Mama Mulate's Voodoo Dipping Sauce - a weekend recipe

Mama Mulate is a recurring character in my French Quarter Mystery Series that features paranormal private investigator Wyatt Thomas. Not only is Mama a practicing voodoo mambo, she's also a Ph.D. who teaches literature at Tulane University. Mama first appeared in the French Quarter Mystery Series Book #1 Big Easy and has been in many of the six book (currently working on #7 tentatively titled Courtyard of Forbidden Secrets) series. She lives in an old New Orleans neighborhood with her three cats. She drives a fully restored Bugeye Sprite, and to say she's a bit eccentric is a gross understatement. One of my readers suggested she and Wyatt should have their own Facebook pages. They've become so very real in my mind, I'm actually afraid of what might happen if they indeed got their own pages. Among other things, Mama is a wonderful Cajun and Creole cook. Here is her recipe for one of my favorites.

MAMA MULATE'S VOODOO DIPPING SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 t cornstarch
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 T green onions, thinly sliced
• ½ green pepper, small, thinly sliced
• 1 T lemon juice
• 4 t prepared Dijon-style mustard
• ¼ t onion powder


DIRECTIONS
Pour water in a medium saucepan and mix in cornstarch to dissolve. Stir in honey. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens - about 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat. Stir in green onions, lemon juice, prepared Dijon-style mustard, onion powder, and green pepper. Serve warm or chill in the refrigerator.

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Mama Mulate is a recurring character in Eric Wilder's French Quarter Mystery Series. Check out Mama and all the colorful characters in Eric's books on his Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBook author pages.

Mama Mulate's Shrimp and Mirliton Casserole

Though mirlitons, also called Chayotes, are originally from Mexico and Central America, they have found a home in Mama Mulate’s backyard. Mama teaches English literature at Tulane University in New Orleans. She’s also a practicing voodoo mambo, business partner and confidante to Wyatt Thomas, the French Quarter’s favorite private investigator. Mama and Wyatt come alive in Eric Wilder’s French Quarter Mystery series. Fictional maybe, but this is one of Mama’s favorite mirliton recipes.

Ingredients

• 4 medium mirlitons
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 onion, large, finely chopped
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• ½ bell pepper, medium, chopped
• Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
• ½ cup breadcrumbs

Directions

Boil mirlitons in salty water until tender. Peel and cube the pulp. In a skillet, using butter, sauté green onions, onions, bell pepper, celery, and parsley. Add shrimp and cook 10 minutes. Add mirliton, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste, and then mix well. Pour into large casserole dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs. In an oven preheated to 350 degrees, bake the ingredients 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Enjoy!

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Mama Mulate is a recurring character in Eric Wilder's French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans. Please check his Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBook author pages.

Big Billy's Special Brew Barbecue Sauce - a weekend recipe

Big Billy liked to cook outside on his barbecue grill. Here is the recipe for his special barbecue sauce, a little spicy and just a little sweet. Great for both beef and chicken.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cane syrup

• 3/4 cup mustard

• 1/2 cup chili sauce

• 1 teaspoon Angostura bitters

• 1/2 cup onion, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 cup beer - Big Billy preferred Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer seven minutes, stirring occasionally.

Kansas Dirt Cake - a recipe

Here is a recipe I found on the web. The author (unknown) suggests that you serve it in a flower pot complete with gummy worms and artificial flowers. Sounds gummy, I mean yummy!

2 pkgs. vanilla instant pudding
2 ½ cups milk
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
½ stick of butter
¾ cup powdered sugar
12 oz. Cool Whip
1 pkg. Oreo Cookies

Mix the vanilla pudding and milk in a medium size-mixing bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Mix cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the vanilla pudding and mix until thoroughly blended. Add the carton of Cool Whip and mix until blended.

Line 9 x 13 in. pan with Oreo cookie crumbs. (I use 2 Oreo crusts and mash the crusts up with a fork. You need one crust for the bottom of the pan and one to put over the pudding mixture.) Pour pudding mixture into the pan and spread the rest of the Oreo crumbs on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Eric'sWeb

Brandy Ice - a recipe

Junior’s, in the basement of the Oil Center Building, is one of my favorite Oklahoma City restaurants. They serve choice steaks and strong drinks. Brandy Ice, one of their after dinner drinks, is a favorite of mine. In a recent trip to Junior’s, a waitress gave Marilyn and me their recipe. It’s simple but wonderful.

