New Recipe Bananas Foster

New Recipe Bananas Foster
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New Recipe Marinated Crab Claws

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Pralines

In France and everywhere else, a praline is a generic term for any candy made with nuts. In New Orleans, a praline is a candy made with Louisiana pecans and cream.  Throughout the French Quarter, pralines can be seen being made in open kitchens in some shops. There are the perfect souvenirs to bring home from New Orleans. The good thing is that they are easy to make at home. 

2/3 cup Sugar

2/3 cup light Brown Sugar

½ cup Evaporated Milk

3 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

½ stick (4 tablespoons) of Butter cut into 1-tablespoon pieces

1 cup chopped Pecan pieces

Add both sugars and milk in a saucepan over medium high heat. Heat and stir about 15 to 18 minutes, to a softball stage*. Cook 3-4 minutes longer. Take off heat. Add butter and vanilla. Let the butter melt then add pecans slowly and mix well. Spoon out on wax paper to cool.

* A softball stage is 235-240 degree. At this temperature, the sugar mixture dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from the water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few minutes in your hand.

Enjoy!!!

As crawfish season comes to an end, we had our last crawfish boil Saturday, it is time for one last crawfish recipe. This is a variation of one of my last post. This is not something you would find on a breakfast table. But it is great as a beginning dish for any meal.

Crawfish Beignets

6 ounces Crawfish tails cleaned

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning

¼ cup Green Bell Pepper finely chopped

¼ cup Green Onions finely chopped

1 tablespoon Garlic minced

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1½ cups Flour

½ cup Milk

Creole Seasoning

Heat deep fryer to 365 degrees. Mix the eggs in a large bowl until they are foamy. Add the crawfish to the eggs in the bowl. Sprinkle with Creole seasoning. Stir in the bell pepper, green onions, garlic, baking powder, flour, and milk with the egg mixture. This should be stirred to a thick consistency.

Drop 1 tablespoon of the mixture into fryer, one at a time, not crowding the oil. Let them fry for about 3 minutes, turning to ensure browning on both sides. Remove the beignets and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Creole seasoning while hot.

Enjoy!!!

Turtle Soup suggested by Mike Centola

I had a wonderful dinner with my brother and his family while on vacation. I am amazed at the foods that my two nephews, Andrew and Evan, eat. My brother called to ask me if I had a recipe for Turtle Soup. He had been listening to Tom Fitzmorris on the radio. Tom's radio program is all about food. Only in New Orleans will you find a 3 hour radio show, from 4-7pm, talking about food. On this particular show, he was talking about people using alligator meat in place of turtle meat in turtle soup. My brother called me asking if I had a turtle soup recipe (I had been listening to the show). He said that he had alligator meat in the freezer and the boys would eat the soup with alligator but not with turtle. I will copy the entire page from my upcoming cookbook to show that I made the same comment.

Turtle Soup

This wonderful soup is not offered in restaurants as much as it used to be. Turtle meat is not always available. Some people use alligator meat in place of the turtle. Turtle does not taste like chicken, which is not a good substitute. I think the most important part of this soup is the sherry. In New Orleans restaurants, a bottle of sherry is often brought to the table to enhance the dish.

1½ pound Turtle Meat

2 ¾ teaspoons Salt

¾ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

6 cups Water

1 stick Butter

½ cup Flour

11/2 cups Onions chopped

¼ cup Green bell Pepper chopped

¼ cup Celery chopped

2 Bay leaves

½ teaspoon Thyme dry

1½ tablespoons Garlic

1 cup Tomatoes chopped

½ cup Worcestershire Sauce

3 tablespoons Lemon Juice

½ cup Dry Sherry

¼ cup fresh Parsley chopped

½ cup Green onions chopped

Place the turtle meat in a large saucepan with 1 teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon cayenne and the water. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a platter. Cut the meat into ½ inch dice and reserve the liquid. In another large saucepan, combine the butter and flour over medium heat, stirring constantly for 6-8 minutes to make a dark roux. Add the onions, bell peppers and celery. Stir occasionally and cook 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are slightly tender. Add the bay leave, thyme and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the turtle meat. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Worcestershire sauce, the remaining salt and cayenne, the turtle stock, lemon juice, and sherry. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the parsley and the green onions and simmer for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Looking back at my New Orleans posts, I thought I would post a couple of recipes of the items I ate. The first one in Beignets. For those of you who have never been to New Orleans, and you really have not been to New Orleans if you have not eaten Beignets, Beignets are New Orleans version of a donut. These dough squares are fried until they puff, then you top them with powdered sugar. If you don't want to make them by scratch, you can always get a box of Cafe du Monde Beignet mix. You can find them in some stores or you can order it on-line.

