Real Cajun Cooking - Pure and Simple

GaspardKitchen.com

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 7 Aug 2024 21:05:00 -0500

Hi friends! Thank you for being such loyal followers of Real Cajun Cooking - Pure and Simple. I want to share a different cooking site of mine, Gaspard Kitchen. At Gaspard Kitchen, the focus is on simple, delicious meals that you can cook in your own kitchen. I have close to 200 home-cooked recipes, and several video recipes that I think you will love. I hope you check it out! I'd love to read your feedback, so please leave a comment if you do.

Sincerely,

Scott Gaspard

Braised Beef Short Ribs and Mushrooms

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 12 May 2022 09:21:00 -0500

When it came to cooking (during my growing-up years on the farm) my grandma kept everything fairly simple. Since we raised all of our own foods, including beef, mutton, pork, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and loads of fresh vegetables from the garden, everything she needed to prepare some mighty fine meals was at hand.

She knew exactly what to do to get the tougher cuts of meat tender. I especially enjoyed the taste of the braised beef short ribs which she cooked to perfection -- without all the exotic add-ins which you might find in today's recipes.

After browning the ribs on all sides she would then slow cook them in a cast iron Dutch oven pot on medium heat for a couple hours or so. The dark gravy it produced was great over long grain white rice. This recipe makes 6 - 8 servings. Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 lbs. beef short ribs, boneless
2 Tbs. peanut oil
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups of beef broth
1 packet Lipton's Beefy Onion soup mix
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

generously salt and pepper the beef short ribs
add the oil in a skillet
brown the ribs on medium-high heat on all sides then remove from the skillet and set aside
next, add 2 cups of broth, vegetables, and Worcestershire sauce and boil until reduced to half
strain the liquid through a colander, discard the vegetables then return the liquid to the skillet
add one packet of Lipton's Beefy Onion soup mix and stir in well
reintroduce the ribs to the skillet
cover and slow cook on medium heat until the ribs become tender
add the sliced mushrooms and continue cooking for about 10 - 15 minutes
serve over cooked long grain white rice

Note: Add the remaining third cup of beef broth 1/4 cup at the time as needed to replace the liquid which will evaporate during the cooking process. Enjoy!

Cajun Super Bowl Party Food

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 19:59:00 -0600

A List of Favorites

If you are looking for something different to serve your guests during the Super Bowl game, you might want to liven up the party with some Cajun foods from the following list:

There are many more recipes which are not listed here that would go well with your next party -- Super Bowl or otherwise. Take a look around. You might discover something new.

How to Cook Garfish

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 08:54:00 -0500

Garfish Recipes - 2 Ways to Cook Gar Fish

Fried Gar Balls
Smoked Alligator Gar Roast

The garfish is a prehistoric fish.

Its natural skills and ability to quickly adapt to harsh environmental conditions; its slender and elongated armor-plated body which gave it agility and speed; and, its two rows of sharp teeth on a long and protruding snout, all came together millions of years ago to make the garfish a formidable candidate for survival without evolving.

They are, in essence, living fossils which come equipped with an inner air bladder. This means the gar fish can stay alive, out of the water, longer than most other types of fish. Even in low-oxygen conditions the garfish will come up out of the water for air much like some aqua-mammalians (whale, dolphin and sea cow).

I prefer the smaller species of garfish (long-nose gar) for my table because they are easier to handle, clean and cook.

On the smaller fish, after removing the outer armor, I use a large metal spoon to scrape the meat out from between the connective tissue, which is common to all species of garfish, and set it aside in a bowl to mix with my other ingredients.

Warning: Under NO circumstances should you consume the eggs of a garfish (roe) because it is poisonous to humans and other warm-blooded animals.

I like to use the more-tender meat of a smaller fish to prepare fried gar balls. I usually go half 'n half (half fish meat and half crumbled baked potatoes) to prepare mine.

I add a couple eggs, chopped green onions, as well as salt and seasonings.

In a bowl mix everything together well and form the mixture into golf ball size spheres. Finally, coat them well by rolling the balls in Italian bread crumbs and fry at 365 degrees F. until they are golden brown in color.

I have also prepared alligator gar fish (3 - 5 lb. roasts) on the barbecue.

I use enough aluminum foil to completely wrap the fish roast, but only after I have smoked it and seasoned it enough.

By setting the alligator gar fish roast on a couple sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, (open-face), I can manipulate the amount of smoke I want my fish roast to absorb. The temperature should be between 120 and 180 degrees F. I always use hickory chips to create the smoke for my roast, but other hardwood chips will do just as well.

I gauge how much smoke I need by observing the naturally white meat of the garfish as I am smoking it.

When it reaches a slightly smoky color (dull-gray), I wrap the roast with the aluminum foil and continue cooking it until it's done, but not before dousing it with gobs of melted lemon butter and DIY Cajun seasoning. The larger roasts should not take more than an hour to cook after smoking.

I've also used lemon and orange peels on occasion to enhance the taste of the gar fish roast.

Garfish is a good-tasting fish and its meat is somewhat sweet. Some folks like to compare it to crab meat.

I like it for what it is. Try it some time. You might like it, too.

Ahheee!!!

Maque Choux

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:46:00 -0500

Ingredients

1 stick butter
15 ears tender fresh corn
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can whole tomatoes
(or 2 fresh tomatoes diced)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

cut corn off the cob and scrape the cob to remove all the juice
in a Dutch oven combine 1 stick butter, onion, bell pepper, and garlic
sauté until tender
add corn and tomatoes
season to taste
cook over medium heat for 1 hour, stirring constantly
add a little milk from time to time
keep mixture soft to avoid sticking
serves 5 to 6

MI'KMAQ INDIANS AND THE ACADIANS

Prior to 1755, a time before the Acadian expulsion from their homeland in Nova Scotia by British forces, a peaceful co-existence and assimilation between the two peoples (Mi'Kmaq and Acadians) led to cultural sharing, some of which can be experienced in today's Cajun foods culture.

I want to further explore the subject, so if anyone has information about this, would you please send it my way?

Mi'kmaq, also spelled Micmac, was the largest of the North American Indian tribes traditionally occupying what are now Canada's eastern Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) and parts of the present U.S. states of Maine and Massachusetts.

The Cajuns, prior to settling Nova Scotia hailed from a rural area of the Vendee Region of Western France. They began to settle in North America in 1604.

The Acadians brought with them excellent farming and fishing skills and literally transformed saltwater marshes into arable lands to grow their food crops.

The Mi'kmaq lived off the land and occupied a bountiful swath of the Northeastern Woodlands of these Canadian provinces.

It is a very interesting subject and I'd like to learn more about some of today's traditional Cajun cuisine... and perhaps a historical gem or two about how this unique food culture has evolved.

Note: To make chicken Maque Choux, cut chicken into bite size pieces and fry until brown and add to the Maque Choux. Cook 10 minutes.

Cajun Baked Lemon Chicken with Onions and Sweet Peppers

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 9 Jun 2020 14:46:00 -0500

A fresh chicken fryer or broiler is better when preparing this wonderfully delicious meal. Use your favorite baking pan, and after 1 hour of marinating the bird, it will be ready for the oven. The entire meal can be cooked and served in around an hour. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients

1 (3 - 4 lb.) chicken
1 large onion
2 med. green bell peppers
2 med. red bell peppers
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 Tbs. parsley, chopped
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
3/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

combine all ingredients, (except chicken, vegetables and butter), to create the marinade
marinade the chicken in the refrigerator for 1 hour (turning once)
drain marinade then bake chicken at 400 degrees for 40 - 55 minutes.
cut onions and bell peppers into 1/2-inch thick rings.
on medium-high, sauté the onions and peppers in 2 Tbs. of butter for around 8 - 10 minutes
spoon the onions and peppers around the chicken when done

This meal can be served with cooked long-grain white rice.

Cheesy Deep-fried Buttermilk Jalapeño Hush Puppies Recipe

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 30 May 2020 11:23:00 -0500

Cheesy you say?

Cheesy Jalapeno Hush Puppies

Yes, but not that kind of cheesy. The bites on these puppies are much stronger than their bark. By adding mild shredded cheddar cheese to the mix, however, it promotes a smooth and savory transition for the taste buds as they also take in the robust and spicy flavors of the chili peppers and onions.

Indescribably delicious! Bon appetite!

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 (10 oz.) jar pickled jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
buttermilk (or half and half)
cooking oil

Instructions

in a small deep-fry pot add about 4" of cooking oil (enough so the puppies can float to the top)
bring the heat up to about 365 degrees (between medium and high)
drain and finely chop the pickled jalapeno peppers and medium onion (I use a food chopper)
add all of the remaining ingredients (except the buttermilk) together and mix well
next, slowly and continuously add a little buttermilk (while stirring) until a smooth and barely liquid consistency is attained
drop 1 Tbsp. at the time, in groups of four, into the boiling oil (a small fry pot will suffice)
when the puppies float to the top, turn them over every few seconds and let them fry evenly on both sides
when the puppies have reached a golden brown, remove and place onto a paper towel to absorb any excess oil

Note: The secret to getting the batter just right is this: when you load a tablespoon full of the thick batter, and turn it upside down, it doesn't fall into the hot oil. However, if you turn the same spoonful of batter sideways, and it slowly pours out into the fry pot, then you have got it at the right consistency.

If your oil is sufficiently hot, it shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 minutes to fry each batch of 4.

Another variation of this recipe can be found here: Peño Puppies.

Bon Appetite!

Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 20:35:00 -0600

I must confess. I have never baked a King Cake, but I do eat them and they are delicious.

My friend Danno at NolaCuisine.com has graciously allowed me to post his King Cake recipe here for your enjoyment. Thanks for sharing, Dan! BTW, visit his site when you get the chance. There you will find an awesome display of great New Orleans style dishes to soothe the soul.

King Cake Recipe

For the Brioche:

1 envelope active dry yeast
2 Tbsp warm water (115 degree F)
1 tsp iodized salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp orange zest, minced
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into very small dice
1 egg beaten and 2 Tbsp water, for the egg wash
1 plastic baby trinket

Dissolve the yeast in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, let stand until frothy. Dissolve the salt, sugar, orange zest and milk in a small bowl. When dissolved combine the milk mixture with the yeast mixture. Mix the cinnamon with the flour.

With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, then gradually add the flour, until all is incorporated. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough is formed. A little more flour may be necessary. With the motor running, incorporate the butter into the dough, a little at a time but rather quickly so that it doesn’t heat up and melt.

Turn the dough into an oiled bowl, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot. When the dough has doubled in bulk punch it down, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll the dough out to a 6 x 18 inch rectangle. Spread the Pecan filling (recipe below) out in the middle of the rectangle along the whole length, leaving about 1 1/2 inch on each side. Place the baby trinket somewhere with the filling. Fold the length of the dough over the filling and roll up tightly, leaving the seam side down. Turn the roll into a circle, seam side down and put one end inside of the other to hide the seam, and seal the circle. Place the cake on a baking sheet and let rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Brush all over with the egg wash, then place the king cake into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

When the cake cools, brush with some of the glaze (recipe below) thinned out with more cold water. This will help the sugars adhere. Decorate the cake with the colored sugars and drizzle some of the thicker glaze onto the cake.

Place on a large round serving plate and decorate with Mardi Gras beads, doubloons and whatever else that you like.

For the Pecan filling:

1 cup pecan halves, broken up slightly and roasted until fragrant
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 pinch of salt
4 Tbsp Steen’s Cane Syrup

Combine all of the ingredients together.

For the glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp bourbon
water (enough to make a paste that can be drizzled)

Combine the sugar and bourbon, whisk in enough water to make a glaze that can be drizzled.

Happy Mardi Gras ! ... Ahheee!!

Gateau de Roi - The King's Cake Story

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 20:03:00 -0600

This is an excerpt from "Mr. Lake's New Orleans Forum":

Gateau de Roi

Twelfth Night or King Cake

The story of the king cake begins, like the story of Mardi Gras itself, with the pagans. They had a celebration where a young man from the village was chosen to be treated like a king for a whole year. He was not denied during his reign, but after the year was over he became a human sacrifice to the gods. To eliminate this pagan custom, the Christian Church encouraged an observance calling for the preparation of a king cake containing a bean; whoever received the slice with the bean became king for a week and was allowed to choose a queen to reign with him. This took the place of the sacrificial pagan rite.

The King Cake tradition is believed to have been brought to New Orleans, Louisiana, from France in the 1870's. It evolved from the Twelfth Night or Epiphany pastry made by those early settlers. They added their own touches with the Spanish custom of choosing Twelfth Night royalty.

