The Sauce Piquant

I foun' dis recipe in The Crawfish Cook Book of Dalmatian D. Dupre. Master Chef & Short Order Cook, (retired) Copyright 1982 by Cajun Country Cookbook, Inc. P.O, Box 1687 Opelousas, La. 70571 1-800-551-9066
OK, now dat we got de legal stuff out de way, letz get cookn' sha.

De bes' ting bout dis recipe, iz dat it'z good az a stand a-lone! U can jes' add de buttered french bread an it'z a dun deal sha.

De Piquant:
1 lb. crawfish tial http://decajunmarket.yolasite.com/
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
Tobasco
Seasoning to taste http://decajunmarket.yolasite.com/
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 stem de celery
1 clove de garlic
1-16oz can tomatoes
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Now sha, let'z  duex like we always did and chop up dem veggies real fine an' saute dat up in de butter. Add de water an' all de other ingredients and season to taste. Cook dat over de medium heat for bout one hour. Serve dat with de rice, (De Bes' Rice Recipe Ever)  Me sha, it don' get no easier den dat!

Boudreaux sez he come across some tourist from up north, he say de car dey wuz driving got stuck in de ditch. So Boudreaux sashay back to de camp house an fetch his ole horse, "Buddy", he sez he dun hook up ole Buddy to de back of dat car an' yell, "pull Nellie, pull"! Ole Buddy, he jes' stand dar and did nuthin. Den ole Boudreaux he say, "pull Charlie, pull"! Again, ole Buddy jes' stood dar. Den ole Boudreaux he say, "pull Buddy, pull"! Ole Buddy he rare up an pull dat car right out de ditch! I ax'd ole Boudreaux, why you dun call dat horse by de wrong name? Boudreaux sez, "ole Buddy's blind, if he think' he'z de only one helpin' out, he ain't never gonna get dat car out de ditch"!

The Court Bouillion (Crawfish Style)

Ma frien on de face book dun ax for sometin dat got a little darker flair to it, now I dun got bout six difrant recipe for dis one but dis iz de bes'. De reason I like dis one so much iz dat it call for de fresh slice of de garden fresh tomateo wit de balsamic vinaigrette and de blue cheese crumbles, Now sha, I ax u, who don' like de balsamic and de blue cheese crumbles eh?

1 lb. crawfish
1 bell pepper
1 bay leaf
3 steams celery
Worcestershire
dash of thyme
butter, (the real thing)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic
Onion tops and parsley
1 1/2 cans of tomatoe sauce
1 cup water
flour
seasoning to taste

Chop the veggies up fine and saute in a large pot. Season crawfish to taste and add to pot with lemon juice. Saute another 5 minutes. Add other ingredients and cook slowly for about one hour. Add one or two tablespoons flour to thicken. Season to taste.
Robert, serve this with some buttered french peas and fresh sliced tomatoes. I like to put a little balsamic and blue cheese crumbles on the tomatoes.

Boudreaux sez he's gonna turn over a new leaf fo de new year, I hope it'z not de one he dun wear az de holloween costume las' year. It was a fig leaf!

The Etouffee (A2Fay)

Crawfish Etouffee:
I foun' dis recipe in The Crawfish Cook Book of Dalmatian D. Dupre. Master Chef & Short Order Cook, (retired) Copyright 1982 by Cajun Country Cookbook, Inc. P.O, Box 1687 Opelousas, La. 70571 1-800-551-9066
OK, now dat we got de legal stuff out de way, letz get cookn' sha.

What you gonna need for dis recipe sha:
1 lb. crawfish, wit de fat. http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/
1 Tablesoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons green onions
1/2 cup red wine (reserve de res' of de bollte for de chef)
Seasonings to taste. http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
1 stick O butter, de real ting sha not dat fake stuff no!
1 pod O garlic
2 tablespoons roux, http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/
Tobasco, as much az you want sha

What you gots to did sha iz chop all dem veggies up real fine. Brown you some of dat butter in a heavy pot, add de chopped green seasonings, (except onion tops) and saute until it all gets happy, bout 5 min. Den you gonna lower dat flame an' add 3 cups water, roux and cover. Let dat simmer for bout an hour, den add de crawfish, red wine and de fat an' cook for bout 20 min.

