Unlikely Sources

Ultimately, a recipe’s value lies in its ability to translate to the plate and taste buds. But I also see value in the path a recipe travels: treasured family recipes that have traveled down a road of time and personal history, a recipe from a friend because (s)he thought “it had your name written all over it,” a recipe that you’ve proudly concocted in your own kitchen. After looking through my mom’s copy of Cooking Up a Storm, the importance of the way in which one obtains a recipe was never so clear to me.

Cooking Up a Storm, edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker, is a collection of both recipes and stories. It all started when people wrote to The Times-Picayune (the New Orleans newspaper) desperate to find recipes they lost during Katrina. The Times-Picayune was able meet some requests, finding recipes in the archives. But, much more interesting is the fact that people from across the country, and even world, stepped in and helped locate recipes that people were desperate to have back. Desperate to have something, anything, that brought them back to something resembling home. That’s a kind of re-building I bet not many people expected.

I knew I wanted to work this recipe for Creamy Boscaiola (pronunciation: bōs-kī-yōla) into a blog, but I couldn’t think of anything interesting to write about aside from the fact that the word “boscaiola” refers to a woodsman or woodcutter. Woodcutters also gathered mushrooms—in a recipe, boscaiola means “hey, there’s mushrooms in here.” Mildly interesting, if you like that sort of thing...and just because I do doesn’t mean everyone does.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized that the way in which I came by this recipe was...well, two odd and unlikely sources. I thought that idea was appealing...although I guess just because I do doesn’t mean everyone does. (Too bad, here it is!)

Before we moved back to Louisiana, we were only able to visit once or twice a year due to work schedules and distance. On one of those visits, we were staying with my in-laws. My in-laws went to bed early...sometimes before 8 PM. One evening, they were already in bed, there was nothing on TV, and I was bored. I started looking through my mother-in-law’s cookbooks. Most of her cookbooks are Cajun in nature. That’s what she cooks; that’s who she is. She even has a Cajun Microwave Cooking cookbook...and I don’t mean Al Simon’s Cajun Microwave either.

[Side story: once I was at my in-law’s when my mother-in-law decided to pick up some Popeye’s for lunch. She asked me to go with her. I started to get ready to go when she said, “oh, we’re not gettin’ down.” I wondered why she thought that I thought we were going dancing...or worse. Later on my husband explained that “gettin’ down” is a Cajun expression—a throwback from when people rode horses instead of in cars. Gettin’ down refers to getting off the horse.]

Considering just how very Cajun my mother-in-law is, the British cookbook (who’s title and author I’ve since forgotten) sitting on her shelf caught my eye. I found an obscure Italian recipe in a British cookbook in the house of a Cajun woman who (literally) grew up in a swamp.

Creamy Boscaiola
from Ms. enPlace

3/4 lb pasta of your choice (penne, spaghetti, rotini, etc.)
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 (8 oz) package button mushrooms, sliced
1 ½ c cream
1 c half and half
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
3 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley or additional chopped green onion for garnish

In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until crisped. While bacon cooks, clean and slice mushrooms. Set bacon aside to drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

If bacon has given off more than about 1 Tbsp of drippings, excess should be removed. Turn heat up to high and sear mushrooms in bacon drippings. It is important to sear rather than sauté your mushrooms, otherwise they will add too much liquid to the pan and the sauce will be runny.

Add bacon back to the skillet. Stir in about ¼ cup of the cream and scrape the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining cream, half and half, and black pepper, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. While sauce thickens, cook pasta in a large saucepan until al dente. Drain pasta. Stir chopped scallions into the sauce. Add pasta to sauce and toss to combine. Sprinkle parsley or additional chopped scallions over the top and serve. Serves 4-6.

Note: the cream will expand when cooking; be sure your skillet can accommodate it to avoid boil-over.

This doesn't require much...but get it ready anyway!

First, crisp up the bacon, then set aside to drain.

Remove all but about 1 T of bacon grease...just guess. It'll be fine. Turn heat to high and sear the mushrooms. Don't saute them--sear. Get them brown with no juices in the pan. If you don't do this, you'll have a runny sauce. That would be bad.

Toss the bacon back in and add about 1/4 c cream. As the cream boils, scrape up any tasty bits from the bottom.

Add the remaining cream and half and half and black pepper. Bring to a boil and boil for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Don't be shy about boiling this. If you don't, you'll end up with a runny sauce.