In European countries, the coming of the wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child is celebrated twelve days after Christmas. The celebration, called Epiphany, Little Christmas on the Twelfth Night, is a time of exchanging gifts and feasting. All over the world people gather for festive Twelfth Night celebrations. One of the most popular customs is still the baking of a special cake in honor of the three kings..."A King's Cake" or Gateau de Roi.

A King Cake's ring shape, too, is significant, as some believe it symbolizes the unity of all Christians, and others believe it aptly resembles a king's crown.

A dried bean was originally hidden inside the cake but was replaced by coins, peas, pecans, rubber dolls, porcelain dolls, and in recent years plastic dolls. Starting around the 1930s, a tiny naked baby (Frozen Charlotte) was used instead of the bean or pea. The baby can be pink, brown, or golden. Some people believe that the baby represents the baby Jesus because Twelfth Night was when the three kings found the baby in Bethlehem.

Tradition has it that the person who finds the baby in the king cake is the next queen or king, he or she receives a year of good luck, is treated as royalty for that day and must host the next king cake party.

King Cake season lasts throughout Mardi Gras from the feast of the Epiphany until Mardi Gras Day.

The royal colors of purple, green and gold on the cake honors the three kings, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar, who visited the Christ child on the Epiphany. Purple represents Justice. Green stands for Faith. Gold signifies Power.

The three colors appeared in 1872 on a Krewe of Rex carnival flag especially designed for the visiting Grand Duke of Russia. He came to New Orleans just for the carnival, and the universal colors remain his legacy.

You can visit Mr. Lake's New Orlean's Forum for more outstanding King Cake recipes (including a Mexican King Cake). Thanks Frank!

Special Note: I couldn't help but notice that the first of the Three Kings was named "Gaspar". Seems as though someone may have forgotten to add the letter "d" at the end of his name.

Ahheee!! Laisser le bon temps rouller!

Gaspard's Cajun Potato Salad

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 17:34:00 -0600

This is a Real Cajun Cooking - Pure and Simple original recipe which makes 12 - 15 servings and takes less than an hour to prepare. Yummy!

Ingredients

Gaspard's Cajun Potato Salad

5 lbs. Russet potatoes, boiled
5 hard boiled eggs
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 small bell pepper, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup yellow mustard
3 Tbs. dill relish
1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp. paprika

Instructions

peel, dice, boil and drain the potatoes then set aside
boil, peel and finely chop eggs in a food chopper
finely chop 1 medium white onion
slice each stalk of celery in 4s (lengthwise) and finely chop
chop green onions
add chopped eggs, onions, bell pepper, celery, green onions, relish, mayo, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt and ground black pepper in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.
in a larger bowl add everything together (except the paprika) then toss and mix well until all of the bits of potatoes are thoroughly coated. Try not to mash the potatoes in the process.
level-off the salad and sprinkle paprika on top to add color
set the salad in the refrigerator to cool before serving.
makes 12 – 15 servings

Note: Do not use a blender to chopped your vegetables because it will cause your salad to lose the crunchiness. It is important to take your time to properly chop the onions, bell pepper and celery by hand to produce the perfect potato salad. The chopped pieces should be about the size of a pencil eraser. And, for a bit of extra color and eye-appeal you may want to add a few sprigs of parsley on top for good measure.

Enjoy! Ahheee!!

Smoked Beef Ribs

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:43:00 -0500

Ingredients:

beef ribs
coarse ground sea salt
course ground black pepper
one stick of butter
one good size onion, chopped
lemon juice (about one cup)
about two cups white vinegar
about 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
good quality lump charcoal (for pit method)

Instructions for basting sauce:

Using a large saucepan, melt one stick of butter over low heat. Add 1 chopped onion, and saute in butter until soft. Add lemon juice, vinegar, and Worcestershire. Let it simmer on low as long as your ribs are cooking.

Instructions (Pit Method):

This is the preferred method, but it takes more work. It takes lots of practice to master the pit, but if you know what you are doing, this is not too difficult. If you don't have a good heavy barbecue pit with a firebox, thermometer, and good quality oak lump charcoal (something like lump charcoal, you might as well use the oven method, described below. The oven method still produces excellent results, but you won't get that smokey flavor that gives the ribs that extra je ne sais quoi. If you don't know how to handle your pit, or if you use that garbage charcoal you get at the grocery store, you can ruin the ribs with creosote (black, bitter, and burnt).

Also, everyone with a barbecue pit has an opinion. If you have a strong opinion, then you probably have your own recipe. I'm going to describe the way I do it, and I have never had complaints or leftovers.

Start with cool beef ribs. Turn the ribs upside down, remove the membrane to the best of your ability. Any excess fat can be trimmed. Pat the ribs down with a handful of paper towels so that they are moist, but not wet. Generously coat all sides of the ribs with coarse salt and pepper. Let the ribs sit at room temperature on a cookie sheet until they cool down. While the ribs are resting, you can begin to work on your fire.

Soak about 10 - 15 lumps of charcoal with lighter fluid, and let them sit for a few minutes. Stack them in a pyramid in your firebox, then light them. The flame will get high as the fluid burns off, but will quickly subside leaving your charcoal burning at the edges. Open the air vent to allow plenty of air into the fire chamber. Let the lumps get completely hot - they may flame up again, which is ok. Let the second flame subside, then push the hot coals to the front of the firebox (the side of the firebox closest to the cooking chamber). Now fill the rest of the firebox with lump charcoal, and close your vent and smokestack by 1/2. Shut the lid on the firebox and on the cooking chamber to let it heat up.

What we are trying to produce here is a low and slow burn. The fire should stay at the front of the box. You push the unburned coals into the fire as necessary to keep the fire going and the temperature constant.

You want the heat in the cooking chamber to reach 250 degrees, and stabilize. This gets easier the longer the fire is going because the iron in the pit heats up which helps regulate the temperature. You want to adjust your vent and smokestack so that a good deal of smoke stays in the pit, but you are getting enough airflow through the pit to keep the fire going.

Once the heat has stabilized in the pit, place the ribs into the cooking chamber right side up, then close the lid. Don't leave the lid open for too long or you will lose your heat.

Now start making your basting sauce. You don't need to baste the ribs for about 45 minutes, so you have plenty of time. I like to keep my basting sauce warm by leaving it on the warming tray above my firebox.

After about 45 minutes, open the lid. Using a sauce mop, baste both sides of the ribs make being careful not to wash away the salt and pepper. Turn the ribs over, and close the lid. We will let this go for another 45 minutes before basting and turning again. Cook this way for about 4 1/2 hours. Finally, remove the ribs from the heat and let them rest on a clean cookie sheet covered loosely in foil for about 30 minutes.

I find that cooking with this method requires no finishing sauce. The ribs are tasty, easy to eat, and the smoke-cured meat will keep for several days in a refrigerator if you happen to have leftovers.

Instructions (Oven Method):

Basically the exact same as above without the charcoal. Bring your oven up to 250 degrees. Put the ribs directly onto the rack in the center of the oven (you can spray the rack with pam first if you want). If you have a convection oven great, but not necessary. Put a cookie sheet on the bottom rack to catch any drippings. I find the oven method does not require as much basting because the sealed oven keeps much of the moisture trapped inside. Baste when you feel it is necessary, but don't go crazy or you will make a mess in your oven. Cooking time is again, about 4 1/2 hours. Once done, remove the ribs and let them rest for about 30 minutes.

Notes:

This method will not work with pork ribs without some modification. Pork is naturally salty, so salting them up in this manner will produce a very salty end product. Brisket can be cooked this way, but the cooking time is much much longer. I usually cook my briskets for about 24 hours. I'll probably post a brisket recipe this Spring, so I can get some good pictures. Stay tuned!

Bon Appetit!

Oyster Stew

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 4 Aug 2019 10:29:00 -0500

Often times the easiest Oyster Stew recipes are the best. Here is one that is easy to prepare and taste delicious.

Ingredients

3 dozen oysters
1 stick butter
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1-quart milk (preheated)
5 green onion tops, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 sprig parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

prepare a white roux with all-purpose flour and butter
add vegetables and sauté for a couple minutes on medium-high heat
drain oysters and slowly add the oyster liquid to the pot
reduce to a simmer and add preheated milk
introduce the raw oysters and simmer until oyster edges start to curl
finally, add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce

Note: It's important to not "boil" the milk because it will curdle and ruin the stew.

Serve with croutons or crackers.

Jacques Gaspard's Sliced Beef Roast Po-Boy Sandwiches

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 11:15:00 -0500

This Sliced Beef Roast Po-Boy Sandwich recipe just could become a favorite for your holiday guests. It's a lot like the N'awlin's style po-boys... 'cept much betta!

A 4 lb. beef rump roast can easily go from very tough to fall-apart tender in just a few hours using my simple two-stage method of cooking as outlined below.

But first, here's a little secret. If you take particular notice of the title to this post you will see that part of it reads "Sliced Beef Roast Po-Boy Sandwiches" and not "Sliced Roast Beef Po-Boy Sandwiches". That's because there is an easier way of cooking the beef roast other than using the conventional dry-heat method of roasting to create these wonderfully delicious sandwiches.

So, true to our pledge of bringing you great foods without all the fuss and muss, read on as I demonstrate how simple it is to create great tasting beef sandwiches which are certain to impress even the more finicky taste buds around your home.

Ingredients

water
4 lb. trimmed beef rump roast
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 packets of Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup Mix
4 beef bouillon cubes
3 Tbs. garlic powder
3 Tbs. onion powder
5 Tbs. black ground pepper
1 Tbs. cayenne pepper
3 Tbs. Kitchen Bouquet
1 loaf of garlic French bread, sliced lengthwise
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup butter
shredded lettuce
vine ripened tomatoes, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Part I - Boiling a Beef Rump Roast

Place the rump roast in a boiling pot and add just enough water to cover the meat. Except for the salt and black pepper, add all of the dry seasonings to the water including the 4 bouillon cubes and 1 packet of Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup mix.

On medium-high heat bring the beef roast to a boil and continue boiling for 1 and 1/2 hours. Turn the roast over a couple times during the boiling process. Next, remove the roast from the liquid and set aside to cool before slicing. Continue boiling the liquid until the virgin roux is added.

After the roast has cooled, cut across the grain into 1/4" slices and set aside until you are ready to add everything to the slow-cooker.

Virgin Roux Gravy (uncooked all-purpose flour, water and seasonings)

Add 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour in a bowl, the remaining packet of Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup mix and 4 Tbs. of fresh ground black pepper and salt (I prefer the coarsely ground black pepper for the stronger flavor). Mix well and begin slowly adding cold water (a little at the time) to make a thick slurry -- about 2 cups. This slurry will be added to the boiling liquid to create a thick and savory gravy which will compliment the flavor of the sliced beef when you are putting the final touches to your po-boy sandwich.

The gravy, as you will see, will also be added to the slow cooker and used to infuse more flavor into the beef slices during the final stage of the cooking process. Any remaining gravy can be stored in the freezer for later use.

Next, pour a portion of the gravy into the bottom of your slow-cooker then add the first layer of sliced beef followed by more gravy. Continue this until all of the beef slices and gravy have been added to the pot.

Finally, turn your slow-cooker on to your preferred setting: high for about an hour or so... or, on low for about 3 hours.

Part II -- Building the Sandwich (measure once cut thrice)

I prefer to use garlic sour dough French bread for my po-boy sandwiches because it adds a richer flavor to the meal. Cut your French loaf in half horizontally, paint a generous amount of liquid butter onto both halves, sprinkle onion powder then oven-toast (face up) until the edges of the loaves are a golden-brown color -- just a couple minutes.

Next, apply mayo and sprinkle some fresh black ground pepper to both halves. After that apply a gravy-soaked layer of tender sliced beef onto one half-loaf followed by a layer of fresh shredded lettuce and a layer of fresh sliced beef-steak tomatoes. (If you like a sloppy po-boy sandwich, now would be a good time to pour some of the peppery gravy on top).

Finally, put the cap on your po-boy and cut the sandwich diagonally into 4 equal parts and serve. Hope you enjoy your sandwich! Ahheee!!

Baked Flounder with Crab Stuffing

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 2 Apr 2019 21:53:00 -0500

Ingredients

2 one pound flounders
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbs. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. bell pepper, chopped
1 cup crab meat
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbs. salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley, chopped
1 egg

Instructions

Sauté onions, garlic and bell pepper in butter until tender. Add crab meat and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes. Add bread crumbs, salt, pepper, parsley and egg. Mix well. Stuff into cavity of flounder. Place in baking dish and bake 30 minutes at 375°F. Mmmm--c'est bon!
KT

Indoor Smoked Beef Brisket

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Fri, 1 Feb 2019 15:13:00 -0600

Here is where I show you how to cook smoked brisket like a pro ... but indoors and in significantly less time. Follow these instructions and you will be absolutely amazed by the results. I promise you.