Serve dat over cooked rice, (De Bes' Rice Recipe Ever) I dun blogged dat one earlier ago sha! with a fresh spinach salad topped with crisp bacon bits, croutons and a salad oil. Dats bout it ma frien' enjoy!

An now, on to de Boudreaux story. Boudreax an Marie, dey been livin' on de bayou a long long time. So you can imagine how suprised I waz when Boudreaux toll me that he jes' found out that Marie waz afraid of water. So I ax Boudreaux how he knowd' dat. He sez de udder day he come home early from work an' found Marie in de bathtub wit de security gaurd! Now I look at ole Boudreux like he dun loss hiz mind. But he sez it's for true. So I ax Boudreaux what he was gonna did bout dat? He sez he gave de security gaurd $20.00 and toll him to come back tomorrow mornin' bout 9:30 am, cause dats when Marie likes to take a shower.
Enjoy, Bon Temp Roullette
Dave

De Famous (secret recipe) Crawfish Pie

Dis iz for my frien' Jesse who live up in de big Pacific NW. town call'd Oregon, He comes down every Mardi Grass an pass a good time. He been after me for some time now to smuggle him de recipe for de Crawfish Pie, and de Etouffee. Well sha, Here iz de, "Famous (secret recipe) Crawfish Pie". Now don' geaux tolln' it out teux every one either, cause if T'mae ever found out dat I snuck it out de secret recipe book, she'z done gonna skin ma hide an' make me gator bait!
Here's what you gonna need sha:
  THE PIE
1 lb dressed crawfish (wit de fat) http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/
3/4 stick O butter, de real stuff sha, not dat other stuff
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 stem of de celery
1 can, cream de mushroom soup
1 pie shell wit de top, set de top aside to start wit.
2 tablespoons chopped green onion top an' parsley
Creole seasoning teux taste http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/
1 tablespoon O white wine, (reserve tree "3" cups O wine for de chef.)

Now sha, dis is gonna be de easy'est dish you ever gonna did. Chop up dem veggies real fine, brown you some butter in a heavy skillet an' saute up dem veggies wit a pinch of dat seasonning. Add de crawfish wit de fat, mushroom soup and a little bit of water teux all dat. Cover it up an' simmer dat for bout twenty minutes.

Now de las' ting you gonna did before you add dat tuex de pie shell, iz toss in de onion tops an' de celery an' cook dat bout ten more minutes, sha. Now all you gots to deux is toss it all in de pie shell, drink de tree "3" cups O wine, an' bake dat in a 300' oven till de pie shell iz de golden brown! Dat waz easy...

De reason I done did de recipe firs' instead of toll you one of Boudreaux's stories, iz dat ma sister come down from dat big town jes' wes' of here called Texas, an' she toll me she likes de recipe's but get'n treaux all de bull____ stories was a bit much. Now I hope she'z happy, an' now I can toll you de story bout how Boudreaux's wife, Marie, got busted shopliftin a can O peaches jes' las' week!

Ole judge, Willie Carter, he's a creatvie kind O judge, wit a sense of humor teux! he sentenced ole Marie to six day' in jail. One day for each peach in dat can. Now Boudreaux, he stood up an' sez, "your honor, she also took a can of peas"!
Enjoy, Bon Temp Roullette!
http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/

De Bes' Rice Recipe, Ever!

Dis iz by far, de bes' rice recipe, ever. Now I can toll you dis for true cause I done make it every time I duex de gombo an it gets as much attention az de gumbo, shay. Before I toll it to you here, I wanna tell you a little story bout how dis recipe came to be in ma file. You see, way back when, an dats way back shay, I was just a small cajun, I sashay ma-self on down to Breaux Bridge, La. for de crawfish festiville. Now I couldn't have been but maybe 14 or 15 year ol' at de time. De got dis canjun set up on one of de front lawn in de downtown area of de festiville doin' what de call a cookin' demonstration! Shat mon deux, shay! can you believe dat? De gots de people lining up to hear what dat cajun got to say about creole cooking!

So dis cajun frien of mine, he done become a famous cajun chef by de way, hiz name was Justin Wilson. Now ole Justin, waz a funny cajun teux! he done toll some funny stories while he cook de recipe. He start to toll de peoples about de bes' rice he done ever make, an before he start dat, he ax for de volunteer to come up an help him wit dat recipe. Wouldn't you know shay, dat volunteer waz me! So I sashay on up tuex de man an he introduce himself to me, I don' know it at de time, but ole Justin gonna become a life long frein an a really good chef tuex! Now for dose of you dat don' ever heard of Justin, let me toll you for true, dat cajun sure like to drink some wine! I tink he done had thrice az many as I did before we even start to cook.