While the sauce cooks, cook the pasta...what ever kind you like. Oh, and a note about the sauce: cream "grows" when it boils. Make sure your pot can accommodate the expanding volume. Burnt cream is not a good air freshener.

Add the green onions to the sauce and stir. Add in the drained pasta. Sprinkle with parsley or more green onion (or both...hey, why not?).

Serve tout sweet. Follow with a Lipitor chaser. (By the way, the green beans are just to ease the guilt).


Linking with

Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday Pasta & Noodles theme

A Sure Sign of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras 2009 is Feb. 24.

King Cake. A sure sign that Mardi Gras is on its way.

I just realized that it’s been about a dozen years since I’ve been to Mardi Gras. That’s way too long for this New Orleans native. A pity, really. This year since I now live in Cajun country, in addition to attending a few key New Orleans parades, I’ll be taking part in the traditional Cajun Mardi Gras for the first time. This is a much different animal than the New Orleans style celebration. Called the courir de Mardi Gras, or Mardi Gras run, this celebration involves locals riding around rural areas on horseback and in wagons drinking beer and begging residents for ingredients to make a community gumbo. The highlight comes when a farmer donates a chicken or two. The farmer throws the chicken up in the air and the Mardi Gras must catch it. (By the way, Mardi Gras refers to the day and the participants). All day long there’s fun, hi jinks, and beer. Lots of beer. Later in the day, all of the collected ingredients are used to make a gumbo to feed the entire town. And there’s more beer. I’ve over-simplified...there’s a lot more to this tradition. And I’ve probably downplayed the consumption of beer.

Chicken-catching will definitely be a change from the “show your___” tourist crowd that has become the emblem (stain) of the New Orleans Mardi Gras...most locals I know prefer the family-oriented parades and avoid that sort of thing.

I’ve been living in TX and in the Midwest since the mid 90s and have missed Mardi Gras. Sadly, my son has no clue what Mardi Gras is. I have to rectify this. When we lived in the Midwest, we threw Mardi Gras parties for our friends, but it didn’t compare and they didn’t understand. We served gumbo, Voodoo Bourbon Slush, Beignets, and King Cake every year. Yes, we had to make the King Cake. There wasn’t anywhere local to buy one, that’s for sure. King Cakes can be purchased online for displaced natives who need a King Cake fix. But most of us are used to weekly King Cake parties and considering the price of King Cakes online...well, I quickly learned how to make them.

Traditionally, King Cakes aren't purchased or eaten before January 6th, the Epiphany or Twelfth Night. This kicks off the Mardi Gras season. Gorging on King Cakes ends with Mardi Gras day. Lent begins after that. Tradition has been toppled though and now King Cakes can be found almost year round in some bakeries.

There’s so much to tell if you aren’t familiar with Mardi Gras (other than an image of skanks standing on balconies in the French Quarter showing off the girls for cheap plastic beads—and that’s not really Mardi Gras). Mardi Gras incorporates both the pagan and the religious, light-hearted fun and heavy-handed trashing of governmental and other institutions (Mardi Gras had a great time with FEMA after Katrina), pageantry, food, drink, and music.

At it’s core—whether it’s the city Mardi Gras or the country one—Mardi Gras stems from pagan fertility rituals and celebrations in honor of Spring’s arrival. Mardi Gras made its way to Louisiana by way of French settlers, who had celebrated Mardi Gras since the Middle Ages. The date on which Mardi Gras falls depends on Easter. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter. Mardi Gras is seen as one last chance to “pass a good time” before the somber Lenten season begins on the following day, Ash Wednesday. There’s a long history of how the famous New Orleans parades came to be as well as many accounts of the Cajun courir de Mardi Gras. No need for me to reinvent the wheel.

For me, King Cakes are the ultimate symbol of Mardi Gras...and there’s a ton of symbolism packed into these cakes. King Cake is traditionally made of brioche dough and often has cinnamon added. The dough is shaped into a ring and decorated, representing a jeweled crown. Royalty plays a large part during New Orleans Mardi Gras. The mayor gives the key to the city to Rex, the King of Mardi Gras. Celebrities are honored to be named King of Bacchus or Grand Marshal of Endymion. King cakes are decorated with sweet icing and colored sugar...and not just any colors. We have specific symbolic Mardi Gras colors. Purple means justice, Green represents faith, and Gold symbolizes power. There is a plastic doll hidden inside of each King Cake. The doll nods back to pagan fertility rituals and ties into religion as it symbolizes baby Jesus. Before plastics, a bean, pecan, or coin was used. The person who gets the baby provides next week’s King Cake.