Please don't get the wrong impression because when time and weather permits there is nothing I like better than cooking a brisket outdoors on the BBQ or in the smoker for hours-on-end while drinking
my favorite beverages and jaw-boning with family and friends. But, there are times when I use the following methods of achieving like-results by cooking briskets indoors in the oven.

Indoor Smoked Beef Brisket

I could write about how to pick out a choice cut of brisket but you can easily find out that information on the NET.

When I buy a brisket I try to find one that is whole and untrimmed (packer cut). The reason I like to trim my own brisket is that I can leave a little 'fat on the flat' so to speak. I like to trim the fat down to about 1/4" and make crisscross slashes through it. I then cook the brisket fat-side up knowing that the melted fat will act as a continuous baste for the rest of the meat. As the fat slowly cooks and melts, gravity kicks-in and coats the outside of the brisket while keeping it moist at all times.

The average briskets weigh-in at 8 -12 pounds, is 12 to 20 inches long, and about a foot wide.

That said, I must now reveal the 'secret' to my method of preparing delicious and tender smoked beef brisket indoors.

I use a flat container large enough to completely immerse my brisket in the brine-water solution yet small enough to place it over-night in the refrigerator. I've used the meat tray from the bottom of my refrigerator before and it works great.
Pour-in one 4-oz bottle of Colgin liquid smoke, 1 lb. of dark brown sugar and 1 lb. of table salt. Stir well in tepid water (usually between 1 and 2 gallons) until all the sugar and salt solids are dissolved.
After trimming, immerse your brisket in the brine solution and let it soak for at least 12 hours in your refrigerator.
Remove and apply your seasoning rub to the non-fat side of the brisket.

That's it! From that point on it's a piece of cake. Double wrap your brisket in heavy aluminum foil with the fat-side up and cook in the oven for 3 hours at 250 degrees F., then another 2 hours at 300 degrees F. Remove the foil and let the brisket cool for about 15 minutes before slicing.

I make my own seasoning rub. I use cracked black-pepper corns, dill weed, Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning Mix and other choice spices. You should experiment with your own seasoning rub.

In conclusion, this is a method of preparing smoked brisket which is "indoor easy and outdoor delicious".

Bon appetite! Ahheee!!

Black-eyed Peas and Cabbage

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 15:21:00 -0600

Black-eyed Peas

Ingredients

Black-eyed Peas & Cabbage

1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
2 slices of hickory smoked bacon
2 Tbsp onions, minced
2 Tbsp bell pepper, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp Colgin liquid smoke
Water
Salt and pepper to taste.

As is the case with thousands of other families across America, I also take part in the annual tradition of cooking-up a mess of black-eyed peas and cabbage in an effort to increase my luck for the coming New Year. Heaven knows we are gonna need all we can muster up. (Okay. Stop ... no politics! Moving on.)

Contrary to popular belief, black-eyed peas don't have to be soaked overnight or for any significant period of time because the peas have a thin skin and are relatively easy to cook.

Over medium (or lower) heat, black-eyed peas can be done in just a few minutes. It's the pot liquor that makes all the difference in how your peas will taste, however.

Think 'minced' and not 'chopped' when it comes to your vegetables. A couple tablespoons of minced onions and bell pepper - and about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic sautéed in the fat from a couple slices of smoked bacon creates a wonderful flavor and delicious taste. And, you can salt and pepper to your own liking.

Using a 2 quart pot begin by adding just enough water to cover the peas and sautéed vegetables by about an inch, (or by a finger and a half as we say in Cajun speak), and begin the slow process of cooking them to perfection, while stirring occasionally (around 1 - 1 1/2 hrs.). Keep an eye on the peas because you may have to add a little more water occasionally as they absorb and cook.You will know when they become tender enough by taste-testing.

Set them aside until the boiled cabbage is done.

A pound of dried black-eyed peas, when cooked, should yield between 5 and 6 cups.

Cabbage

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage, leaves separated
3 or 4 pork chops
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp Colgin liquid smoke (hickory)
1 measure DIY Cajun Seasoning
Additional salt and pepper (if desired)

Cooking cabbage (boiled) is also easy to do and the way I prepare my cabbage, by popular demand I might add, is to include 3 or 4 pork chops with it. This is how I prepare my boiled cabbage.

The first thing I do is season the heck out of the pork chops with one measure of DIY Cajun Seasoning (easy to make - check it out), and fry them up in my cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat in a couple tablespoons of oil.

I fry the chops for a couple minutes on both sides until they are well browned, but I don't cook them all the way because they will finish cooking with the slow-boiling cabbage.

The next thing I do is get my kitchen shears and cut-up the chops into bite-size pieces and add this to the boiling cabbage.

If you are using a heavy cast-iron skillet, chances are in your favor that a crust will form at the bottom of the skillet (it usually does when you cook meat fast on high heat).This is a good thing.

We Cajuns call this crusty material the 'gratin' - which is commonly used to complement and enhance the flavor of various meat gravies.

Here's a little secret: keep the skillet hot but add in about 2 or 3 ice cubes and stir them around the skillet and they will magically loosen the crust (or 'gratin') and will produce a savory bouillon that you can add to the cabbage mixture to enhance the overall flavor.

Once you have liquefied the crust and added it to the stock pot along with the cabbage leaves and cut-up pork chops, you just go about your business of boiling cabbage like you always have (low and slow). Adding a little salt and black pepper always helps.

I like to also include a tablespoon of Colgin liquid smoke (hickory flavor) and not that other brand. Keep mixing and tumbling the cabbage leaves in the pot occasionally so they don't burn. The only difference with cooking cabbage this way instead of the traditional way is that you now have a delicious pot liquor and a few bites of meat to go with your good luck food.

See there! Your luck's already changing.

I hope you like this great recipe for the coming New Year.

Catch ya later.

Bon Appetit! ... and a happy New Year! Ahheee!!

Smoked Turkey Breast

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 20:45:00 -0600

Ingredients

2 cups non-iodized sea salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp ground thyme
1 Tbsp rubbed sage
1 Tsp black pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh turkey breast, apx 2.5 lbs
2 gallons non-chlorinated water
good oak, hickory, or apple-wood charcoal
indirect heat outdoor smoker

Instructions

Add water plus dry ingredients to container and mix well
add turkey breast to liquid and put into fridge
soak in fridge for about 1 1/2 hours (approximately 30 min per pound of turkey)
add charcoal to smoker, and bring up to steady 250 degrees
place turkey breast in center of the smoker, and shut the lid
turkey should cook for apx 45 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature is 170 degrees.
remove turkey breast from smoker, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes
remove the skin, and slice it any way you want

There's nothing like home-smoked turkey breast. Using this method, it will come out tender, moist and delicious. Serve it with all the fixins, or just slice it up and have a terrific turkey sandwich. Enjoy!

3-Meat Cajun Cornbread Dressing

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 18:11:00 -0600

This 3-Meat Cajun Cornbread Dressing is more than just a dressing. It can become an entire meal in itself.

Ingredients

1 lb. pork steak, chopped
1 lb. ground beef, lean
1 lb. chicken livers, boiled and pureed
6 - 8 med. onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup green onions, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 pkg Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix
20 oz. chicken broth
3/4 lb. butter
4 boxes Jiffy cornbread (cooked)
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
Tony Chachere's Original Creole seasoning (to taste)

Bake cornbread and set aside. You will need at least 8 cups. The more cornbread you add to this recipe, the less soupy it will become. If the mixture is too soupy, either add more cornbread or increase the oven baking time until you have obtained the desired texture.

Boil the chicken livers using just enough water to cover them. You can add a teaspoon of Tony's seasoning to give it a good taste. Mash the livers, (puree is better), and set aside for later use. Using some of the butter, brown the other two meats. Add the rest of the butter in a stock pot and saute' all of the vegetables except the garlic and green onions. (Garlic and green onions should be added to prepared foods toward the end of the cooking process.)

When the vegetables have cooked down a bit add all the meats, include the water from the boiled livers and the chicken broth; mix well. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add a small amount of water at the time, if needed, to maintain a thick soupy consistency. Thirty minutes before the meat/vegetable mixture is cooked, add the minced garlic, green onions, Lipton Onion Soup mix and Worcestershire sauce.

When that is done, add the cornbread to the meat/vegetables and mix well. Place all the mixed ingredients in a large baking pan (12" x 14"). Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes, or until the desired texture is reached. 16 servings. This can be a stand-alone food or a side-dish which greatly compliments any holiday main entries, i.e., baked or deep fried turkey, as safe turkey stuffing, pork roasts, beef roasts, baked ham, outdoor barbecues, etc.

Enjoy!
KT

Smothered Okra - No Tomatoes

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 23:18:00 -0500

Okra Plant

It may be a tongue twister to quickly repeat the words "southern smothered" five times, but the smothered okra produced from this recipe is very pleasing to the palate--especially when prepared the old-fashioned way--Cajun style, and without tomatoes.

San les tomates is a French expression which means "minus the tomatoes".

Tomatoes and green peppers are acidic and they work to obscure the incredible natural flavors of the okra pods. They also weaken the nutritional benefits that this versatile vegetable provides. The cooking method for smothered okra is uncomplicated and painless, as I shall demonstrate.

Ingredients

Smothered Okra

8 cups sliced okra (1 1/2 lbs.)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 slices of smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
dripping from 2 slices of cooked smoked bacon
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic
salt and black or white pepper to taste

Instructions

Using medium heat, add the vegetable oil and bacon drippings into a large skillet (use a stainless or aluminum skillet to maintain the okra's greenish color, a cast-iron skillet will produce a darker meal--still okay, though)

When the oil heats-up and begins to smoke, add the remaining ingredients and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mucilage (slime) disappears (20 - 30 minutes).

Constantly stirring the cut okra is very important if you want to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the skillet. Bon appetite!

Tomatoes and Cajun Cuisine

It was after Spain colonized Louisiana in 1763 when the value of tomatoes in Cajun-prepared foods became fashionable.

The Spanish colonists distributed tomato seeds among the settlements. The humble tomato was easy to grow and began to flourish in the rich soils of the Mississippi Delta. It became popular among the African slaves, Native Americans, Creoles, as well as the Acadian settlers, who began using the vegetable/fruit in a variety of prepared meals.

Louisiana’s history is colorful, to say the least. During the historical struggles of the New World, in less than 100 years, she succumbed to the empirical powers of France, Spain and the United States of America, which inevitably produced an overlapping of cultures.

It is reasonable to believe that there was a willing exchange of knowledge and skills about cooking and preserving foods among the New World settlers. We see evidence of this between Creole and Cajun styles of cooking. (Courtbouillion is one example)

The first Acadians did not (could not) grow these and other tropical and sub-tropical plants in the Canadian Maritimes. Nova Scotia's climate made it next to impossible to plant and gather many of the plant foods which are now considered part of Cajun cuisine.

Peppers and tomatoes, for example, need a warm climate to become fruitful and therefore could not be grown successfully in that region (Hardiness Zone 6b). It is also safe to assume that there were no seeds available in that region at the time.

It was not until much later, when the Acadians migrated to south Louisiana, when they began using tomatoes and peppers in their prepared foods. These add-in ingredients were never part of the original recipes, however.

Interesting Facts about Okra Plants

For thousands of years Africans have used okra as a valued food source and medication to treat a variety of ailments.

The plant may have originated in East Africa where it grew wild in the highlands of Ethiopia and it was cultivated along the Nile River Valley in Egypt. From there it made its way to the four corners of the world via traders.

Queen Cleopatra used the okra seed pods for food, and the mucilage as skin nourishment. Some speculate that was how she attained her radiant beauty.

It is a miracle the beauty and cosmetics industries are not all over this.

It is understandable that with some folks the slime in okra is a turn-off. It may conjure-up visions of gooey monsters in those old flix like The Blob and Ghost Hunters. Nevertheless, according to the USDA, the benefits of okra are worth noting.

