Tag Archives: nola

Eggs Sardou Recipe

March 12, 2006 Danno 5 Comments

Eggs Sardou was created at Antoine’s, named after French playwright Victorien Sardou, and remains one of the grandest of the grand New Orleans egg dishes, of which there are many.
I boiled fresh artichokes for this recipe, but it would certainly be alright to use good quality canned Artichoke bottoms, in fact, I wish I had, it wasn’t worth the extra effort and cost.

Eggs Sardou Recipe

4 Poached Eggs (See below)
1 Recipe Creamed Spinach (see below)
1 Recipe Hollandaise Sauce (see below)
4 Artichoke bottoms
Paprika for sprinkling

Divide the creamed spinach in the center of two heated plates, nest two artichoke bottoms per plate on the spinach. Place a poached egg on each artichoke bottom then top with a generous portion of Hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with Paprika. Serve.

Serves 2.

Poached Eggs Recipe

Fill a dutch oven with 1″ of water, heat until just below a simmer. Add a few dashes of white vinegar. Crack the eggs and gently drop them into the water, keeping the shell as close to the water as possible when dropping them in. With a slotted spoon, gently move the ghost like strands of white back to the yolk. The eggs are done when the whites are no longer transparent, and the yolks are still runny. Remove with a slotted spoon and gently dry off with a towel.

Creamed Spinach Recipe

1 Cup Cooked and chopped Spinach, squeezed in a kitchen towel to remove excess water
1 Pint Heavy Cream, reduced by 3/4 of its volume
A pinch Freshly Grated Nutmeg
A pinch of Cayenne
1 tsp Crystal hot sauce
A few drops of Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt to taste

Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Egg Yolks
1/2 Cup Clarified Butter, warm
Kosher Salt & Cayenne Pepper
1 Dash Crystal Hot Sauce
A few drops Worcestershire Sauce

Place the vinegar, lemon juice, and egg yolks in the top deck of a double boiler. The water in the lower deck should be hot but not boiling.
Whisk slowly until you see the yolks start to coagulate on the sides. If the pan gets too hot, remove it from the heat for a minute, whisking constantly.
Whisk while cooking, minding the bowl temperature, until the yolks are lighter in color and do not leave yellow streaks when the whisk goes through them. If you see any signs of scrambling, remove the bowl from the heat.
When the yolk/acid mixture is good and thick, remove from the heat and slowly drizzle in the clarified butter, whisking constantly, until incorporated.
Add the hot and worcestershire sauces, and season to taste with the salt & cayenne.

If the sauce is a little too thick, you can thin it down with a few splashes of hot water.

Makes about 2/3 Cup.

For more recipes check out my Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes!

Recipes

Beignet Recipe

January 15, 2006 Danno 45 Comments

From Nola Cuisine

If you haven’t been to New Orleans you’ve probably never eaten a Beignet, but you’ve probably had something similar. Cafe au Lait and Beignets, is New Orleans for Coffee & Donuts. If you are unfamiliar, Beignet (ben-YAY) is French for Fritter, in New Orleans they’re square and topped with a firestorm of powdered sugar and usually served with a steaming cup of Cafe au Lait. Cafe au Lait is equal parts piping hot milk and good, strong Cafe Noir with Chicory (New Orleans Coffee will be another post).
The most famous place in New Orleans for Beignets and Cafe au Lait is Cafe Du Monde on Decatur on the riverside of Jackson Square, which is legendary, you have to go once. The Beignets and Cafe au Lait are great, but I’m not into tourist traps; even when I’m a tourist. Most locals that I’ve talked with prefer Morning Call Coffee Stand which is no longer in the quarter, but has two locations in Metarie.

Cafe du Monde sells a Beignet batter mix that is widely available, but I made mine from scratch. What else did you expect? 🙂

Here is the recipe:

From Nola Cuisine

New Orleans Style Beignet Recipe

1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast
3/4 Cup Water (110 degrees F)
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Beaten Egg
1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk
3 1/2 – 3 3/4 Cups A.P. Flour
1/8 Cup Shortening
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Powdered Sugar in a shaker or sifter

Combine the Yeast, Water, and Sugar in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (You could also make this in a food processor, or the old fashioned way, by hand). Let this sit until frothy, about 5 minutes, then add the Salt, Egg, and Evaporated Milk. Mix on low speed, then add half of the flour until it starts to come together, then add the shortening. When the shortening is incorporated start adding the remaining flour, a little at a time until most of it is incorporated. At this time I always turn the dough onto a floured bench to finish by hand, just like when I make bread; it’s a touch thing. Knead the dough adding just enough flour as necessary to make a non-sticky, smooth dough. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, loosely cover and let rise (I made mine last night and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator).
After the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and turn it onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle that is about 1/2″ thick. With a very sharp knife working at a diagonal to the rectangle, cut into 2″ wide strips. Now cut into diamond shapes by making diagonal cuts in the opposite direction. Place the Beignets on a floured baking sheet to let rise about 40 minutes in a warm place (I place them in a barely warm oven).
When the Beignets have risen, heat 2-3 inches of vegetable oil in a large saucepan to 350-360 degrees. Place 2-3 Beignets into the hot oil at a time, being careful not to smash or deflate them. When they are golden brown, flip them over until golden brown on the other side (They go pretty quickly so start checking them right after they go into the oil). Remove to paper towel lined plates to drain. Serve hot topped with plenty of powdered sugar (because the dough doesn’t contain much sugar, you will want a lot!). Best served with Cafe au Lait. Enjoy!