Beignets

1½ cups Lukewarm Water

½ cup Granulated Sugar

1 envelope Active Dry Yeast

2 Eggs, slightly beaten

1-¼ teaspoons Salt

1 cup Evaporated Milk

7 cups Bread Flour

¼ cup shortening, soften

Peanut Oil for frying

Powdered Sugar

Mix water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix the egg mixture to the yeast mixture. Add 3 cups of the flour to the mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough in bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours. Preheat peanut oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-Fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. When Beignets are done, quickly drain on paper towels, and then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

New Orleans Day 7 Back at home

You may have thought that yesterday's post would be my last from my trip to New Orleans. I had to include tonight's dinner that I cooked after the 8 hour drive. While we were buying shrimp and crabmeat to restock the freezer, my wife bought 2 pounds of U-12 shrimp. These are the largest shrimp you can find. U-12 means that there are 12 or under shrimp per pound. With shrimp this size, I knew exactly how my wife wanted them cooked, BBQ Shrimp. In New Orleans, BBQ Shrimp are not shrimp that come from a grill with a tomato based sauce on top. They are shrimp cooked in butter and Olive oil with plenty of Italian type seasonings. This was one of the first recipes that I posted. The key to this dish is to have large head-on shrimp. You can do them without, but the flavor will not be the same.

New Orleans Day 6 Last Day

Last day in New Orleans. Ate lunch at Acme Oyster Bar in Metairie. Had half a shrimp poboy and a cup of chicken & andouille gumbo. For dinner, we went back to the restaurant we started the week in, Cafe 615 home of DaWabbit. I had the blackened tuna. And for the second night in a row, we had a Stacey serve us. I knew we were going to have great service as this Stacey used to work with me. I could not think of any other way to end this trip.

New Orleans Day 5

For lunch, my wife wanted to go to her favorite Chinese restaurant, China Doll in Harvey on the West Bank. I had Sweet and Sour Chicken. It was good but I am not a big Chinese fan. For dinner, my wife's family went to Zydeco's, in Gretna on the West Bank. We were celebrating my mother-in-laws birthday. We had the all you can eat special; fried shrimp, oysters and fish. The food was OK. It was very salty. We did have a great waitress, Stacy. She did a wonderful job. If you go to Zydeco's, ask for her.

New Orleans Day 4

Today was Creole Italian day. For lunch, we ate at Tony Mandina's, in Gretna on the West Bank. I ate the Lasagna, which was wonderful. It was great to see the Mandina Family.  For dinner, my family got together at Mo's pizza in Westwego. I had a pizza turnover and a sausage wrap. The food was good and the company was great. I think I have my Italian fix for a week. 

New Orleans Day 3

Went to lunch at my wife's favorite restaurant, Cafe Maspero in the French Quarter. We both had the seafood plate, consisting of fried shrimp, oysters, catfish, and calamari. It was the best I have had at Maspero in years. For dinner, we went to my brothers', Mike, house. I am going to say this is going to be the best meal I will have in New Orleans. Smoked oysters, char grilled oysters, oysters Mosca, 3 different grilled sausages, pasta salad, smoked brisket, smoked Buffalo wings, and my mother's baked eggplant. I am so full that I it might be hard to eat tomorrow, but I will do my best.

New Orleans Day 2

Ate Beignets at Parrot Pete's (Manhattan Blvd on the West Bank). Had a crawfish boil at my sister-in-law Pam's house. Robert did a great job on the boil.

New Orleans Day 1

Finally rolled into New Orleans around 4:30pm. After visiting with my mother-in-law, we went to eat at Cafe 615 Home of Da Wabbit in Gretna. My wife and mother-in-law both had the Fried Soft Shell Crab Orleans, which is served with au gratin pasta sauce. I had a seared Duck Breast topped withan orange cane syrup sauce. This was a great meal to start the trip. I even had a chance to eat half of my mother-in-laws Soft Shell. Even cold, it was delicious. Tomorrow, we are going to a crawfish boil at my sister-in-laws' house.

Vacation

Since I will be on vacation this week, I probably will not be posting any new recipes. But you never know. I may just post my dining adventures in New Orleans.