I don’t know if this still happens, but when I was in school every Friday between Jan 6 and Mardi Gras there was a classroom King Cake party. If you got the baby, your mama brought next week’s King Cake. Most moms were not thrilled to have a kid come home with the baby. My mom feared that 2 or more of us would end up with the baby the same week. It was high excitement if your mama walked on the school grounds with a King Cake from Tastee Donuts. You would instantly become “the stuff” and other classes mumbled “aww mans” when they found out that they weren’t getting a Tastee Donut King Cake. Not a traditional King Cake at all...the Tastee Donut King Cake was a giant doughnut masking as a King Cake. All the kids loved those, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I did too. My mom never would buy a Tastee Donut King Cake because it was “just a big donut.” Now, it’s common to buy filled King Cakes...King Cakes filled with cream cheese, apple, pecan praline, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry. Definitely not traditional, but this seems to be what most people prefer. This year was my first attempt at making a filled King Cake.

Locals don't generally make King Cakes at home since they can easily and inexpensively be purchased. But, if you are a native away from and missing home, a native who wants a deeper appreciation for King Cake, or someone who is simply curious, here's a traditional King Cake recipe:

King Cake
from Ms. enPlace, based on a recipe from Talk About Good II

Brioche dough:
½ c warm water (110-115 degrees F.)
1 T active dry yeast
½ cup sugar + 2 tsp, divided
4½-5 ½ c all-purpose flour
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 T cinnamon
2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
½ cup lukewarm milk (110 degrees F.)
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
½ c plus 2 T butter, softened and divided
1 King Cake baby, coin, dried bean, or pecan

Icing:
½ lb powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
milk

Sugars: (sugars can be colored ahead of time and stored in an airtight container)
¾ cup granulated sugar, divided in thirds
purple food coloring, or red and blue
green food coloring
yellow food coloring

To make King Cake dough: add warm water to a small bowl. Sprinkle in yeast and 2 tsp sugar. Stir. Set the bowl in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until the yeast bubbles and mixture almost doubles in volume.

Combine 4½ cups flour, ½ c sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the lemon zest. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture and warm milk. Add the eggs and egg yolks and gradually combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Cut in ½ c butter 1 Tbsp at a time and continue to fold and combine until the dough can be formed into a soft ball shape.

Place ball on a floured surface and incorporate more flour if needed, about 1 T at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic. Brush the inside of a large bowl with 1 T softened butter. Set dough in bowl and turn to coat with butter. At this point the dough can be refrigerated overnight. Bring up to room temperature when ready to continue.

Cover bowl and set aside for 1 ½-2 hours, or until doubled in volume.

Choose one of the methods below and continue.

Method 1: Basic King Cake
Use remaining 1 T of butter to butter a baking sheet. Punch down dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead, then roll and shape the dough into a cylinder about 14 inches long. Place on baking sheet to form a ring, pinching ends together. Cover and set aside to rise again, about 45 min.

Method 2: Filled King Cake
Any filling you like can be used. This is a cream cheese filling.
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 c sugar
1-2 T flour
1 small egg

Combine the filling ingredients. Add additional flour if filling is runny. Cinnamon can also be added.

Use remaining 1 T of butter to butter a baking sheet. Punch down dough on a lightly floured surface. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to roughly a 30 x 9” rectangle. The dough will be thin. Spread filling in a thin line down the 30” length of the dough, keeping the filling away from the edges.Fold the edge over the filling, then slowly roll the dough into a cylinder, like rolling a jelly roll. Place on baking sheet to form a ring, pinching ends together. Cover and set aside to rise again, about 45 min.


Preheat oven to 375. Bake cake on a rack placed in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool cake to room temperature on a wire rack. Hide the baby, bean, nut, or coin into the cake (through the bottom).

For the icing, mix the powdered sugar and vanilla together. Add milk, a small amount at a time, until icing is smooth. Drizzle over cooled King Cake using a fork or your fingers.

For the colored sugars, either mix in separate bowls or shake and knead in plastic bags. Add 3-4 drops of yellow food coloring to the sugar and mix to coat all of the sugar. Repeat with green food coloring. For purple, I like to use purple food paste to get a rich purple color. Red and blue food coloring can also be used.

