
Louisiana...So Close to Home
Louisiana is the birthplace of one of America's most colorful and unique regional cuisines. It has inspired so many fabulous dishes--a few have been featured on our What's For Dinner Wednesday recipe blog.
Never has it been easier to make Cajun-inspired dishes right at home in the East Bay. Below is a list of products to get you started, and they are always available at Piedmont Grocery.
We provide Cajun Creole Seasoning from three different sources:
* Paul Prudhomme Magic Blends
* Tony Chacher's Original Creole
* Broussard's
Nothin' is more Louisiana than Tobasco Sauce, and we carry the classic from McIlhenny.
Zatarain's Creole Mustard adds vibrant flavor to your dishes. We also carry their Gumbo File and Crab Boil.
With Louisiana Fish Fry Batter your fish comes out perfect.
For the side, Zatarain's produces a variety of Seasoned Rice Mixes from Brown Rice Jambalaya to their original Black Beans and Rice
We have to mention two of our favorite sausages: Saag's Lousiana Hot Links and
Caggiano Fresh Andouille Sausage.
French Market Coffee & Chicory Creole Roast will finish your meal Louisiana style.
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The Magic of Chef Paul Prudhomme | Making a Roux
Click on the image to watch this short video--it captures the personality of Chef Paul as he makes a classic Louisiana Roux. |
Piedmont Grocery Awarded Best Of Oakland!
Oakland Magazine has honored us with the title of Best Grocery Store-Reader's Choice!
Wow. We love our customers, and are thrilled by the praise. Pick up a copy of the July issue. (We're on page 41.) It is full of fantastic recommendations for local businesses and restaurants that you've just got to try. Thanks, guys!
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Vendor of the Month
Nothing Bundt Cakes
The most delicious bundt cake. Ever. These single-serving "Buntlet" cakes call you back to a day when life was a little sweeter and time passed more slowly. Nothing Bundt Cakes are fluffy, yet dense enough to be a good bundt cake. Each bite slowly melts in your mouth.They are whimsically decorated with a cream cheese frosting that is smooth, creamy, and tangy. Read More...
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Cookin' LouisianaDibrova Smoked Andouille Sausage is classic Cajun-style with lean, coarsely-ground pork, lots of garlic and onion, and just enough heat from the cayenne pepper. We love their smokey-rich, bold flavor. Perfect for late summertime grilling, in Jambalaya, or a thick, lentil soup on a rainy winter night. Read More...
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Kickin' It Up A Notch
I have been a fan of Cajun food from the first time I tried it. I was introduced to Cajun cuisine during the 80s when it was considered something new and exciting--though the food and flavors had been around for quite some time. Cajun cuisine soon became wildly popular, and it seemed like everyone had a blackened version of something.
I distinctly remember watching Paul Prudhomme and The Great Chefs of New Orleans repeatedly on PBS, while my mouth watered at the liberal use of butter, sausage and cayenne. It was during this time (at least in my mind. It could have been earlier.) that my mother started making dinners that had a decidedly "Nawlins" flavor to them like her Barbequed Shrimp.
I was dying to eat the foods that I saw being created on the TV screen in their native habitat, and had visions of eating my way through the lauded restaurants and cafes of New Orleans. Still do. Alas, that one remains an entry on my bucket list. It will happen.
In those days, Paul Prudhomme was "The Man". He made a name for himself while cooking at Commander's Palace. But it was his series of cookbooks and TV shows that introduced signature dishes like blackened redfish and turtle soup to people outside Louisiana, and started a craving for all things Cajun. As popular as Prudhomme was, the undisputed champion of Cajun cuisine has to be Emeril Legasse.
Before "kicking it up a notch" and throwing a little "Bam" into things on the Food Network, Emeril was making some really great food at Commander's Palace, and eventually moved on to his own restaurant, Emeril's. His first cookbook The New New Orleans Cooking introduced cooks to a contemporary version of classic Cajun cuisine and launched an empire.
This weekend my cookbook club is having our cookbook dinner and we've been cooking from The New New Orleans. The food in the book is great but for me, it has been more fun to go back and see, taste, and remember the recipes that I wanted to try as a kid.
Get the recipe for Crab and Corn Pies with Crab Corn Sauce...
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