Crabmeat au Gratin

Blue Crab season is right around the corner. So, I guess it is time to dust off my Crab recipes. Crabmeat au Gratin is a great way to eat Lump Crabmeat. You do not want to use claw meat in this dish. The flavor will be the same, but the lumps of crabmeat make this rich dish.

Crabmeat au Gratin

2 Egg Yolks

12 ounces Heavy Cream

½ stick Butter

½ cup Onion minced

3 cloves Garlic minced

1 teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoon White Pepper

1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning

¼ cup Flour

½ cup Mild Cheddar Cheese shredded

½ cup Monterey Jack Cheese shredded

1 pound Lump Crabmeat, pick over for shells

1 cup Italian Breadcrumbs

1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking pan. In a bowl, whip together egg yolks and heavy cream. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic about three minutes. Season with Creole Seasoning. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender. Mix the flour into the sauce pan and cook for five minutes, stirring continuously. Mix in the egg yolk mixture. Stir in the mild Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses until melted. Remove from heat and fold in the crabmeat. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan. Top with breadcrumbs and sharp Cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbling lightly.

Enjoy!

Redfish Courtbouillon

I have been told that my father-in-law was a good cook. I keep hearing about him cooking Redfish Courtbouillon. No one knows what happened to the recipe. So, to honor Wesley Anderson, here is a recipe for Redfish Courtbouillon.

Red Fish Courtbouillon

2 ½ pounds Red fish fillets cut into chunks 2-3 inches wide

¼ cup Flour

¼ cup Butter

2 teaspoons Green Onions chopped

2 cups Onion finely chopped

½ cup Celery finely chopped

1 Green Bell Pepper finely chopped

1 large can tomatoes drained reserving the liquid

3 cloves Garlic minced

2 Bay leaves

½ teaspoon Marjoram

¼ teaspoon Basil

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ teaspoon Thyme

1 teaspoon Crystal hot sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups Seafood Stock or Chicken Broth

Hot cooked Rice

In a heavy pot on medium-low, heat butter. Add flour and cook for 10 minutes or golden brown, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and stir in the onions, celery and bell peppers. Cook until the vegetables are soft, stirring often. Add the tomatoes and cook five minute. Stir in dry seasonings, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Slowly stir in one cup of the reserved tomato liquid and stock. Simmer for five minutes. Add redfish and adjust seasonings. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Serve over hot rice.

Enjoy!

Fried Boudin Balls

Boudin is a sausage made from pork rice dressing. Whoever thought to take little nuggets of Boudin and deep fry them was a genius. I guess now I know how someone came up with fried mac and cheese.

Fried Boudin Balls

1 package Boudin

2 cups Corn Flour

1/8 teaspoon Thyme, dried

1/8 teaspoon Basil, dried

1/8 teaspoon Marjoram, dried

Creole Seasoning

Preheat deep fryer to 375 degrees. Season corn flour with thyme, basil and marjoram. Cut the Boudin into 2 inch pieces and roll them in a ball. Roll in corn flour, shaking off the excess. Fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Crawfish Bisque

As crawfish season starts coming to an end, it is time for me to post crawfish recipes. Crawfish Bisque came to mind. Earlier, I posted a Crab Bisque recipe. That recipe was made like Lobster Bisque. This Crawfish Bisque is made just like they make it on the bayou. I only wish that fresh crawfish were available year-round.

Crawfish Bisque

1 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup Flour

1 cup Diced Onions

½ cup Diced Bell Pepper

½ cup Diced Celery

2 ½ tablespoons Garlic

¼ cup Tomato Sauce

3 quarts Seafood Stock room temperature

1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning

1 pound Crawfish Tails

1 cup Diced Green Onions

½ cup Fresh Chopped Parsley

Cooked Rice

In a heavy 6 quart pot, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in flour, stirring constantly, until you get a dark roux. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Saute until vegetables are soft and translucent. Add tomato sauce and stir. Add stock slowly, stirring well to incorporate with the roux. Add creole seasoning and stir. Cover and reduce heat, simmering for 30 minutes. Stir in crawfish tails, green onions and parsley, cover, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve in a bowl over rice.