Sprinkle the sugars over the King Cake while the icing is still wet. Sprinkle in alternating colors, purple, green, and yellow, in rows about 2-3 inches wide.

For the dough:

First get the yeast going. Start with warm water (not too hot, not too cold). Sprinkle in the yeast and sugar. Stir and let sit until very foamy.

Mix flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then mix in the lemon zest.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the yeast, eggs, and egg yolks. Gradually stir it all together. Cut in the butter, 1 T at a time. Fold until dough can be formed into a ball.

Place on a floured surface and work in more flour if needed, adding a small amount at a time. Knead until smooth. I use a big bowl as my floured surface. Keeps me from getting flour all over myself and the floor.

Set the dough aside, covered, to rise. About 1 1/2-2 hours. The dough can also be refrigerated overnight. Bring up to room temp then allow to rise. Yeast are amazing!

This year, I made a filled King Cake. I was pleased with how it turned out considering it was my first time. Wasn't that much more work than an unfilled King Cake. I made a plain cream cheese filling. Mix room temp cream cheese with sugar, an egg, and flour. If it seems runny, add a little more flour. Cinnamon would also be a good addition.

Punch down the dough and roll out to about a 30 x 9" rectangle. Roll on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin to prevent stickage. Stickage is annoying.

Spread a line of filling down one of the long sides of the dough, leaving a bare border.

Fold the edge of the dough over the filling and roll jelly roll-style. This was the part I was afraid to do because I've never rolled "jelly roll-style." I just went slow and everything was good.

Form the tube into a ring/circle, pinching the ends together. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Before baking, some people like to brush the surface with an egg wash of beaten egg and milk or water. I don't do that because it tastes too "eggy" to me and eggs kinda weird me out.

Coloring the sugar: this can be done while the dough is rising, while the King Cake is baking, or many days before. As long as you store the sugar in an airtight container, it will be fine. Doesn't take much to make a King Cake pretty.

I like using sandwich baggies for this. I can shake the sugar around and knead the color into it. Start with about 3 drops of food coloring, mix it in, add more if you want a deeper color.

I used to think these colors looked awful together. After being away from them for so long...well I don't want to get too mushy...I think they look great.

The icing can't be added to the cake until the cake is cool. Don't make the icing too soon or it will harden. Apparently I either didn't take pictures of the icing or I deleted them by mistake. Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together until smooth.

When the cake is golden brown, remove from oven and cool. Before you start decorating, insert the baby up through the bottom. If you do it through the top, the location it might be noticable. Drizzle the icing over the cake. You could use a fork, but fingers work better for me.

Right away, before the icing sets, sprinkle the sugars. Alternate purple, green, and gold in rows that are about 2-3" wide.

OK...who has coffee?

You Say Pray-lean, I Say Praw-Lean

I have to admit the “pray-lean” pronunciation grates on me almost as much as “pee-can” does. I once heard a good friend and mentor tell someone, “A pee-can is something your grandmaw kept by her bed at night.” Ah, Cajuns. Not afraid to tell it like it is. To us, it’s “praw-lean” and “puh-cawn."

Puh-cawns...God, I love ‘em! There was a huge, old pecan tree in the yard behind the house I grew up in. After school, my brothers and I would go out to play and in the fall, we’d always end up sitting in the back of the yard “pickin’ puh-cawns.” We had an old tricycle that was too small for us, an old red wagon, and an old kid-sized folding chair...supposed to be white, but wearing streaks of rust from always being left out in the rain. There was an orange and red carousel painted on the back of it. Funny how clearly I can remember that chair...probably something my grandpa picked up out of someone’s trash pile (we called my grandpa “Sandford.”). Anyway, we’d place the tricycle, wagon, and the folding chair in a crude circle under the pecan branches that hung high overhead. We’d sit there in a way that is common around here...an informal group just sittin’, talkin’, eatin’ together, our dog, Jackson, sprawled out on the ground next to us. We’d stuff ourselves with so many pecans, when my mom called us in to eat supper we were sometimes sickened by the thought.

Later, in college, I ate pecans for breakfast. I walked to campus through an older neighborhood bordering ULL’s (then USL's) campus. Being an older neighborhood meant mature pecan trees. On my way to class in the mornings, I foraged along the streets and yards for my breakfast. My favorite thing to make with pecans is pecan pie. But my husband is partial to pralines.