1 pint Vanell ice cream
¼ cup dark Crème de Cocoa
1/3 cup brandy

Blend in blender until smooth then serve in a brandy snifter

Eric's Website

Pommes de Terres Souffle - a recipe

Marilyn and I are both avid collectors of old books, especially cookbooks. Miss M recently found an old cookbook on eBay titled New Orleans Creole Recipes by author Mary Moore Bremer. The book was first published in 1932 by Dorothea Thompson of Waveland, Mississippi. I could find nothing on the internet about the author but the book is a culinary treasure. If you can find a copy, buy it! Here is just one of its wonderful recipes. Here is an original recipe straight from the book.

Pommes de Terres Soufflé

This famous dish is difficult for any but a professional chef. All authorities agree that the kind of potatoes used is of great importance. I would suggest the use of a starchy potato.

Peel, cut square, and trim off corners. The pieces should be absolutely even, not thicker than a silver dollar, and cut lengthwise of the potato.

They are hard to cut. Do not soak. Wipe each slice dry. Have two pots of lard. Pot number one must be warm. Put in ten or twelve slices at a time. Let them cook slowly until soft and nearly done, then take out and cool.

Heat second pot of grease quite hot, but not smoking. Have the frying pan hot so as not to chill the grease.

Put into it not more than six slices at a time for the same reason. Turn on a fierce heat and fry until they puff and become slightly amber in color. Keep slices turning constantly.

If they do not puff in a moment, they will never do so.

The exact temperature of fat depends upon the quantity of fat and the texture of the potatoes; so accurate directions are impossible.

I would not advise one unskilled to try this for the first time when strangers are invited to dine; but anyone that likes to experiment might get great pleasure in mastering this dish. It is quite a feat, and puts one in a class with professionals. Besides, it is ever so nice.

The puffs may be served on a napkin and hurried to the table, having been salted first. One may get them in New Orleans, served most beautifully, sometimes in a hot basket made of pastry, tinted in various colors.

When you eat them, be sure to appreciate the one behind the scenes who prepared them, and say with the colored folk, “Ain’t dat sumpin?”

Eric's Website

Conch Fritters - a recipe

Here is a recipe for Conch Fritters I found at http://www.bahamas-travel.info. Believe me; they taste great, but good luck finding any conch unless you live in Florida!

2 cups freshly bruised conch, cleaned and diced
3 teaspoons tomato paste
1-1/2 Tablespoons flour 2 onions, diced
1 Bahamian sweet pepper, diced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 Tablespoons baking powder
3-4 cups vegetable oil
Hot Peppers and salt to taste

Combine all ingredients (except oil) in a large bowl. Blend well. Heat oil in deep frying pan or pot until water dropped into oil sizzles. Drop batter by the tablespoonful into hot oil. Fry until brown. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Makes 40 fritters

Wilder's Website

French Chicory and Potato Salad

Chicory is as old as history itself, being a primary ingredient in many Roman dishes. The plant’s green leafs (radicchio) are often eaten as a salad in Europe and the root is used as a coffee substitute. It is largely unknown in the United States except for in the south, mostly around New Orleans.

Here is a Cajun recipe you probably have never heard of but try it anyway. I found it in the French Acadian Cook Book published in 1955 by the Louisiana Acadian Handicraft Museum, Inc. The recipe was contributed by Mrs. F.A. McKague of Jennings, Louisiana. Even if you aren’t familiar with the culinary qualities of chicory give this simple recipe a try it and I’ll bet that you’ll become a certified aficionado.

French Chicory and Potato Salad

1 lb of onions 3 lbs Irish potatoes
1 head of chicory 1 lb of bacon
Hard cooked eggs

Boil and dice potatoes and eggs in separate dish. Fry diced bacon and onions until brown. Mix potatoes, eggs and chopped chicory in frying pan and cook for five minutes. Serve hot. Serves six.

http://www.EricWilder.com

Cattleman's House Dressing

There's a pivotal scene in my book Bones of Skeleton Creek that takes place at Cattleman's Cafe located on the south side of Oklahoma City. A rancher has hired P.I. Buck McDivit to help him catch the culprits rustling cattle from his ranch. Buck's friend Trey is an agent for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and they meet at Cattleman's for lunch to discuss the case.