Enjoy

How to make a Roux suggested by Julie Sievers

The starting point for many Creole and Cajun dishes is a roux. A roux will make or break your dish. Roux is more than just a thickener. It also adds flavor to your gumbos and other dishes. You must be very careful with the roux. If you start smelling a burnt smell, throw it out. Even if you think you got all of the burnt parts out, your finished dished will still taste burnt. You also need to make sure you do not splash any roux on you. It leaves another type of burn.

Roux

Equal parts Vegetable Oil or Butter and Flour

Heat oil in a pan over moderate to low heat. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, to the desired color. Roux should be glossy in appearance. White Roux should be barely colored, or chalky. Pale or Blond Roux should be golden straw color, with a slightly nutty aroma. Brown or Black Roux should be deep brown, with a strong nutty aroma. Do not burn. Even if you slightly burn a roux and think you have gotten the burnt pieces out, throw it away. The burnt taste will be present in the finished dish. Add your seasonings(onions, garlic etc.) before you add your liquid. Make sure your liquid is room temperature or cool.

Enjoy!

Mona's Hot Tamales suggested by Marie Strassel Horrigan

Today is May 5th or Cinco de Mayo. It also happens to fall in between my mother's birthday and Mother's Day. So to bring all those days together, I give you my mother's Hot Tamales recipe. This is not a quick recipe. It is best if there are a few people rolling the tamales to be cooked. This recipe also makes lots of tamales. They can be frozen and reheated without losing flavor.

Mona’s Hot Tamales

3 lbs Ground Meat

2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder

4 Tablespoons Salt

1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper

½ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

½ Cup Cornmeal

2 Tablespoons Chili Powder

3 Tablespoons Cumin

3 medium Onions, minced

1 can small can Tomato Sauce

½ cup Water

Tamale Paper

Sauce Mix (see Below)

Mix together ground beef, garlic powder, salt, cayenne, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Mix together onions, tomato sauce and water. Add this mixture to above mixture and mix well. Roll about 1 tablespoon in palm of hand oblong and roll in cornmeal. Wet tamale paper and put the meat mixture on the paper and fold at one end. Roll tamale in paper. In a heavy pan or roaster, put 1 layer and then in the opposite direction lay another row. Pour sauce mix over tamales. Place Pyrex covers or any oven utensil on top so the tamales don’t float. Cook over low fire for 2 hours.

Sauce Mix

2 ½ Quarts Water

2 (6oz) cans Tomato Paste.

Put tomato paste in a pot with the water. Bring to a boil.

Enjoy!

Mona's Artichoke Squares

Yesterday would have been my mother's 87th birthday. To honor her memory, I am posting one of her recipes. I only have about 20 or so recipes of my mother's. Artichoke was one of her favorite foods. This recipe is an appetizer that needs to be made in advance.
It is a great dish that does not required fresh artichokes. One day, I will post her Stuffed Artichoke recipe.

Mona’s Artichoke Squares

1 Can Artichoke Hearts

1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

½ cup Olive Oil

1 Egg

Garlic to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain hearts and set juice aside in a bowl. Mash hearts and add bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, and olive oil. Add egg to juice and beat. Add this to mixture and stir until well blended. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate. Cut into squares before serving.

Enjoy!

Pelican Publishing

As some of you know, I have submitted a proposal to Pelican Publishing to publish my cookbook. Friday, I received a letter requesting an outline and the first three chapters of the book for the editors to decide on whether or not to publish it.

Fudge Brownie Pie

I am surprised that no one has inquired about this recipe. This was the most popular dessert at Cannon's Restaurant. Who could resist a warm brownie topped with ice cream.

Fudge Brownie Pie

Brownie

2 sticks + 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

1/2cup + 2 Tablespoons Cocoa

2 ½ cups Sugar

1 ¼ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

¼ Teaspoon Salt

5 Eggs

1 ¼ cups Pecan Halves

1 ¼ cups Flour

Frosting

10oz Powdered Sugar

3 Tablespoons Cocoa

½ +1/8 Teaspoon Salt

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

¼ cup Hot Coffee

1 cup pecan Pieces

Brownie

Place sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add melted butter and blend, using wire whisk. Add eggs and continue blending until smooth. Add vanilla and cocoa, continue blending. Measure out flour and salt together in a separate bowl. Add flour to batter, being sure to blend in slowly. Fold in pecans and pour into 2 greased pie shells. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

Frosting

Stir sugar into bowl. Add cocoa, salt and melted butter and blend. Add coffee slowly, blending with a wire whisk. Frost cool pies. Top with pecan pieces. To serve, warm in microwave and top with a scoop of Ice Cream.

