207 replies to this topic

[Kim Shook]

It is almost 1:30 in the morning and I have to be at work in 6 hours. But I sat here and read this entire blog from start to finish in one sitting. I haven't had a moment to read this all week and I have been looking forward to it so much. Everything that you've written and cooked and shown us has been fabulous and I'm so glad that you are blogging! Thank you for welcoming us into your home and life! Bless you for championing LA and for being such a good daughter and friend and sister!

Can't wait for the rest, but I GOTTA get some sleep !

PS - I got one of those stupid grating plates for Christmas. I just keep it in the kitchen so I don't hurt the giver's feelings, but I knew better than to use it. Just EXACTLY the kind of thing that a non-cook thinks is the perfect gift for a cook, bless their hearts.

[Pierogi]

Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gayo,
son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

Thibideux, don'tcha know, the place is hummin'
Kinfolk come to see Ee-vonne by the dozen,
Dress in style, go hog wild and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we'll have some fun on the bayou.

Oh Lord. When I was making my Mardi Gras gumbo, Harry Connick's "Oh My NOLA" was blasting on the CD player, and his version of "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)" was what I stirred my roux to. It worked almost as good as a Dixie Beer !

That aside, would a crawfish pie work with already cooked crawfish? One of the local markets around me has crawfish tails, cooked, for a not horrible price. I'm leary of trying them, but....? I'm assuming they're frozen/defrosted, but locally, that'd be the best I can get. I can't deal with the shipping charges to get them from Louisianna, though if I win the lottery tomorrow, THAT will change ! Do you think they're trash or worth a shot?

[PopsicleToze]

It is almost 1:30 in the morning and I have to be at work in 6 hours. But I sat here and read this entire blog from start to finish in one sitting. I haven't had a moment to read this all week and I have been looking forward to it so much. Can't wait for the rest, but I GOTTA get some sleep !

Thank you, Miss Kim! I was wondering where you were. My little grating plate is sitting on the top shelf of a cabinet. That's why I don't buy a lot of gadgets, but it was for a good cause.

[PopsicleToze]

Thibideux, don'tcha know, the place is hummin'
Kinfolk come to see Ee-vonne by the dozen,
Dress in style, go hog wild and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we'll have some fun on the bayou.

Oh Lord. When I was making my Mardi Gras gumbo, Harry Connick's "Oh My NOLA" was blasting on the CD player, and his version of "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)" was what I stirred my roux to. It worked almost as good as a Dixie Beer !

That aside, would a crawfish pie work with already cooked crawfish? One of the local markets around me has crawfish tails, cooked, for a not horrible price. I'm leary of trying them, but....? I'm assuming they're frozen/defrosted, but locally, that'd be the best I can get. I can't deal with the shipping charges to get them from Louisianna, though if I win the lottery tomorrow, THAT will change ! Do you think they're trash or worth a shot?

Roberta, so glad you're singing along!

I mentioned earlier that I've never cooked crawfish pie before, so that's why I was so glad when I found some at Tony's. That aside, when I make crawfish bisque I start with the leftover crawfish from a crawfish boil, so I don't see why you couldn't use cooked crawfish tails for a pie.

Speaking of crawfish, they just happen to be in season right now. The late cold weather we had gave them a little shock, so they're very expensive right now at $3/lb for live crawfish. That doesn't sound like much, but when you're giving a crawfish boil, you can plan on 5 lbs per person! Anyway, the price will go down in April, and on any given Friday in spring, someone is having a crawfish boil.

I don't have time to have one for you, because I still have to cook dinner from last night! However, I just happen to have some photos I thought you might enjoy.

All photographs in this particular post were provided courtesy of the La Dept of Tourism and used with their permission.

[PopsicleToze]

This picture is in the field beside my house.



It's a crawfish hole! Crawfish live underground in deep, burrowed holes sometimes called chimneys. They don't come out when it's cold, and that's why the cold weather we experienced delayed their arrival this year. You can also find them in ditches around here. Growing up we would "fish" for them in the ditches on our land. Just find a big enough stick and tie some string on it. Then, tie some bacon on the end of the string. When the crawfish grabs the bacon, you can pull him out of the water because he's not going to let go of the bacon! No, we never caught too many, but it was a good way to get us out of the house for a few hours.

