Cajun Corn Salad – Court of Two Sisters – New Orleans

Shared by Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans, LA

If you’ve ever been to New Orleans and had the pleasure of eating at the Court of Two Sisters, then you’ve probably had this corn salad.  It’s refreshing and so flavorful.  The recipe makes a lot, but keeps well.  Sometimes I grill my corn to add another layer of flavor.

CAJUN CORN SALAD
Ingredients
1 qt. Cooking Oil – (I use olive oil.)
1 qt. Mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Fresh Cilantro, minced
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Garlic, minced
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
3 each Juice of Limes
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
24 heads Whole Corn

Remove the husks and silk from the corn. Rinse corn clean and allow to dry. Place whole corn on baking pan and rub in cooking oil. Roast corn at 450 degrees until brown. Remove kernels from cob and mix with remaining ingredients. Yield: 1 gallon

Shrimp Tacos with Spicy Cream Sauce

This is a quick and easy summer recipe.  My sweet friend, Céire Smyth Martínez and I are always sharing recipes or talking about cooking.  She is a fabulous cook and we enjoy going to the farmer’s markets together.  Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe Céire!

1 (16 oz) container sour cream (you may use fat-free)
2 teaspoons chili powder, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup water (I use a little less)
1 pound med-size shrimp
3 tablespoon orange juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 avocados, chopped
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas, warmed

Optional:  Add chopped cilantro ‘I LOVE IT!’ or you can add a little slaw.  Your options are endless!

Whisk together sour cream, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt and cinnamon. Add water, stirring until smooth. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Peel and devein shrimp. Combine remaining seasonings in a shallow dish; add orange juice and shrimp, turning to coat. Cover and chill for 15 minutes. Remove shrimp from marinade, discarding marinade.

You may grill your shrimp at this time if you prefer.  Or, you can chop your uncooked shrimp, first, sauté garlic in hot oil in a large skillet over med-high heat 1-2 minutes. Add chopped shrimp and cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Either way you cook the shrimp – IT’S DELICIOUS!

Serve with sour cream mixture and avocado in warm tortillas.  This is an easy dish to take for a summer outing.

Quick Summer Pasta Salad

This is a pasta salad that you can made on the run.  All of the ingredients are readily available in your local deli – so if you are on the run and don’t have a lot of time – this is a quick and delicious summer pasta salad to take. It’s bursting with flavor and can also be made ahead of time. 

Sue Patrick Richard and Tracey Patrick Blanchard shared this recipe – they are excellent cooks! 

16 ounces of Pasta – tri color is pretty or my favorite, Castellana Trecce Dell’orto
Chop 1 small red onion
Chop 2-3 cucumbers
Shred 2 cups cheddar cheese – I prefer to shred my own.  The pre-shredded is too dry. 
1 – 12 ounce bottle ranch dressing or you can make a batch of Ranch dressing and use 1 and 1/2 cups.
Chop 1 tomato or use grape tomatoes – as many as you like
Kalamata olives – as many as you like

Add 1/4 cup chopped or torn Basil

Almost 1 jar of McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning (contains Romano cheese, salt, sesame seed, poppy-seed, celery seed, paprika, garlic, black pepper and red pepper.)
Optional:  Add grilled shrimp or grilled chicken

Cook pasta – drain and cool.  Add onion, cucumbers, cheese, tomatoes, olives, and dressing.  Mix well.  Cover the top with a healthy amount of Salad Supreme Seasoning and then set your chicken or shrimp on the top of the seasoning.  Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Right before serving toss salad and serve.  If the pasta has absorbed too much of the Ranch dressing, you can add a little more at this time.

 

Corn Fritters – ahhh, the memories…..

What do you do with left over corn on the cob?  You make corn fritters!  Sue’s Aunt Nancy introduced these delicious bites of goodness to me when I was in elementary school.  Sue and I would spend summers at her home in Oil City, Louisiana.  They always had a large vegetable garden and nothing went to waste!

