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Red beans and rice is a classic New Orleans dish, traditionally made on wash days (Mondays), where it could simmer all day as the chores were being done. Red kidney beans are slowly cooked into a creamy paste with plenty of pork to lubricate the lot. Typical Cajun seasonings give flavor, depth and spice to this lovely dish. While at Tulane in New Orleans, the Grub Blogger took a class on the literature of the Vietnam War with an adjunct professor. The class met every Wednesday evening, so he told us that instead of having our normal class the day after Mardi Gras, we were all invited to his (swank) place to chow down on red beans and rice and watch Apocalypse Now on his huge projection screen television. Read more…
Andouille, Beans, Cajun / Creole
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
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
