contest salsalady vs. Coach

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Very, very nice spread there Ma'am!
...doin' the crawfish/shrimp boil was the first thing I had thought of doin', but the temps here have been between 98 degF to 110 degF outside, so cancelled that idea quickly.
So cranked up the indoor kitchen.

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Gotta get the cook warmed up first with the Hurricane's... both the drink mix and glasses, came directly from Pat O'Brians on Bourbon Street before we left there last week. :dance:
 
Personally I'd rather see one original dish than a spread of food, but SL said you guys agreed on that... interested to see what you have!

SL nice feast indeed.
 
For a real Cajun meal Boss, ya can't just cook for one, a spread is almost manditory... it's all about the family, friends, gettin' 'em all together for fun, and feedin' a herd.

Teaser Pics!

...and as in the Seafood Challenge, the butcher/meat market closed early, so just veggies and spices shown
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Pic to the left
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Pic the right
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And closeup of the middle
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Another spread! At least it's a fair fight will be interesting!!!
 
On the menu:

SW Louisiana Catfish and Trout Piquante – Fish cooked in a spicy Cajun sauce

Garlic Grilled Shrimp - shrimp marinated in a spicy garlic sauce

Shrimp, Crawfish and Crab Bisque with Andouille Sausage – a stick to your ribs, rich and spicy soup (with the consistency of melted ice cream!)

Served with:

Boudin blanc - Cajun style sausage made from pork rice dressing

Red Beans and Rice with Andouille - the red beans are cooked until creamy, Cajun Seasoning and the sausage take it to the next level

Southern Potato Salad - mustard, mayo, and potatoes the way they are meant to be eaten...together!

Fried Okra - a Cajun table staple

Fried Jalapenos - pepper strips battered and deep fried

Fried Softshell Crabs - The soft-shell is the blue crab in its molted state.

Boudin Balls - a Cajun variation on Boudin blanc but instead of the filling being stuffed into pork casings, it is rolled into a ball, battered, and deep fried

All served with a homemade Jalapeno-Crab meat Remoulade sauce for dippin' the fried stuff!

======================

Beginning with:
SW Louisiana Catfish and Trout Piquante
Ingredients:
Catfish fillets, trout fillets, bacon drippings, oil, yellow onion, celery, green bells pepper, red and yellow jolokias, garlic, parsley, chicken broth, red wine, salsa (containing jalapenos and serranos, with no added vinegar), bay leaves, basil, thyme, Old Bay Seasoning, Tony's, worcestershire, cayenne, Polar Chili and Garlic Sauce, lemons.

Clean fish checking for bones, etc., wash, pat dry. season with Old Bay and Tony Chachere's (wanted to use Slap Ya Mama, but store was out... Tony's is a good fall back).
Trout on the left, Catfish on right
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Heat a skillet with oil and bacon drippings, add a few fish at a time until slightly browned, then remove them from the heat. Set aside.
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Add onion, celery, bell peppers, garlic, parsley to same pan and stir till veggies begin to wilt.
Add Lost Texan Salsa "True Texan- Medium No.3" (shameless plug... hehee!), and whisk gently until combined and beginning to thicken.
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Add broths and wine, and whisk till smooth (if not thick enough, ad some tomato paste), then adding remainder of seasonings except for the green onions and lemon.
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Transfer sauce to an oval pan and carfully add fish without breaking it up. NOTE: Once the fish is added--- no more stirring or you'll have nothing but fish flakes.
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Cover and reduce to low medium for about 30 minutes. or until fish flakes easily.
When ready to plate, spoon some of the sauce over it, garnish.

On to the next item
 
Next up:

Garlic Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients: Shrimp, olive oil, garlic, parsley, sea salt, black pepper, cayenne

Wash shrimp, pat dry, add to gallon-size Zip-loc bag, along with the rest of the ingreidents. Mix well to completely coat shrimp.
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Remove to a pan, and heat grill. Once done, remove, cover and ready to plate.
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Shrimp, Crawfish and Crab Bisque with Andouille Sausage

Ingredients: whole corn, creamed corn, butter, flour, yellow onion, celery, bell pepper, yellow bhut, carrots, garlic, heavy cream, chicken stock, seafood stock, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, white pepper, cayenne, black pepper, thyme, basil, dill, shrimp, parsley, crawfish, andouile sausage, green onion, crab meat, instant potatoes, paprika

Open canned corns, mix together in a bowl and set aside.
Heat skillet, add butter, melt, add flour, wisk continously to make a blonde roux.
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Fold in seasoning veggies, andouille, and when onions are done, add the heavy cream, corn mix, stocks, cook until the liquid reduces a bit (stirring often so it doesn't burn on the bottom of pan).
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Add the rest of the seasonings, cover and simmer.
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About 10 minutes before plateing, add shrimp, crab and crawfish.
When ready to serve, add a little more butter, and garnish with paprika, green onion
 
Fried stuff:

Ingredients:
Boudin blanc links, okra, soft-shell blue crabs, jalapeno pepper strips, flour, cayenne, Old Bay, Tony's, Panko bread crumbs, eggs, oil

Place flour, beaten eggs (with just a splash of water in it), and bread crumbs in seperate bowls.
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Remove Boudin casing and shape into roughly 1 1/2" balls.
Wash: crabs (gently), okra (then cut into pieces), jalapenos (then cut into strips).
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Coat with flour, dip in egg, roll in Panko.
Fry and drainpaper towels.

