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.

Carrots in Southern Vanilla Sauce

Carrots in Southern Vanilla Sauce

(Makes 8 servings)





12 fresh carrots washed, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch rounds

Water (enough to cover the carrots)

___ Butter
___ Heavy cream
___ Sugar
___Pure Vanilla


Boil carrots until just tender.
Remove from heat and drain (saving the liquid).
Melt butter in pan.
Add carrots and stir to coat. Simmer and stir carrots about
5 minutes. Add a small amount of the drained liquid to pan if needed.
Simmer until carrots are tender.
Add heavy cream, sugar and pure vanilla


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

Smothered Soul Chicken

Smothered Soul Chicken
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

1-teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups chopped yellow onions

1 cup chopped celery

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups chopped carrots

3 cups chicken broth

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season chicken pieces with 1-teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Dredge in 3/4-cup flour, place in the skillet, and brown on all sides.  Set aside chicken, and drain skillet, reserving 1 Tablespoon butter.

Reduce skillet heat to medium-low and stir in onions, celery, garlic and carrots.  Cook 5 minutes, until tender.  Stir in the flour, and cook 5 minutes more.  Pour in the chicken broth, season with cayenne pepper and remaining salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

Return chicken to skillet, cover and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes, until chicken juices run clear and gravy has thickened.

Smothered Whole Soul Chicken,

Free Online Soul Food recipes,

"A great collection, of southern recipes".

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

Black Eye Peas after New Year

Black Eye Peas after New Year

From Sweet Mama Janisse’s Kitchen
Bless My Soul Café

Black Eye Pea Cakes

(Makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

2 cans (15 ounces each) Blackeyes or 3 cups cooked dry-packaged Blackeyes, rinsed, drained

5 cups fresh bread crumbs, divided

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

1 medium jalapeño chili, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup cooked rice

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt, to taste

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/2-teaspoon pepper

oil, for frying

Directions:

1.    Coarsely mash Blackeyes in large bowl. Mix in 4 cups breadcrumbs, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño chili, garlic, rice, and flour. Season to taste with salt.

2.    Mix in eggs, hot pepper sauce, and pepper. Form mixture into 12 patties; coat both sides with remaining 1-cup breadcrumbs. 

3.    Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Cook patties over medium to medium-low heat until browned, 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

http://www.southerneasyrecipes.com/1_Rec_Class_07b.html