When in New Orleans in June, childhood friends Karan and Betsy joined me for a 2-1/2 hour cooking extravaganza at the New Orleans School of Cooking. From the special aprons to the tablecloths, individual cooking stations, and personal attention, no wonder this place is the one of the two favorite travelers' food experiences in the country, according to Trip Advisor.I worked hard to duplicate the experience for neighbors - even sending home seasonings, grits, pickled snap beans, and Fleur de Lis* glasses.
*a stylized lily composed of three petals bound together near their bases. It is especially known from the former royal arms of France, in which it appears in gold on a blue field.
We started with Bloody Marys topped off with pickled snap beans, olives, okra and sprinkled with celery seed. Others had champagne, red and white wine of a local craft brew. Then we moved to our cooking stations with induction cooktops and an array of ingredients.I've doubled the recipes (except for the Bananas Foster).
Sweet Potato and Crabmeat Bisque
1 T Rex's Crab, Shrimp and Crawfish Boil
1 pound of crab meat
8 cups of diced sweet potatoes/yams
4 T. butter
4 T. diced onions
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 c. green pepper, diced
1 T dry sliced garlic
4 T flour
8 c. chicken stock
1 c heavy cream
1 cup diced green onions, sliced
1/2 c. parsley, chopped
Joe' Stuff to taste
Big Kevin's Creole Blend to taste
dash of nutmeg
Melt butter over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until a blonde roux is formed. Turn off heat and add onions, celery and pepper.
In another pot bring chicken stock and garlic to a boil, then whisk in roux, stirring constantly until soup consistency is achieved. Add Rex's boil. Stir in 6 cups of sweet potatoes, reserving the remaining cups. Bring to a rolling bowl, reduce to a simmer and cook approximately 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.
Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Add heavy cream and return to a low heat. Saute remaining sweet potatoes in butter until tender. Season the potatoes with nutmeg and green onions. Once tender, add sweet potatoes to the soup. Finish with crab meat parsley and Joe's stuff to taste.
Beef Grillades and Stone-Ground Cheese Grits
3 pounds of round steak
2 T Joe's Stuff
1 cup flour
4 T vegetable oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
2 T sliced garlic
4 c. beef stock
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 T Worcestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
2 C. tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
4 T sliced green onion
Garlic sauce to taste and Big Kevin's Creole Blend
Pound out round steak until 1/4 inch thick and then julienne the beef. Combine flour with Joe's Stuff and dust the pieces of meat in the flour, shaking off excess.
Heat oil in a skillet and brown the meat on each side. Lower heat and add onion, pepper and celery and cook until translucent. Stirring constantly, add remaining flour and cook on medium heat until flour starts to brown. Add garlic, bay, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, tomato and beef stock. Bring to a boil and simmer and cook 30-40 minutes until beef is tender.
Add red wine vinegar and more seasonings to taste before serving. Serve over warm grits with a poached egg and green onions.
Stone Ground Cheese Grits
10 c. water or milk
2 c stone ground white corn grits
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
2 tsp. salt
4 T buter
4 T cream cheese
Combine water/milk and salt. Bring to a boil and slowly whisk in the grits and reduce heat to low. Cover. Cook for 15-20 min, stirring occasionally.
Remove grits from heat. Add butter, cheese and mix well. Keep warm.
Poached Eggs
Bananas Foster
2 sticks butter
2 c brown sugar
2 bananas
2 oz banana liqueur
4 oz dark rum
ground cinnamon
ice cream
Melt butter and add brown sugar to form a creamy paste. Let this mixture caramelize over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Stir in the liqueur, bananas and rum. Heat and ignite. Add magic dust (cinnamon) to the flame.
Serve over ice cream with crumbled pralines.
