as well as a variety of gumbos made with other fowl, such as quail or turkey. Rabbit can be used for gumbo, as can the Cajun smoked pork known as tasso. Gumbo z'herbes (from the French gumbo aux herbes), gumbo of smothered greens thickened with roux, also exists, and was commonly eaten during Lent, when meat was traditionally forbidden by the Church.

Gumbo was originally made with okra, and some, especially in Southeast Louisiana would argue that anything made without okra can not rightly be called gumbo. Okra gumbos usually feature lighter meats, such as chicken or shrimp, and the okra is cut into pieces and simmered in the pot along with the meat and the three spices that form the so-called "Holy Trinity" of Cajun cooking - onion, celery, and bell pepper. Other spices, and rarely processed meats such as sausage, are then added to the mix. Contrary to popular belief, it is frowned upon for a chef to make Cajun food overly hot or peppery - these are left to the diners themselves if they wish to add more spices later.

Gumbo can also be made with a roux base, which has a much stronger taste and takes any sort of meat. Roux by itself is often very dark, though it can be combined with okra to make a lighter stock. Filé, a powder made of dried and ground sassafras, can also be used as a base for gumbo, though it is never, under any circumstances, combined with okra. Originally, it was used as a substitute when okra was not in season. In modern times, it is commonly added as a powder to a roux based gumbo.

Regardless of its base and history, gumbo remains a tasty staple of Cajun cooking.

About the Author

Kirsten Hawkins is a food and nutrition expert specializing the Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food. Visit http://www.food-and-nutrition.com/ for more information on cooking delicious and healthy meals.

Cajun Food REsource

Regional Cuisine Of The United States: Louisiana Cajun Cooking

2006-05-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

Louisiana Cajun cuisine originated with a group of French residents of Nova Scotia, who were expelled by the British in 1755. They eventually, after years of a nomadic existence, settled in the Southern Louisiana swamplands. There they adapted their native cooking methods to use ingredients that were available in their new land. This cuisine is the food of hardworking country people, used to difficult conditions. It is practical, strong country food, taking advantage of easily available local ingredients, often an entire meal prepared all in one pot. This style of cooking became the hallmark of these people, called Acadians, which was later shortened to Cajuns.

Authentic Cajun recipes can be hard to come by, as they were traditionally passed down verbally from one generation to the next. They also tend to change a little with each generation, each adding their own flair. There are hundreds of recipes for most common dishes, as the independent nature is of the Cajun people is reflected in their cuisine, each kitchen adding their own special touches.

Some of the specialties of Cajun cuisine include gumbos, stews, etouffees, and rice dishes, such as jambalayas. Cajun dishes often begin with a roux, which is butter or oil cooked with flour. Roux is used to thicken, and for flavor. There are three types of roux, depending upon how long it is cooked. There is light or blond, medium, and dark roux. The light and medium types are primarily used for thickening gumbos, etouffees, and sauces, while the dark roux is used for flavor.

The common ingredients of this cuisine are easily available and native to the Southern Louisiana swamplands. Seafood is very common, such as crawfish, shrimp, oysters, red fish, speckled trout, and crabs. Rice is a staple ingredient. Other ingredients frequently used are pork, homemade sausages, beans, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, yams, okra, figs, pecans and oranges. Game is also used, such as wild turkey, duck, turtles and frog.

There are relatively few spices used in Cajun cuisine. The unique flavor comes primarily from the long simmering of the dishes prepared. One spice that is used liberally in this cuisine is Cayenne pepper. It is a fiery, finely ground spice made from the Cayenne Chile. It is usually used along with white and black pepper. Another seasoning common to Cajun cooking is file powder, also called gumbo powder. This is made from sassafras leaves that are dried and ground. Creole mustard is also used in many dishes. This is a coarse and spicy local mustard. Tabasco and other hot pepper sauces are standard condiments on the Cajun table

Cajun cuisine is unique to Southern Louisiana, making the best of the native resources, but still retaining the French influence brought to it by the migrants many years ago. It is varied and flexible. Whether you are craving a touch of the exotic, or a little down- home comfort food, this cuisine has managed to include both, often in one big pot. There is something for everyone to enjoy when experimenting with this wonderful style of cooking.

About the Author

Cajun Food REsource

Cajun Food

2006-05-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Cajun Food REsource. Here you will learn about and get info on: Cajun Food, real recipes, New Orleans, pictures of cajun food, Creole, history, Louisiana, cajun festivals and food, bayou soul food, cajun restaurants, cooking, seasoning, spices used in Cajunfood, chicken & shrimp recipes, spice tuna, deviled egg a la Cajun, grills, reviews, cafe, culture, cajun grocers, pasta, catfish, kitchen, chefs, cajun cuisine, seafood, crawfish, crayfish, gumbo, hot sauce, sausage, classic Cajun dessert, appetizer, cook books, cooker, cajun rice, boiled peanut, and much more.

Crazy Ragin Cajun Corner

Cajun Food REsource

Cajun Food History - Part 1

2006-05-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Cajun food originates from the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" immigrants in Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine Â locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation is simple. An authentic Cajun meal is usually a three-pot affair, with one pot dedicated to the main dish, one dedicated to steamed rice, skillet cornbread, or some other grain dish, and the third containing whatever vegetable is plentiful or available.

The aromatic vegetables bell-pepper, onion, and celery, called by some Cajun chefs the holy trinity of Cajun food, are ubiquitous. Characteristic seasonings include parsley, bay leaf, "onion tops" or scallions, and cayenne pepper (the dried and powdered form or as one of the locally made pepper sauces such as Tabasco, but rarely fresh!) The overall feel of Cajun food is more Mediterranean than North American.

Cajun food developed out of necessity. The Acadian refugees, farmers rendered destitute by the British expulsion, had to learn to live off the land and adapted their French rustic cajun food to local ingredients such as rice, crawfish, and sugar cane.

In addition to the obvious Canadian and French peasant influences, Cajun food was influenced by African and Native American food cultures. For example, 'gumbo', the name of a family of stews prepared in south Louisiana is a word brought to the region from western Africa. In parts of Africa as well as in standard French and in Caribbean Creolee languages "gumbo" means okra, which is a principal ingredient in some of the stews called "gumbo". A filÃ gumbo, on the other hand, contains no okra, is a dark roux based soup or stew, and is seasoned at the table with ground sassafras leaves, a practice borrowed from the Choctaw Indians.

To be continued...Stay Tuned