Cajun is ragin'!
The Louisiana-style cooking, along with its cousin cuisine, Creole, has set the rest of the country afire.It's important to note that similar as Creole and Cajun cooking are, there are subtle differences. Creole dishes incorporate Italian influences. A red jambalaya (using a tomato sauce) is characteristic of the Creoles, while a brown jambalaya is typical of Cajun cooking.
Both spicy cuisines are slowly merging into what is called simply Louisiana food, according to Paul Prudhomme.
Indeed, hot's HOT!
The popularity of Louisiana cooking has been slowly smoldering over the past 10 years, beginning when Chef Prudhomme perched himself on a heavy-duty stool and began cooking Cajun on TV.
Today, familiar foods of New Orleans tempt both vacationer and home cook, offering rich flavors and simple combinations of seafood, sausage, legumes and savory sauces.
And if you want to check out Louisiana cooking that is about as authentic as it gets, check out the Festival Du Mardi Gras - an entertaining taste of New Orleans in our own Bountiful back yard.
Not one, but three "Nawlins" chefs are coming to Utah, complete with file (ground sassafras leaves used to season gumbo) and flamboyance.
It's going to be a happening you mustn't miss!
The triple whammy consists of Joe Cahn, Kevin Belton and Jerry Amato, three New Orleans chefs known for their cuisine and entertaining cooking styles.
The grounds around Christopher's Seafood and Steakhouse in Bountiful will become the "Latin Quarter," with craft booths, bluegrass music - The Prairie Dogs - and the washboard-strumming zydeco band, The Zaniacs. And throughout the Mardi Gras-style festivities, a Cajun/Creole feast.
Cooking demonstrations, which run throughout both days, will be under "the big top" behind the restaurant.
Christopher's Chef Dave Prows exudes a contagious enthusiasm for the Creole/Cajun cuisine.
"In New Orleans, food is a way of life, a celebration," he says. "When we eat we should feel festive. "
The theme - people having a good time when they're around food - is the thread that ties the cooking community of New Orleans together.
Joe Cahn, a New Orleans native had no formal training in the culinary arts. In fact, he was once a buggy driver in the French Quarter.
But his passion for southern Louisiana cuisine led him to open The New Orleans School of Cooking. He figured that he could learn Cajun and Creole cooking while teaching others.
His philosophy - conversation at the dinner table is as important to a good meal as the food is - is mirrored in his lively cooking classes.
Regarding today's focus on diet and nutrition, he strongly states, "I believe in it, but we take it a little too far."
Prows became pals with the terrific trio while working as a chef in New Orleans. He talks incessantly about the incredible energy and enthusiasm for food that three Utah-bound chefs have. It rubbed off.
They're all a bit bonkers in their kitchen antics.
Six-foot-nine, 350-pound Kevin Belton is an imposing image. He says that there is a marked difference between Southern cooking and Creole."Creole ISN'T fried chicken and grits," he says.
Belton's buffoonery laces his lessons. Some Belton-isms:
"The locals never wear a belt to dinner."
"If you want to make a dish low-calorie, put it on the floor and pour the cream down."
AND . . .
"Don't ever tell people what you are going to serve them, so you can change the name if it doesn't come out right. If your meat loaf flops, then you can just pile it on a plate and call it Meat Royale."
Topping off the tasteful threesome is Jerry Amato, Chef/Owner of New Orleans' famed "Mother's Restaurant." His specialties are classic examples of Louisiana's beloved dishes: Baked ham, roast beef and fried seafood po-boys (a submarine-style sandwich on crispy-crusted French bread); white bean or turtle soup, red beans and rice and his signature, "Jerry's jambalaya."
What will this "grand triumvirate" prepare during the upcoming Festival Du Mardi Gras?
Get ready for jambalaya, gumbo, blackened fish, red beans and rice, and bread pudding. Not standard fare around these parts!
Have we tempted you enough to try a taste of Louisiana?
Twenty dollars will boost the Utah Symphony and transport ya'll to the Big Easy . . .
Such a deal!
Festival Du Mardi Gras, a benefit for the Utah Symphony, will run Friday, September 20, from 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, September 21, from 3 p.m. to midnight.
Location: Christopher's Seafood and Steakhouse - 370 West 500 South, Bountiful.
Tickets: $20 adults; $10 children 6-12. They can be purchased at the Utah Symphony Box Office; Christopher's; Fuggles; Squatters; CottonTree Inn of Bountiful; Deseret News offices (135 Regent Street).
For more information call: (801) 299-9544.