Enjoy

Crawfish Etouffee

Had another crawfish boil yesterday. We had more crawfish leftover this time. So this time, Crawfish Etouffee will be made with the leftovers. Etouffee means smothered. Etouffee does not have to include tomatoes. Mine is made without tomatoes. My wife is not a fan of red sauce dishes.

Crawfish Etouffee

1 lb Crawfish Tails

Creole Seasoning

4 Tablespoons Butter

1 Medium Onion, minced

3 cloves Garlic, minced

½ cup Green Bell Pepper, minced

½ cup Water

1 bunch Green Onions, chopped

1 bunch Parsley, chopped

Cooked Rice

Coat crawfish with Creole Seasoning. Melt butter and add the onions, garlic and bell pepper, stirring constantly, and cook until wilted. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the crawfish and simmer another 15-20 minutes. Add green onions and parsley and simmer 5 more minutes. Serve over hot rice.

Enjoy

Eggs Benedict

With Sunday being Easter, my mind turns to brunch. Easter Brunch is a big celebration in the grand restaurants of New Orleans. To me, Easter Brunch means one thing: eggs. The most popular egg dish is Eggs Benedict. To me, this is the essential brunch dish. I use the Blender Hollandaise recipe that I posted in January.

Eggs Benedict

8 Eggs

1 Tablespoon White Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Tablespoons Butter, divided

8 slices Canadian bacon

4 English Muffins split

Hollandaise Sauce (see recipe under January)

To poach eggs

Fill a large deep skillet with water. Add vinegar and salt. Cover and bring to a gentle boil. Break one egg in a small cup. Gently slip the egg into the slowly boiling water. Repeat with remaining eggs, keeping track of the order the eggs are going in. Reduce heat; simmer eggs for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whites are firm near the yolk. Remove with slotted spoon in the order you put them in and place in a pan of ice water. Set aside.

Heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat one tablespoon butter in a large skillet. Add Canadian bacon and cook for 4 minutes, 2 a side, until browned. Divide and toast muffins. Spread remaining butter on muffin halves. Place muffin halves in oven and keep warm.

If you need to reheat the eggs, fill deep skillet with fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add eggs with slotted spoon and heat for a minute.

To assemble:

Arrange 2 muffin halves on a plate. Top each half with a slice of Canadian bacon. Top with eggs. Make sure to drain them well before plating them. Top with Hollandaise Sauce and serve immediately.

Enjoy

Asparagus Soup suggested by Nicole Coco Barrios

Here is a recipe based on another Cannon's soups. This was a popular soup that was only served seasonally. When asparagus were in season, they were of great quality and low price. But out of season, the price was outrageous. We had to replace it with another soup. Customers could not wait for this wonderful soup to come back to the rotation.

Asparagus Soup

1 lb Steamed Asparagus

2/3 cup Flour

11/2 quarts + 2/3 cup Chicken Stock or Broth

1 Bayleaf

1 teaspoon Salt

½ Teaspoon White Pepper

1 stick Butter 4oz

1 lb Chopped Onions

1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning

1 pint + 1 cup Heavy Cream

Melt butter. Saute onions until transparent. Add flour, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and chicken stock to pan. Reduce half way and is thickened.

Take 1 pint of stock out of the pot. Put portions of steamed asparagus in blender with enough stock to allow the blender to spin freely. Pour blended asparagus in a separate contained until all asparagus is blended. Add blended asparagus and remaining stock to pot. Blend well. Add heavy cream and allow to thicken.

Enjoy

VooDoo Rolls suggested by Melissa Briggs Kramarich

I am not a big fan of egg rolls. So this is my take on that iconic Chinese dish. I used crawfish that I boiled on Saturday. I also tried the first batch with the onions and garlic for the boil. I had hoped they would add a little heat to the VooDoo rolls. Unfortunately, none of the flavor came through. The second batch was will fresh onions and garlic. There was a tremendous difference between the two batches. See how you like them.

VooDoo Rolls

10oz Crawfish Tails

2 Teaspoons Creole Seasoning

¼ c Minced Onions

3 cloves Minced Garlic

6oz Andouille Sausage, cut in a small dice

5 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

8oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

20 Egg Roll Wrappers

Put creole seasoning on crawfish and toss to cover. Saute onions and garlic in Worcestershire sauce for 2 minutes. Add crawfish and Andouille. Saute for 3 minutes. Drain and allow to cool. Mix cheese with the cool meat mixture. Place egg roll wrapper on a dry surface. Place 2 Tablespoons of the meat and cheese mixture in a roll in the middle of the wrapper.  Fold the sides of the wrapper ½ inch over the mixture. Wet one end and roll the roll toward that end. Press to seal. Fry rolls at 375 degrees until golden, about 2 minutes. Make sure to turn the rolls so that both sides cook evenly.