Raw Okra

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy
129 kJ (31 kcal)

Carbohydrates
7.03 g

- Sugars
1.20 g

- Dietary fiber
3.2 g

Fat
0.10 g

Protein
2.00 g

Water
90.17 g

Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.Source: USDA Nutrient database

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	129 kJ (31 kcal)
Carbohydrates	7.03 g
- Sugars	1.20 g
- Dietary fiber	3.2 g
Fat	0.10 g
Protein	2.00 g
Water	90.17 g
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.Source: USDA Nutrient database

Health Benefits of Okra

The superior fiber found in okra helps to stabilize the blood sugar by curbing the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract.
Okra's mucilage (the gooey/slime) binds cholesterol and bile acid carrying toxins dumped into it by the filtering liver.
Okra helps lubricate the large intestines due to its bulk laxative qualities. The okra fiber absorbs water and ensures bulk in stools. This helps prevent and improve constipation. Unlike harsh wheat bran, which can irritate or injure the intestinal tract, okra's mucilage soothes, and okra facilitates elimination more comfortably by its slippery characteristic. Okra binds excess cholesterol and toxins (in bile acids). These, if not evacuated, will cause numerous health problems. Okra also assures easy passage out of waste from the body. Okra is completely non-toxic, non-habit forming has no adverse side effects, is full of nutrients, and is economically within reach of most individuals, unlike over-the-counter drugs.
Okra fiber is excellent for feeding the good bacteria (probiotics). This contributes to the health of the intestinal tract.
Okra is a supreme vegetable for those feeling weak, exhausted, and suffering from depression.
Okra is used for healing ulcers and to keep joints limber. It helps to neutralize acids, being very alkaline and provides a temporary protective coating for the digestive tract.
Okra treats lung inflammation, sore throat, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Okra has been used successfully in experimental blood plasma replacements.
Okra is good for summer heat treatment.
Okra is good for constipation.
Okra is good in normalizing the blood sugar and cholesterol level.
Okra is good for asthma. Okra's vitamin C is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which curtail the development of asthma symptoms.
Okra is good for atherosclerosis.
Okra is believed to protect some forms of cancer expansion, especially colorectal cancer.
Eating okra helps to support the structure of capillaries.
Some information shows that eating okra lowers the risk of cataracts.
Okra is good for preventing diabetes.
Okra protects you from pimples and maintains smooth and beautiful skin. We understand the reason why Cleopatra and Yang Guifei loved to eat okra.

There are other medicinal uses of okra, like its protection against trans fats.

Okra is easy to grow anywhere during the summer season in cold countries and throughout the year in tropical areas. You can even plant it in a container garden at the terrace in condominium buildings.

Baked Shrimp with Lemon-Garlic Butter

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 22:19:00 -0500

This Baked Shrimp with Lemon-Garlic Butter recipe is so simple to prepare and VERY delicious, too... especially when using Wild White Gulf of Mexico Shrimp, which are known worldwide for their sweet and succulent flavor.

16/20 Count Wild White Gulf of Mexico Shrimp

I prefer to use a regular cookie tray like a Wilton 15.25" x 10.25" x 1" when preparing this Cajun favorite. It's a perfect pan because it can hold enough cooked shrimp to serve more than just a couple folks at a dinner party (unless, of course, you invite one of my Cajun relatives).

Try it next time when you get the chance. If you are a shrimp lover like me, I know you will absolutely love this delicacy.

Just recently I purchased several pounds of the 16/20 count Wild White Gulf of Mexico Shrimp from my supplier, CajunGrocer, in Lafayette, Louisiana. I am here to tell you cher, that they are the best that money can buy and you don't have to spend a fortune to buy 'em.

Most of the time I try to order my gulf white shrimp with the heads on because believe or not, they are less expensive with the heads on, and I get a much bigger bang for my buck because I use the heads to make a broth, which I then include in special meals like seafood gumbo. It's excellent for other dishes, too -- like etouffee, piquant, and jambalaya.

I also use shrimp broth in some batter/coating recipes for frying catfish nuggets, oysters, and other seafood. When I am finished boiling and extracting all of the flavors from the heads, I bury them in my garden to feed my vegetables. Nothing wasted! It becomes an excellent fertilizer. Everything has been recycled. And, that's good.

One other thing... the larger the better. When I can get the 9-12 count of gulf whites, I get even more use from the shrimp heads because they are large enough, at that size, to contain a fair amount of meat.

I like to call it the rib-eye of large shrimp. Just pry apart the top portion of the heads from the bottom, clip the legs off with kitchen shears, wash under cool running water, dredge them in your favorite tempura batter and deep-fry at 365 degrees F. for about 3 minutes. It tastes amazingly like freshly fried soft shell crab.

If you would like to take a gander at the latest prices on Gulf of Mexico Wild White Shrimp you can visit my favorite supplier by using this link: Cajun Grocer.

Tell them that RealCajunCooking.com/ sent you.

It takes just 2 or 3 days [ground] to get your order delivered to your door. The shipping rates are reasonable. Your shipment is packed in dry ice and these extra-large shrimp are individually quick frozen (IQF) -- which means you can remove as many as you want individually, without having to thaw the entire bag.

It takes about 20 minutes, or so, for IQF shrimp to thaw out. Use cool water. Once they are thoroughly thawed remove the heads from the body and make your shrimp broth before discarding the heads.

The amount of water that you use will determine the strength of the broth. I also like to add the shrimp shells to my broth preparation because it offers even more overall flavor.

Note: You may want to use just a tiny bit of salt when preparing the broth to help extract the flavors from the heads and shells, but not too much if you plan to use the discarded refuse as fertilizer for your vegetable garden.

Adding too much salt in the preparation of the broth will affect the soil and consequently the growth of your garden plants if you decide to use it as fertilizer.

If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section below and I will be glad to answer them.

Ingredients

2 lbs. of 16/20 count Wild White Gulf of Mexico Shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied to the tail (leave tails on)
1/4 lb. melted butter (or 1 stick)
1/4 cup dried oregano or Italian seasoning (your choice)
1 large lemon, squeeze the juice out for later use then cut into thin slices
2 tsp. of Old Bay with Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1 tsp. salt

Instructions

combine the melted butter. lemon juice and seasoning into a 2-quart bowl
whisk all of the ingredients well for a few seconds
add the peeled shrimp and mix together gently and coating thoroughly
top the cookie tray with heavy duty aluminum foil
layer the top of the foil evenly with lemon slices
add the shrimp on top of the lemon slices until the entire tray is filled
place tray midway in a preheated 350-degree oven and cook for 12 -15 min.

Voila! Simple and delicious! An excellent hors d'oeuvres for your lucky guests.

Bon appetite!... Ummm... C'est Magnifique!

Slow-cooked Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Breast

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 9 Jul 2017 21:59:00 -0500

Baked Jalapenos|Bacon-Draped Stuffed Pepper Poppers

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 18:37:00 -0500

Baked Jalapeno Pepper Poppers make a great snack for almost any occasion.

Mammoth jalapeño peppers; ground beef and pork; cream cheese, thinly sliced hickory-smoked bacon and a 350° F oven are what's required to produce these wonderfully tasting cheese-filled hot pepper poppers.

I am always on the look-out for the large jalapeño peppers at my the local market but this year I decided to grow some myself in my herb garden so I can have plenty at hand at a moment's notice.

That is what it takes to make up a batch of these baked peppers. If hot tasting food is part of your dietary indulgences, then you will certainly be pleased when you bite into one of these spicy-hot appetizers--guaranteed to open up the sinuses.

Ingredients

12 large jalapeño peppers, cut in half lengthwise
1 lb. breakfast pork sausage
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
hickory-smoked bacon, thinly sliced

Instructions

cut the peppers in half and remove seeds and inside ribs
brown the two types of meat together and remove any oil
mix meats and cream cheese together until well blended
stuff each pepper half, slightly bulging
stretch and drape bacon slices over peppers
arrange the pepper halves (face up) in rows on a cookie sheet
bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes (until bacon turns crispy)

Note: In the prep stage, cut the bacon slices into 3 equal lengths. Gently stretch the cut bacon in all directions before draping it over the peppers. This means you should have enough with 8 slices of bacon to cover all of the appetizers.

When the peppers are done you may serve immediately, or you may freeze them to use at a later date.

When you are ready for a few appetizers just pop them in the microwave oven for a minute or two until they become piping hot.

You may want to serve ice cream as a desert. (smiling).

Bon Appetit!
KT

Gaspard's Cajun Dirty Rice Recipe (video)

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 4 Jun 2017 20:47:00 -0500

Gaspard's Cajun Dirty Rice Recipe is an easy meal to make and a very tasty side dish which goes well with barbecue, smoked or fried turkey and chicken, and is also a great stand-alone meal.

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. hot breakfast sausage
1 lb. long grain rice (3 cups)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 can beef stock
1 packet of Lipton's Beefy Onion soup mix
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh chopped parsley (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large cast iron skillet begin by browning both meats over medium heat. About half-way through the browning process add the Lipton's Beefy Onion soup mix, the chopped onions and bell peppers and continue to cook (uncovered) until the vegetables have become translucent.

Next, stir-in the can of beef stock and continue cooking and stirring for about 15 minutes before adding the chopped green onions and parsley.

Finally, stir-in the cooked rice and mix well.

Serve piping hot. Makes 10 -12 servings. Enjoy! Ahheee!!

Scary Stories | Loup Garou | Cajun Werewolf

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 13 May 2017 00:00:00 -0500

A Haunting We Will Go. Please Don't Forget the Garlic.

The four Cajun fur trappers in this bloodcurdling story eventually found themselves trapped (like rats) in an old hunting and fishing cabin deep in the dark and foreboding swamps of south Louisiana.

The date was October 31, 1969 -- Halloween night.

Place: Indian Bayou, Louisiana.

Follow along as the unsuspecting Cajun quartet leads us on a journey of unimaginable freight as they experience, first hand, the full meaning of what it feels like to be truly terrified. Forget the popcorn, but NOT the garlic.

TASTE FOR THE BIG RATS

It was a long day and hard work running and setting rat traps for miles along the mosquito infested water's edge of the winding bayou.

It was also a few minutes before nightfall when the four trappers gathered at an old fishing camp where they planned to spend the night.

The cabin was an inheritance and now belonged to Gaspard, one of the members of the trapping party.

His deceased uncle left it to him several years earlier. The small weather-beaten shack had not been used by anyone since the old man's death.

The inside of the old fishing cabin had a tight seal to prevent mosquitoes from entering.

Old army cots, which were still folded in place against one of the inside walls, provided the trappers instant access when it came time to get some shut-eye.

Despite the harsh weather conditions it had experienced through the years, the old shack was still in good shape. Good enough to serve as a temporary shelter for the night.

No one wants to be caught outdoors in a south Louisiana swamp after the sun goes down.

A warped overhead sign hanged above the door of the small fishing camp.

The crooked hand-painted letters spelled, "TIDE OVER" and was almost illegible because, like the old cabin, it too had weathered many violent gulf storms over the years.

Like boats, Cajuns traditionally give their fishing camps names.

Most names have a story behind it, but no one knew why Gaspard's dead uncle gave his camp the name "TIDE OVER".

Behind the camp, catercorner to the porch, was a walk-way which jutted several feet out onto the waters of the bayou.

Gaspard's uncle had built a make-shift dock about mid-way and that was the place where the trappers safely secured their boats.

The bounty of nutria was stored in a large metal cooler near the back door.

The quartet had settled in for the night.

They had already bagged a couple dozen large rats so now it was time to pop-a-top on a few cold ones.

After skinning and tanning the animal skins, Cajun trappers would sell their hides to a French consortium who made fashion products with them.

The meat of the large rats was sold to the locals for consumption or for crawfish bait.

Soon the screened windows of the little camp were aglow and casting feeble yellow light into the labyrinthine darkness of the surrounding swamp.

Insects buzzed against the window screen and now and then a big moth would flutter there for a while before the darkness would swallow it up again.

The men made a quick meal of some catfish they had caught earlier in the day and washed it down with ice-cold beer.

Soon the lights were dimmed and the tired trappers contentedly took to their beds.

From outside, amid the comforting chirping of the crickets and katy-dids, the familiar snuffling of the raccoon and the possum could be heard.

Every now and then a little “plunk” from the still bayou water meant a fish was jumping or a frog had caught a meal.

Surrounded by the all encompassing darkness and the hypnotic symphony of sounds from the insects and bull-frogs, the trappers were soon asleep.

Baudier was the name of the first man to wake up, jolted, all of a sudden, but by what he did not know?

Blinking in the darkness, he listened. He sat up. And, he listened some more.

He heard nothing ... absolutely nothing ... not a sound. Not a cricket, not a katy-did, not a snuffle or a plunk, or a croak. He heard nothing.

“Chotin!” he whispered to the man on the cot next to him.

“Chotin! Wake up, man! Dere’s sometin’ wrong out dere!”

Chotin, a large figure of a Cajun man, slept shirtless with his pants and white shrimp boots on. Suddenly he sat up, too, and blindly gazed into the darkness toward Baudier’s voice.

“Maannn! What is wrong wid you?” Chotin droned.

“You waked me up from a good sleep, I tell you. Dis better be good!”

“Shhh!” said Baudier. “Listen!”

Baudier looked around the small cabin until he focused on Chotin's face.

“Hear dat?”

Chotin listened, but he heard nothing.

