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back_to_topISSUE : February 2011
IN THIS ISSUE

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PUBLISHER / EDITORS:
Susan Arcement
Kaye Arcement

EMAIL:
[email protected]
[email protected]

Greetings!
  
Welcome to the first issue of Cooking It Up on the Cajun Coast!  Here you will find real Cajun recipes from Cajun cooks who have been cooking and eating Cajun food all their lives.  
  
What is "real" Cajun food?  First, let me tell you what it's not.  It's not so hot that it's barely edible!  Yes, we like our boiled seafood spicy and even a few dishes, like sauce picantes, "picky", but the majority of our dishes are simply seasoned.  (More on the Cajun Trinity and our other seasonings in the next issue.)
  
Our Cajun ancestors used what they grew and raised (and hunted and fished) to feed their families.  You can say that Cajun cooking is really country cooking.

We'd love to hear from you!  Send in your Cajun recipes, travel ideas and photos at www.CajunDaughters.com.
  
We hope you enjoy Cooking It Up on the Cajun Coast.  Let us know what you think at [email protected].  Also, be looking for Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler to find out what's happening on the Cajun Coast each week.
  
Always Cooking It Up, 

Susan & Kaye
  
  
heading1The Cajun Way



We harvested our winter garden the other day.  Below is a dish I made with our home-grown sweet turnips.  Cest ce bon!  Hope you enjoy it, too!

 

Turnip Pork Gravy


Pork Chop and Turnip Stew

Total Time:  1 1/2 hours

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
onion, medium
1 lb. pork chops
2-3 medium turnips
1 stalk celery
1/2 bell pepper
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

1.  Make roux with 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup flour in a heavy-bottomed pot.
2.  When roux is medium brown, add chopped medium onion.
3.  Season 1 lb. pork chops with salt, black pepper and cayenne (easy on the cayenne).  Cut into thirds.  Add to pot and cook down onions and brown chops on low-medium fire.  Cover and check regularly to stir.
4.  As the onions/pork mixture is cooking, add 2-3 medium, diced turnips.  Continue to stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick.
5.  Chop a stalk of celery and 1/2 bell pepper.  Add to pot.  If mixture starts to stick, you can add a little water.  Cover pot and keep stirring occasionally until mixture is cooked down (about another 1/2 hour). 
6.  Add about 1-1/2 cup water and bring to boil.  Lower fire, cover and simmer until pork chops are tender - about another 1/2 hour.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add water as needed.
7.  Serve over hot rice.

heading2

Cajun Coast Travel

  Thibodaux, Louisiana 

 


Dansereau House
Dansereau House

Thibodaux's Historical Dansereau House

by Kaye Arcement

 

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 5-story Dansereau House is a landmark in downtown Thibodaux.  Opened as a bed and breakfast in 2010, the house is a great combination of historical beauty and contemporary comfort.

 

Innkeepers Paul and Lori Worrell pride themselves in creating a homey atmosphere for their guests.  A hot breakfast is prepared every morning.  "Eggs Benedict, omelets and French toast are just some of the things that we cook," said Worrell.  When guests leave their room to go sightseeing, they will come back to find their sheets turned down, and water and snacks left for them.   "We want our guests to think, 'Wow, they were thinking about me when I was gone.'" 

 

The Drinkery, located on the first floor, is open on Thursday nights from 5-8 p.m.  Here you can enjoy wine and specialty cocktails while listening to live music.  When the weather's nice, sit on the veranda.  Guests are able to interact with locals who come out to The Drinkery to unwind, said Worrell. 

 

Besides having visitors from around the country, the Dansereau House also welcomes locals.  We get guests from Houma who just want to get away said Worrell.  We also have guests that come from New Orleans who want to vacation in a small town.

 

Guests can enjoy the locally-owned boutiques, restaurants and night-life, as well as other historic residences, all within walking distance of the Dansereau House.

 

What Cajun Daughters love about the Dansereau House:  As you walk up to the home, you are greeted with soft instrumental music that sets the mood for a relaxing visit.  Gracious hosts make your stay at the Dansereau House one to remember.