Pralines were introduced to Louisiana (most likely New Orleans) by French settlers. The French version is typically made with almonds. Pralines in New Orleans, and the rest of Louisiana, utilize a native nut—the pecan, which, horticulturally speaking, is not a nut at all. Another version of pralines you might find in Louisiana is Praline au Benne, or pralines with sesame seeds. The recipe below comes from a friend, colleague, and all-around character I met in Texas, although he is a South Louisiana native—having grown up South of New Orleans.

Every recipe he ever gave me he claimed was “the best.” While that wasn’t always what I discovered, it definitely is the case when it comes to his pralines. His challenge, typed up at the end of the recipe he gave to me, was this: “I have never known anyone to get these pralines to turn out right the first or second time, so try until you get it. They are worth it.” So he was doubly right ...this is the best praline I’ve had and my husband and I did not get them right the first time. Since this is tricky and requires specific temperatures here are a few tips:

* read the recipe several times so you know what’s up ahead

* have a partner...one person can caramelize the sugar while the other works on boiling more sugar with evaporated milk...especially if you’ve never made candy.

* use a candy thermometer. No debate. If you don’t and your pralines don’t set up right, don’t come back and blame me!

* put down a layer of newspaper or cardboard so the hot praline mixture doesn’t burn your counter top. If you don’t and end up with scorched counters, don’t come back and blame me!

* more important here than for any other recipe I’ve covered...get your mise en place ready. Things will start unbearably slow, and then catch you off guard because it’ll move so fast.

* my friend suggested a clean-up hint that definitely works “do not try to scrub the sugar off the spoons and pots, soak them in water for 2 hours and all the sugar will simply wash off.”

Creamy Louisiana Pralines
from Ms. enPlace by way of my friend, GRM

salt
2 to 2 ½ cups of coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
1 small 5 oz can Pet milk (evaporated milk)
2 tbsp real butter
1 tbsp vanilla

Before starting, cover your counter with cardboard or thick layers of newspaper. Cover that with pieces of aluminum foil. Sprinkle foil lightly with salt.

Roast chopped pecans at 240 F so they will be hot when they go into the mixture. Should take about 15-20 minutes, but don’t depend on time. Depend on your sense of smell.

Melt 1 cup sugar in a large, smooth-bottom cast iron (or other heavy) skillet. Set the heat around low and keep the sugar moving with a flat edge of a spatula. This keeps the sugar from burning. This is a slow process; be patient.

Just before the sugar in the skillet is totally melted, boil 2 cups of sugar and the small can of evaporated milk on high heat in a 3 qt pot.

When the mixture is boiling strong and when the sugar in the cast iron pot has completely melted, pour the sugar-milk mixture into the melted sugar. Quickly stir the two mixtures until they become one; the color will be light brown.

The temperature can be checked here. It should be 235-240 degrees F. Do not overcook or undercook or the pralines will not set properly.

Cut the heat off and add 2 tablespoons of butter and stir until butter is melted. Add vanilla and stir. The mixture will boil.

Add the pecans from the oven. They should be hot so they don’t bring down the temperature of your sugar mixture. Stir the mixture until it starts to thicken and streak. If you take too long, the mixture will set in your pot; work quickly from here on out.

Very fast, with two spoons, dip and drop the pralines on aluminum foil which has a very light coating of salt. This mixture is very hot. Be careful. After 10 minutes, the pralines should be set and ready to eat. They are best when still warm.


It is especially important for this recipe that you have everything ready before you beign. Things will start to move fast.

Get your counter ready too. Once the praline mixture is done, there isn't any time for prep...unless you want one giant praline stuck to the bottom of your pan. Cover your counter with thick layers of newspaper or cardboard. Cover that with foil. Sprinkle the foil with salt. The salt does two things. It adds a great salty-sweet quality and it helps in removing the pralines from the foil.

Roast your pecans. Yeah, it's an extra step, but it's worth it. Roasted nuts have much more flavor than unroasted since heat brings out flavorful oils. Here's a challenge, try to time things so that the pecans are still hot when they go into the sugar mixture.

Melt 1 cup of granulated sugar. Notice the recipe calls for granulated sugar twice. The remaining 2 cups will be used in a bit. Melting, or more accurately, caramelizing the sugar will take time. It reminds me of making roux. Best to use a cast iron or other heavy pot...helps with all the stirring, and stirring you will definitely be doing, it takes time, the mixture will change from light (white) to dark, and just when you think you can sneak off for a second...ha! things start to really happen.