“Hear what?” , Chotin asked with a scowl on his face.

As Chotin asked the question he became acutely aware of the dead silence outside.

He whistled in the direction of the front door using a low-pitch so as not to awaken the other men in the cabin. But, there were still no sounds coming from outside.

“Chere! Dere ain’t notin’ out dere!”

But, Tirout and Gaspard did hear Chotin's whistle and sat up too.

“Man, what yous doin’?” asked Gaspard.

“Shhhh!” came a hoarse little whisper from Tirout.

“Listen! What’s dat?”

Together they heard it. It was the sound of a thump, followed by another thump, followed by a couple of splashes ... then two more thumps.

The trappers were terrified by the approach of the thumping sounds and were wondering where they were coming from?

Then they heard another thump, and then another, coming from the little spit of land where the traps were set.

The splashes put the sound near the boats which had been tied-up at the dock.

Waiting, sweating, not understanding what had them so frightened, but too scared to ignore their gut, the four trappers sat petrified, in the dark, while they listened to something approach in the absolute stillness of the night.

Thump! Thump!

“Gawd!", said Baudier as he cleared his throat. When the white eyes of the other men turned on him he said, “Dat sounds like feet to me!”

Then all eyes turned toward the screened windows.

Just then came three more thumps in succession followed by the definite sound of something stepping onto the wooden porch alongside the camp.

The men had never before been so frightened in all their lives. The feeling of terror inside the little fishing camp hit a peak as a sniffing, snuffling, snorting kind of sound filled the air around them.

SOMETHING was out there and it was SMELLING for them!

Beads of sweat broke on Baudier’s forehead and dripped down into his eyes.

He glanced at the windows which were sparsely illuminated by the moonlight as it shown down on the shack between the passing clouds high above the canopy of moss laden cypress trees - like a scene from a horror movie.

He could feel the others looking, too.

There never was any doubt as to what Baudier saw next before he passed out, because the other men saw it too!

A huge animal head slowly went past the windows. It had the head of a dog - blown-up to enormous size. They saw the creature in vivid profile against the shimmer of the full-moon.

Long dog-like ears stood straight up to hear every sound. The glassy-yellow monstrous and watery eyes that, had they turned to look inside the camp, would surely have caused the shaking Cajuns to die of fright on the spot!

Drool hung in long sinuous strings from its grisly teeth, and, perhaps worst of all, was the scraping and screeching of what could only be long nails scratching along the outside wall.

Suddenly, the creature bent down, probably to walk on all fours because the next sound was like a big dog scampering on the wooden porch planks.

The thumping led away to the rear of the camp and suddenly there came a loud metal “CLANG!” The beast had found the old cooler where the nutria were stored.

With growing terror and disgust the Cajun trappers sat in the darkness of the camp and listened while the horrible loup garou devoured every single one of the large nutria rats they had trapped in the swamp that day.

Guttural gulping and horrible cracking of skulls and bones filled the men with dread, but they dared not move so long as the loup garou was feasting.

Long moments passed that seemed like hours, then suddenly, to their horror, Baudier began to awake and he was groaning loud enough for the werewolf to hear!!

All the white eyes in the pitch-black room turned upward and each man began to pray, while Baudier continued to groan. Suddenly, the horrible eating stopped. The loup garou was listening!

They heard a limp and sad little thump. The men knew the beast had dropped a nutria to the wooden floor of the back porch. A rustling and clicking noise meant the beast had surely heard Baudier’s pitiful groaning.

Chotin, Tirout and Gaspard thought about all the things they would miss in life – boudin sausage and Miller Lite beer, bingo and deer hunting and their boats and wives – when suddenly, from out in the swamp, they heard a sound that made the hair on their bodies rise and stand straight on end!

“Aaaarooo!!” came the howl. The noises on the porch outside stopped.

“Aaaaarooooooooooo!”

Another loup garou was out in the swamp calling for its mate!

In a flash of thumps, snorting and splashes, the loup garou bounded away from the little camp, leaving the trappers in a drenched, watchful peace.

They clung together, with the revived Baudier holding on for dear life, until the pale gray light of day could be seen through the windows. Then, all together in a group, they moved toward the back door and opened it.

What greeted them was such a feast of horror that none would soon forget it!

Nothing was left of their trapped nutria except some patches of brown fur ... and some bones ... and a lot of blood.

The men moved around to inspect the area. They found huge prints, like the footprints of a large canine, all around the camp. It was Baudier who pointed out the scratches on the outside walls.

Suddenly Tirout stopped.

“Listen!” he called out in a hoarse whisper.

They listened.

Out of the silence they heard a single cry.

It was the “caw” of a lone black crow from the very top of distant cypress tree.

As they watched, the old crow spread its wings and flew away. As it did it seemed to the men, that life in the swamp might be returning to normal.

“You know what dey say, don’t you?” asked Tirout.

“Dey say that dem old gypsy women ... dey go around like big black crows and dey is the only one dat know how to get rid of the loup garou!”

The men watched the crow grow smaller in the distance - wheeling and fluttering down to be lost among the moss-shrouded trees and vines. This was a sign to them that it was safe to move on.

And this, they say in south Louisiana, is a true story of the loup garou.

I hope you enjoyed this anonymous short story entitled "A Taste for Nutria".

And, I hope he or she [the unknown author] does not mind the few embellishments I made.

I don't know if even a boat-load of garlic would have done the trappers any good, do you?

Garlic offers a variety of benefits besides culinary uses and scaring hairy monsters away.

It is a natural insect repellent which can be used on the body and garlic helps us ward off other insidious creatures which lurk inside our bodies, like parasites and harmful bacteria.

It is also claimed to help prevent heart disease (including atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure) and cancer.

So, it might be a good idea to keep garlic around the house for other reasons besides warding off evil spirits and werewolves.

Ahheee!!

Real Beef Onion Soup Mix

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 21:25:00 -0500

Real Beef Onion Soup Mix that you can make at home. So easy!

Ingredients:

1 crushed (granulated) beef bouillon cube

2 Tbsp dried minced onions

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp corn starch

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

1/8 tsp onion powder

There are times when I like to use soup mixes to liven-up the tastes of the meals I prepare and I'm particularly fond of a well-known mix with the highlighted words 'Beefy Onion' on the package (Lipton). But the fact is that one cannot find a single hint of beef products in the mix. Hmmm?

Semantics! I think that's when advertising companies slightly bend the meaning of words to represent something totally different. It sometimes confuses consumers, like me, into thinking they are buying something which they are not. I hate to say it but it happens to me all the time.

In this example, their use of the descriptive word 'beefy' means something which tastes similar to beef, (not the real thing), thus allowing the imitation beef flavor to stand out from the rest of the average onion soup mixes on your supermarket shelf. And, they charge a premium price for it.

While it's true that well-placed words on product packages can increase sales, it's also true when consumers don't take the time to analyze all the ingredients on labels they may not discover the differences between the imitation flavors and the real McCoys.

If you read the box labels on the most popular brands of onion soup mixes, for example, you will discover that each packet contains roughly 4 tablespoons of well-mixed ingredients. Much of this is salt which may be gratifying for instant soup lovers and good for quick gravies, but not useful for many types of cooking.

When salt is added at the beginning of the cooking process it usually toughens that which is being cooked, unless it is done on low heat for longer periods of time. Slow-cooking crock pots make excellent vessels for that particular cooking technique.

In the old days, meats which were preserved with rock salt in large 20-gallon ceramic containers would retain the salinity. The salty meats, therefore, had to be soaked in fresh water for dilution prior to cooking. Then the process of cooking for prolonged periods with low heat was utilized to achieve tenderness.

Moving on. All you have to do is break down the onion soup mix formulas into their integral parts and play around with different combos until you discover that magic taste and VIOLA! ... you just saved yourself a ton of money over the coming years.

Creating your own brand of 'beefy' onion soup mix at home will save you about 75% of the cost of buying it in the store. Plus, you come out with the real deal, a better deal and a better blend, too. It feels good to know you can make it fast, at a moment's notice, right from your own pantry and spice rack. You don't have all the preservatives and stuff that are in the packaged brands, either. 'Nuff said.

Mix together thoroughly and you are ready to go. Use your mix as you would with any store-bought variety.

Hint: If you want to make your mix "Extra Beefy", you can always add another crushed bouillon cube. You can also add about a half-teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper to 'Cajunize" your mix. This reminds me. Check out my DIY Cajun Seasoning mix and you will discover yet another pure and simple way to save money and end up with a superior product.

Save and Enjoy! Ahheee!!

Bacon-flavored Ol' Time Homemade Cathead Biscuits

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 09:17:00 -0500

Cathead Biscuits made with hog lard was a very tasty treat at breakfast time when I was a kid growing up on the farm and had a very distinct taste which separated it from today's traditional methods of making biscuits.

Hog lard was the most used cooking fat in our home at that time. There were also occasions when we used the rendered fat of other animals (chicken and beef) in which to prepare specific meals which were associated with the cut of meat being cooked.

If you have never experienced the taste of an omelet or scrambled eggs using a couple teaspoons of chicken oil, then you have missed out on some wonderful taste. To learn how to render oil from chicken skins see an earlier post entitled "Cacklin Cracklins".

Retail hog lard has begun to slowly disappear from the marketplace (even in the deep south) as it is steadily being replaced with processed industrial oils like soy and Canola--the same stuff used in lubricating machinery, running diesel engines, in the formulation of toxic pesticides, as well as for cooking. You can learn more about the toxic effects of soy and Canola oil as a food substance by visiting here.

Today we are going to bake-up a batch of Ol' Time Homemade Cat Head Biscuits made with bacon drippings. I suppose the reason they might be called "Cat Head" biscuits might be because someone fashioned the biscuits by hand a little larger than usual and they wound-up looking similar to, and as big as, a cat's head when they were done baking. That sounds like a plausible story to me, so I'm sticking with it. I do remember when one of 'em could just about fill me up back in the old days when I was a boy.

I don't fashion the biscuit dough with my hands, however. Instead, I use the opened end of a clean empty food can as my biscuit cutter. It gives me more biscuits of normal size (6 - 8 servings).

This recipe will add a slight bacon flavor to your batch of cat heads. When using bacon drippings keep in mind that it already contains salt from the curing process. Therefore, in this recipe there is no need to add salt when converting the all-purpose flour into self-rising flour.

Note: To make 1 cup of self-rising flour add 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder, a small pinch of baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt to 1 cup of all-purpose flour and mix thoroughly.

As mentioned previously, there is no need to add salt to make your self-rising flour in this recipe because the bacon drippings already contain enough to create the chemical reaction with the baking powder and baking soda that is needed to make the biscuits rise.

Tip: Liquified bacon drippings can be put in the freezer for a few minutes and it will solidify enough to be cut-in with your flour mix.

Ingredients

2 cup self-rising flour
3 Tbs. solid and cold hog lard (bacon drippings)
1 cup milk

Instructions

preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
add self-rising flour into a food blender
using the "Pulse" feature add 1/3 of the cold hog lard at the time until it mixes-in well with the flour
slowly add and pulse the 1 cup of milk into the blender until a soft dough is made
roll out the biscuit dough on a slightly floured cutting board to about 1/2 inch thick
cut your biscuits into circles (the size of a soup can)
place the biscuits onto a slightly oiled pan (touching)
bake at 450 degrees F. for 10 - 12 minutes

Serves 6 - 8
Bon Appetit!
KT

Shrimp Etouffee (A-2-Fay)

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 08:58:00 -0600

Shrimp Etouffee (A-2-Fay) is just a fancy Cajun French expression for 'smothered' shrimp. The gulf shrimp are slow-cooked in a thick and rich garlic butter sauce. We begin by sautéing the Cajun trinity of vegetables--chopped onions, celery and bell pepper--to bring out the traditional and unmistakable flavors of Cajun-style cuisine.

The meal is simple to prepare and rates highly among the more popular Cajun entrées.

Ingredients

2 lbs. fresh medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup onions, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato juice
1 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

melt butter and stir-in flour, onions, celery and bell pepper, mixing well
cook on medium heat until the vegetables become translucent
blend-in the tomato juice, water, garlic and seasonings
simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently
add the fresh medium shrimp and cook for an additional 20 minutes
serve over cooked long grain rice

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Question: How do you smother chicken?
Answer: Use tiny pillows and sneak-up on 'em while they are sleeping.

Ahheee!! C'est bon!
KT

Shrimp Au Gratin

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 12:00:00 -0600

2 lbs. shrimp
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 lb.butter
4 Tbs. flour
1 large can milk (12 oz.)
2 egg yolks
10 oz. mild cheddar cheese

Peel uncooked shrimp. Sauté onions and celery in butter. Add milk and blend. Remove from heat then add egg yolks and blend. Now add shrimp and cook for 5 minutes. Next, add cheese, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture into a casserole and top it with more cheese. Bake long enough to melt cheese. Serves 6 to 8.