Serve with:
homemade Jalapeno-Crab meat Remoulade sauce for dippin'

Ingredients:
Red bell pepper, jalapenos, mayonaisse, shallots, cilantro, lime juice, sea salt, Creole Mustard

Cook the peppers till slightly browned. Mix other ingrdients together in a bowl, Turn heat off pan with peppers, fold in all the goodies in the bowl. Cool slightly, put in food precessor till creamy (little chunks ok).
Serve.
 
WHOOOOOOOA COACH final post will be crazy with all that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Feast vs. Feast
 
Final Teasers:
Red Beans and Rice with Andouille
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Shrimp, Crawfish and Crab Bisque with Andouille Sausage
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Fried okra, Boudin balls, Jalapeno Pepper strips
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Fried Soft-shell Blue Crabs and Grilled Garlic Shrimp
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SW Louisiana Catfish and Trout Piquante, pictured with a couple of smoked Boudin links
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Overall teaser pic
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...and did almost forget the dessert, Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake.
Store bought, batteries not included, but great way to end the meal... or like me, have for breakfast the morning after this party.
(Admin removed store bought cake, not part of TD)

Final pics shortly
 
.....and HSL said a few months back that she didn't know how to cook Cajun.

;)

Both entries are lookin' GUUD I GarOnTEE!!!


To quote another member here-
"I bereave I can fry...." :lol:


Thanks, Pauly and others for the good comments. Coach has a first rate entry fo'sho.

Muskymojo, I'll cook Cajun for you, if you'll cook some of that smoked goodness for me. ;)



quick story before Coach posts-
I found the catfish in a store 90 miles away from where we live back in May. but the last 3 weeks, the store was getting shorted on the catfish, both fresh and frozen. Monday, Tuesday, still no word....Wednesday...YES! We Have Fresh Catfish! Now I just had to get it.

I arranged for a local delivery service to pick it up in Wenatchee and drop it at our place. The Seafood Dept lady had it all packed up with ice the night before, since she didn't get to work until 10:00. I called the meat department in the morning and told one of the guys to get the package and take ip up to the front Customer Service desk for the delivery service to pick up. "yea, yea, OK, No Problem". At 9:15 am...the delivery service called....No Package! Oh, NO!

Well, as fate would have it, I had just that morning sent some fresh salsa with another local delivery service to an account about 45 miles away. This was the first time I'd used this person to deliver the salsa. She was going on to Wenatchee to deliver other locally made products for other people. Thank Goodness for Cell Phones! I was able to get ahold of her, she went to the store, back into the coolers, found the package and delivered the fresh catfish back to me at 9:00 Friday night. That was cutting it close.
 
FINALLY... FINAL PICS!!!!

In Louisiana, you can pick ANY week, and you will find a party, parade, or festival somewhere.
Families all gather at friends or relatives homes, sharing time, fun, and food together.
Workin' in NOLA for the last 6 months was like a homecoming for me... got me back close to my roots, spoke to relatives I haven't seen in 30 years.

This got me to thinking... thinkin' it's time for a down home get-together.
So with that in mind, I would like to welcome all of ya'll to our

Cajun Family Reunion and Mardi Gras Practice Party!!!

:welcome:

(...remember, Mardi Gras is only about 8 months away!)

Time to break out the rum, Genuine Pat O'Brian Hurricane mix, and serve in the official glasses of Mardi Gras!

:dance: :beer: :dance: :woohoo: :dance: :beer: :dance:

---------

On the menu:
SW Louisiana Catfish and Trout Piquante

Ingredients:
Catfish fillets
trout fillets
bacon drippings
oil
yellow onion
celery
green bells pepper
red and yellow jolokias
garlic
parsley
chicken broth
red wine
salsa (containing jalapenos and serranos)
bay leaves
basil
thyme
Old Bay Seasoning
Tony Chachere Creole seasoning
worcestershire
cayenne
Polar Chili and Garlic Sauce
lemons.