So now ole Justin, he start tellin' de peoples all de tings we gonna need for de rice, an me, I'm gettin' it all together for him. He done toll de peoples dat dey gonna need, one cup of de rice, two cups of de water, 1/4 de teaspoon of de salt, one pat O butter, "de real ting shay, not dat fake stuff no", an of all tings, one chicken bouliion cube! Now de peoples done look at Justin like he done loss hiz mind! Every good cajun I ever dun known, ma-self excluded, know dat rice goes into what de call a rice cooker, it takes one part rice two parts water a pinch of salt an press de button. Bam! in twenty minutes, you got rice me shay! But no, not ole Justin, an ever since dat dey, I never used another rice cooker, EVER!

So ole Justin starts in, and before you know it, he done tollin' every one a story bout Boudreaux and Thibideaux wantin' to go duck hunt down in Johnson Bayou. De problem wit dat waz, Boudreaux he don' got no huntin' dawg, Thidibeaux he sez dat his frien' Marie, she gots de bes' huntin dawg in all Louisiana, not jes' de SW part! Shay, trust me on dis, Marie, she gots some good looking SW parts tuex! But Thibideaux sez dat de dawg iz kinda "strange", he sez it'z de bes' huntin dawg ever cause he'z de fastest dawg in de worl'. Now Boudreax he sez, "Shay, I don believe dat no", but ole Thibideaux he sez it's for true an I gots to beleive him, he done shot straight wit us so far. So Boudreaux ax Thibideaux to prove dat! So dey sashay on down to Marie's an fetch de dawg, Thidibeaux sez to Boudreaux, "watch this shay", de get in de pick-em-up truck and start to drive down to Johnson Bayou wit de leash an dawg still hangin out de window. Dey's cruisin along at about seventy mile and hour! Boudreaux sez dey got to pull over, dat dawg dun been dragged for bout twenty mile and he ain't gonna be worth nuthin when it come time to hunt. Thibideaux sez, "it's OK Boudreaux, de dawg iz right here runnin' long side de truck".  Ole Boudreaux, he got a look in hiz face whats price-less! He sez, "you mean dat dawg been runnin' at 70 mile an hour dis whole time shay?", Boudreaux sez, "I gots to see dis for ma-self", he reach over wit hiz foot an slam on de brakes of dat pick-em-up truck an it come screamin' to a quick stop! Ole Boudreaux, he get out de truck an run round to Thibideaux's side an look down, spectin to see a bloody mess, an sure nough, dat dawg iz jes' standin dar, like it aint no big deal!

Shat mon deux! sez ole Boudreaux, I can' belive dat no! Dat iz de worl''s fastes' dawg I'm ever gonna seen! He sez we ain't gonna have no trouble gettin dem ducks in de blind wit a dawg dat fas' shay! Den ole Boudreaux, he take another look at dat dwag an sez, "you know? dats sure a funny lookin' dawg tuex!" he sez he don' ever recall seein' a dawg dat look strange like dat. He ax Thibideaux what that funny lookin' ring round dat dawgs neck iz? Ole Thibideaux he look at de dawg and sez to Boudreaux, "Oh, dats hiz rear end, you see, he'z de worl's fastes' dawg, but he'z not used to dem sudden stops, no!

So now ole Justin, he toll de peoples what you gonna did iz take de rice, water, salt, butter, and oh yeah, de chicken cube an throw all dat in de pot! Did I forget to mention dat you gonna need a jug of wine wit dat recipe? I sez dat cause bout every twice time Ole Justin toll you sometin' he done took a sip of dat wine, I guess dats what make it so darn good shay! Lots O wine! Den ole Justin he toll us dat all we got tuex do iz bring dat up to de boil, cover de pot, set it to de simmer and jes' let it sit for seventeen minutes.....Dat's right, you heard it, seventeen minutes! After de seventeen minutes, turn off de rice, and let it stood dar for bout five more minutes. It'z  ready shay! de worl's bes rice you ever gonna eat! go head, try some it before you put dat gumbo on it! Bet you could jes eat dat rice all by iz-self! Oh, I almos' forgot to toll you to take another shot of dat wine, shay!