Makes about 2 dozen.

Calas Recipe

Check out my Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes

From Nola Cuisine

Recipes

Homemade Tasso Recipe

November 3, 2005 Danno 22 Comments

Tasso (TAH-so) is a smoked seasoning meat used to flavor dishes like Gumbo, Jambalaya, and Red Beans & Rice. Tasso used to be made from the trim after an Acadian Hog Boucherie, thin strips, heavily seasoned, dried, then smoked for hours. These days however, most of the Tasso that is available is a little more fancy, more of a ham than the style of the old days, mine is somewhere in between. I always find it amazing how ingredients and recipes, that basically came from scrap and the poorest times evolve into Gourmet, I love it. Tasso will keep in the freezer and is pretty easy to make, but you have to do a little planning.
A few Tips:
After seasoning it, I recommend keeping it in the fridge, at least 3 days to let it cure, look at how nice and pink the center is.
Take it easy on the Cayenne when making your seasoning blend, start off with a small amount, then add to your taste, the amount here is moderate. It should have some heat, but I don’t like losing control of the heat in a dish I’m cooking because my Tasso was too hot, so I cut it back a little, for the same reason that you don’t salt stocks.
Here is my recipe for Tasso. I used a Boneless Pork Roast cut into about 4-5 inch long, 1/2 to 1 inch thick slices. This is seasoning for about 5 lbs of pork:

Homemade Tasso Recipe

5 lbs Pork cut as described above
Seasoning:

3 Tbsp Kosher Salt
2 Tsp Cayenne or To Taste (see above)
4 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Fresh Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Coarsely Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp White Pepper
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Mix the seasoning together well. Rub the seasoning into the meat, you want a lot on there, call it 1/8 inch, use it all. Place on a plate or tray, cover and refrigerate 3 days.

Before smoking put the Tasso on an elevated rack so that air can circulate around it, then put a fan on it for about 2 hours to dry it out. I also don’t use a water pan when smoking Tasso, this is something that I actually want to dry out during the smoking process.

I hot smoked this batch in an inexpensive upright barrel smoker using charcoal as the heat source (heated with a chimney starter, no lighter fluid or matchlight coals please.) I used Pecan chips that were soaked in water for 1 hour for the smoke.
I smoked this a total of about 4 hours, the first 2 hours at about 150-160 degrees F. The second two hours at 180-190 degrees F.
The object is to get as much smoke into the meat, before cooking it all the way through. I brought the internal temperature of the meat to 150 degrees F in the last 2 hours of smoking.
When finished I again put the Tasso in front of a fan for about 1 hour. Refrigerate. When completely cold portion and store the Tasso in vacuum sealed packages. Freeze.

Makes 5 lbs of Tasso

Cajun Catfish Courtbouillon Recipe

October 29, 2005 Danno 7 Comments

A Louisiana Courtbouillon (COO-be-yahn) is completely different than the French Court-bouillon, which is an aromatic liquor or stock used as a cooking liquid. The Louisiana Courtbouillon, which is most definately a Cajun creation, is a thick, rich fish stew, brimming with Acadian flavors. There is a Creole style Courtbouillon as well, which is Whole Fish, usually Redfish, stuffed with aromatics, topped with lemon slices, then braised in Creole Sauce (future post). Here is my recipe for the Cajun Catfish Courtbouillon which is just pure, down home goodness:

Cajun Catfish Courtbouillon Recipe

1 lb of Catfish Fillets cut into 2 inch pieces
2 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
2 Tbsp Bacon drippings or vegetable oil
1 Medium Onion, Julienned
2 Stalks Celery, Julienned
1 small Bell Pepper, Julienned
1 Tablespoon Garlic, minced
1 Can Diced Tomatoes (14 1/2 oz.) or Same amount fresh from the garden if in season
Fish Stock, Seafood Stock or water to cover, about 2-3 cups
2 Fresh Bay Leaves
2 Tbsp Fresh Thyme leaves
1/4 Cup Dark Roux
Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne to taste
3-4 dashes Peychaud Bitters (optional)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce (I use Crystal)
3 Lemon Slices
2 Tbsp. Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped
1/4 Cup Thinly sliced Green Onions
1 Recipe Creole Boiled Rice

Toss the Catfish with the Creole Seasoning and keep in the refrigerator.
Heat the bacon drippings over medium heat, add the trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) and saute until slightly wilted. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Cover with the stock by 1/2 inch, add bay leaves, thyme, garlic and a small amount of seasonings, bring to a boil; Add the Dark Roux, cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Lower to a simmer, simmer about 20 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce, Worcestershire, Peychaud’s, parsley, 1/2 of the green onions, Catfish and the lemon slices. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. If the Courtbouillon gets a little too thick add a touch of stock or water, the consistency should be stewlike, not watery. Be careful when stirring the pot not to break up the Catfish.
Adjust the seasonings if necessary, remove the bay leaf and lemon slices. Serve over boiled rice and top with the remaining green onions.

Serves 3-4

Nola Cuisine & Culture

Tag Archives: nola

Eggs Sardou Recipe

Beignet Recipe

Homemade Tasso Recipe

Cajun Catfish Courtbouillon Recipe

Celebrating the Food and Drink of New Orleans Louisiana!

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Celebrating the Food and Drink of New Orleans Louisiana!