1 and 1/2 cups corn (6 ears of corn or left over corn)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar, only if you didn’t add sugar to your corn before.

1 teaspoon salt – add only 1/2 teaspoon first – your corn may already have salt in it.

2 teaspoons baking powder

pepper to taste

1/2 chopped onion of your choice – I prefer chopped green onions – optional

2 eggs

Remove the corn from the cob (be sure to get all the juicy goodness too).  Use a fork to mash the pulp in the bowl.  Mix the flour, sugar, salt, pepper and baking powder and onion together.  Add the corn and eggs.  You want to add enough flour to make a thick batter.  Drop heaping spoons of mixture into the skillet of hot oil or bacon grease (oh my!), frying for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned.  These fritters are bites of heavenly goodness.

Boo-Boo’s Potato Cakes

My husband’s grandmother was part Choctaw Indian and she was a wonderful cook and teacher.  On the occasion when we had left over mashed potatoes, she would make Potato Cakes the following day.

2 eggs

4 cups cold mashed potatoes

1 finely chopped onion

1/4 cup flour

8 tablespoons butter

Salt and Pepper

Beat the eggs and mix thoroughly into the mashed potatoes; add onion.  Form into patties about 1 inch thick.  Melt butter into pan and fry over medium heat until golden brown.

Gumbo is LOVE

There are many different versions of gumbo and each family or chef has their favorite.  For some, it’s not gumbo if it doesn’t have okra. For others, it simply must have file, also a thickener. File can get stringy if you heat it too much.  The roux not only thickens, but it adds a wonderful, nutty flavor and gives the gumbo a gorgeous, deep brown color.

You can use any seafood you like or chicken, but the trinity (the onions, celery and peppers) and the roux are essential. How much cayenne you use will likely depend on how spicy your Andouille sausage  is.  The amount of pepper in this recipe is considered perfect for ALL – adjust the heat to your liking in your own bowl.   My dad always said, if  your brow doesn’t sweat, it’s not hot enough – I tend to agree!

2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery

Seasoning Mix:
2 whole bay leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

3/4 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 1/2 cups Basic Seafood or Chicken Stock (can substitute oyster liquor)
1 pound Andouille smoked sausage (preferred) or any other good pure smoked pork sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound peeled medium shrimp
1 dozen medium oysters in their liquor, about 9 ounces
3/4 pound crabmeat (picked over) or crawfish – I also like a few crab claws in my seafood gumbo.

Optional:  You can, instead of seafood, use chicken. Chicken and Sausage gumbo is very savory and just as delicious.

Hot cooked rice

Frozen chopped Okra

Tabasco, File, Cayenne Pepper – have these on the table for personal use

Chop the onions, bell peppers and celery and set aside. In a small bowl combine the seasoning mix ingredients; mix well and set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy iron skillet over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the flour, whisking constantly with a long-handled metal whisk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until roux is dark red-brown to black, being careful not to let it scorch or splash on your skin. Making the roux is where you want to be super patient.  DO NOT WALK AWAY.

While the roux is cooking or the day before; cook your chicken and stock. First, season your chicken parts generously with salt, black pepper and Cayenne. Place the chicken parts in a large pot with quartered onions, 2 carrots, quartered celery, 2 bay leaves and 8 quarts of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour, skimming any foam that rises to the surface.

Take the chicken out of the pot and when it’s cool, remove the fat and pick the meat off the bones and cut into pieces. When the broth is cool, strain and throw out the vegetables. You should have about 8 quarts stock.

This is where my gumbo technique differs from others:  I like to sauté my sausage in a separate iron skillet (not the same one I cooked the roux in) and stir in the seasoning mix and continue cooking about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. I believe this process brings out the flavors of the seasonings better.  Add the garlic; stir well, then cook and stir about 1 minute more.  Remove the sausage and ‘goodness’ from the skillet – add to the stock pot.  Add the vegetables to the same skillet you cooked the roux in.  The vegetables will cool it down quickly, but also help make your roux dark.  Stir well (switch to a spoon if necessary). Continue stirring and cooking until vegetables are just right. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, place the stock in a 5 1/2-quart saucepan or large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Add roux and vegetables by spoonfuls to the boiling stock, stirring until dissolved between each addition. Bring mixture to a boil. Add the andouille; return to a boil; continue boiling 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes more. Add the shrimp, undrained oysters and crabmeat – or chicken. Return to a boil over high heat, for 2 minutes ONLY – stirring occasionally. Immediately remove from heat and add 2-4 cups frozen cut okra.  Skim any oil from the surface.