Enjoy

Hot Crab Dip suggested by Lisa Foley

After posting my crawfish dip, Lisa asked about a hot crab dip. She said that she already had one but thought others might not. This is a great recipe for any get together. When my family gets together for exchanging Christmas presents, we each prepare an appetizer. Often I get asked to bring Spinach Dip. Other times, I have done mini Crab Cakes. I may have to make this soon.
Enjoy

Hot Crab Dip

16oz Cream Cheese

8oz Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 ½ cups Chopped Green Onions

¼ cup Chopped Fresh Parsley

1 lb Crabmeat, picked thru for shells

½ c Half & Half

Creole Seasoning to taste

Combine cheeses, Worcestershire sauce, green onions, parsley, and half & half in a medium sauce pan. Cook over low heat until the dip reaches desired consistency. Add crabmeat and creole seasoning. Cook for three minutes. Serve with crackers.

Hot Crawfish Dip suggested by Laurie Fikes

This recipe is one of the first ones that a friend from Arkansas suggested. Laurie Fikes asked me if I had a recipe for a hot Crawfish Dish. I was so pleased to get this request. I have had many people ask me for recipes from former places of employment. This was the first request made from someone who I did not work with while in the restaurant business. I did not want to post this recipe then, because it was not crawfish season. Since crawfish are in season, and Saturday I will be boiling for the first time this season, here is another crawfish recipe.

Crawfish Dip

1 lb Crawfish Tails, chopped

1 Diced Onion

1 Diced Green Bell pepper

3 stalks, Celery, diced

1 Garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup Butter

8 ounces Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dry Mustard

Creole Seasoning, Salt, Black Pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Parsley

Sauté bell pepper, onions, celery, garlic and crawfish in butter. Add cream cheese, lower temperature and cover to let cream cheese melt. Add mayonnaise, salt, pepper, Creole seasoning to taste. Simmer approximately 15-20 minutes.  Add parsley. Serve warm.

Enjoy

Crawfish Cakes with Roasted Garlic Crawfish Sauce

This is a recipe that I entered in the Gilroy Garlic Festival cook off. I think it is a great dish. They, on the other hand, did not. I did not receive an invitation to the festival. My guess is that those people in California are not familiar with crawfish. Since we are now int he middle of crawfish season, I figure that here is a different dish to use leftover crawfish.

Crawfish Cakes

1 pound Crawfish Tails, cooked and Roughly Chopped

1 Tablespoon Butter

4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

1/3 cup Green Onions, chopped

¼ cup Fresh Parsley, chopped

1 Tablespoon Old Bay Seafood Seasoning

¾ cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

¾ cup Heavy Cream

¼ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

¼ teaspoon Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped

Over medium heat, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Sauté garlic in butter until golden brown.  Add green onions and cook until soft.  Add parsley and cook one minute. Add crawfish to pan.  Add Old Bay Seasoning and mix thoroughly.  Add heavy cream and mix well.  Add breadcrumbs and mix well.  The mixture should not be liquidity.  If so add more bread crumbs.  Allow mixture to cool.  Form cakes in hand, making a 2 ½ ” circle.  Place on a foil lined cookie sheet.  Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  You may also deep fry them by heating a fryer to 360 degrees.  Dip crab cake in mixture of milk and beaten egg, then cover with breadcrumbs.  Cook them for 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Garlic

1 Head of Garlic

1 ½ Tablespoon Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut about ½ inch off the top of the garlic head. Cut the roots so that the garlic will sit flat. Remove most of the skin from the garlic, but leave enough so that the cloves stay together. Place the garlic in a small baking pan, drizzle olive oil over it, and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Allow the garlic to cool before you handle it.

Roasted Garlic Crawfish Sauce

¾  Cup Crawfish Tails, slightly chopped

2 Tablespoons Creole Seasoning

½  Cup Minced Onions

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

2 Cups Heavy Cream

3 Tablespoons Roasted Garlic

2 Tablespoons Butter, cut in to pieces

Coat crawfish with Creole seasoning. Combine crawfish, onions and Worcestershire sauce in a sauté pan. Saute for 2 minutes. Add heavy cream and roasted garlic. Reduce for 10 minutes. Remove from fire. Add butter and stir until butter is melted and incorporated.

