Learn to cook like a Cajun and develop your own style with help from south Louisiana cook and humorist, Jacques Gaspard, who's been cooking great Cajun foods for nearly 50 years. Learn how to prepare gumbos, seafood, jambalaya, stews, salads and deserts – the way they were originally prepared – pure and simple. Besides great original recipes you will discover a hodgepodge of stories, recordings, music, videos and humorous anecdotes to entertain. So enjoy! ... Ahheee!!
Background Music: "Chere Toute-Toute"by John Trahan on John Trahan Avec Le Group Acadiana
Here is an easy way to make a delicious batch of deer chili -- Cajun style. But, to make it tasty I add a little ground pork meat (breakfast sausage will do fine) and some ground beef brisket for their fat content. And the small amount that we add contains just enough fat to do the trick without worrying about the onset of heart diseases.
Note: This recipe is comparable to a 1 alarm chili because no ground red pepper was added other than that contained in the McCormick Hot Chili Seasoning Mix. If you would like a 2 alarm chili just add 1 Tbs. extra of ground red pepper; a 3 alarm chili -- add 2 Tbs. of ground red pepper to the recipe.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs. ground venison
1/2 lb. ground pork sausage
1/2 lb. ground beef brisket
1 pkt. McCormick Hot Chili Seasoning Mix
1 large onion, chopped
15 oz. tomato sauce
15 oz. water
8 oz. stewed tomatoes with green chili peppers
2 tbs. chili powder
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 tbs. cumin
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
2 tsp. sugar (light brown sugar is better)
salt to taste
In a large skillet or pot brown the meats together on medium heat but do not drain-off the fat. There should be a small amount of fat content to make up for the lack of fat from the lean ground venison. Set this aside until you have cooked the rest of the ingredients for around 10 - 15 minutes or until the chopped onions become translucent.
From this point on it's a piece of cake. Add everything together in one large pot and continue cooking the chili for about 1 hour on low while stirring every 20 minutes.
This is an easy meal to make and it taste absolutely wonderful for those who like a little extra spice in their chili. Hope you enjoy it! Ahheee!!
Background Music:"Gone To The Country" by Racines.
When did 'good luck' join forces with 'black- eyed peas' to become an American New Year's tradition?
I did a little searching online and I found out that the custom pretty much began in Georgia around the 1730s by the first Sephardi Jews who arrived there and continue to live in the same region to this day.
The Jewish practice was apparently adopted by non-Jews around the time of the American Civil War. Boy did that tradition spread like wildfire – especially in the Southern United States.
Although the black-eyed peas recipes on our site are non-kosher (we like to add stuff like ham, salt pork, smoked bacon... the list goes on) I am sure if you look around you might be able to find a few of the original ones [recipes] which are kosher and give it try. Let me know if you like it, okay?
The "good luck" traditions of eating black-eyed peas at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, are recorded in the Babylonian Talmud (compiled ~500 CE) [source: Wikipedia]
As you can see, the lowly little ol' black-eyed pea is not so lowly after all. It has been around for a long long time. Other variations of the bean (and ways of cooking them) have been a large part of many new year celebrations the world over.
I hope this little tidbit of information will make you a little smarter when someone asks you, “I wonder how black-eyed peas became associated with good luck as an American New Year's tradition?" Now you have answer... don't you?
Background Music:"Lake Arthur Stomp" by David Doucet
Black-eyed Peas
Ingredients
1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
2 slices of hickory smoked bacon
2 Tbsp onions, minced
2 Tbsp bell pepper, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp Colgin liquid smoke
Water
Salt and pepper to taste.
As is the case with thousands of other families across America, I also take part in the annual tradition of cooking-up a mess of black-eyed peas and cabbage in an effort to increase my luck for the coming New Year. Heaven knows we are gonna need all we can muster-up.
Contrary to popular belief, black-eyed peas don't have to be soaked over night or for any significant period of time because the peas have a thin skin and are relatively easy to cook.
Over medium (or lower) heat, black-eyed peas can be done in just a few minutes. It's the pot liquor that makes all the difference in how your peas will taste, however.
Think 'minced' and not 'chopped' when it comes to your vegetables. A couple tablespoons of minced onions and bell pepper - and about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic sautéed in the fat from a couple slices of smoked bacon creates a wonderful flavor and delicious taste. And, you can salt and pepper to your own liking.
Using a 2 quart pot begin by adding just enough water to cover the peas and sautéed vegetables by about an inch, (or by a finger and a half as we say in Cajun speak), and begin the slow process of cooking them to perfection, while stirring occasionally (around 1 - 1 1/2 hrs.). Keep an eye on the peas because you may have to add a little more water occasionally as they absorb and cook.You will know when they become tender enough by taste-testing.
Set them aside until the boiled cabbage is done.
A pound of dried black-eyed peas, when cooked, should yield between 5 and 6 cups.
Audio - Part 2
Music Background:"Johnny Can't Dance" by Jambalaya Cajun Band on Lesson's Learned
Cooking cabbage (boiled) is also easy to do and the way I prepare my cabbage, by popular demand I might add, is to include 3 or 4 pork chops with it. This is how I prepare my boiled cabbage.
The first thing I do is season the heck out of the pork chops with one measure of DIY Cajun Seasoning (easy to make - check it out), and fry them up in my cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat in a couple tablespoons of oil.
I fry the chops for a couple minutes on both sides until they are well browned, but I don't cook them all the way because they will finish cooking with the slow-boiling cabbage.
The next thing I do is get my kitchen shears and cut-up the chops into bite size pieces and add this to the boiling cabbage.
If you are using a heavy cast-iron skillet, chances are in your favor that a crust will form at the bottom of the skillet (it usually does when you cook meat fast on high heat).This is a good thing.
We Cajuns call this crusty material the 'gratin' - which is commonly used to compliment and enhance the flavor of various meat gravies.
Here's a little secret: keep the skillet hot but add in about 2 or 3 ice cubes and stir them around the skillet and they will magically loosen the crust (or 'gratin') and will produce a savory bouillon that you can add to the cabbage mixture to enhance the overall flavor.
Once you have liquefied the crust and added it to the stock pot along with the cabbage leaves and cut-up pork chops, you just go about your business of boiling cabbage like you always have (low and slow). Adding a little salt and black pepper always helps.
I like to also include a tablespoon of Colgin liquid smoke (hickory flavor) and not that other brand. Keep mixing and tumbling the cabbage leaves in the pot occasionally so they don't burn. The only difference with cooking cabbage this way instead of the traditional way is that you now have a delicious pot liquor and a few bites of meat to go with your good luck food.
See there! Your luck is already changing. Enjoy! Happy New Year! Ahheee!!
Pork loin chops are tender and very tasty, especially when slow-cooked in a crockpot with a medley of fresh vegetables, herbs and seasonings which bring out the savory flavor of the meat. This is a simple recipe that is sure to please even the more finicky taste buds.
Evenly spread a layer of sliced onions on the bottom of your crock pot then place the loin chops on top.
Next, add the remaining onions, diced bell peppers, and celery on top and all around the chops. Sprinkle with the DIY Cajun Seasoning and salt. Add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup on top of it all and spread out evenly.
Place butter on top and cook on LOW heat for 6 to 8 hours -- or until chops are tender and onions are done. Can be served over buttermilk mashed potatoes or cooked long grain rice. Yield: 4 servings. Enjoy!
