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.

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Native Louisiana Hibiscus

Here's another pic from my friend Dave in Livingston, Louisiana. It is a native hibiscus that grows in the area.

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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.

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Gumbo Yaya

Bertram Picou is a recurring character in my French Quarter Mystery Series and first appeared in  FQM No. 1 Big Easy. Bertram is the owner of an eclectic bar on Chartres Street in New Orleans. He cooks some killer gumbo and always has a pot simmering in back for his regular customers.

Everyone in New Orleans makes gumbo, some tasting better than others. The best gumbo is like ambrosia, a gift from heaven itself. It’s now made all over the world but one thing is sure. You’ll never find better gumbo anywhere in the world that tastes as good as the worst gumbo from New Orleans.

Some say that Bertram’s gumbo is the best in the Big Easy. Don’t believe me? Next time you’re in the French Quarter, stop by his place and give it a try. The bar’s a little hard to find, but keep looking. Bertram's mother taught him how to make gumbo. Below is her recipe, told in her Cajun son's own words.

Bertram Picou’s Mama's Gumbo

"First thing is making the roux. Pour some oil in your big cast iron skillet and put it on the fire, medium heat. Add some flour and start stirring. Whatever you do, don’t leave the stove, even to chase Ol’ Shep, until the roux cooks to a pleasing shade of brown, maybe a little darker if your taste buds are more Cajun than most. Be careful now! Don’t burn that roux cause it’s the most important part of the gumbo! If it starts to smoke and curdle up, you done screwed up! Throw it out and start over.

Once you got the roux done, its time to make the gumbo. My mama throws in crawfish, shrimp, chicken, sausage, squirrel, deer, or even fish. "Whatever floats your boat," she used to say.

Fill up your big stock pot with water and set it on the stove. Get it to boiling then add the roux. Mama always uses four tablespoons, more or less, depending on the weather, how dark she had let it cook, and how she feels that particular day. Good cooks don’t read recipes. They just sense how something ought to taste. However many tablespoons she used, her gumbo always tasted damn good!

Keep stirring till the roux and water are mixed, then add a couple of chopped onions, a chopped bell pepper, six minced garlic cloves and your chicken, seafood, or whatever. This is where it gets tricky. You need to add salt, cayenne, and black pepper and this must be done to taste. Using too much, or not enough, can make or break the gumbo and practicing is the only way to learn how. You’ll have to do this yourself cause mama can’t go to everyone’s house.

Cook the gumbo on a medium hot flame and keep stirring till everything starts getting tender. Don’t put a lid on the pot.

Finally, boil up your rice till it's perfect (just about the hardest thing in the world to get right, but that’s another story). Add parsley and scallions to the gumbo, and, if you like, a little file, then ladle it on the rice and enjoy!"

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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.