Enjoy

Broccoli & Cheese Soup suggested by Nichole Barrios & Michele Dufour

Here is another popular soup from the closed Cannon's Restaurant. In the beginning, all of Cannon's soups were made in house. Only towards the end did Cannon's use a premade Gumbo. The Broccoli and Cheese soup was easy to make and probably the most popular soup. The cheese used in the soup is Velveeta because it is an easily melted cheese. It even gets better the colder it is outside.

 Broccoli & Cheese Soup

1/2  Quart Minced Broccoli (Buds and Stems)

1/4  Quart Chopped Onions

1/4  Pound Margarine

½  Cup Flour

¾  Quart Chicken Stock or Broth

¾  Quart Half and Half

1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes

1 ½  Pounds Velveeta Cheese

Melt margarine. Saute onions and broccoli until soft. Add flour and mix well. Slowly add chicken stock stirring with a wire whisk. On a low fire, cook out the flour taste for approximately 5 minutes. Pour in half and half with a steady flow, stirring continuously. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add Velveeta slowly. Cook approximately 10 minutes.

Enjoy

Crab Bisque

So much for an early spring. After a beautiful weekend on March 19-20, Mother Nature thought Arkansas could use a few more cold days. With highs in the mid 50's, I still feel like it is soup weather. So I thought, one more soup recipe before it gets to warm for soup. This Crab Bisque is made along the lines of Lobster Bisque. It is a very rich and creamy soup. Enjoy it while it is cool.

Crab Bisque

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 Teaspoon minced Onion

1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley

1 ½ cups Crabmeat, cleaned

2 Teaspoons Flour

2 cups Crab Stock or Chicken Broth

2 cups Heavy Cream

Pinch Ground White Pepper

Salt

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add the onion and cook until golden. Add crabmeat and parsley: cook over low heat stirring consistently (about 4 minutes). Add flour, stir to blend and cook for three minutes. Stir in crab stock and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Keep pan partially covered. Add the cream and white pepper. Heat and add salt to taste.

Enjoy

Pasta Garaud suggested by Michele Champlin Lepine

Pasta Garaud was the most popular pasta dish at Cannon's. It had a great flavor that was different from Alfredo sauce, which you find at most restaurants. Over the years, it was enhanced with the addition of a spice mixture named appropriately Garaud Seasoning. It was definately not a sauce you would find anywhere else. The only problem I had with this dish was the size of the shrimp. Cannon's used a 150-250 count cooked shrimp. Shrimp are sized by the number of shrimp in a pound. So the small the number, the larger the shrimp. Some people thought the shrimp included in the dish were a joke. I think that a 51-60 shrimp would work well. But you can use any size you want.

Pasta Garaud

1 Qt. Heavy Cream

½ can Beef Broth

¼ cup Extra Dry Vermouth

1 ½ teaspoon Salt

1 ½ teaspoon White Pepper

1 Tablespoon & 1 teaspoon Granulated Garlic

1 ½ Tablespoon Garaud Seasoning

¼ teaspoon Nutmeg

½ pound Cooked Shrimp

Cooked Fettuccine

Warm heavy cream. When warm, add beef broth and vermouth. Reduce for five minutes. Add salt, white pepper, granulated garlic, Garaud seasoning, and Nutmeg. Cook over low fire until mixture thickens to a medium white sauce consistency. Add shrimp and fettuccini and cook until desired consistency.

Garaud Seasoning

12oz. Salt

4oz. Granulated Garlic

4oz. Black Pepper

1 1/2oz. Cayenne Pepper

2oz. White Pepper

1 1/2oz. Thyme

1 1/2oz. Oregano

4oz. Paprika

2 1/2oz. Onion Powder

Measure all ingredients on a food scale.

Place all ingredients in a large dry mixing bowl.

Mix Well.

Store in labeled covered container.

Enjoy

Mona's Cheesecake

Yesterday would have been my parents anniversary. Today is one of my brother's birthday. So I thought I would post a recipe to honor both. Mona was my mom. She was a wonderful cook. I only hope I can cook as well as she did. I know that this recipe is a favorite of my brother Ken. His wife, Edna, has been known to make multiple cheesecakes for holidays. It is a wonderful dessert on a warm evening.

