Seafood
Oyster Dressing
Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and were able to enjoy time with family and friends. My holiday was hectic (as usual), but it was also full of family, friends, good food and bad weather! A couple of tornados hit my neighborhood Christmas day and did a bit of damage to some ...MexiCajun Shrimp Fajitas
It all started here. Two and a half years ago I was planning to make shrimp fajitas for dinner. Elbow deep in peeling shrimp and a hot skillet ready to go, I stepped into my pantry to grab the cheap taco mix I typically kept on hand. I was surprised to find there was no cheap taco ...Absolutely Decadent: Bacon & Crab Cheesecake
As our Hostess with the Mostess described this entrée, “It’s Thanksgiving dinner all rolled into one dish.” Yep, that about sums it up. Pecan crust. Enough cream and butter to make even Paula Deen blush. Crumbled bacon and lump crab meat for a gourmet meat explosion. And an over-the-top sauce that just pushes this one-dish ...Happy Birthday, Julia!
Two and a half years ago I watched Meryl Streep portray the incomparable Julia Child in “Julia & Julia.” I was so enamored with the story of America’s most beloved chef that I went on to read her memoir “My Life in France” and her collection of letters to and from her dear friend Avis ...Southern Fried Fish
When I say we never fry our food (which is pretty unusual, immersed as we are in deep-fry country– as Louisiana is known), I mean we NEVER fry our food. So when I defrosted a 5lb bag of frozen redfish generously given to us by a fisherman friend, I thought one of the easiest ways ...Lemon & Basil Orzo Salad
Last week I hosted a salad party for my mardi gras krewe. It was our first meeting of the new mardi gras year, and we wanted to have an informal meet and greet poolside. Everyone brought her favorite salad and a lawn chair, and we all had a wonderful time welcoming new members and catching up ...Oyster Fettucini en Provence
Last week I shared our attempt at charbroiled oysters based on the recipe from Drago’s restaurant in New Orleans. In celebration of my sister’s birthday, we cooked these again this weekend; and again, they were excellent. We cooked nearly 150 oysters and fed about 10 people. That’s A LOT of oysters! And, of course, there were ...Louisiana Crawfish Étouffée
Last weekend we finally decided to have our first batch of crawfish of the season. We had been putting off even though both Spicehubby and I have been craving them. A couple of times we’ve even gone to one of our favorite local restaurants fully intending to get crawfish but then changed our minds at the ...Bread Bowl Dip
So there’s a lot happening right now. It’s Mardi Gras here in Louisiana, in case you didn’t know There are parties, formal balls, parades and lots of eating. It’s almost Valentine’s Day which calls for all manner of sweet treats and tasty temptations. And there’s some big sporting event this Sunday. Oh…. right! It’s the SuperBowl! ...Cooking on Himalayan Salt Slabs: Mahi Mahi
Have you ever cooked on a slab of salt? Have you ever even heard of that? I haven’t; well, at least not until now. As it turns out, Himalayan salt is a big deal. It is supposed to be the purest form of whole salt on the planet because it’s been protected deep within the Himalayan ...Spicy Shrimp & Broccoli Soup
Cold nights call for hot soup. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Earlier this week the temperature was 78°. That’s right: seventy-eight degrees. Phew! Louisiana weather is nothing if not a daily surprise. Last night the low was 25°. That is a 50+ degree swing. Nothing new for us, though. I know ...Crawfish & Tasso Pasta
I recently had this recipe published in a local home & garden magazine. A friend mentioned to me a few nights ago that she made it and was very pleased with the outcome. (I always love hearing feedback from anyone who actually tries my recipes, don’t you?!) :) Anyway, our conversation got me thinking of this ...Fish Tacos
Ever since eating the most delicious fish tacos in Mexico last month, I have been wanting to try them at home. Compadres is a small cantina on Isla Mujeres that we found our last day there. Fresh Chilean Sea Bass was perfectly seasoned and pan seared then served on a flour tortilla with pico de ...Crawfish Pie
You know the old Hank Williams’ song: ”Jambalaya, crawfish pie, fillet gumbo..” Singing the virtues of life on the bayou and all the fabulous food created by the cajuns. I’m so proud to be a part of this heritage, and never more so than when it comes to food. Now that I’m awaking from ...Easy Shrimp Lo Mien
As most of my recipes are, this is a quick dish that’s super easy for a week night. I had never actually tried to make this before, so I was a bit apprehensive at the outcome. (I had all these ingredients on hand and REALLY didn’t want to make a trip to the grocery for ...Charbroiled Oysters
I’ve never been all that into oysters. Raw, ok every now and then. But cooked, they just were never my cup o’ tea. I’ve tried them in gumbo…No, thank you. Fried…ich No thank you. (except for the succulent fried oysters at Janohn’s—mmmmm!) On a salad…No. On a po’boy….No. Charbroiled…. Wait a second. Last January we were ...Tuna Tostadas with Mango/Cucumber Purée
I love leftovers. Sometimes they make the best meals. And always they make dinner preparation easier. Two nights ago we grilled a couple of large tuna steaks. They were so big that one divided between my husband and myself was perfectly sufficient for dinner. That meant that we had a whole, very large tuna steak left ...