Clean fish checking for bones, etc., wash, pat dry. season with Old Bay and Tony's.
Heat a skillet with oil and bacon drippings, add a few fish at a time until slightly browned, then remove them from heat. Set aside.
Add onion, celery, bell peppers, garlic, parsley to same pan and stir till veggies begin to wilt.
Add Lost Texan Salsa "True Texan- Medium No.3" (or any thick salsa that is NOT vinegar based), whisk gently until combined and beginning to thicken.
Add broth and wine, and whisk till smooth (if not thick enough, ad some tomato paste), then adding remainder of seasonings except for the green onions and lemon.
Transfer sauce to an oval pan and carfully add fish without breaking it up.
NOTE: Once the fish is added--- no more stirring or you'll have nothing but fish flakes.
Cover and reduce to low medium for about 30 minutes. or until fish flakes easily.
When ready to plate, spoon some of the sauce over it, garnish.

Garlic Grilled Shrimp
Ingredients:
Shrimp
olive oil
garlic
parsley
sea salt
black pepper
cayenne

Wash shrimp, pat dry, add to gallon-size Zip-loc bag, along with the rest of the ingreidents. Mix well to completely coat shrimp.
Remove to a pan, and heat grill. Once done, remove, cover and ready to plate.

Shrimp, Crawfish and Crab Bisque with Andouille Sausage
Ingredients:
whole canned corn
creamed can corn
butter
flour
yellow onion
celery
bell pepper
yellow bhut
carrots
garlic
heavy cream
chicken stock
seafood stock
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
white pepper
cayenne
black pepper
thyme
basil
fresh dill
shrimp
parsley
crawfish
andouile sausage
green onion
crab meat
instant potatoes
paprika

Open canned corns, mix together in a bowl and set aside.
Heat skillet, add butter, melt, add flour, wisk continously to make a blonde roux.
Fold in seasoning veggies, andouille, and when onions are done, add the heavy cream, corn mix, stocks, cook until the liquid reduces a bit (stirring often so it doesn't burn on the bottom of pan).
Add the rest of the seasonings, cover and simmer.
About 10 minutes before plateing, add shrimp, crab and crawfish.
When ready to serve, add a little more butter, and garnish with paprika, green onion

Served with:

Boudin blanc - Cajun style sausage made from pork rice dressing
(store bought)

Red Beans and Rice with Andouille
Ingredients:
Canned Cajun style red beans from Louisiana (no time to cook a fresh batch from scratch pot)
Cajun Rice
Andouille Sausage
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
yellow onion
sea salt
black pepper
cayenne
butter

Warm red beans in pot, add a little water to bring out the creaminess.
Add Tony's, onion, salt, black pepper, and pre-cooked andouille (reserved from other dish).
The Cajun Seasoning and the sausage take the beans to the next level.
Follow directions on rice, add cayenne and butter to rice pot.
When rice is done, put a dollop on top of beans served in a bowl or plate.
Garnish and serve

...and the Fried stuff, consisting of::

Fried Okra - a Cajun table staple

Fried Jalapenos - pepper strips battered and deep fried

Fried Softshell Crabs - The soft-shell is the blue crab in its molted state.

Boudin Balls - a Cajun variation on Boudin blanc but instead of the filling being stuffed into pork casings, it is rolled into a ball, battered, and deep fried

Ingredients:
Boudin blanc links
Fresh okra
soft-shell blue crabs
jalapeno peppers
flour
cayenne
Old Bay Seasoning
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
Panko bread crumbs
eggs
oil

Place flour, beaten eggs (with just a splash of water in it), and bread crumbs in seperate bowls.
Remove Boudin casing and shape into roughly 1 1/2" balls.
Wash: crabs (gently), okra (then cut into pieces), jalapenos (then cut into strips).
Coat with flour, dip in egg, roll in Panko.
Fry and drainpaper towels.

Serve with:
Homemade Jalapeno-Crab meat Remoulade sauce (dat's fo' dippin' da fried goodies!)

Ingredients:
Red bell pepper
crab claw meat
jalapenos
mayonaisse
shallots
cilantro
lime juice
sea salt
Creole Mustard

Cook the peppers till slightly browned. Mix other ingrdients together in a bowl, Turn heat off pan with peppers, fold in all the goodies in the bowl. Cool slightly, put in food precessor till creamy (little chunks ok).
Serve.

Southern Potato Salad - (no time to cook, so store bought ...dang it!)



Here's your Final Pics:

Cook's beginner plate...gotta start somewhere :woohoo:
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This is The Big Easy! The party on your plate begins right here!
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...very few leftovers, but Cajun cookin' always tastes better the second day... if ya beat everyone else to the fridge!
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Enjoy!
 
SHA ZAM! This will take some careful inspection of both... feasts!
 
Dish?.....no


PLATE?.....nope.


BUFFET?........you're getting warmer!


What you two have put on is 20 square feet of pure Louisiana Love!!! :woohoo:
 
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