Monday, June 11, 2012

Louisiana Part Four: The Food

It’s no secret that I like food, and whenever BowlingWidow and I are visiting a place we make it a point to sample the local cuisine.  And while Louisiana may have its rough edges, they really seem to have gotten this culinary thing down pat in the last few hundred years.

We’re talking Cajun and Creole cooking here.  There tends to be a bit of overlap in making the distinction between the two styles, but in general, Cajun originated from French Provincial peasantry (they tended to use whatever local ingredients were available such as game meats, rice, peppers, celery and okra).  The Creoles cooked with a more sophisticated classic “melting pot” European style, used more varieties of seafood (and food in general), and are responsible for jambalaya and gumbo.

But who really cares?  It’s all tasty and fattening.  Thank goodness we don’t eat this stuff every day.  Here’s a small photo collection of some of what was happily consumed: 

The Appetizer:  Alligator - The Other Other White Meat

Enjoying Shrimp and Catfish Po' Boy Sandwiches in Baton Rouge

Ahh Yes...A Muffuletta Sandwich from Central Grocery in the Quarter

Crawfish Etouffee Anyone?

Red Beans & Rice with Andouille Sausage:  My Personal Fave

The Best of New Orleans in One Convenient Package

The Hurricane:  A Required Drink in The French Quarter
For Dessert (or Breakfast): Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

The End

3 comments:

Pilla Leitner said...

Cafe du Monde! Did you try the wonderful chicory coffee there? Ed and I loved it. Also, are the used bookstores still there, or were they washed away? We spent hours in used bookstores in New Orleans one day. Of course, I am with you all the way on the food, too!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Pilla! Yes, we did have that great coffee while there. We didn't go into any used bookstores (just a couple of locally owned stores that sell new books), but if they were located in the Garden District or the French Quarter it's likely that they're still around as those areas were mostly spared from Katrina.

I enjoyed your last post. It seems unreal to me that it can be daylight at 11 pm.

I'll be attempting to make red beans and rice next weekend as I'm hosting our book group for the first time at our condo. Wish me luck!

Unknown said...

Yes, the chicory coffee will jangle your nerves a little -- it was like Starbucks on steroids! It's the perfect offset to those beignets though, mm hmm.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!