This can be served over cooked rice or toasted bread.
KT

Mardi Gras Party Food

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 20:18:00 -0600

"Lasser les bon temps rouler" in Cajun speak means "let the good times roll!". Let it roll this Mardi Gras season with these tasty Cajun foods:

Seafood Gumbo

Seafood gumbo recipes abound. There are many variations to this popular dish - some with other meats besides seafood. Here is one of my favorites - Chicken, Shrimp and Okra Gumbo ... read more

Jambalaya
In a heavy pot add oil, onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook uncovered over medium heat until onions are tender. ... read more

Red Beans over Rice

Try to acquire dried red beans which are less than 6 months old. You can either soak the red kidney beans over night for absorption, or you can bring them to a quick boil on the stove for a few short minutes. ... read more

Fried Catfish Nuggets

These spicy fried catfish nuggets are absolutely delicious! There's no doubt your friends will beg you for this recipe, but don't give it to 'em. Just send them over to Real Cajun Cooking - Pure and Simple so they can discover how to ... read more

Oysters Shantal

Wash oysters in cold water. Open oysters and remove top shell leaving mussel intact in lower shell. Place oysters in a baking dish and pour a little sauce over each one. Broil for 7 minutes. ... read more

Blue-Point Crab Dip

Cook onions, bell pepper and celery for about 5 minutes. Add mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, white pepper, hot sauce and crab meat. ... read more

Boudin Balls

This recipe is a slight departure from my original boudain recipe. I omitted the pork kidneys, pork heart and pork liver (because I couldn't purchase those particular items locally). So, without greatly compromising the original, I used the following ingredients ... read more

Pork Cracklings

After trimming a pork tenderloin roast I cut up the fat (which had a small amount of meat attached to it) into 3/4 inch cubes and fried them in a #10 cast-iron skillet for about 30 minutes or so. ... read more

Peño Puppies

Thoroughly mix all of the ingredients except for the buttermilk. Slowly add buttermilk and stir until a thick batter is formed. ... read more

Zesty Cajun Onion Rings

For this recipe I always try to use someone else's beer for my batter so I don't have to use mine. And, I try to get it before she takes the first drink - if I can. No beer? Not to worry. You can use about 1/4 teaspoon of ... read more

King Cake

I must confess. I have never baked a King Cake, but I do eat them and they are delicious. My friend Danno at NolaCuisine.com has graciously allowed me to post his King Cake recipe here for your enjoyment. ... read more

These are only a few ideas you can use for your Mardi Gras party. Visit our site at http://realcajuncooking.com for many more examples of Cajun foods that you can serve at your next party.

Bon Appetit! Ahheee!!

How to Boil Shrimp, Crabs or Crawfish

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Tue, 7 Feb 2017 16:03:00 -0600

Boiled Shrimp

If you know how to boil shrimp, crabs or crayfish the way Cajuns do it, then you are in for a delicious treat. As we are heading into the 2017 harvest, get ready to impress your family and friends with this traditional method of preparing them. It's easy and fun.

To do an exemplary job we must include the right kind of seasoning to the water in which the shrimp, crab or crayfish are to be boiled but not before purging them first using cool clean water and regular table salt, for a few minutes, in a different container. Our family and friends have regularly used a #2 galvanized washtub for that occasion.

Boiled Crab

The saline solution during the purging process, especially for crawfish, causes the crustaceans to regurgitate any of the pond water from which they were harvested, and the thrashing around for a few minutes while in the salt water solution helps to clean the underpart of the mudbug and crab shells and tails which will sometimes collect tiny bits of muddy or sandy residue. You may want to stir them around a bit with a broom handle or long spoon to help them along if you would like to speed up the cleaning process. This will agitate them and the water.

Boiled Crawfish

The basic seasonings for the boil consist of salt, ground red cayenne pepper, and black pepper (easy on the black pepper, tho). This is the secret of bringing out the flavor of boiled seafood as served by Louisiana Acadians (Cajuns). It is important to remember that these types of seafood will completely cook in a short period of time. Overcooking can cause problems with texture, taste and the ability to easily peel or clean them. So, take precautions.

Instructions

The seasonings presented herein were our own family's special blend which we used long before Zatarain's seasoning became a popular brand.

bring your seasoned water to a boil in a large pot then add the shrimp, crabs or crayfish
bring to a boil again and cook rapidly for 5 minutes in a large uncovered pot
be sure to have enough water to cover the seafood
remove from heat, cover the pot and let them set in the hot seasoned water for about 5 minutes
the covered pot will retain the heat while the mud bugs, shrimp or crab cools. This allows them to absorb more of the seasoned water in which they were boiled
spread a few sheets of newspaper on a large table and evenly lay the seafood out within reach of your dinner guests
don't forget to add containers around to collect the discarded shells after eating

Tip: Remember to boil only live crayfish or crabs. Discard any dead ones before hand. They certainly won't taste good, and they could make you sick. So, get rid of the dead ones.

When boiling a large amount of crayfish or crabs (20 lbs. or more) you may want to add small new potatoes, small to medium size onions, hot smoked pork sausage (hot Italian sausages are the best) cut into 2-inch links, and you may even include corn on the cob. We've added eggs on occasion to add a little more stuff to the pot. Be sure to have plenty of cold beer on hand to tame the hot seasoning.

Many Cajuns will add dry or liquid crab or shrimp boil, and a cup of oil, to make the crustaceans spicer and easier to peel.

Our Family Crayfish Farm

"I was seven years old when my grandfather had this crazy idea of flooding our rice fields after the harvest to produce a second crop--crawfish. Grandfather didn't even finish grade school back in the old days but it did not diminish the fact that he was an innovator, or possessed the ability to accomplish great things.

The Gaspard Family has a claim of being the first commercial crayfish farmers in the State of Louisiana. The only challenge to that claim came from the Trahan family who resided about 12 miles away in a small one-horse town called Duson. I think Mr. Trahan copied my grandfather's successful operation, with his blessings, and they subsequently began their own crawfish farming operation.

Back in the day, we used rudimentary harvesting methods to catch crayfish, namely; pyramid shaped henged wire nets with baits affixed in the center of the net with clothespins. Even then, each year we managed to harvest tons of the delicious mud bugs.

Later on, we made and used wire traps. The traps were made of ¾ inch chicken wire formed into a cylindrical shape with a funnel opening at each end. We quadrupled our harvest and the 3/4" openings would allow the immature crayfish to escape the cages to live another day while the big ones remained trapped inside.

We operated our crayfish farm for nearly two decades. Most of the money earned from the farm operation was cold hard cash. This was a windfall for me because it allowed me to buy very first car (a brand new 1963 Chevrolet Super Sport) from the money I made and saved. I was 15 years old at the time.

As word spread, people would travel from miles around just to fish our ponds. Back then we would rent the nets by the dozen, sell bait and soda to anyone who did not have their own fishing equipment.

I remember one time a business man came by to check out our farm. Before he knew it, we equipped him with a pair of waders, a dozen nets, a number two washtub, and a long cane pole. He fished a couple hours and walked away with about 100 pounds of crayfish. I've never in my life seen a Yankee that excited before.

Folk would place the nets at the very end of the pole and from the levee would strategically place them about 15 feet apart... never getting their feet wet. A dozen nets would usually do the trick. If you didn't walk away with about 100 pounds in an hour, or so, it probably meant you were just playing around and not too serious about fishing.

Back in the day we sold our crayfish for 10 cents a pound when people would harvest their own. If we caught them for you it cost 20 cents a pound.

Later on, when I was in high school, my grandfather would give me all the proceeds from the fish farm just for managing it while he was away pursuing other interests. Some weekends I would pocket around $300 - $400. Not bad for a lanky pimple-faced teenage farm boy..

Crayfish season would last only about 4 months until it was time to plow up the fields and prepare for the next rice harvest. This is when I would go down to the coast to catch shrimp and crab. I used a throw net to catch shrimp and nylon string with chicken necks tied to the end of it to catch crabs. We always had a freezer full of seafood. Those were the good old days."

Bon Appetite!
KT

Cajun Black-Eyed Peas, Cabbage and Pork Chops - A New Year's Tradition

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 11:38:00 -0600

Black-Eyed Peas

Ingredients

1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
2 slices of hickory smoked bacon
2 Tbsp onions, minced
2 Tbsp bell pepper, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp Colgin liquid smoke
Water
Salt and pepper to taste.

As is the case with thousands of other families across America, I also take part in the annual tradition of cooking-up a mess of black-eyed peas and cabbage in an effort to increase my luck for the coming New Year. Heaven knows we are gonna need all we can muster-up.

Contrary to popular belief, black-eyed peas don't have to be soaked over night or for any significant period of time because the peas have a thin skin and are relatively easy to cook.

Over medium (or lower) heat, black-eyed peas can be done in just a few minutes. It's the pot liquor that makes all the difference in how your peas will taste, however.

Think 'minced' and not 'chopped' when it comes to your vegetables. A couple tablespoons of minced onions and bell pepper - and about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic sautéed in the fat from a couple slices of smoked bacon creates a wonderful flavor and delicious taste. And, you can salt and pepper to your own liking.

Using a 2 quart pot begin by adding just enough water to cover the peas and sautéed vegetables by about an inch, (or by a finger and a half as we say in Cajun speak), and begin the slow process of cooking them to perfection, while stirring occasionally (around 1 - 1 1/2 hrs.). Keep an eye on the peas because you may have to add a little more water occasionally as they absorb and cook.You will know when they become tender enough by taste-testing.

Set them aside until the boiled cabbage is done.

A pound of dried black-eyed peas, when cooked, should yield between 5 and 6 cups.

Cabbage

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage, leaves separated
3 or 4 pork chops
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp Colgin liquid smoke (hickory)
1 measure DIY Cajun Seasoning
Additional salt and pepper (if desired)

Cooking cabbage (boiled) is also easy to do and the way I prepare my cabbage, by popular demand I might add, is to include 3 or 4 pork chops with it. This is how I prepare my boiled cabbage.

The first thing I do is to season the heck out of the pork chops with one measure of DIY Cajun Seasoning (easy to make - check it out), and fry them up in my cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat in a couple tablespoons of oil.

I fry the chops for a couple minutes on both sides until they are well browned, but I don't cook them all the way because they will finish cooking with the slow-boiling cabbage.

The next thing I do is get my kitchen shears and cut-up the chops into bite size pieces and add this to the boiling cabbage.

If you are using a heavy cast-iron skillet, chances are in your favor that a crust will form at the bottom of the skillet (it usually does when you cook meat fast on high heat).This is a good thing.

We Cajuns call this crusty material the 'gratin' - which is commonly used to compliment and enhance the flavor of various meat gravies.

Here's a little secret: keep the skillet hot but add in about 2 or 3 ice cubes and stir them around the skillet and they will magically loosen the crust (or 'gratin') and will produce a savory bouillon that you can add to the cabbage mixture to enhance the overall flavor.

Once you have liquefied the crust and added it to the stock pot along with the cabbage leaves and cut-up pork chops, you just go about your business of boiling cabbage like you always have (low and slow). Adding a little salt and black pepper always helps.

I like to also include a tablespoon of Colgin liquid smoke (hickory flavor) and not that other brand. Keep mixing and tumbling the cabbage leaves in the pot occasionally so they don't burn. The only difference with cooking cabbage this way instead of the traditional way is that you now have a delicious pot liquor and a few bites of meat to go with your good luck food.

See there! Your luck is already changing. Enjoy! Happy New Year! Ahheee!!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 21:09:00 -0600

Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast is an easy meal to prepare and very delicious, too. You can also wrap the stuffed chicken breast with your favorite hickory smoked bacon.

Ingredients

4 chicken cutlets, split
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
Chives

Coating Mix

1 cup of bread crumbs
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

lay the 4 cutlets (8 pieces) flattened on wax paper
divide cream cheese into 8 slices
place a slice on each chicken cutlet
sprinkle with chives
roll up and secure with toothpick
roll in coating mix
place in slightly greased baking dish
drizzle with melted butter
shake on Parmesan cheese
bake at 375 degrees F. for 40-50 minutes

Bon Appetite!

Beefy Cabbage Rolls

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 10:37:00 -0600

This recipe is unlike traditional cabbage rolls recipes because it demonstrates how to prepare them sans les tomate, (without tomatoes), except toward the end when spaghetti sauce is poured on top.

