Lily, my former mother-in-law was a church-going lady and I don’t think a drop of liquor ever crossed her lips. Still, she loved to cook and she loved to entertain. When members of her large family dropped by, (an everyday occurrence) she would often steam up a batch of oysters. Here is her simple, yet wonderful recipe. You can check out more of Lily's recipes in Lily's Little Cajun Cookbook at Smashwords.
Lily’s Steamed Oysters
Ingredients
• 4 doz. Oysters
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash cayenne
Preparation
Drain the oysters in their shells and put them in a bamboo steamer over a pot of boiling water. Cover and steam for ten minutes. Place in a hot dish and season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Serve with drawn butter sauce and eat while very hot to enjoy the entire flavor.
Eric'sWeb
Showing posts with label chalmette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chalmette. Show all posts
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Lily's Chicken Sauce Piquante - a weekend recipe
A certain spicy stew is a cooking staple in south Louisiana. Sauce piquante was introduced to Louisiana by the Spanish. It has been embraced by Cajun chefs and has evolved into nearly as many differing recipes as there are cooks.
The dish begins with a roux, combined with the sauce and almost any meat you can think of. In Louisiana, there is chicken, pork, wild duck, turtle and even alligator sauce piquante. Here is one of my ex-mother-in-law Lily's version.
Chicken Sauce Piquante
Ingredients
1 chicken, cut up
¼ cup chopped shallots
½ cup cooking oil
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
½ cup flour
1 cup water
2 large onions, chopped
1 cup Burgundy
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 medium bell pepper
Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste
Preparation
Make roux with cooking oil and flour, stirring constantly until medium brown. Add onions, garlic, bell pepper and shallots. Sauté until onions are clear. Add chicken, tomato sauce, water, Burgundy, parsley and seasoning. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until sauce begins to thicken. Serve over rice. Serves six.
Eric'sWeb
The dish begins with a roux, combined with the sauce and almost any meat you can think of. In Louisiana, there is chicken, pork, wild duck, turtle and even alligator sauce piquante. Here is one of my ex-mother-in-law Lily's version.
Chicken Sauce Piquante
Ingredients
1 chicken, cut up
¼ cup chopped shallots
½ cup cooking oil
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
½ cup flour
1 cup water
2 large onions, chopped
1 cup Burgundy
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 medium bell pepper
Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste
Preparation
Make roux with cooking oil and flour, stirring constantly until medium brown. Add onions, garlic, bell pepper and shallots. Sauté until onions are clear. Add chicken, tomato sauce, water, Burgundy, parsley and seasoning. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until sauce begins to thicken. Serve over rice. Serves six.
Eric'sWeb
Monday, June 15, 2009
Nutrias, Yashicas and Warm Pots of Gumbo
I visited New Orleans for the first time when I was eleven. My Aunt Carmol was an elementary school teacher, and she made sure my brother and I saw every historical site, museum and park in the City. Having grown up in rural northwest Louisiana, New Orleans was the first cosmopolitan area I ever visited. It was not the last, but it remains in my mind as the most unique city in the United States and perhaps the world.
My first visit was not my last. As a college freshman, I marched in the Venus parade during Mardi Gras, experiencing Bourbon Street and the French Quarter for the first time as an adult - or at least close. Most of that particular visit was spent in a drunken haze, much in the manner of college students today visiting the City and savoring Mardi Gras for the first time.
I worked in the City once during summer break from college. My job title was assistant micro-photographic technician seismologist. From my salary of two dollars per hour, you can tell the description was just a bit overblown, but it did look good on my resume. I bought my first camera that year - a 35 mm Yashica range finder, and New Orleans provided a plethora of scenic opportunities.
Shortly after that sweltering summer I married a girl from Chalmette, a city separated from New Orleans only by name. My marriage to Gail did not last but during our seven years together, I learned to love her French Acadian parents, Lily and Harvey, and her entire family. It is a shame sometimes that you cannot divorce a wife and keep her family.
Gail had two brothers, six sisters and many aunts, uncles and cousins. Most were wonderful cooks but none better than Gail’s mother Lily was. No two pots of gumbo are ever exactly alike. I know because I have consumed my fair share. Taste, as I guess just about everything else, is subjective. That said, Lily’s gumbo was the best I ever tasted and, in my opinion, the best in the world.
Harvey, Gail’s father, was a cattleman and fur buyer. During trapping season, raw fur filled the shed behind Harvey’s house. He gave me a lesson once on how to grade a nutria pelt. Like calculus and religion, the lesson did not stick. One short story - Harvey and Lily once found six-hundred dollars in cash in their deep freeze. They did not have a safe and trappers do not take Visa or MasterCard.
Eric's Web
My first visit was not my last. As a college freshman, I marched in the Venus parade during Mardi Gras, experiencing Bourbon Street and the French Quarter for the first time as an adult - or at least close. Most of that particular visit was spent in a drunken haze, much in the manner of college students today visiting the City and savoring Mardi Gras for the first time.
I worked in the City once during summer break from college. My job title was assistant micro-photographic technician seismologist. From my salary of two dollars per hour, you can tell the description was just a bit overblown, but it did look good on my resume. I bought my first camera that year - a 35 mm Yashica range finder, and New Orleans provided a plethora of scenic opportunities.
Shortly after that sweltering summer I married a girl from Chalmette, a city separated from New Orleans only by name. My marriage to Gail did not last but during our seven years together, I learned to love her French Acadian parents, Lily and Harvey, and her entire family. It is a shame sometimes that you cannot divorce a wife and keep her family.
Gail had two brothers, six sisters and many aunts, uncles and cousins. Most were wonderful cooks but none better than Gail’s mother Lily was. No two pots of gumbo are ever exactly alike. I know because I have consumed my fair share. Taste, as I guess just about everything else, is subjective. That said, Lily’s gumbo was the best I ever tasted and, in my opinion, the best in the world.
Harvey, Gail’s father, was a cattleman and fur buyer. During trapping season, raw fur filled the shed behind Harvey’s house. He gave me a lesson once on how to grade a nutria pelt. Like calculus and religion, the lesson did not stick. One short story - Harvey and Lily once found six-hundred dollars in cash in their deep freeze. They did not have a safe and trappers do not take Visa or MasterCard.
Eric's Web
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