Cajun Meat Loaf

Cajun Meat Loaf

Serving Size : 6
 

SEASONING MIX

2 Whole bay leaves
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon White pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Ground nutmeg----MAIN INGREDIENTS-----

4 tablespoons Unsalted butter
3/4 cup Finely chopped onions
1/2 cup Green bell peppers -- chopped
1/2 cup Celery - chopped
1/4 cup Green onions -- finely chopped
2 teaspoons Minced garlic
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Evaporated milk
1/2 cup Catsup
1 1/2 pounds Ground beef
1/2 pound Ground pork
2 Eggs -- lightly beaten
1 cup Very fine bread crumbs


Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Melt the butter in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the
onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, Tabasco,
Worcestershire and seasoning mix. Sauté until mixture starts sticking
excessively, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the
pan bottom well. Stir in the milk and catsup. Continue cooking for
about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow
mixture to cool to room temperature. Place the ground beef and pork
in an un greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Add the eggs, the cooked
vegetable mixture and the bread crumbs, remove the bay leaves. Mix by
hand until thoroughly combined. In the center of the pan, shape the
mixture into a loaf that is about 1-1/2 inches high, 6 inches wide
and 12 inches long. Bake uncovered at 350F for 25 minutes, then raise
heat to 400F and continue cooking until done, about 35 minutes
longer. Serve immediately as is or with Very Hot Cajun Sauce for
Beef. This is best using both ground pork and ground beef, as the
pork gives more flavor diversity 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine%27s

Grits

Cheesy Bacon Grits Casserole


Ingredients   
(Makes 8 servings)



4 cups water
1-teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 lb bacon cooked and drained then crumble
2/3-cup milk
1/3-cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon paprika


Directions


Bring water and salt to boil in a large saucepan; stir in grits. Return to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Remove from heat.  Add cheese and next 5 ingredients, stirring until cheese and butter melt.  Add eggs; stir well.


Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 2-quart casserole; sprinkle with paprika.  Bake, uncovered, at 350? for 1 hour or until thoroughly heated and lightly browned.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


 http://www.southerneasyrecipes.com/1_Rec_Class_0Cheesy_Bacon_G.html

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grits

Lip Licking Fruit Sauce

Lip Licking Fruit Sauce






  6 oz frozen juice concentrate (choice of orange, lemon, grape, pineapple or apple), undiluted.
1-cup honey
¼ teaspoon allspice 
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup fresh mint 
Choice of fresh fruit in season, chopped into bite size pieces.
  
Thaw fruit juice.  Combine all the ingredients in a blender and mix until well blended.

Pour over fresh fruit and chill.






http://www.southerneasyrecipes.com/Lip_Licking_Fruit_Sauce.html 

Creole Cooking

What is Creole cookery?

  Classical French cuisine combined with equal parts of Spanish and Anglo-Saxon classical cuisine.
  Herbs and spices from France and Spain coupled with seasoning learned from the Choctaws and Chickasaws
  The ingenuity of the Acadians (Cajuns) with the exotic taste and magic seasoning power of the African cook using nature’s own foods wherever they were to be found. From these we have the jambalaya, court bouillon, red beans and rice, grits, grillades, pain-perdu, coush-coush, caille and gumbos.
  Voila!  Creole cookery! whose tenets are economy and simplicity governed by patience and skill to produce a subtle, exotic, and succulent cuisine recognized throughout the world; a cuisine which stands apart from all others.
  In the course of Louisiana history great chefs and restaurateurs arose who created dishes destined to become famous among gourmets of all nationalities.  Their cardinal rule was to mate meat, fowl, fish, or game with the fruits of the fields and woods currently in harvest.  To do this they evolved five requisites for Creole cookery.
1.  THE IRON POT -    handed down from ancestor to ancestor
2.  THE BROWN ROUX -     blend of butter, flour, and stock used as a base for gumbos, stews, vegetables, fish, and fowl
3.  THE STOCK - in which they used materials others threw away…all game, fowl, fish meat leftovers, bones, carcasses, shells, skins, giblets, etc.
4.  HERBS AND SPICES -     French, Spanish, Indian in origin interpreted by Negro cooks who gave Creole cookery its exotic, distinctive flavor
5. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES - exhaustive use of all known European grapes combined with knowledge of wild grapes learned from the Indians.

   Originally, Louisiana pioneers used only sugar rum in food but time and historic
migratory changes added the use of whiskies, brandies, wine, etc and that alcoholic beverages should be added to the food after the heat has been cut off. The Creoles devised wines and liqueurs from almost anything from which juice could be extracted.  From fermenting cane juice comes Vin de Canne.  Watermelons, pecans, geraniums, oranges, pineapple, rice, strawberries, kumquats, guava, figs, plums, and pomegranates were all utilized.
   It is to the Creole ingenuity that we attribute the creation of the cocktail-an Anglo-
Saxon version of the French word coquetier  or egg cup in which an apothecary served
a combination of brandy and bitters as early as 1793. 
   Despite the fact that Creole table service is formal and food customs still reflect the
eating habits of the vieux carre (old French-Spanish quarter), Creole menus are surpris-
ing.  There is an absence of conventional entrees, and the novice gourmet will be intro-
duced to a variety of Creole delectables.
  Salads are most important in this cuisine. 
   Creole side dishes are prepared with great care and kept in a bain-marie (a roaster-like pan filled with hot water) to retain flavor.
 Desserts are exotic trifle, such as ambrosia.
 In fine, no discussion of Creole cookery could be complete with out mention of that
small black café noir, coffee essential to every Creole meal.