N'awlins Culture

Fried Okra

King Cake

The King

Pig's feet, yo

Shrimp'n'grits


Simple and simply delicious!  The trick to this dish is to make sure you get enough spice and flavor in everything, because shrimp and grits can be pretty plain tasting.

60 small to medium sized shrimp - detailed, like a car
1 cup grits - cooked with 4 cups water
2 bunches of scallions
A few handfuls of mushrooms - I prefer crimini
Parmesan
Cheddar
1 habanero
1 lemon - or lemon juice if you're a sucker
Garlic
Creole Kent's Spice Mix - you can't just find this stuff anywhere
Bacon fat - you should be keeping some handy in your freezer
Salt
Black pepper

Cook the grits with the diced habanero, some bacon fat, and salt.  Once the grits are at a good thick (but not too thick) consistency, add a good amount of both parmesan and cheddar.  You want enough so you can taste it, but not so much that the flavor is totally overpowered by cheese, unless you just really, really like cheese.  After the grits are done, or when they are close to done, cook everything else in a pan with a good deal of bacon fat--don't be shy.  I also whisked some flour in towards the end to thick up the bacon fat/lemon sauce.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.

"Black-Eyed Pea" (or Black Bean) Salad


Traditionally made with Black-Eyed Peas, if you Northerners can't come across 'em canned and you're shopping last minute, black beans are pretty dern tasty, too.

Black-Eyed Peas or Black Beans (canned, or if you have the time soak them the night before)
Lima Beans or Fava Beans
(Corn - I didn't have any in this particular instance and since we were already having corn maque choux didn't find it necessary)
Avocados
Fresh Basil
onion/scallions
Green pepper (red works too, but I had green)
garlic
Tomatoes (I just used some spicy salsa)
juice from a lemon
apple cider vinegar

Chop the onions and/or scallions, pepper and garlic and saute them in butter (til lightly browned, but still crunchy). Dice the avocado in chunks and mix with drained beans, basil and diced tomatoes or salsa. Toss in sauteed veggies and mix it all up with the lemon juice and vinegar. The avocado will sort of melt into a thick delicious consistency. Fresh with a nice crisp crunch!