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"Fun, Food & Folklore"

The New Orleans Cooking School of Cooking nestled on a narrow street, St. Louis Street, in the French Quarter provided a morning of entertainment on my last day in NOLA. Its advertising tag line is: "Fun, Food and Folklore" which I borrowed for the title of this blog post because on this adventure I had fun learning about food and folklore.


Our teacher, Miss Pat, demonstrated how to make authentic gumbo, jambalaya, Bananas Foster, and pralines. She shared more than her cooking skills, as she also explained the history "folklore" of New Orleans and how the food interfaced with each new group that settled in this area.


Of course, we all know about the French in New Orleans, but you might not know the Spanish dominated the land for a time and brought tomatoes with them. Later came the Italians, Irish, and Germans, but, of course, lots of the cooking was done by the African slaves. Each group that immigrated to this area brought their recipes and adapted to the meats and vegetables that were locally produced.


Miss Pat explained the difference between creole cooking (city) and cajun cooking (country) and from what I can tell, the cajun food is more rustic, bland with less meat and more rice and veggies. I guess the food would last longer and stick the ribs longer.





I had a few friends over last Saturday night to try some of the recipes Miss Pat shared and I tried to take pictures of each phase of my cooking process. I ain’t no Miss Pat but here is what I learned.




I carefully read the recipe provided and I also went online and read a few recipes from some other experts. I happened upon a recipe and a blog by Daniel Gritzer who writes for the Serious Eats website.


https://www.seriouseats.com/creole-style-red-jambalaya-chicken-sausage-shrimp-recipe


Daniel suggested using chicken thighs for the base chicken meat. Miss Pat said to get a cooked chicken at the market and dice it up, but I wanted to go all in. I ran down to Hen House the day of the party and I couldn’t find a package of chicken thighs to beat the band. The butcher behind the counter said they can’t give away chicken thighs at College and Quivira in Overland Park, so they only keep them on ice and only a few are available each day. (Everybody in this area is into healthy white meat these days, I guess.)


The recipe called for a one-pound, but after seeing the end product I probably could have used two pounds. So I sauteed my chicken thighs and then I added my andouille sausage. I discovered that andouille sausage was much like kielbasa - a polish sausage - that I learned about when I lived in Wisconsin, but andouille seemed lighter. A good flavor developed and I seasoned the mixture with the Bayou Blend seasoning mix I purchased at the New Orleans School of Cooking.


When I removed the chicken and sausage the drippings left in the pan looked amazing, but not fatty at all. I diced up the chicken after it cooled and kept the sausage and chicken out of the pot while I added the Holy Trinity ingredients.





For some reason, white onion, green pepper, and celery are called the Holy Trinity of New Orleans cooking. (I read somewhere that if you add garlic it is like adding the pope. Ha!)






Obviously, Catholicism influenced everything in this area from the very beginning.


“The French were Catholic, not Protestant like the founders of most other New World settlements. A world of differences separated the French from their Puritanical brethren, who tended to an unremittingly severe, sober view of life. While religious, the French Catholics also enjoyed good food and sensual pleasures. Mardi Gras, the most famous and raucous of New Orleans festivals, is a Catholic holiday after all. And in French, Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” – a time of indulgence before the self-imposed austerity of Lent. The tension between the sacred and profane, the joyous and the mournful (as with jazz funerals, for example), has long shaped the Crescent City’s character.”




Back to my jambalaya.



So, I added the Holy Trinity and then came the liquid and the rice. I think my pot was too small for three cups of rice as it morphed into a crazy hard rice mixture. I kept adding water and liquid, but it just absorbed it. Next time I will only put in two cups of rice. I used tomato juice and chicken stock and water and water, but it remained dense.












The last touch was the fresh okra, fresh tomatoes, and fresh shrimp. ( I LOVE OKRA. I would love to do an entire blog on OKRA!!)


My friends did not come to the table when the shrimp was ready as they were enjoying their cheese, crackers, and drink.


I should have anticipated this, but it is hard to think of everything when you are preparing a new dish.


Instead of tossing the shrimp in the pot, I steamed it separately, but it was on too long. I had two pounds of shrimp which I thought would be plenty, but it reduced down quickly. I think next time I will serve raw shrimp and let people add it to the top as a garnish.




So with each dinner party, each dinner, we learn.


We live and learn.


A good time was had by all and that was the most important thing and my entire objective.



I like the idea of traveling, learning about the culture, and then sharing with friends and family back home. My trip to New Orleans came only a week or so before Hurricane Ida.


Amazingly, it was sixteen years to the day when Hurricane Katrina made landfall.


I pray for the safety of my new and old friends who live in this area.


The history of our nation can be discovered in New Orleans.

New Orleans is truly an American city and tells the story of our immigrant nation. Because of COVID-19, I didn't get to visit any of the famous jazz bars, but from previous visits I know the music is also a testament to the idea that people came together, combined, and created.


Hundreds of years ago, people from around the world gathered at the mouth of the Mississippi and combined food, music, and culture to create something fresh and unique -NEW Orleans.


Put it on your bucket list if it ain't already there y'all!


P.S. I will save pralines and Bananas Foster for another blog.















1 Comment


apfick
Sep 06, 2021

What a great idea to use your new recipes in your story. Don’t put raw shrimp for garnish though. One trick is to sauté it in your trinity pot liquor (maybe with a little butter too, can’t hurt😊), and sprinkle with some of your Joe’s stuff then save the shrimp off and add on top or stir it in near the end. This was really fun to read, Paula. Thanks!

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