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The word jambalaya comes from the French words for “ham” (jambon) and “with” or “in the style of” (a la) and the word of African derivation for rice (yaya). The ham in this case is actually andouille sausage, although you can throw in diced up ham, and it would be really good. I went for the classic chicken and sausage jambalaya. The first few jambalayas I made had the deep, rich spicy flavor I was looking for, but came out in a mushy mess that was less than appetizing. Read more…
Andouille, Cajun / Creole, Jambalaya, Rice Dish
Andouille is a heavily spiced pork sausage which is smoked. When I can, I like to mail-order mine from Jacob’s World Famous Andouille in LaPlace, Lousianna. I usually like to brown off the sausage to intensify flavor and help keep it from falling apart if using in a stew or beans. Pretty simple. Slice, brown and reserve. I like to brown it in the same pot I will be cooking the rest of the meal, to use a a bulding block for my flavor base. Read more…
Andouille, Cajun / Creole, Sausage
Etoufee means “smothered” in French, so we are smothering some fresh shrimp with a sauce, made from shrimp stock, thicken with a roux and flavored with tomato and spices. The sauce is rich and spicy, with all the levels of flavor held together by the flour-thickened shrimp stock. Some white rice and maybe some good french bread, and you have a hearty dinner. You can use the same basic technique with crawfish or chicken. This dish is a good introduction to cajun/creole cooking because it uses the spices, aromatics and involves a roux, which are the key elements of southern Louisiana cusine. This is a good roux to start with, as well, because you don’t need it very dark (meaning it doesn’t take long to make and there is just about no risk of burning). Read more…
Cajun / Creole, Etouffee, Seafood, Shrimp
Mirlitons are known as chayotes in in much of the country, and are usually cubed up and used like potatoes - based on their normal use in Latin cuisune. In this dish, the mirliton is used as a base to build up a shrimp stuffing, fortified and sweetened a bit by the flesh of the mirliton itself, all bound together by sauteed trinity and bread crumbs before being baked to form almost a savory open-faced pie. This process turns the hard, almost tasteless fruit (there is a seed in the middle) into a tasty, complex roasted treat that can be an entree, if you eat a couple, or a nice appetizer, if you eat just one half. For this recipe, I based my attempt heavily on John D. Folse’s The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine, a great place to learn all about the cuisine with tons of pictures, recipes and history. File this one under very useful coffee table books. I had my first stuffed mirliton early on during my time in New Orleans, and was hooked. I order them whenever I can, and have been cooking them for years. This is a fun thing to serve for family or friends, because most folk have never eaten one before. Read more…
Cajun / Creole
Beginnings. The decision to attend university in New Orleans was neither hard nor time consuming. Two steps into New Orleans International Airport (renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport in 2001), during a trip my senior year of high school to visit Tulane University, and I was hooked. Black and white large-scale photographs covered the walls leading from the gate to baggage claim, depicting the history of jazz in New Orleans. Further ahead, color advertisements for cabaret clubs in the French Quarter attempted to out-flash and out-flesh each other for my attention. I knew that I had found a home for the better part of the next four years. Read more…
Andouille, Cajun / Creole, Gumbo, Seafood, Shrimp
The word jambalaya comes from the French words for “ham” (jambon) and “with” or “in the style of” (a la) and the word of African derivation for rice (yaya). The ham in this case is actually andouille sausage, although you can throw in diced up ham, and it would be really good. I went for the classic chicken and sausage jambalaya. The first few jambalayas I made had the deep, rich spicy flavor I was looking for, but came out in a mushy mess that was less than appetizing. Read more…