Crust

2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 Stick Margarine, melted

½ cup sugar

Filling

2 8oz Cream Cheese

2 Eggs

2/3 Cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Topping

1 8oz Sour Cream

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Sugar

Crust: Mix graham cracker crumbs, margarine and sugar. Press into 9”pie pan

Filling: Blend all ingredients for filling in blender until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 Minutes. Cool for 15 minutes

Topping: Mix topping and smooth over cooled cheesecake

Bake again at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
Cool before putting in the refrigerator.

Enjoy

BBQ Shrimp and Grits suggested by Caro Ferguson

I recently asked friends on Facebook for recipe suggestions. My neighbor Caro Ferguson asked if I has a recipe for Shrimp and Grits. I told her that I had one with a New Orleans twist. I had never made Shrimp & Grits. So to get my wife to try it, I made it with my BBQ Shrimp recipe. I don't ever remember seeing it made that way anywhere. Not long after, this dish started showing up on New Orleans restaurant menus. I guess I was a little before my time.

BBQ Shrimp & Grits

BBQ Shrimp

1 pounds 15-20 or larger Wild American Shrimp Head & Tail on

3/4 pound Butter (3 sticks)

3/4 cup Olive Oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons Garlic, Chopped

2 teaspoons Basil Leaves (Dry)

1 1/2 teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoons Lemon Juice

2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2 Tablespoons Ground Black Pepper

3/4 teaspoon Oregano (Dry)

3/4 teaspoon Thyme (Dry)

3/4 teaspoon BBQ Seasoning

1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning

Melt butter in Olive Oil in a large pot.  Combine all other ingredients, adding shrimp last.  Cook on Medium High Heat for 10 minutes.

Grits

¾ cup Quick Grits

3 cups Water

¼ teaspoon Salt

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

In a medium saucepan, bring water to boil. Add the grits and salt. Stir well with a whisk. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover. Cook for 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and cheese. Keep covered until ready to serve.

Put grits in 4 bowls. Place shrimp on top and pour a little of the shrimp sauce on top of grits.

Enjoy

Artichoke Soup

This is a reworking of Cannon's Artichoke Soup. Most Artichoke Soups you find in New Orleans have Oysters in them. I also happened to work at the first restaurant to serve Oyster and Artichoke Soup, LeRuth's. Warren Leruth was the best chef from the New Orleans area. He started his career developing recipes for Proctor and Gamble. He developed Green Goddess dressing for Wishbone. After 20 years of the best restaurant in New Orleans, he ended his career doing consulting work for many restaurant chains, like Popeye's and Outback.

Artichoke Soup

6 cups Quartered Artichoke Hearts (Reserve Liquid)

½ gal Chicken Stock or Broth

¾ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

½ Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

½ Teaspoon Hot Sauce

1 cup Diced Onions

1 Cup Chopped Green Onions

½ Tablespoon Oregano

½ Teaspoon Thyme

½ Teaspoon Salt

½ Tablespoon White Pepper

1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic

2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar

3 Sticks Butter

¾ cup Flour

3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Melt butter and sauté onions until transparent. Add green onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Mix chicken stock and artichoke juice. Add flour to onions and stir with a wire whisk. Cook for 2 miuntes. Add stock mixture and stir.  Add artichokes, lemon juice and Parmesan Cheese and stir. Add Worcestershire Sauce, hot sauce, oregano, thyme, salt, white pepper, granulated garlic, and brown sugar, sprinkling all of the ingredients over the entire area of soup to avoid clumping.  Cook for 10 minutes on low temperature. You can add 3 pints of oysters during the last five minutes.

Enjoy

Cajun Fried Pickles suggested by Bill Bernard

Fried pickles has become the one of the most added appetizer to menus in the south.  Of course, people in Louisiana like their food with added spice. So here is a spicy batter for this sour pickle.

Cajun Fried Pickles

Dill Pickle Slices

1 Egg, beaten

1 cup Milk

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

6 Drops Crystal Hot Sauce

2 cups + 1 Tablespoon Flour

Creole Seasoning

Heat Fryer to 350 degrees

Mix egg, milk, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1 tablespoon flour in a bowl.

Mix 2 cups flour and Creole Seasoning to taste in a bowl.

Dip pickles in milk mixture, then flour, then mixture, then flour, and fry until golden brown.

Enjoy