[kayb]

Oh, Lord. Crawfish, boiled in that great BIG ol' pot, with potatos and corn and some Andouille chunks, and a six-pack of ice-cold Dixie....a tail-pinching, head-sucking, beer-guzzling FINE time, with Sunnyland Slim blaring from the stereo! Rhonda, you're killin' me, here!

[robirdstx]

This picture is in the field beside my house.



It's a crawfish hole! Crawfish live underground in deep, burrowed holes sometimes called chimneys. They don't come out when it's cold, and that's why the cold weather we experienced delayed their arrival this year. You can also find them in ditches around here. Growing up we would "fish" for them in the ditches on our land. Just find a big enough stick and tie some string on it. Then, tie some bacon on the end of the string. When the crawfish grabs the bacon, you can pull him out of the water because he's not going to let go of the bacon! No, we never caught too many, but it was a good way to get us out of the house for a few hours.

Hey there Rhonda, we used to do the same thing when I was growing up in St. Louis. They lived along the edges of the creek that ran past one side of our subdivision. We'd bring them home, put them in open plastic containers and keep them as pets. Each one even had a name! I remember someone calling the biggest one "King".

Almost forgot to tell you - I'm really enjoying your blog. Gonna hafta get me some crawfish tails real soon!

Edited by robirdstx, 25 March 2011 - 08:07 AM.

[PopsicleToze]

Hey there Rhonda, we used to do the same thing when I was growing up in St. Louis. They lived along the edges of the creek that ran past one side of our subdivision. We'd bring them home, put them in open plastic containers and keep them as pets. Each one even had a name! I remember someone calling the biggest one "King".

Almost forgot to tell you - I'm really enjoying your blog. Gonna hafta get me some crawfish tails real soon!

We are kind-of long distance neighbors... Glad you're enjoying the blog. Yours was great!

[PopsicleToze]

STEAK AND GRAVY

If one dish exemplifies home, it most certainly would be steak and gravy. We had steak and gravy probably every single week. It is a dish of round steak braised in onion gravy. Mama invariably served the steak and gravy over rice or mashed potatoes with biscuits. The side dish varied, but it would usually be smothered green beans with potatoes and bacon, corn, peas or butterbeans. This dish, however, found its way all over Louisiana. It's probably the most cooked recipe that no one ever hears about. I've looked it up in several of my South Louisiana cookbook references for you.

In Emeril and Marcelle Bienvenu's "Louisiana Real and Rustic" cookbook, the recipe is called Round Steak and Onions. Now, this is one of my favorite cookbooks, and I love to cook from it.



It's interesting to note her comments on the dish:

Akin to Grillades, this preparation makes an inexpensive cut of meat tender, juicy, and decidedly delicious. Thin pieces of round steak are browned, then cooked with onions and bell peppers. Ask anyone in south Louisiana about this dish, and they'll tell you they were raised on it. A big strapping fellow I know says he ate so much as a child, he's sure his right leg is made of it. Serve it with rice and Corn Maque Choux.

In The Prudhomme Family Cookbook, the recipe is called Country Steak and Gravy. Here beef stock is used for the gravy.

In the testing we were reminded of the dramatic difference in taste and texture when food is cooked covered rather than uncovered. It's the covered cooking that makes this steak and gravy so good. Served with hot basic cooked rice, mashed potatoes or biscuits.

And according to Chef John Folse's The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole cuisine,

On Sunday in Louisiana you will find succulent round steak smothered in gravy on many dinner tables. Traditionally, this dish is served with steamed white rice and a side of roux peas.

Finally, going all of the way back to 1901, the dish appeared in New Orleans' “The Picayune Creole Cook Book” in a recipe called Beefsteak Smothered in Onions.

Mom used Campbell's cream of mushroom soup as the backbone for her gravy. She doesn't use it any longer. Now, she uses Campbell's golden cream of mushroom soup.

So, that's what's been cooking this morning, and I'll upload the photos for you next.

[robirdstx]

We are kind-of long distance neighbors... Glad you're enjoying the blog. Yours was great!