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage, large
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
5 cups beef stock
4 Tbs butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 measure of DIY Cajun Seasoning
1 measure of DIY Real Beef Onion Soup Mix
1 can spaghetti sauce

I began preparing this meal with a large head of cabbage, cored and trimmed. I like to trim the cabbage down to the 2nd or 3rd leaf layer because this usually illiminates those leaves which are damaged or blemished.

Next, I steamed the intact head of cabbage in a programmable 20 qt. portable oven for 20 minutes at 300 degrees F. until all its leaves were wilted. I would rather steam than boil because of taste.

Before using the portable oven I added about a pint of water to create the steam I needed to wilt the cabbage head. After 20 minutes of steaming I removed the cover and allowed the cabbage to cool.

In a heavy cast iron skillet the vegetables were sautéed in butter until a translucent texture was reached then they were set aside in a bowl for later use.

With the same skillet, the ground beef was fully cooked on medium heat with the DIY Cajun Seasoning.

Next, the previously cooked vegetables, 2 cups of beef stock and the DIY Real Beef Onion Soup Mix were added after which I continued to simmer and stir for about 10 minutes. The cooked meat and vegetables were set aside and allowed to cool, also.

I boiled 1 1/2 cups of uncooked long-grain white rice with 3 cups of beef stock for 20 minutes (on low simmer) and then thoroughly mixed the beef and cooked rice together. I placed a lid on the pot, this time, to keep the mixture warm.

Notice that no tomato products were included in the stuffing. I didn't want to compromise the desired heavy beef flavor I was aiming for.

The leaves were then stuffed with the beef/rice mixture. One large spoonful of mixture (about a cup) was used in each leaf. The cabbage leaf was then tucked-in at the sides and rolled; (for safety reasons I don't use toothpicks).

I layered the rolls starting at the bottom of the slow cooker and while working my way up I positioned each roll with the leaf flap down. At serving time I was careful to remove each roll from the cooker without spilling its contents.

Finally, much to my chagrin, I poured some spaghetti sauce on top of the rolls. The red color of the sauce was pleasing to the eye and looked similar to traditional cabbage rolls but without interfering with the beefy taste of the filling inside. This is the only time a tomato product is used in this recipe. You don't get as many complaints from the traditionalist this way.

Since the beef/rice mixture was already cooked I confidently set my slow cooker dial on low heat for several hours until my guests arrived. One large head of cabbage yielded around a dozen rolls.

This method takes a little more time to prepare than traditional cabbage rolls. But, if you are a beef lover like I am then you will discover it is well worth the extra effort.

Bon Appetite! ... Enjoy!

Chicken and Shrimp with Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 07:28:00 -0500

Chicken and Shrimp with Broccoli and Cheese Casserole wasn't the first name for this recipe. It was originally named "Broccoli and Rice Supreme with Shrimp" and first published on November 17, 2009.

Linda Masters of Hooks, TX. first prepared and served this meal to her husband and me over 20 years ago. It is very delicious and easy to prepare. This recipe should not have been gathering dust in my recipe archives with only 29 views in 3 years. It's so good, it doesn't deserve to be hidden away. So, I have decided to change the title to create more interest.

I asked her if it was alright to share her recipe with the NEW title and she didn't mind. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks again Linda!

Ingredients

3 cups of cooked long-grain rice
2 cups of broccoli, chopped
2 boneless chicken breast, boiled and chopped
1 cup uncooked shrimp, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
1/4 cup butter
2 (15 oz.) jars of Cheez Whiz
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can cream of chicken soup
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Boil the 2 chicken breast until tender (using just enough water to cover them), then chop into small bite-size pieces and set aside, but reserve the broth for later use.

In a pan, sauté the broccoli and onions in the butter until they are translucent then slowly stir-in the cream of chicken soup and the Cheez Whiz. Blend together thoroughly on low-to-medium heat for a couple minutes then add the chopped uncooked shrimp and chopped already cooked chicken. Stir and mix well.

In a large bowl add the above mixture and 3 cups of cooked long-grain rice. Mix together thoroughly until well blended. If the mixture seems too dry at this point you can resolve the problem by adding a small amount of the reserved chicken broth to moisten it.

Next, pour the entire contents in a large casserole or baking dish (9 ½ x 12 inch) and bake at 350° F. for 1 hour.

6 servings
KT

C'est Magnifique Barbeque Sauce

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 3 Aug 2016 17:11:00 -0500

Ingredients

3 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle regular barbecue sauce
1 13.5 oz. bottle catchup
1/2 bottle 57 steak sauce
1 lemon, squeezed
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 stick butter
2 Tbs mustard

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a heavy metal saucepan pot. (cast-iron if you have one) Cook over low to medium heat for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Tip: to give a hickory smoke flavor to this recipe add a few shakes of Colgin liquid smoke (to taste). "It don't get no better than this."
KT

Original Bayou Country 4th of July Meals and Appetizers

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 3 Jul 2016 07:42:00 -0500

Fourth of July celebrations are immensely popular with the French Acadians (Cajuns) of south Louisiana. This is largely so because they cherish their freedom, too. In fact, Cajuns struggled for independence from the British Empire long before the first Fourth of July.

Thus, in the spirit of independence, Cajuns do not always adhere to preparing the traditional foods in celebration of that event, i.e., burgers, hotdogs, barbecues, etc., unless the foods have been "Cajunized" with a variety of traditional spices common to Acadiana.

Hence, searching for something different and unique to serve your family and friends this 4th of July holiday... something independent of the same old traditional meals... something revolutionary... something with a medley of explosive flavors, should not be a problem. Examine the recipes in the following list of suggestions to learn how easy it is to make these delicious Cajun foods.

These spicy fried catfish nuggets are positively delicious! There is no doubt your friends will ask for the recipe. Not a problem. Just send them over to RealCajunCooking.com/ where they can learn how to prepare this and other delicious meals, too.

The following short-list is a small sampling of the many kitchen-tested and original recipes you will discover when you visit our website.

Bon appetite! God bless.

E. Pluribus Unum... ("Out of Many, One") Pray for the freedom fighters.

Ancient Discovery of Cajun Technology (Cajun humor)

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 20:46:00 -0500

New York, New York

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, New York scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Los Angeles, California

Not to be out-done by the New Yorkers, in the weeks that followed in southern California, an archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet and shortly after the headlines in the LA Times newspaper read: "California archaeologists have found traces of 200 year old copper wire and have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than New York."

Carencro, Louisiana

One week later, a local newspaper in south Louisiana reported the following: "After digging as deep as 30 feet in his pasture near Carencro, (Lafayette Parish, Louisiana), T-Boy Boudreaux, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing! T-Boy has therefore concluded that 300 years ago, Cajuns had already gone wireless."

Thank God for T-Boy.

Ahheee!!
KT

Molly Maguires Irish Beef Stew

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 00:36:00 -0500

Molly Maguires Irish Beef Stew has always been a favorite of mine during the annual Saint Patrick's Day celebration. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients

Irish Stew

2 lbs. beef chuck, cubed

3 Tbs. all-purpose flour

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

6 med. potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 onion, cut into chunks

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups beef broth

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 (12 oz.) can Irish stout beer

1 Tbs. corn starch

3 Tbs. cold water

Directions

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat
dredge beef chunks in the all-purpose flour until they are well coated
fry in the hot oil until browned
put carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic in a large slow cooker
layer the browned meat on top of the vegetables
mix together the beef broth and tomato paste
pour into the slow cooker along with the beer
cover and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours
during the last hour of cooking (before serving), dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and stir it into the broth to thicken the stew.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

Irish Punch

Irish Whiskey Punch (borrowed from: (World's Best Bars)

This is the genuine Irish beverage. It is generally made with one-third pure whiskey, two-thirds boiling water, in which the sugar has been dissolved. If lemon punch, the rind is rubbed on the sugar, and a small proportion of juice added before the whiskey is poured in.

69th Regiment Punch

Recipe: (In earthen mug.)

1/2 wine-glass of Irish whiskey.
1/2 do. do. Scotch do.
1 tea-spoonful of sugar.
1 piece of lemon.
2 wine-glasses of hot water.

This is a capital punch for a cold night.

In his 1863 book, Cups and their Customs, George Edwin Roberts paid a loving tribute to Whiskey Punch when he wrote: “This is said to be the most fascinating tipple ever invented; and, to quote the words of Basil Hall, ‘It brightens a man's hopes, crumbles down his difficulties, softens the hostilities of his enemies, and, in fact, induces him for the time being to think generously of all mankind, at the tiptop of which it naturally and good-naturedly places his own dear self.’”

While virtually every recipe book that mentioned Irish whiskey contained Irish Whiskey Punch, during the early 1800s variations had already cropped up. Oxford Night Caps, first published in the 1820s, and considered the first book devoted entirely to drinks, included this Leander Punch:

And, for those of us who would like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in style here are a couple ways to do it: Waterford Irish Lace 10-Inch Bowl and Godinger Dublin 6-Piece Crystal Whiskey Decanter Set.

**********************

Who remembers the 1970 film "The Molly Maguires" starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris? Here is the movie trailer.

How to Make Spicy-Hot Cajun Pork Sausage Links (Video)

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 18:34:00 -0600

To make a delicious and spicy homemade Cajun sausage with a hint of Italian, try this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients

12 lbs. pork (net) with 20% fat content, cut into pieces small enough for grinder
7 tsp. garlic salt with parsley
7 tsp. fennel seeds (cracked)
7 tsp. crushed red pepper
7 tsp. black pepper
3 tsp. pickling salt (regular will do in a pinch)
3 tsp. ground red pepper
half can cold beer (cold water is fine)

Instructions

Cut the pork meat into manageable pieces and small enough to pass through your grinder. (We should not run grinders more than 10 minutes before letting the motor cool.) Grind all of the pork one small handful at the time and include a couple pieces of cut-up jalapeno pepper between each handful of meat that you grind to get an even distribution.

Next, place all of the ground pork and peppers into a larger container. Mix all of the seasonings in about 1/2 can of cold beer or ice-cold water (enough to pour out the seasoning mix evenly over the meat).

After distributing the seasoning over the ground pork begin mixing. This is the secret. The more you mix everything together -- the better your sausage will taste. Don't skimp on mixing. Mix thoroughly for at least 10 minutes.

Finally, pass the mixture through your machine once more using the largest cutting plate and sausage attachment and start forming your links. After awhile the length of the links will come to you naturally so don't worry if you get a few of them longer or shorter than the rest. The point is to have fun while you are working knowing you will be treating your family and friends to some of the best tasting homemade sausage links they have every had.

Enjoy! Ahheee!! (It don't get no better than this.)

Boudreaux and Dat Doggone Dog! (Cajun humor)

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 7 Jan 2016 22:58:00 -0600

Boudreaux and his wife Clotille lived on a little farm just outside of the city of Mamou, Louisiana.

One day Clotille said, "Mais, Boudreaux, you have to get rid of dat dog. All he does is lie under de front porch and turn over da trash cans."

Boudreaux said, "Okay Cher. I'll get rid of him."

He put the dog in the pickup, drove down the road a couple of miles, and dumped him out. He drove home and in a few minutes the dog showed up. So he put him back in the truck, drove several more miles and dumped him out.

After Boudreaux got back home, the dog showed up again.

Clotille said, "You have to take him out and drive around and around a lot in circles, den dump him out. Dat way he won't know da way home."

Boudreaux said, "You some smart, Clotille, and dat's why I marry you."

Boudreaux again took the dog, and drove further out. Then he drove all around and zigzagged in and out the back roads a lot then dumped the dog out.

He started back home but pulled over and parked and called Clotille on his cell phone.

"Has dat dog come back yet?"

Clotille answered, "Yes, he just came in."

Boudreaux said, "Well, put him up to da phone - I'm lost." ... Ahheee!!

Call of the Wild | Early Morning Ambushes and Cajun Duck Gumbo

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 13:24:00 -0600

Our home was situated about 100 feet from a public dirt road and about twice that distance from a large redwood barn my grandfather built to store corn, hay and farm equipment. Just behind the barn, about 20 yards away, was a small 50' x 100' pond which we dug to germinated the hundreds of sacks of rice seed prior to planting. Although the pond's main purpose was to germinate the seeds, it also served us in other ways—like raising fish and birds.

The pond was a playground for our domestic ducks and geese. About half of them were wild birds at one time before they became domesticated. You could tell which were wild and which were tamed by the color of their feet. The wild ones had green feet and the domesticated ones had yellow feet.

The lucky wild ones (the ones which were spared because only the tips of their wings were clipped by a shotgun blast during a hunt) in many cases went on to live a life of security and leisure on our farm pond.

There were times when my grandpa would nurse these 'fortunate' birds back to health and eventually release them with our domesticated birds. I gave them plenty to eat so they had no reason to leave our farm to find food elsewhere.

