Cajun Cuisine and More Volume 1: Great Recipes, Inspiring Stories and Cajun Humor

400 Pages·2012·8.17 MB·English

by  Paul Raphael

Copyright
Copyright 2012
by Paul Raphael and D&M Publishing
Author and Chef Paul Raphael's website:
www.Paul-Raphael.com
Published by D&M Publishing
www.D-MPublishing.com
All rights reserved. This eCookbook is protected by the copyright laws of the
United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for
commercial gain or profit. Recipe copying or printing for personal use is
permitted and encouraged.
Cover photo and some of the recipe photos were contributed by Mike Pabst
Photography, Tyler, Texas.
Other Photos: The author contributed most of the recipe photos. D-M
Publishing also contributed other photos to complete the project.
D-M Publishing: We used our full suite of publishing services in the creation
of this eCookbook: Cover Design, Formatting, Editing, Proof Reading, Photo
Editing, HTML Conversion for Kindle Upload, Kindle Listing Enhancement,
Author's Website and Advanced Search Engine Optimization for the Entire
Project.
All photos and cover art are copyrighted by Paul L. Raphael and D-M
Publishing.
Cajun Cuisine and More Volume 1, Kindle eBook
ISBN 978-0-9857052-0-6
Introduction

The author's interest in native cuisines is one of hands-on discovery. Born to
Louisiana's unique natural resources, he was reared among the savory gumbos
and jambalayas of Creole and Cajun kitchens. And as an adult, he circled the
globe, taking from varied cultures the arts of their ancient hearths.
This versatile cookbook and the other cookbooks in this series that will
follow, are a handy addition to the well-rounded repertoire of the modern cook.
Whether for family, for friends, or for a memorable departure from the
predictable, one may choose among appetizers, sauces, sides, entrees and
desserts; many of which were included for the more discriminating to assemble
as courses.
But this is much more than a manual for Cajun cuisine; it is a collection of
Cajun humor, an assortment of native history, an inspiring variety of bedtime
stories, and a dash of colorful lives and unique events thrown in for seasoning. In
short, it's an aid to the kitchen, amenable to the recliner, informative to the
curious, and comforting to the suffering insomniac.
The reader will find the Table of Contents immediately helpful: all the recipes
are featured in their own category to set them apart from dissimilar content. And
many recipes relate, by inference, to others that use like ingredients - the cook's
aid for economy.
And, as any good art form demands, this series of Cajun cookbooks is a work
in progress, awaiting the readers' critiques and valued suggestions.
You are reading from volume 1 of this cookbook series. You can preview the
Sampler Edition of Cajun Cuisine and More by clicking here.
Please visit our website at www.Paul-Raphael.com

Prologue

Louisiana cuisine is exquisitely unique - much loved, seldom surpassed - the
result of an historic melding of cultures, traditions, and a vast array of
unparalleled natural resources: crabs, shrimp, oysters, flounder, red snapper, and
many other meats, seafood and vegetables native to its productive lands and
waters.
The early colonists - known as Creoles - came from France in the early
1700's, bringing their customs and language with them. They were followed by
settlers from Spain, Germany, Italy, Africa and Great Britain.
The Creoles, who first settled near the present Mobile, and then later near the
future New Orleans, came from the wealthiest families of France, as well as
other European cultural centers. The Creole ladies endeavored to modify their
homeland cuisines to the resources available in the local swamplands and coastal
waters, but these native resources differed from many of the ingredients needed
to concoct the delicately seasoned dishes and delectably light sauces of their
Motherlands.
Fearing conflict, if the colony's French soldiers fraternized with the local
Indians, Governor Bienville arranged for the transport of twenty-four unmarried
French ladies to the colony. Discontented, the ladies demanded Governor
Bienville to somehow make available the supplies they needed for the foods they
remembered from home...or, they would leave. In response, the Governor
persuaded his own housekeeper to address their discontent - whereupon, she
founded what may well have been the New World's first culinary institute.
Teaching the ladies cooking secrets she had learned from the local Indians, they
soon began employing the regional vegetables, seafood and spices, applying
their European culinary skills in the preparation.
While the Creoles were establishing New Orleans, the Acadians, or Cajuns as
they came to be called, began settling the swamps and bayous to the south and
west of the city. Migrating from Canada, they were a hardier group, adapting
quickly to their new environment. The cuisine of the Creole and Cajun, though
employing mutually available ingredients, differed somewhat due to the
diversity of their heritage: the aristocratic Creoles often enjoying seven or more
courses, the selections reminiscent of dishes from Europe; while the Cajuns,
living close to the land, relied on meals consisting of whatever they could cook
in one pot. Over two centuries, the two styles have slowly merged, including
influences from other immigrating cultures. As an example, one may enjoy, in a
New Orleans eatery, an appetizer of oysters Bienville and an entrée of jambalaya
- the appetizer Creole, the entrée Cajun. Today, the two styles are interrelated by
generations of cultural coexistence and the commonality of local ingredients.
Many Louisiana foods are unequivocally of Creole and Cajun origin and their
incorporation from other immigrants: okra, for example, a vegetable introduced
with slaves from Africa. In fact, "gumbo" was the African word for okra, and
when okra gained popularity as a natural thickener for the Cajun stews, the stews
became known as gumbo. When okra was out of season, cooks resorted to the
native Choctaw use of ground, dried sassafras leaves, otherwise known as
gumbo filé, a product still employed as an alternative to okra. The roux of a
gumbo came about by the amalgamation of original French sauces by both
Creole and Cajun cooks. In France, roux was a combination of butter and flour,
but along with many other adaptations, the settlers began making roux with lard,
due to a scarcity of dairy products. Today, more often than not, a Cajun recipe
will begin with a roux.
French cuisine is considered the primary influence in Louisiana dishes, but
honorable mention should also be given the Spanish for developing the spicy
nature of most Cajun and Creole dishes with the introduction of red pepper.
While French bouillabaisse was the precursor of gumbo, Spanish paella
developed into jambalaya. German settlers brought with them the art of sausage
making, but that art includes French and Italian immigrants as well, such
renderings as andouille, boudin and tasso among the many variations in
Creole/Cajun cuisine. Today, we credit all of these sources for the expansive
evolution of Louisiana's world renowned cuisine.
Louisiana, as it appeared in 1856