This is ready to be added to the caramelized sugar...but remember the caramelized sugar decides when it's time.

Stir the two mixtures together. Don't goof around, no!

Turn off the heat if you've reached the right temp. Stir in the butter. Add in the vanilla, which will cause the mixture to boil and that will be totally normal.

Add in the pecans and your praline mixture will look like this.

Using two spoons, drop spoonfuls of the praline mixture onto the salted foil. Be careful, this stuff is hot (hmm...another thing in common with roux).

Go ahead and have a bite.

Ahh...my favorite part. Picking off all the left-behind bits from the foil.

 

Creole v. Cajun...the Way I See It

If you don’t enjoy food origins, food history, or learning about other cultures (shame on you), skip down to the recipe for Rabbit Sauce Piquante...or not. I’ll never know.

I’ve been avoiding this topic for a while. I’ll admit up front it’s confusing, convoluted, and makes my brain scream. But it’s important, so here goes.

First, some misconceptions.
My top two:
1. “Cajun and Creole foods are spicy.” False. They can be, but don’t have to be. Depends on who’s doing the cooking. Sure, we use cayenne pepper (also called red pepper) and our favorite Cajun/Creole seasoning blends. But we also use onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and green onion as seasoning too. Summation: Cajun does not automatically equal spicy.
2. “Oh, you’re going to New Orleans to eat Cajun food.” No. No, I’m not. Generally speaking, one does not go to New Orleans to eat Cajun food. Cajun country is West of New Orleans. In New Orleans, it’s Creole...and there’s a difference!

One reason why Cajun and Creole cuisines are different is because Cajuns and Creoles are different.

Cajuns. Who are they? Poo Yie! Do you have a few hours? Short version. Cajuns are descendants of French colonists who settled Nova Scotia. They were thrown out of Nova Scotia by the British in 1755. In Cajun history, this is known as Le Grand Dérangement. Men, women, and children were separated. I’ll let you draw your own conclusion as to why. The word “Cajun” is a corruption of “Acadian.” Cajuns called their area of Nova Scotia “Acadie,” meaning Arcadia or paradise. It is a sad tale, but not to worry. Many Cajuns found a second paradise in Louisiana.

Creoles. This is much more complicated. The word “Creole” simply means native. It was used to distinguish someone who was born in the New World but who was of French (or Spanish) descent. While Cajuns are the descendants of French peasants, French Creoles are the descendants of French aristocracy. The meaning of “Creole” is even more complex when one considers the meaning of the word today. Presently, people are referred to as either “Creole” (also French Creole) or “Black Creole” (also Creole of Color). The term Creole typically refers to French descent. Black Creoles are descendants of slaves. Oh, but it doesn’t stop there. Many Black Creoles are descendants of slaves who also spent time living in the Caribbean. They have African, Caribbean, and French backgrounds. Black Creoles, or Creoles of Color, have given the cuisine of New Orleans and its surrounding areas rich diversity.

I’m a little bit Cajun and a little bit Creole.

Cajun and Creole cuisines do have similarities. Both are based on adapting recipes based on ingredient availability. One example that comes to mind is the Courtbouillon found in New Orleans compared to the original French version. Cajuns and Creoles are notorious for their ability to adapt to what’s on hand.

On the surface, Cajun cooking is rural French cooking while Creole is French cooking found in the city (specifically New Orleans). The differences are much more, though, and range from commonly used ingredients to differing cross-cultural influences (the two often go together). Both cooking styles incorporate ideas from other cultures, but the cultures differ...creating variances in the food.

For me, a big difference in Cajun and Creole cooking is red v. brown. Many Creole foods rely much more heavily on tomatoes, such as thick, robust tomato sauces. (Heck, there’s even a type of tomato called “Creole Tomato.” ) Creole versions of jambalaya are usually red, having tomato sauce or paste as an ingredient. Cajun jambalayas are more often brown, lacking tomatoes. Creole gumbos tend to contain okra and tomatoes, while Cajun versions are usually tomato-free.

Ultimately, I guess, it’s like anything else. What you experience in life—the people, the places you live and visit, the environment and landscape—it all affects you in some way. This is true for a region’s cuisine. Both Cajun and Creole cooking styles are built out of assimilation...integrating ingredients and techniques learned from the cultures that Cajuns and Creoles came into contact with.