Many mornings, just after sunrise, (the domesticated wild ones I called them), would take flight and disappear into the horizon only to return a few moments later. Sometimes they would meet-up with a few stragglers in the sky and invite them back to our pond … and eventually to our dinner table. We had the best live decoys any duck hunter could hope for.

During the cold winter months, when we wanted to prepare duck gumbos or stews, my grandfather would walk inside the barn from the front entrance and quietly move to the back door which was purposely kept ajar a few inches—just wide enough to slide the barrel of a 12-gauge shotgun into position. He would then bag just enough wild birds to feed our family.

It was an ideal set-up. Pops didn't have to buy expensive hunting equipment or spend money on blinds and leases. I guess it was kind of like shooting fish in a barrel for him. The entire drama took less than 10 minutes and our farm birds (the live decoys) were content doing what they had always done best … quacking, flapping their wings, and playing in the water.

Have a great day. Bon Appetite!

Angel Magic | Holiday Greetings for 2015

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 18:07:00 -0600

I would like to wish you and your family a very Cajun Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Joyous 2016 New Year

Tick here to begin animation.

Je Vous Souhaite un Bon Noel! Ahheee!!
!

What Kind of Gumbo to Cook?

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 08:54:00 -0600

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

When I ponder on what kind of gumbo to cook, I first like to look in my freezer to see what's on hand... or, in the local papers to see what is on sale at the supermarket.

Gumbo is a real Cajun dish. It is served in a soup bowl over cooked rice and garnished with chopped green onions and an optional pinch of filé lightly sprinkled on top.

Any of the following meats may be added to make a delicious gumbo: beef, pork, chicken, goose, wild duck, quail, dove, guinea, rabbit and squirrel, to name just a few. Sausage, tasso, and okra may also be added.

Seafood gumbos are made with shrimp, crab, crawfish and oysters, or a combination of these. The basics in making gumbo are the same. However, the seafood mentioned here take about 15+ minutes to cook so you should add it to the slow boiling gumbo about 15 -- 20 minutes before it is done.

Please check out these links for everything you need to make a great gumbo:

Tough Love Bean Stew

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 17:59:00 -0500

Anonymous wrote: "Can you teach me how to prepare a high-energy Cajun meal which will give my grown-up kid the courage to get off his lazy butt and find a job?"

Answer: Yes, Anonymous, I can. Serve the following simple Cajun seasoned bean stew only once a day for a week. That should certainly give your kid an incentive to look around for something else to eat. It's a good start.

1 small can pork & beans, (generic brand)
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
salt & pepper to taste
1 glass of lukewarm water (for drinking)

Note: Best served straight out of the can at room temperature. May be eaten with a plastic spoon or fork preferably outside with the doors locked.

Be careful, tho. The toes you step on today may be connected to the butt you're gonna have to kiss tomorrow. Ahheee!! Lache pas la patate!

Cajun Dirty Rice (Rice Dressing)

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 9 Jul 2015 11:04:00 -0500

Cajun Dirty Rice (Rice Dressing) is not dirty at all as you will discover once you make some.This meal is so easy to prepare and the taste is absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. ground meat (half pork and half beef)
2 Tbs. oil*
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped
a few sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
(1) 10.5 oz can of Campbell's beef broth
1 1/2 cup cooked rice
1 package beefy onion soup mix
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Brown the ground meats. Add onions, bell pepper and celery (optional) and cook until tender. Next, add 1 can of Campbell's beef broth, the package of beefy onion soup mix and seasonings. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Finally, add the meat mixture and chopped green onions to the cooked rice; stir and mix well.

This simple dish can become an entire meal in itself.

Enjoy!

Boudreaux and the Snake (Cajun humor)

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Thu, 2 Jul 2015 03:41:00 -0500

Upon arriving at the edge of the bayou to do a little fishing, T-Boy Boudreaux soon realized he had forgotten to bring any bait.

Just then he happened to see a little garter snake passing by with a worm in its mouth.

Boudreaux snatched up the little snake and robbed him of his worm.

Feeling sorry for the little snake with no lunch, T-Boy snatched him up again and poured a little Bud Light down his throat. Then he went about his fishing.

An hour or so later he felt a tug at his pant leg. Looking down, T-boy saw the same snake with three more worms in his mouth.

So, I guess the moral of the story is "Where there's life--there's Budweiser".

Fried Catfish Nuggets

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 01:06:00 -0500

These spicy fried catfish nuggets are absolutely delicious! There's no doubt your friends will beg you for this recipe, but don't give it to 'em. Just send them over to Real Cajun Cooking - Pure and Simple so they can discover how to make this and other tasty dishes, too.

Ingredients

12 catfish fillets cut into bite size pieces
2 egg whites
1 Tbs. Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cornstarch
4 oz. fresh beer
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 quart peanut oil

In a bowl add the egg whites, Tony Chachere’s seasoning, cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce, baking powder and beer together and thoroughly mix. Next, dissolve 2 tsp. of cornstarch in a small amount of cold water and add it to the solution. Again, blend all of the ingredients together then add a handful of nuggets at a time to the batter and coat them well.

In a separate bowl, with a lid, mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of yellow corn meal together. Add the fish nuggets, close the lid, and shake until they are well coated on all sides.

Heat peanut oil to 365°F. and fry the fish nuggets for about 7 minutes or until they float to the top. Don’t attempt to fry too many nuggets at one time.

Peanut oil can be used several times before it is discarded. Bon Appetite! ... Ahheee!!
KT

Cajun-fried Bullfrog Legs

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 20:24:00 -0500

North American Bullfrog

Once a year one will find nearly the entire population of Rayne, Louisiana practically jumping out of their skins with anticipation of attending the Rayne Frog Festival, which this year is held on May 6-9 [2015].

The City of Rayne, Louisiana is officially designated the Frog Capital of the world. The small southern town, with a population approaching 9,000, is located about 15 minutes west of Lafayette, Louisiana and roughly 7 miles north of a small parish community named Indian Bayou -- a hop, skip and jump from where I grew up.

Some people claim bullfrog legs taste like chicken (don't everything?). I prefer the taste of fried bullfrog legs more than chicken, and they are easier to cook, as well.

Bullfrogs are part of nature’s bounty and can be found in many areas of North America around shallow waters, like bayous, ponds, ditches, swamps and reservoirs.

Hundreds were harvested from among the ponds during my family's crawfish farming operations back in 1960s and 70s.

Bullfrogs are predators with voracious appetites and can consume their weight in crawfish every few days. Imagine 40 acres of crawfish ponds 3 to 4 feet deep. It was home to thousands of them. They were considered pests – like insects feeding on garden plants.

Luckily, just about everyone in my family enjoyed eating bullfrogs.

So, it was a trade-off of sorts, although I think the frogs got the jump on us in the long-run. [intended] Nevertheless, our family had a constant supply of both crawfish and bullfrog when we wanted them.

There is a common misconception about bullfrogs. Many folks think the males are the large ones, when in fact, the females are larger -- and that‘s no bull.

Female bullfrogs can stretch-out to nearly a foot long and can weigh up to 3 lbs. About a third of its weight is used for consumption -- around a pound per animal when the four legs and back are utilized.

Many Cajuns love to include bullfrog meat in their diet. IMHO they are much cleaner than chicken.

Bullfrogs can be prepared several ways. The delicate tasting white meat can be used in making gumbo, sauce piquant, etouffee and they can be served Cajun-fried (a more popular way to enjoy them).

Bullfrog meat can also be baked, boiled, broiled, added to stews… the list continues.

Are you a newbie at cooking frog legs?

You can fry them up just like chicken, except it does not take as long as frying chicken. Use your favorite batter. Here is one recipe you can try, seafood batter , or follow the recipe shown here:

Cajun-fried Bullfrog Legs

These crispy fried bullfrog legs are absolutely delicious! There's no doubt your friends will ask for this recipe, but don't give it to them. Just send them over to Real Cajun Cooking - Pure and Simple so they can discover how to make this and other tasty dishes, as well.

Ingredients

12 pairs of bullfrog legs
Fried Bullfrog Legs

2 egg whites
1 Tbs. DIY Cajun seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cornstarch
4 oz. fresh beer
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 quart peanut oil

Instructions

In a bowl, add the egg whites, your favorite Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce, baking powder and beer together and thoroughly mix. Next, dissolve 2 tsp. of cornstarch in a small amount of cold water and add it to the mixture. Again, blend all of the ingredients together. This will be used to coat the frog legs.

In a separate bowl, with a lid, mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of yellow cornmeal together. After dredging the frog legs in the beer batter, add them to the bowl of flour and cornmeal, close the lid, and shake until they are well coated on all sides. (A large Ziploc-type bag can also be used for this.)

Heat peanut oil (or vegetable oil) to 365°F. and fry the legs for about 3 - 4 minutes on each side (turning once), or until they have turned golden-brown. Do not attempt to fry too many at one time because it will bring down the oil temperature. This will make them greasy. We are looking for crispy legs, remember? This is why it is important to maintain an even temperature throughout the process.

Note: Peanut oil can be used several times before it has to be discarded and it imparts a better flavor.

Want a good laugh? Here is a frog joke: "Boudreaux and the Frog -- With Age Comes Wisdom"

Bon Appetite! ... Ahheee!!

Cajun Fish Patties

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 11:24:00 -0500

Cajun Fish Patties

Cajun fish patties include a medley of familiar ingredients and herbs which are common in many foods prepared by the Acadians of South Louisiana. Some of the fish which I have personally used to make these delicious fish patties, besides catfish, include buffalo fish, (I've posted a 3-part instructional video on another site which shows what a buffalo fish looks like and how to go about processing one.)

In addition to buffalo fish, I have also used other kinds of white flesh fish, like garfish, to make my fish patties. Here's a garfish info link if you want to see what they look like in their natural habitat.

I've also used fillets of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white perch and other kinds of fish to make these fish patties... the list goes on.

Once, several years ago when I lived in the Atchafalaya swamp basin in south Louisiana, I made enough of these delicious fish patties to satisfy 8 hungry grown men and a couple puppies. It only took a couple fish, which I had caught earlier that day, to do produce the dinner. Each fish weighed around 10 lbs.

Everyone loved it, too! What was the fish, you ask?

We call the fish 'choupique' (pronounced shoe pick) down south where I was raised, but in other areas of the country it is known by different names... including mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, Grinnell, cypress trout and bowfin.

Did you know that the roe of the bowfin fish produces quality caviar? Yep! Last I heard the roe from this fish was fetching nearly $120 for 16 oz . You can see a picture of it here.

Most folk that I know up here in NE Texas consider some of the above species of fish, like buffalo fish and garfish, as "trash" fish, and find enjoyment in hunting them using fancy bows with tethered arrows designed for bow fishing ... just for the sport of it. Most of the fish which are killed are left behind to decompose.

I bet if they knew how tasty these fish are when prepared the way we Cajuns do it, they would think twice about not including a few for the dinner table.

Hope this helps. Bon appetite!

Ingredients

3 lbs. of deboned fish (most kinds of white flesh fish may be used)
2 eggs
3 cups onions, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. boiled potatoes, crumbled and slightly mashed
3 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
salt
black, white and/or red pepper to taste
a few dashes of Tabascos sauce
enough oil for frying

Instructions

cut fish in small pieces
season with salt and ground peppers
place fish in pot with 1/2 cup cooking oil
cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes at 350°F.
add onion, celery and garlic
cook until vegetables are wilted then remove from heat
add crumbled mashed potatoes and half the bread crumbs
next, add eggs, chopped green onions and parsley
mix well.
use a large tablespoon to scoop mixture and flatten into round patties
coat the fish patties with remaining bread crumbs
fry patties in oil at 365 degrees F. for 2 1/2 minutes on each side (or until golden brown)

Serves 8.

Bon jour!
KT

Cajun Broiled Catfish Fillets

ezgumbo@gmail.com (Jacques Gaspard) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 17:59:00 -0500

Cajun broiled catfish fillets are quick and simple to prepare. My family and friends have always preferred the smaller catfish which are between 12 to 16 inches long because they are more tender and tasty than the larger ones, plus they cook more quickly.

Ingredients

Broiled Catfish Fillets

12 small catfish fillets, patted dry
3/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 Tbs. mustard
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

place the catfish fillets in a well-oiled baking pan or cookie sheet
rub a small amount of mustard on top of each fish fillet
combine the remaining wet ingredients to make a basting sauce
lightly brush sauce over the fillets
lightly sprinkle Italian-style breadcrumbs on each fillet
broil on high until golden brown (around 6 to 7 minutes).

The heat source should be about 5 to 6 inches from the fillets. Do not flip the tender fillets because it may cause them to fall apart. Serve over fried rice.

Bon Appetite!
KT