Archive for the Category » Seafood «
22
Apr 2011
Apr 2011
It’s the end of the week already and time for another installment of Finger Food Fridays.
One of the many food traditions in New Orleans surrounds the days of the week. We eat Red Beans and Rice on Mondays, some sort of spaghetti dish with Red Gravy on Wednesdays and seafood on Fridays. Most of us carry out these eating habits without a second thought. But each tradition comes packaged with its own set of stories. “Seafood Fridays,” for instance, is tied to the deep-rooted Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays, especially during Lent (which ends [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood Comments off
15
Apr 2011
Apr 2011
Did you know that today is NOT the 2010 tax deadline? Nope. It’s been extended to Monday the 18th because of Emancipation Day. While that’s clearly an important reason for an extension, I’ll bet the true intention behind pushing the date back is that the IRS didn’t want to interfere with Finger Food Friday! I’m showing my appreciation by preparing a throw-back finger food, Hot Crab Dip.
Hot Crab Dip was the it “hors d’oeuvre” of my youth. If you grew up in New Orleans or had a relative that did, you’ll probably recall the dip being [ ... ]
12
Apr 2011
Apr 2011
I have a new addiction–chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Their smoky-spiciness has me hooked. And lately I’ve been adding them to just about everything. Of course, you’d never know that because until now I haven’t posted any of those recipes. It’s just that one idea has lead to another and then another. And when I’m cranking up the creativity in the kitchen, the recipe writing takes a back seat. Not to worry, though. I have all of the fiery hot details jotted down somewhere and I will get each one posted. Eventually!
The one recipe I have finished is for my [ ... ]
25
Mar 2011
Mar 2011
This week, Finger Food Friday is welcoming spring the best way it knows how. With crawfish! That’s right. Crawfish season has officially begun. Well, actually, there’s no “official” start to crawfish season since these dirt diggers have rather unpredictable life cycles (thanks to every extreme weather condition that affects South Louisiana). But they’re available now live or hot-from-the-pot at many grocery stores, seafood markets and restaurants. Supplies of frozen crawfish tails are also on the rise this time of year, which means they’re usually cheaper. So get them while the getting’s good. That way, you’ll be ready to cook up great [ ... ]
15
Jan 2011
Jan 2011
Just the other day, I was flipping through an old cookbook when out fell a recipe from the food section of the Times-Picayune, New Orleans’ daily newspaper. The clipping, which obviously had a few years on it, was a recipe for Crabmeat & Brie Soup from The Dakota, a suburban New Orleans restaurant. I had a vague recollection of that recipe and a similar one involving brie from Flagons A Wine & Bar Bistro. (Flagons was another great New Orleans restaurant that closed many years ago.) I remember wanting to borrow a couple of ideas from these two recipes to [ ... ]
Category: Crab, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Roux, Seafood, Soups
Tags: Crabmeat, Home Cooking, New Orleans Cooking, New Orleans Recipes, Recipe, Roux 2 Comments
11
Jan 2011
Jan 2011
Are you familiar with steelhead trout? I stumbled upon it by mistake and what a wonderful mistake it was. Several months ago, I ran into BJ’s Wholesale Club (one of our local warehouse chains) to pick up a few things. In my haste, I grabbed what I thought was salmon. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I had three pounds of steelhead trout on my hands. Steelhead trout? Now what?
I ran a quick search on Google and found that steelhead trout is the seagoing cousin of rainbow trout. But unlike its landlocked, freshwater relative, these babies migrate [ ... ]
06
Dec 2010
Dec 2010
I’ve never liked Shrimp Creole. Maybe it’s because my mom never cooked it or because the few restaurant versions that I’ve tried were disappointing. But oddly enough, it has always been a dish that I wanted to like.
I hadn’t thought much about my dysfunctional relationship with Shrimp Creole until recently while reading through a bunch of recipes and stories on roux-based dishes. Every time a Shrimp Creole reference crossed my desk, my mouth watered. They all sounded so rich, comforting and tasty, but my food memories recalled otherwise. I had never eaten a bowl of Shrimp Creole that was rich, [ ... ]
Category: Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Roux, Seafood, Shrimp, Stock
Tags: Creole Cooking, French Bread, New Orleans Recipes, Rice, Roux, Seafood, Shrimp Creole, Shrimp Recipes 8 Comments
06
Nov 2010
Nov 2010
Got a craving for crawfish? My husband does. And this time of year when live crawfish are not running (out of season) one of the only ways to satisfy his craving is with frozen Louisiana crawfish tails. In New Orleans, frozen crawfish tails are a heavily relied upon convenience food. Many folks outside of Louisiana are unaware of this great product, but it’s available in the frozen seafood department of most supermarkets across the country.
Now as much as I love the usefulness of frozen crawfish tails, their taste and texture take a small but noticeable hit during the freezing process. [ ... ]
Category: Crawfish, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Roux, Seafood
Tags: cajun, crawfish, creole, New Orleans Recipes, Roux, Seafood 10 Comments