Yeah, we are neighbors and I need to get back to your neighborhood; its been six years now since I visited New Orleans. And thanks, I had a lot of fun doing it.

[HungryC]

Smothered round steak was supposed to be the entree, but when I was a kid, it was more like an excuse to have rice & gravy. I was well into adulthood before I realized that all Americans aren't raised on rice & gravy. If you open my parents' refrigerator to this day, you will, 9 times out of 10, find some leftover braised beef (round, eye of the round, rump) in gravy and cooked rice. And my mama's version uses Campbell's beef consomme in the gravy. When I make it, I use a little red wine and the faintest whisp of chopped tomato along with the onions & bell peppers. That nudges the dish a little bit closer to NO-style grillades...but it's all still part of the rice-n-gravy continuum.

The ubiquity of the dish serves as a good reminder that LA has plenty of cattle, and most rural or semi-rural areas have meat markets that will sell you a share of a grass-fed calf still on the hoof, to be cut & packaged according to your preferences.

[PopsicleToze]

First, trim your round steak and season with salt and pepper.



Save your beef trimmings for a future stock. There's no sense in throwing them away.



Now, roughly chop several onions. I used three today. Go ahead and save the onion trimmings for a future stock, too. I just added them to the baggie I already had in the freezer.



Cut the meat approx 4" squares, and brown in a skillet. Yeah, a cast iron skillet is traditionally used, but I like the way this skillet browns better. (Don't tell anyone or I might get kicked out of this state!) Also, the meat is typically dusted in flour before it is browned, but I don't do it that way. Then, the flour would be what's being browned, and I want the meat to brown.





Now, usually you would brown a second batch of meat, but the fond is really exactly where I want it, and it would burn if I did the rest of the meat now. Therefore, we're going to deglaze with onions. The moisture from the onions will take care of deglazing the pot.



Repeat process, add a little oil to the skillet to brown the rest of the meat -- not too much, just enough to cover the bottom.





Now, this is the fond from the 2nd batch of meat. Can you just imagine what it would have looked like if I wouldn't have stopped the process?



Now, all of our meat has been browned.



Add the onions back to the skillet and deglaze the skillet a second time.







Add a couple of tablespoons of flour, because there is more than one way to make a roux!



Add a couple cups of stock. This was in my freezer. "VBR" means that it is a veal and beef stock that has been reduced by half.



Correct seasonings and add a little cayenne pepper.



Here is our onion gravy simmering away. I want the onions to cook down a little before we add the round steak.



Now, just cover the skillet and leave it alone for a little while.


to be continued

[PopsicleToze]

Yeah, I know... it looks a little ugly right now, but it's just fine. In a little while, it will look much better! We have to give it a little time to do its stuff.

[PopsicleToze]

UPDATE

Here's our gravy simmering away. The onions are where I want them.



Now, add a little water.



Time to add the meat to the skillet.





Cover the skillet again and let meat simmer.



And here is the progress so far. Note that I changed to a cast iron skillet just for a little more authenticity.



It's looking a little better now, huh?

[PopsicleToze]

Smothered round steak was supposed to be the entree, but when I was a kid, it was more like an excuse to have rice & gravy.

Great point on the cattle industry!

[heidih]

I love round steak. There is always some in the freezer- you can take a personal size amount out and be able to cook or slice it in minutes.

I had to laugh and smile because the dish is exactly what grandma and mom did quite often, but they were raised in Europe in an Austri-Hungarian tradition. Sometimes there was paprika involved but often the simple route you took. That onion gravy looks like it will make some happy rice.

Also had to smile at the upgrade your mom made to Campbell's Golden Mushroom- I must confess that when I go to holiday meals where my gravy-challenged step mom is cooking, I bring along a can to smooth out the goop she is trying to call gravy. It is a quick fix.

[PopsicleToze]

I had to laugh and smile because the dish is exactly what grandma and mom did quite often, but they were raised in Europe in an Austri-Hungarian tradition. Sometimes there was paprika involved but often the simple route you took. That onion gravy looks like it will make some happy rice.

Awww... that's why I love this group and its members from all over the world! It's so fantastic to hear common denominators and that everyone is closer than we think!