To serve as a main course, mound 1/2 cup rice in the middle of each serving bowl. Spoon 1 cup gumbo over the top, making sure each person gets an assortment of the seafood and Andouille. Serve half this amount in a cup as an appetizer.

Cranberry Orange Relish

My book club friend, Kyra Barger, brought this delicious and tangy cranberry relish for our Thanksgiving on the Bayou dinner.  Great alternative to the traditional cranberry relish.

1 medium orange

1 package fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Cut the orange into wedges, remove seeds.  Pour 1/2 of the cranberries and orange wedges into the food processor – blend until chopped.  Repeat with second half of cranberries and orange wedges.

Cook cranberry and orange mixture with sugar and cinnamon stick over medium heat in a large sauce pan for 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool completely.

Italian Red Gravy – passed down through the generations

All families have their own version on this recipe.  This is the one that was passed down to me from my Uncle Joe.  My mother added red pepper flakes to make it more like an Arrabbiata gravy – spicy.  This gravy is also delicious with meat balls, stuffed shells, or lasagna.  I usually double this recipe.

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 or 2 carrots, grated

salt and pepper to taste

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1/2 cup red wine

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 dried bay leaves

pinch of sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until carmelized, about 2 minutes. Add carrots, tomato paste and salt and pepper. Sauté about 5 – 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, basil, bay leaves, sugar, and wine – simmer covered on low heat for 1 – 2 hours or until thick. Remove bay leaves.  If sauce still tastes too acidic, add butter – 1 tablespoon at a time.

Old Fashioned Greek Salad

As summer is coming to an end, I think about salads more often.  A Greek salad is so refreshing and full of flavor.

Step 1:

1 head Lettuce, rinse shake dry and chopped. (Romaine is Best)
1/2 of a medium Red Onion, slice thinly
2-3 Roma Tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 jar pitted Kalamata Olives, about 1 cup
1 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
1 small jar drained peppers, Mezzetta Imported Peperoncini are my favorite!
1 large Cucumber, Sliced and cut again

Step 2:

1/2 cup Olive Oil

3 tablespoons Red Wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder or 1 freshly minced garlic clove

1 teaspoon dried Oregano

1 teaspoon dried Basil

1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar, optional

1 teaspoon Black pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon or spicy brown mustard

Add in large serving bowl, all step 1 ingredients, cucumbers last.  In a side bowl mix all step 2 ingredients – whisk together to infuse the ingredients or pour into a jar and shake vigorously.  Pour over the salad, cover and chill.  Cover tightly while storing, otherwise your refrigerator will smell just like this salad.

Layered Salad – great for Labor Day Picnics

This is a delicious salad that is easy to prepare, can be made a head of time,  and is easy to take for a picnic.  I usually make it around the Labor Day holiday.

• 2 heads Iceberg Lettuce, chopped
• 8 ounces,  Baby Spinach, washed and dried
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 8 Hard Boiled Eggs, Chopped
• 16 ounces, Bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 4 Tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
• 8 ounces, Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1 bag (10 Ounce) Frozen Peas, thawed

Dressing

• ½ cup Mayonnaise
• ½ cup Sour Cream
• 1 tablespoon Sugar

In a clear glass or clear bowl, layer salad ingredients in the order they appear above, concentrating ingredients around the perimeter of the bowl and filling in the center with lettuce, if needed. End with the layer of peas.

Combine dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well. Pour over the top of the peas and spread to cover, bringing dressing all the way out to the edges of the bowl.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours. Toss just before serving.