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Recipes
JAMBALAYA
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 chicken, cut up
1 1/2 pounds andouille sausage or kielbasa
4 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
4 cups Uncle Ben's long grain rice
5 cups stock (chicken, beef or vegetable) or flavored water
2 heaping teaspoons Creole Seasoning (recipe follows) or any all-purpose seasoning
2 cups chopped green onions
2 cups chopped tomatoes, optional
Season and brown chicken in oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pot and saute with chicken. Remove both from pot.
For Brown Jambalaya, either add 1 heaping teaspoon brown sugar to hot oil and caramelize; make a roux, or use 1-2 tablespoons Kitchen Bouquet.
For Red Jambalaya, add approximately 1/4 cup paprika, and use half stock and half tomato or V-8 juice for your liquid.
Add rice and return to boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for approximately 25 minutes. After 10 minutes of cooking, remove cover and quickly turn rice from top to bottom completely. Add green onions and chopped tomatoes, if desired. For Seafood Jambalaya, add cooked seafood when rice is cooked. Serves 8-10.
- Each serving contains 701 calories, 38g fat, 1448mg sodium, 94mg cholesterol, 49% calories from fat.
- From Joe Cahn, The New Orleans School of Cooking
CREOLE SEASONING
4 tablespoons salt (optional)
4 tablespoons onion powder
4 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
2 tablespoons dried sweet basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons sweet paprika
Combine in food processor and pulse until well-blended, or mix thoroughly in a large bowl. The recipe doubles or triples well. Give lots of it away to your family and friends. Makes approximately 2 cups.
- Each 1/4 cup contains 50 calories, 1g fat, 3203mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, 14% calories from fat.
- From Joe Cahn, The New Orleans School of Cooking
FRESH CORN SALAD
4 small ears sweet corn
1 red bell pepper, diced (or a green one, or half green and half red)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped dill pickles
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame oil (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)
Steam corn until it is tender. Let it cool and cut it off cob. Place in large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serves 4.
- Each serving contains 109 calories, 3g fat, 185mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, 18% calories from fat.
- From The Times-Picayune
WHITE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING
For the pudding:
3 cups whipping cream
10 ounces white chocolate
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
8 egg yolks
1 loaf French bread, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces and dried in the oven
2 teaspoons chocolate shavings for garnish
For the sauce:
8 ounces white chocolate
3 ounces heavy cream
Prepare pudding by heating the whipping cream in a double boiler; add the white chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, remove from heat. In a double boiler, heat the milk, sugar, eggs and egg yolks until warm. Blend the egg mixture into the cream and chocolate mixture.
Place the bread slices in a baking pan. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the bread and let settle for a while, making sure the bread soaks up all the mixture. Top with the rest of the mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Prepare the sauce by gently melting the white chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat and mix in heavy cream. Spoon over bread pudding. Serves 8.
- Each serving contains 921 calories, 68g fat, 301mg sodium, 360mg cholesterol, 65% calories from fat.
- From The Palace Cafe, New Orleans
RED BEANS AND RICE ON MONDAY
1 pound dried red beans, picked over
8 cups cold water
1/2 pound lean salt pork, bacon, or ham, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
4 cups hot cooked rice
In a large saucepan combine the dried beans and the water; cover and soak overnight. Add the pork, bacon, or ham and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic for 3 minutes or until golden.
Add the mixture to the beans along with the parsley, salt, and Tabasco sauce. Cover and simmer 11/2 to 13/4 hours longer, or until the beans are tender enough to mash one easily with a fork. Add hot water as needed to keep the beans covered, and stir occasionally. When the beans are finished they will have soaked up most of the liquid. Serve over the hot cooked rice. Serves 8.
- Each serving contains 249 calories, 5g fat, 579mg sodium, 16mg cholesterol, 19% calories from fat.
- From The Tabasco Cookbook
PRALINES ("Prawleens")
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups pecans (roasted optional)
Combine all ingredients and bring to soft ball stage (238-240 degrees,) stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir until mixture thickens, becomes creamy and cloudy and pecans stay suspended in mixture. Spoon out on buttered waxed paper, aluminum foil or parchment paper. When using waxed paper, be sure to buffer with newspaper underneath, as hot wax will transfer to whatever is beneath. Makes 1 to 50 pralines, depending on size.
- Each tablespoon contains 199 calories, 10g fat, 46mg sodium, 11mg cholesterol, 45% calories from fat.
- From Joe Cahn, The New Orleans School of Cooking
- NOTE: To roast pecans, bake them on a sheet pan at 275 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until slightly browned and smell permeates.