Cooking New Orleans style

By Kara Thurmond

Published:

Friday, February 5, 2010 2:13 AM EST

This February has me thinking about New Orleans for a couple of reasons. One, it’s Mardi Gras season. Two, we have that little football game on Sunday. Being married to a Saints Fan, I plan to watch the game and eat some good New Orleans food. Who dat?!

In fact, I plan to eat a lot of Louisiana food this month and I’ll be sharing the recipes with you. I admit, some of these recipes aren’t going to top the charts for healthy eating, but I take my food guru, Michael Pollan’s, advice to heart: Eat as much junk food as you want as long as you make it yourself. To that, I’m going to add, “from scratch.” Opening a bag of chips and dumping pre-made cheese dip on them isn’t from scratch.

It’s hard to pick just a few recipes, so I’ll start with what we make a point to eat when we visit New Orleans: BBQ shrimp po-boys from Liuzza’s By the Track, muffulettas from Central Grocery’s and cafe au lait and beignets from Cafe Du Monde.

BBQ Shrimp Po Boys

When my husband first mentioned getting a BBQ Shrimp Po Boy, I wasn’t too excited. I pictured shrimp with tomato based BBQ sauce stuffed into French bread. The dish doesn’t have a drop of BBQ sauce and the shrimp never touch a grill. Seems the misnomer is a mystery. Even Pascal Manale’s, the restaurant, which claims to have created the dish, doesn’t give any answers. No mystery on its deliciousness. It’s mainly shrimp in a spicy butter sauce. What is not to love about that?! This is my husband’s recipe.

Ingredients:

2 pounds shrimp in shells

2 cups water (for stock)

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning (or a mixture of salt and cayenne)

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 ounces good beer

2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or as much as you like)

1 medium onion, very finely minced

2 rib stalks of celery, very finely minced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Tabasco, salt, pepper to taste

French bread, cut into 6-inch sections (or 6-inch sub rolls)

Method:

Shell and devein shrimp. Set shrimp aside. Add shells to sauce pan and cover with 2 cups of water. Cook over medium high heat for at least 10 minutes. Drain and reserve stock, discard shells.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Melt butter in a skillet. Over medium heat, sauté garlic, onions, celery, parsley, rosemary and seasoning for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add one cup of the shrimp stock and continue to cook for a few more minutes.
Place shrimp into a 9x13-inch baking dish and pour the sauce over it, stirring well.
Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, turning once.
Hollow out the bread from one of the ends, not from the side. You want to make a deep pocket for holding the shrimp.
Remove shrimp from the oven. Spoon shrimp with sauce into individual bread boats.
Serves six.

Muffaletta

New Orleans has a rich and diverse culinary history. Of course, we have French and Cajun influences. And with an influx of immigrants in the late 19th century, there is also an Italian influence. Enter Central Grocery, circa 1906, and the Muffaletta. Traditionally, this is made on a large round Italian bread about the size of a dinner plate. The olive mix is the best part of this sandwich, so use whatever thick-crusted bread you want.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of Italian round bread

1 cup olives, pitted and chopped (I use a combo of green and black olives)

1/4 cup of capers or chopped caper berries

1/2 cup giardiniera, chopped (Italian pickled vegetables)

1 tablespoon onions, minced

1 clove garlic, large, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 to 2 pounds of a combination of sliced deli meat, such as ham, mortadella, salami (I like an assortment of Fra’Mani Salumi)

4 slices provolone

4 slices mozzarella

Method:

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together olives, capers, caper berries, giardiniera, onions, garlic, ground pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and crushed red pepper. Cover and let sit for an hour or more.
Cut bread in half horizontally. Brush each half with a little of the juice from the olive mix.
Spread with olive mix on each half and then layer the meats and cheeses.
Cover with loaf top. Slice into quarters and serve.

Serves four.

Quick Beignets

Though my husband said these weren’t quiet traditional beignets, he couldn’t stop eating them. These are in no way healthy for you, but they sure are good! I doubt I will make these more than once a year. Eat them hot and with a nice cafe au lait.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup milk

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon

4 to 6 cups vegetable oil, for deep frying

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Method:

Combine water, milk, vanilla extract and egg in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices and mix until smooth.
In a large, deep pot, heat oil to 350º F. Do not heat to the smoking point.
Drop small spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. Only add a few at a time. Turn each a couple of times and fry until golden brown. Check the first batch to make sure they are cooked all the way through. Adjust heat and time accordingly.
Remove with a slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Liberally sprinkle the beignets with confectioners’ sugar and serve them hot.

***

Kara Thurmond has been eating food for quite some time. She writes the popular food blog, An Hour in the Kitchen (http://www.anhourinthekitchen.com).

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