Cajun cuisine: Food is like faith for southern Louisiana native

Tag : How To Dry Fresh Garlic
and architecture of the historic city is reflected by that.
Cajuns, on the other hand, are descendents of people who wereexpelled by the British from Acadia, the land on the western coastof Canada, during the French and Indian War. "Cajun" is short forthe French words "les cadiens," the people of Acadia. They majoritysettled in Louisiana in the 1760s, along the bayous of Louisianaand lived off the land by fishing and hunting. Others settled inthe more prairie areas and learned to farm rice and sugar cane.

Put it in one pot » Generally, Cajun food consists of mostlyone-pot dishes that are highly seasoned with a blend of vegetablesand spices. While creole is a bit more refined and based ontraditional French cuisine and influenced by the food of Spain, theWest Indies and Africa.
When an editor asked me to cook "Louisiana food" for a fewstaffers, I was hesitant. I wasn't sure if they could handle thespice or if my cooking skills could accurately represent the placeI love and the fusion of the two cultures.
I'm a mix of all things Louisiana. I live 77 miles from the FrenchQuarter and 65 from the Cajun heartland. With transportation easierthan ever, the fusion of creole and Cajun cuisine has increasedamong me and my peers.
My parents grew up in the Cajun heartland. Their grandparents andparents my living 87-year-old great-grandmother included spokefluent Cajun French. My parents speak a little, and I'm lucky toknow 10 words.
While the language has faded among the generations (though someparts of the state has recently reintroduced it in schools), thespicy secrets to perfectly seasoned dishes remains solid. YoungLouisianians are not willing to let the secrets of a gumbo and theseasonings for a crawfish boil on a warm spring evening fade.

Cajun spices in SLC » Surprisingly, it wasn't hard to find theingredients or the spices needed for my Louisiana meal.
Salt Lake City's Aquarius Fish Co. had the frozen crawfish tails(for $7 a pound) for my crawfish étouffée (AY-too-fay), a mixtureof sautéed vegetables and crawfish tails over white rice. Myfamily makes the creole version by adding a can of tomatoes andhalf of a can of cream of mushroom soup.
The local grocery store had Tony Chachere's the ultimate inSouthern seasonings with cayenne pepper, garlic, salt and paprikafor corn machoux (MA-shoe). The traditional Cajun side dish startswith the "trinity" of Cajun vegetables sauteed onions, celery andbell pepper and then corn and a little heavy cream are added.
We ended the meal with something that was definitely un-Utah,flaming bananas Foster. The New Orleans creation consists of warmedbananas cooked in a brown sugar and butter sauce spiked with rumand banana liqueur over vanilla ice cream.
The preparation didn't go exactly as planned. I had a little mix-upwith the étouffée. I wasn't sure when to add in the tomatoes andcanned soup. A quick call to Mom solve the problem. The final dishwas spicier than I wanted, but my guests didn't mind.
I also managed to ignite the bananas Foster without burning downthe house with a little help from Dad (one more phone call home).
After cooking the rich meal, I couldn't wait to go back home andshare the experience with my family.

Crawfish étouffée
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 large white onion, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound crawfish tails
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (Tony Chachere's brand suggested)
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons Tony Chacheres seasoning
1 can tomatoes and green chilies (Ro*tel brand suggested)
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups cooked long-grain white rice, warm

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion,celery, bell pepper and garlic. Saute, stirring constantly untilvegetables are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Stir in crawfish, salt, black pepper, onion powder, white pepperand hot sauce. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in flour; Ro*tel and cream ofmushroom soup; cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.
Stir in water gradually; cook over low heat, stirring occasionally,about 20 minutes.
Stir in green onions and parsley; cook 3 minutes. Serve over rice.

Source: www.cooksrecipes.com

Corn machoux
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Tony Chacheres seasoning
4 cups of corn
1/2 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup cream

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion,celery, bell pepper and garlic. Saute, stirring constantly, untilthe vegetables are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add Tony's seasoning and corn and cook, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4cup broth and reduce heat. Add 1/4 cup broth and reduce again. Addcream, reduce heat to low and cook, 3-4 minutes.

Source: www.frisco-online.com

Toasted garlic French bread
1 loaf french bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Aluminum foil
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Slice bread into 1-inch-thick pieces,slicing 3/4 of the way to bottom, keeping slices together. Slatherbutter on both sides of each piece. In a small bowl, combine garlicand parsley. Sprinkle on bread slices. Place bread in aluminum foiland warm, about 10 to 15 minutes. For crispy garlic bread, open thefoil for final 5 minutes of cooking.

Source: The Miller family