I-40 bisects Oklahoma City into what are really two distinct towns, the north side, and the south side. Just south of I-40, on Agnew, is a retail neighborhood known locally as Stockyard City. It's the home of Cattleman’s Steak House, the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Oklahoma City. Cattleman's opened its doors in 1910 three years after Oklahoma became a state.

The restaurant and Stockyards hold many bittersweet memories for me as I was banking at the now-defunct Stockyards Bank when my little oil company, caught up in the eighties oil bust, went “belly up.” Cattleman’s is still a fixture for oilies, cattle raisers, and other risk-takers, a fitting legacy as the owner won it in a game of dice.

Many luminaries including John Wayne and Ronald Reagan have graced Cattleman’s doors since 1910. The restaurant serves stiff drinks and some of the best steaks in Oklahoma City (no kidding!) along with lamb fries and their signature Cattleman’s Salad. The recipe for their famous house dressing is a secret, but it’s hard keeping a secret for one hundred and eight years. Try it and enjoy. If you can't get there in person, read Bones of Skeleton Creek and have lunch with Buck and Trey.

Cattleman's House Dressing

8 oz. cream cheese ½ pint sour cream
Egg Beater = 1 egg 1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp garlic powder ¼ cup Wesson Oil
¾ cup water

Blend in a bowl larger than 2.5 quarts with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of Wesson Oil and blend until smooth and well mixed. Add ¾ cup of water and blend until smooth and well mixed.

Makes a bunch and you may wish to share a portion or two with your friends.

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Born near Black Bayou in the little Louisiana town of Vivian, Eric Wilder grew up listening to his grandmother’s tales of politics, corruption, and ghosts that haunt the night. He now lives in Oklahoma where he continues to pen mysteries and short stories with a southern accent. He is the author of the French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans and the Paranormal Cowboy Series set in Oklahoma. Please check it out on his Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBook author pages. You might also like to check out his website.

Crawfish Pie

Crawfish pie is a Lousiana dish immortalized in the Hank Williams song Jambalaya. I found this recipe for crawfish pie in the French Acadian Cook Book published in 1955 by the Louisiana Acadian Handicraft Museum, Inc., Jennings, Louisiana. The person submitting the recipe is Gene Knobloch of Thibodaux, Louisiana and he offers this expert advice:

This is a basic recipe. To be a good Creole cook you must be original and you must have a good imagination. So throw in anything your good judgement tells you, even the kitchen stove if necessary.

P.S. – If you do not eat crawfish (shame on you) you may substitute shrimp.

3 cups cooked crawfish, tails and fat
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 cups cooked rice
4 yolks hard boiled eggs
1 ¼ cups of water 2 or 3 slices, well buttered bread
¼ cup minced celery Olive oil or other shortening
½ small green pepper, minced
Salt, black pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, pimientos
1 bunch shallots, chopped fine
1 bay leaf

Saute in olive oil or other shortening, celery, shallots and sweet pepper, about five minutes. Add crawfish tails and fat, saute about 5 minutes longer. Salt and pepper to taste, add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. Mix this with cooked rice, add water, mushroom soup, bay leaf. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Test for salt and pepper.

Pour entire mixture into a greased baking dish. Grate egg yolks of the top. Remove the crust from the slices of bread, cut each slice into four triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on top of mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, until mixture is toroughly heated and bread is toasted. Garnish with pimientos. Serves about eight. Present with gusto.

http://www.ericwilder.com/

Bertram Picou's Red Beans and Rice - a weekend recipe

French Quarter bartender Bertram Picou is a recurring character in my French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans. After appearing in Big Easy, he's developed a life of his own that transcends fiction. Like many Southerners, Bertram served in the Army and did his basic training at Fort Polk in Leesville, Louisiana. The Fort is the subject of Tigerland, a gritty but powerful movie starring Colin Farrell. It’s probably the best movie Farrell ever did and you might want to check it out. Anyway, the place was a hell hole and some say the chances of getting killed or wounded were greater there than in Vietnam.