A few examples: Corn Maque Choux, a Cajun dish similar to a succotash, nods to contact with Native Americans. Andouille, and other sausages, have German and French features. Jambalaya is thought to be a cross between Spanish paella and a West African rice dish. The word “gumbo” comes from the African word for okra. While the ingredients differ, the technique for making roux is classic French.

Creoles had the luxury of living in and near the port city of New Orleans. They probably had greater access to more varied ingredients. Traditionally, French Creole cuisine utilized rich French-inspired sauces. Cajuns, on the other hand, lived off the land much more. Traditional Cajun dishes are usually rustic one pot meals that made use of what people could hunt, catch, trap, or grow.

Sauce Piquante...here’s a dish that is just all over the place. First, it can be made with rabbit, chicken, frog, or alligator. Second, it’s found on both Creole and Cajun menus (with slight differences). Third, it has many cultural influences. The use of roux is borrowed from the French. The tomato-based sauce is influenced by Spanish and possibly Italian immigrants. The fact that the basic recipe is always adapted to include whatever protein is available screams Cajun ingenuity to me. This dish is definitely a mutt.

linking with:
 

 This looks long, but once it’s all in the pot you don’t have to worry about it. It also freezes well. But beware...spiciness intensifies when frozen.

Rabbit (or chicken, or alligator, or frog leg) Sauce Piquante
from Ms. enPlace

If using game, marinate to tenderize and lessen the “gamey” flavor.
Marinade:
¼ c white wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
¼ c red wine
¼ c onion, minced
1 crushed bay leaf
1 tsp garlic, minced
¼ tsp each salt and pepper

Sauce Piquante:
¼ cup oil plus about 1 T
1 pound rabbit meat, cut in pieces
Cajun or Creole seasoning, to taste
¼ c flour, plus more for dredging
2 c chopped onion
½ c chopped bell pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
¼-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
¼-1/2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
¼ tsp dried thyme
3-3 ½ c water
1 can tomatoes w/ chiles
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 T red wine
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T chopped parsley
3 green onions, chopped
cooked rice

Combine marinade ingredients in a dish. Add rabbit pieces and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Heat ¼ c oil in a heavy pot. Remove rabbit from marinade. Mix about 1/8-1/4 cup flour with Cajun seasoning. Lightly dredge rabbit pieces in seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour. Add rabbit to hot oil and brown all over. Remove rabbit from pot.

Add about 1 T oil to pot. Slowly add ¼ cup flour to oil to make a roux. More oil or flour can be added to adjust the consistency. Cook roux, stirring constantly until it becomes a medium to dark brown. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring, until tender.

Add remaining ingredients except for parsley and green onion. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add rabbit back to pot and simmer over low heat for 1-1/2 hours, or until rabbit is tender. About 5-10 minutes before serving, add parsley and green onion. Serve over cooked rice.

First thing to do is get the rabbit marinating. This will take 4-6 hours. If you are making chicken sauce piquante, marinating isn't needed. The wine and vinegar in the marinade not only help tenderize the meat, they help remove strong "gamey" flavors. The rabbit is compliments of my dad.

What you'll need for the "sauce" portion of sauce piquante:

Season about 1/4 c flour with Cajun/Creole Seasoning. Lightly dredge rabbit pieces in flour and shake off excess.

Heat oil and brown rabbit all over.

Remove rabbit and set aside. Add about 1 T more oil and heat. Add about 1/4 c flour to oil and make a roux (see link in recipe above).

Once roux is dark brown, add vegetables and cook until soft.

Add everything else except for the parsley and green onions. Keeping these out til the end gives a nice fresh quality to a slow-cooked dish. Simmer for about 15 minutes. By the way, the "piquante" part of sauce piquante means that there should be spiciness. Adjust to your own taste.

Add rabbit pieces back to the pot and simmer at least an hour, or until the rabbit is tender. Yep. This is one of those slow-cooking dishes. I should mention that wild rabbit can carry food borne illnesses such as trichinosis. Be careful about cross contamination and cook the meat thoroughly. Shouldn't be problem in this recipe.

While the sauce piquante simmers, don't be afraid to add water if the sauce is too thick for you. Won't hurt a thing.

When rabbit is tender, add the green onion and parsley. Do this about 5-10 min. before you are ready to dig in. Otherwise, you'll zap the life out of 'em.

Serve over cooked white rice (of course) and garnish with additional green onion and/or parsley for a nice color contrast. Oh, and before you sit down, boo, get yourself an ice cold beer. One for me too!