Dave
http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/

De Secret Ingredient Part duex (2)

Me, I'm gonna dedicate dis blog to ma daughter, Nichole, she's an RN in a small little town jess wes' of here called Texas. An she live in de north part of that little town called Texas, an it'z gonna get cold der real soon, shay. She'z been after me for some time for dis recipe an I finaly got ma-self round to writing it. Enjoy Nick Nack,
Luv, Dad

A lot of de peoples dun ax me why I cut short de las' blog on, "De Secret Ingredient". To toll you de truth, I waz writin' dat blog while I waz fishin, "duh, big red truck me shay", an I had a fish on! Although de bloggin iz fun an all, nuthin beats fishin in de beautiful SW Louisiana. An' dats for true!

So letz get back to, "De Secret Ingredient". Now I'm not gonna finish de story bout, Boudreaux, Thibidoux and Marie, as I suspected ma frien, "TC" dun toll me dat joke about thrice times an az usual, I knew de punch line. Suffice to say, it was still funny, an if you want bad nough to hear de joke, e-mail me at fishrcutbait@hotmail.com, I'll send it over to ya. De weather man dun toll us today dat we gonna get us a cold front come into de SW real soon, He sez de day-time temperature dun gonna drop down to bout 80' an at night, itz gonna get cold, about in de 70's an you know what dat means? Dats right, gumbo time me shay!

I can't tink of any better use for, "De Secret Ingredient", den a good ole chicken and sausage gumbo. Now I dun made a lot of gumbo in ma time, an I dun ate a lot of it teux! I dun looked at about twenty difrant recipes for dis dish alone, an to toll you de truth, I tink I found de bes' one. With everyone out der datz not in de SW part of de Louisiana, You're gonna like dis cause itz health conscious. De firs' ting you gots to do me shay, iz to sashay you-self on down to de JT's Seafood shop on de lake street in Lake Charles, La. to get de spice and,  "De Secret Ingredient", for de gumbo. Now if you're not able to do dat shay, Itz OK, you can visit ma web site an order it up, me, I'm gonna sashay ma-self down to de shop an get it for you and ship it ma-self! You don' got to get in de air boat and wase' de gas an time to come down de bayou no,  I can did all dat for you shay. De web site to order dat iz, decajunmarket.yolasite.com

Tuex start wit, you gonna need to get a few tings from de grocery man, you also gonna need a big ole stock pot shay! So letz get dis part out de way now. Here'z de ingredients, but, I'm gonna save, "De Secret Ingredient", for las'. Now I know what you're tinkin, an I thought it teux, but itz worth de wait. you'll preciate it more dat way.

1 Package (six Pack) of boneless skinless chicken breast.
1 pound of de low fat smoked pork sausage.
1 cup JT's ready made roux mix.
3-4 quarts of low fat chicken stock, or substitute with water
      and 4-5 chicken bouillon cubes.(Unsalted)
1/4 cup light cooking oil.
2 cups chopped onion.
1 cup chopped bell pepper.
1 cup chopped green onion.
1 cup chopped celery.
1 tbsp minced garlic.
1/2 cup chopped parsley.
Low sodium salt.
Fresh ground black pepper.
2 tbsp ground file'.
JT's Seafood french fry seasoning. (De Secret Ingredient)
1/4 cup Chardonnay Wine. On second thought, make that three cups of Chardonnay wine, but only use 1/4 of it in de gumbo. Drink de res' while you cook!

OK, now dat you got all de ingredients, including, "De Secret Ingredient", It'z time to put it all together shay. Take dat chicken breas' and brown it in about teux or tree tablespoons of de light cookin oil. Make sure you season dat chicken wit de low sodium salt, fresh ground black pepper and jes' a pinch of, "De Secret Ingredient". It'z important to note that at this point: itz a good time to take sip of that wine. Now before you move onto de nex' step, take another sip of that wine! Remove de chicken breas' and set aside to cool off, you're gonna cut that up into bite size pieces later on an throw it back in de pot, but dats a little later on. De nex' step iz to saute up de vegetables wit about a tablespoon or so of the light cooking oil. Go ahead and season dem vegetables wit a little low sodium salt, pepper an a pinch of, "De Secret Ingredient". Jes' get the vegetables to de soft point, bout 3-5 minutes should take care of dat, now take another sip of de wine.

