Southern Cooking, part 2: Louisiana Cooking

The South is known for its own brand of cooking, but within the South, Louisiana cooking is in a class by itself. So much so, it deserves its own blog installment...

The prime rule of Louisiana cooking: "First, you make a roux." 

Roux (pronounced, "roo"), is flour and some kind of oil or butter mixed together and cooked. Roux is a thickener and/or a flavoring agent. Roux that is not cooked very much is rather pale and is used as a thickener (like gravy mix). Some is cooked to a dark chocolate brown which imparts a toasty, nutty flavor to Louisiana dishes. 

The second rule of Louisiana cooking is the "Holy Trinity". All savory dishes use bell pepper (any color), onion and celery.

Then there's the seasoning. There are as many seasonings as there are cooks. Usually, seasoning consists of cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Beyond that is up to the cook.

For those who fear spicy 🔥 foods, you needn't fear. The purpose of seasoning is not to see how hot it can be made, but to impart flavor. Yes, it sometimes has a bit of a kick to it, but it is never without flavor.

One more thing before I bring out the food... There are two basic styles of cooking in Louisiana: Creole and Cajun. They can be similar, but they are still distinct from each other. Creole refers to the more affluent population and it's cooking incorporates a wider array of ingredients. Cajuns are the "poor" industrious types, the "swamp people" who live off the land. Therefore, their cooking tends to be more subsistance based.

A perfect example of the difference between Creole and Cajun styles is gumbo. The top picture is typical of the Creole style: it's loaded with veggies and seafood. The bottom picture shows a Cajun style gumbo which uses a darker roux and is more soup-like. 

This is not to say that Cajun gumbo is any less flavorful or isn't loaded with lots of goodies. 

Since Angela and I were staying in the Lafayette area, we were introduced to more Cajun style foods, like:

Boudin. (boo-dan... trail off on pronouncing the n) A simple sausage of ground pork, rice and spices in pork casing. It's served steamed and has a very soft and loose texture that Angela didn't care for. It can range from spicy to mild, though one native I spoke to prefers it mild.

Cracklins. Fatty cuts of pork or chicken dusted in flour and fried crisp. You won't want to have your cholesterol levels checked after eating these.

Red beans and rice. I was first turned on to this dish many years ago but coming to the Motherland, I was blown away by how good this dish can be.

Crawfish etouffee (eh-toe-fay). Etouffee basically means "smothered".

If it's served in the South, it's going to be fried. From a restaurant in Lafayette, catfish, oyster, shrimp, crawfish tails and hushpuppies. Yeah, fries came with the order.

Beignets (bin-yay). A breakfast treat from New Orleans we didn't have to go to New Orleans to get. Wonderful with coffee. Can you go wrong with deep fried bread dough covered in powdered sugar? (Don't ask this of your doctor!)

Cheesecake with a praline drizzle over it. Only this was ordered at Avery Island, so the drizzle had Tabasco Sauce in it! 😋😵‍💫 Yes, that is Angela pawing at it. It was all I could do to keep her from gobbling it all up before I could snap this picture.

Well, that sums up our culinary adventure in the South. It's time to start behaving ourselves again.

We've weathered the storm. Beryl is a thing of the past. It did break the heat nicely. The sun is shining and the air is cool (for now). We'll be packing up for an hour's journey up the road then Thursday, we begin our trek back to Idaho.

There's much more adventure to come so stay tuned and Laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)

Arnold and Angela.