I would love to hear more about the paprika gravy!

Rhonda

[PopsicleToze]

I'm almost embarrassed to post a picture of the final dish. It tastes incredible but it sure doesn't photograph well. I guess all it really is *is* steak and gravy. Nothing to impress anyone, but when I was putting together my notes for this blog, it sounded perfect and all about home.

Funny -- when I was reviewiewing my notes, I had jotted down, "Maybe take a food photography class." Guess the proof is in the pudding that that didn't happen! Now, the turtle soup was what I had planned to cook to impress, but... guess what? We now see that didn't happen either!



I just made some mashed potatoes, because I already made you rice this week.

Edited by PopsicleToze, 25 March 2011 - 12:18 PM.

[PopsicleToze]

Well, that just about concludes our blog. We do have one (1) more event. We have a little community benefit center that's a non-profit organization comprised of volunteers. Huge big black pots of jambalaya are made (each one serves between 85 and 100 people) and plates are sold for donations to a family in need. The circumstances range from homes destroyed by fire, bad automobile accidents with extensive hospital stays, funeral expenses, etc. The events are held every other Saturday beginning in March and ending in September (hunting season).

Families come to the organization by word of mouth and request a benefit date, and they are typically doing it for another family. The families sell tickets to the event, and on the day of the jambalaya benefit, plates are picked up at the benefit center.

The volunteers all donate their time (and pots!) to the event. It's a lot of fun with the men competing to see who makes the best jambalaya. Even though there is an agreed-upon recipe, the jambalaya does vary from pot to pot, and PeeWee arguably makes the best jambalaya there (just ask him, and he'll tell you)!

When I scheduled the blog for the week of March 20th, that was right behind our first benefit that was to take place on March 12th. However, at the 11th hour, the family canceled. Therefore, the first one takes place in the morning from daybreak until 1:00pm.

I can't tell you how many pots will be served yet -- anywhere from 5 to the largest one at 21 pots!

So, while our little tours and food part of the blog is over, when I get home tomorrow I will post just the photos from the benefit.

It has been great fun, and I will see you tomorrow afternoon!

[heidih]

That is a great benefit idea- community at its best (and respecting the food tradition)

[Kim Shook]

Wow! I want that for dinner tonight. I love the neighborly help that you describe. And how utterly LA-ish to help AND have fun AND feast while doing it.

[kayb]

I've got round steak boiling now to become vaca frita tomorrow (flank steak is canonical, but round works just fine, too). If I'd read this before I started it, it might have become steak and gravy. I can't think how long it's been since I made that!

LOVE the benefit idea -- that it's such a regular thing! We have them from time to time when a need is presented, but it's usually a club or civic organization that undertakes one. I like the whole community coming together to help its members who need it. And to enjoy some fine jambalaya!

[Shelby]

NOOOOOOOOOO *cry* It can't already be a whole week?????? !!!

Really, your blog hit home with me...loved every minute.

Need. Fresh. Crawfish. Now.


Thank you for all that you did --I know it's a ton of work, but you really invited us all into your home and made us feel like one of your own!

[Pierogi]

Rhonda, I can't wait to see the jambalaya festival, and agree with the others that it is an amazing show of community spirit and support. That's what makes life away from the MegaBurbs so great.

Thanks so much for sharing your Louisiana with us. It makes me long even more for the bayous and the people. That was the other thing I've noticed when I've been in New Orleans. Along with never having a bad meal, I never met a person who wasn't warm, friendly and welcoming. Much like you !

[Pierogi]

Rhonda, forgive me if you mentioned this earlier, when we were talking about red beans & rice...but a question just popped into my head about the technique for this dish.

I've seen (and have) a lot of recipes that call for "pickled pork" to be added to it. It can be made, of course, but it seems like a whole ton of trouble for what seems to be essentially a flavoring.

I guess I have 2 questions actually, or 2 parts of the same one. First off, do you use it/make it when you do RB&R? If you do, do you think it's an essential part of the flavor? And a 3rd part/question, it seems, is it a product you can buy commercially in your neck of the woods, as you would the andouille?