Itz time to move on shay! Let'z dissolve dat roux mix into about teux - tree cups of de low sodium chicken broth, duex that on about medium heat add the roux mix slowly until it all gets real happy. Take another sip of dat wine! While you're takin a sip of dat wine, go ahead and cut the sausage up into bite size pieces, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch. Be real careful at dis point shay, you've already had a few sips of  wine an you probably feelin happy too! "Ain't dis fun shay?"

OK, we got everything bout ready to go, hold off on de file'  and de wine. Don' add that jess yet. Throw everyting else in de pot shay! Take another sip of wine and bring everyting up to a boil.(if you have any of the light cooking oil left, don' add that. De chicken and sausage will provide de res' of de fat content you gonna need.) Once everyting is at de boil point, turn it down to de simmer, cover de pot and jes' let
it get happy for bout teux (2) hours. Now shay, you gonna have to make up some rice to serve that gumbo wit. deux dat about 1/2 hour before you serve.

Now I don' got to give you de recipe for de rice, you should know that one. I have a recipe for really great rice but dats another blog shay. Now you bout to serve this up and you're lookin at me like I dun loss my mind! You sez we still got de 2 tbsp of file' and 1/4 cup of wine! Well don' worry, no shay. Bout 20 minutes before you serve dat gumbo, remove it from de heat, add the file' and drink de 1/4 cup of wine! What, you didn't tink I would ruin a good gumbo by putin de wine it did you?
Bon Temp Roulette me shay!
Dave
http://www.decajunmarket.yolasite.com/

De Secret Ingredient

Ma frien, "T.C." waz a good soul, he done pass away a couple year ago and dat make me sad every time I tink O dat. He waz a life long frien an he left a good legacy too me shy. Now T.C. he waz a good Cajun cook too yeah. He done did dat professionally for a while and when he'd cook, he toll some funny Cajun stories.
One time, we all get together at his camp house on de bayou to watch the Saints kick some azz an he make what dey call an etouffee. Now for dose of you dat don' know, in Cajun land, "etouffe", means to smother. Me shy, I toll you on de side note, I tink I had a girl frien like dat once, but dats a story for another time. Now de recipe for a good etouffee iz easy-nough to find on de interneckts, in a recent blog, ma frein Boudreaux explained de Interneckts, "The Cajun Interneckt Marketer", so me, I'm not gonna toll it to you here. I am however, gonna toll you what sep-a-rate a good etouffee from a great etouffee! It's de "Secret Ingredient".
Ma frein T.C. done made me promise not to ever reveal de secret ingredient, but since he pass away, maybe he don' mind if I go ahead and pass it on. He sez to me at de time, shy, de secret ingredient to a great etouffee iz,...de spice of life. Now I done look at T.C. like he done loss hiz mind! I sez to him, are you crazy, or jess plain stupid? I sez to T.C., you can't put dat in de pot! de spice of life iz laughter, good frienz, good food and lots O good spirits! Now ole T.C. he look at me an laugh hiz azz off. He say, shy, it'z a diffrant kind of spice of life dat I'm to toll you bout. OK, so now you gots my full attention I sez to ole T.C. Now T.C. he starts to stir de pot and look like he got somtin deep and dark on hiz mind. He start to reach in de cabinet to get, "de secret ingredient", and stop dead in his tracks. Den he look over at me, and den behind hiz shoulder, like itz some kind of top secret guvmnet issue. Den ole T.C. he sez, before I give dis gift to you, I'm gonna toll you a little story bout Boudreaux, Thibideaux, and Marie! Me, I look dejected, like some kidd dat jess loss his candy to de school yard bully. It'z because I know T.C. all to well, an I know dat sometimes, hiz stories can take a long time an I probably done heard dis one bout tree (3) times too! But I relent maself to hiz request cause, I really want to know what dat iz dat he got in de cabinet.
T.C. starts in. One morning Boudreaux, Thibideaux, and Marie, de all get in de pirogue an head out on de bayou to hunt some gator. Marie, she done decide dat she'z gonna make de gator sauce piquant for dinner and dey gots to get de main ingredient. It'z about a four foot gator wit got no bizness gettin in de way of tree (3) hungry Cajuns!  Now bout twice half hour into de hunt, De clouds in de sky, dey start to stirin. (to be continued, Fish On!)