 

506 St. Phillip Street

Thibodaux, LA

985-227-9937

http://dansereauhouse.com/


Laurel Valley
Laurel Valley Plantation Museum
Laurel Valley Plantation Museum

by Susan Arcement

 

For a glimpse back on life on a 19th century sugarcane plantation, stop by Laurel Valley Plantation Museum.  The country store is a museum of rural life antiques and also sells crafts and artworks made by local residents of the Bayou Lafourche area.  There's local honey, jars of homemade jellies and you can even pick up a jar of fresh gumbo file.

 

Purchase a bag of corn to feed the barnyard animals as you stroll through the yard where sheds of old farm machinery are housed.  Every Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. wooden boat building classes are held and you can watch as builders work on lake skiffs and pirogues.  The centerpiece of the farmyard is a dummy train that was used for collecting sugar cane to be processed at the mill.

 

Pick up a map in the general store for a drive through tour of the village.  The driving tour is a couple of miles through a working cane field to Laurel Valley Village where you'll see tenant houses from the 1800s and a school house built in 1906.

 

What Cajun Daughters love about Laurel Valley:  A great place to meet and talk with the locals.  Kids love feeding and petting the farm animals.

 

Located 2 miles south of Thibodaux on Hwy. 308

Opened daily 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

 

 

Grady V's - Thibodaux's Best Kept Secret

by Susan Arcement

 

Grady V's American Bistro in the Bayou Country Club is one of Thibodaux's best-kept secrets.  Opened in May 2010 after extensive renovation to the Club, Grady V's growing fan base keeps coming back for the freshly prepared American cuisine and Cajun favorites. 

 

Stylishly decorated with black and white photos of local scenes, the restaurant is a welcomed cool den from the blazing Louisiana heat.  Service is exceptional.  The food is one of the best in Thibodaux, created by Executive Chef Derrick Smith and Chef de Cuisine Kevin Calmes and their recruits from nearby Nicholls State University's Chef John Folse Culinary Institute.

 

The restaurant's offerings range from Angus burgers to seafood.  Lunch entrees range from $6.99 to $23.99, and dinner from $8.49 to $23.49.

 

Friday nights feature Frank Ball playing adult contemporary jazz from 6-9 p.m.  For Sunday brunch buffet, enjoy Frank Ball along with bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.  

 

What Cajun Daughters love about Grady V's:  The exceptional service and excellent food.  Our personal favorite is the French Dip--tender prime rib on toasted ciabatta bread with a natural au jus for dipping--with Roasted Corn Cheddar Grits on the side.  Yum!

 

900 Country Club Boulevard

Thibodaux, Louisiana

(985) 446-8894

Hours:  Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

            Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

            Sunday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

 


heading3Hey Boudreaux! 

 

 

Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, and T-Claude were stranded on Last Island. After several weeks with no food and no drinking water, they were beginning to lose hope.

Suddenly, a bottle floated onto the shore right where Boudreaux, Thibodeaux and T-Claude were standing.  A beautiful genie popped out of the bottle and said, "I have three wishes to grant.  Each of you can make one wish come true."

Boudreaux, he got real excited.  He said, "I wish I was in Las Vegas with dice in one hand and a drink in the other, with music and food and beautiful women."  Poof, he was gone, his wish was granted.

Thibodeaux smiled and said, "I wish I was back home right now with my wonderful wife, Clotilde, and our two little children, at our house on the bayou in front of a fire and singing Christmas carols together." Just like that, Thibodeaux was gone.

The genie asked T-Claude, "And what do you wish for, T-Claude?"

T-Claude scratched his head and said, "Gee, I wish I had my buddies back to help me decide . . ."
heading4Made in Acadiana

 

king cake

A Houma Original

 

Want a different take on the classic king cake?  Then try Best Bakery's Chix de Femme king cakes.  Best Bakery has been making its original Cajun French pastry--translated to mean "bun of a woman" due to its resemblance to a bun hairdo--for over 60 years and now uses this bright yellow dough to make its unique-flavored king cake.  The bakery keeps a variety of the most popular king cake flavors on hand, baked fresh daily, such as Bavarian cream, cream cheese, and the very popular Almond Joy.  However, with a day's notice, they'll fulfill any flavor combination you desire. 

 

996 West Tunnel Boulevard

Houma, LA

985-872-6208

Hours:  Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.

            Saturday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

            Sunday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.