[PopsicleToze]

Rhonda, forgive me if you mentioned this earlier, when we were talking about red beans & rice...but a question just popped into my head about the technique for this dish.

I've seen (and have) a lot of recipes that call for "pickled pork" to be added to it. It can be made, of course, but it seems like a whole ton of trouble for what seems to be essentially a flavoring.

I guess I have 2 questions actually, or 2 parts of the same one. First off, do you use it/make it when you do RB&R? If you do, do you think it's an essential part of the flavor? And a 3rd part/question, it seems, is it a product you can buy commercially in your neck of the woods, as you would the andouille?

Great question. There are people who swear by pickled pork and are the first to say that RB&R ain't RB&R without it! Celeste mentioned earlier that one of the best pots of beans she ever had was make with pickled pork. So for Q1, no, it's not my thing, and I don't use it. Q2, yes, you can absolutely buy this product commercially at just about any grocery store. Here are pictures from a local market:





If you want to try it, it's not something that would be hard to make. Click here for a sample recipe from Alton Brown.

[PopsicleToze]

Now, let's go to the jambalaya benefit we had today. First, however, remember that picture that I posted initially?



That's my late (great) Uncle Jesse making jambalaya. When I put together our family cookbook, Aunt Bernice submitted their recipe for jambalaya. This was her comment for the book:

This jambalaya recipe is the one we use. We always used a wood fire in the past, but they now use gas burners—and just follow the same pattern. Jessie did not even learn to use the gas, which is the best and coolest (literally) way to go. Both boys (Tommy and Bo) use gas. We broke the recipe down so anyone can use “as desired.” (Bo uses more seasonings than the rest of us.) We also started off with 50 pounds of chicken, because there is a lot of waste when you clean them.

Now, off we go to the benefit...

[heidih]

5o pounds of chicken! This should be good.

[PopsicleToze]

The community benefit center is just a small organization with about 25 or 30 members comprised mostly of people who have known one another their entire lives. The old-timers cook the jambalaya. You can watch, and you can stir (under their direction), but you can *not* cook the jambalaya!





When I drive up, I go straight to the back, and the first person I saw was PeeWee (yeah, I know... but it sounds too awkward to say "Mr. PeeWee). He gave me a hug and then saw my camera and said, "So, you're cooking for your blog this week? Well, did you tell them that I cook the best jambalaya around these parts?" Yes, sir, I sure did! In this picture, he's teaching a "youngster" how to make jambalaya.



Here they are stirring the meat. Each pot has 20 pounds of Mahatma long grain rice, 40 pounds of chicken (Aunt Bernice increased the chicken to 50 pounds because she said there was a lot of waste, but she used whole chickens that she cut and cleaned; we buy chicken already cut and cleaned), 10 pounds of boston butt (cubed), 10 pounds of Manda pork sausage (cut into 1-inch rounds), 16 pounds of yellow onions, 16 large green bell peppers...







And here is Mr. Doel; he is a character!











Here are the white beans that will be served with the jambalaya. For a home meal, we would have baked beans (takes too long to be efficient at the benefits) and cole slaw (doesn't hold up well sitting around in the heat after the plates are made).







I thought you might want to take a look at the paddles used to stir the pots. They are about 4-feet long.



Here is a picture of an old iron stove that's in the serving building because it does get a little chilly in the fall. I told you earlier that the benefits stop for the season in September, but that was incorrect. They stop in October, and, yes, we do use this old iron stove. Wood is heated in it to keep us warm.





Here are some cupcakes that will be used for today's meal. The desserts vary for each benefit. The family that's sponsoring the benefit is in charge of the desserts. Note that there is no frosting. That's because the frosting gets too hot sitting around, and it's messy to serve, too.





Here is an old-timey cash register that houses the money. The cash register itself doesn't work, but it still opens and closes and has the components inside to properly house the money into denominations so that it's easy to make change.



The serving room's ceiling is lined with ceiling fans. In the summertime, the heat would be unbearable without them.



















And that's how we make jambalaya!

[PopsicleToze]

Wow! I want that for dinner tonight. I love the neighborly help that you describe. And how utterly LA-ish to help AND have fun AND feast while doing it.

Thank you, Miss Kim! You are welcome here any time!