Rutted dirt roads, tracts of heavily forested land that had never seen a chainsaw, miles of seemingly endless rifle ranges, and swamps so murky and misty that they looked like the backdrop of a Lon Chaney horror film, comprised Fort Polk. Alligators, armadillos, water moccasins and frightened, pissed-off young G.I.’s, soon to be bound for Vietnam, populated the musty old Fort where fever and meningitis were everyday occurrences.

And it was hot and humid! The World War II-vintage barracks had no air conditioning in the summer and little insulation in the winter. A soldier’s day started at 4:30 AM with thirty minutes of physical training before breakfast. This was followed by more PT, a one to seven-mile hike to the rifle range, orientation, target practice, a one to seven-mile hike back to the barracks, more PT, then bed. Bertram lost forty-six pounds in six weeks at Fort Polk.

Some of the drill sergeants were mean, some practically psychotic. Nice wasn’t in their vocabulary. Bertram is the personification of the term laid-back, but two words can still evoke memories of distress and instantly raise his blood pressure and heart rate. Those two words — grease trap! If you ever spent any time in the Army, you probably know what I mean.

Food in the mess halls was simple but filling. All you could eat in fifteen minutes or so. They served red beans in abundance and rice. The problem was, not together. Army regulation said you can’t have two starches on one plate. Good idea for the Army, bad idea for Bertram Picou who thinks RB&R should be part of the Government’s food pyramid (or whatever shape it is now!)

Bertram breathed a large sigh of relief when he finally got out of the Army. He cooks RB&R almost every day at his bar on Chartres Street in New Orleans French Quarter and here is his personal recipe.

Bertram's Red Beans and Rice

1 ½ lbs. dry red beans

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

½ green pepper, diced

1 red onion, sliced

½ tbsp. oil

10 c. water

1 veg. bouillon cube

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 ½ c. rice

3 c. water for rice

Soak beans overnight. Saute garlic, red onion, green pepper, celery in oil in large pot. Add 10 cups of water, vegetable bouillon cube, and beans. Let cook on medium flame until soft. Cook rice separately. When rice is done, serve topped with red beans.

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Born near Black Bayou in the little Louisiana town of Vivian, Eric Wilder grew up listening to his grandmother’s tales of politics, corruption, and ghosts that haunt the night. He now lives in Oklahoma where he continues to pen mysteries and short stories with a southern accent. He is the author of the French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans and the Paranormal Cowboy Series. Please check it out on his Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBook author pages. You might also like to check out his website.

beignets - a recipe

Here is a recipe I found in the wonderful cookbook Hot off the Press – Good Cooking from the Pages of the State-Times Morning Advocate published in 1977 by Capital City Press. This recipe was submitted by Lillian Gremillion of Frisco.

BEIGNETS (The French Market Type)

½ pkg. Yeast cake 3 ½ cups plain flour
1 cup milk ¾ tbs salt
2 tbs sugar 1 egg
2 tbs cooking oil powdered sugar

Soften yeast cake in 1/3 cup lukewarm water to form a paste. Warm the milk and add sugar, oil and yeast mixture. Gradually stir in 2 cups flour and the salt. Stir until it forms a batter. Stir in egg until it is mixed well, and then add rest of flour. Mix well. Cover and set in warm place about 1 ½ hours to rise. Take dough out and roll until about ¼ inch thick. Cut in 2 inch pieces. Place on cookie sheet or pan and let rise another half hour. Fry dough until it is brown and then remove and let drain. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.

Mama's Yeast Rolls

Here is another recipe from my Aunt Dot's wonderful new cookbook All the Foods We've Loved Before. The recipe is a classic recipe from my grandmother Lela, also a great cook.

1 package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk, scalded
1 each egg, beaten
4 cups flour

Moisten yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Let stand. Add shortening, rest of sugar and salt to hot milk. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cook, then add egg. Stir in softened yeast. Next add flour into liquid until will mixed. Turn dough onto lightly floured board; knead quickly until smooth and elastic. Form into a smooth ball.

Place ball in a well greased bowl and turn over once or twice to grease entire surface. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk. Knead well again and shape as desired. Place in greased pan, cover and let rise for one hour more. Bake at 400 degrees for fifteen to twenty minutes.

http://www.ericwilder.com