World Recipes

Spicy Cajun Potato Salad with Green Onion Dressing

4 medium-size white or red potatoes, cooked, peeled and chopped
3 eggs, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped bell peppers
2 teaspoons ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Green Onion Salad Dressing

Make the salad dressing first. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients, mixing well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Green Onion Salad Dressing
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons Creole or brown mustard
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Blend the egg and egg yolk in food processor or blender until frothy, about 2 minutes. With the machine on, gradually add the oil in a thin stream. When the mixture is thick and creamy, add the remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Stuffed Cajun Meat Boat

1 1/4 pounds ground beef
12 tablespoons chopped green peppers, divided
3/4 cup chopped onions, divided
3/4 cup chopped celery, divided
1/2 cup chopped green onions, divided
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce with herbs, divided
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon hot sauce
3 tablespoons meat and poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Canned low salt beef broth to thin
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine ground meat, 4 tablespoons green peppers, 4 tablespoons onion, 4 tablespoons celery, 2 tablespoons green onions, 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, all the half-and-half, egg, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, hot sauce and 1 tablespoon meat and poultry seasoning. Mold the meat mixture into a boat hull with all sides and bottom at least 3/4-inch thick and set aside.

In a large saucepan, saute in 2 tablespoons butter all the remaining vegetables until the celery is clear. Add the rest of the tomato sauce, meat and poultry seasoning, and lemon juice, and simmer 10 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Place the meat boat into a baking dish, fill with the sauteed vegetables and spoon sauce over the top. Cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven until done.

To serve, slice meat roll into 1 to 1 1/2-inch thick slices, cover with some of the remaining sauteed tomato sauce and vegetables.

South Louisiana Chicken Spaghetti

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons flour
1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (4 ounce) can tomato paste
Salt and pepper
Meat tenderizer
Accent
Season-All
Cayenne pepper
3 large onions
1/2 bunch celery
1 bunch shallots
1/4 green bell pepper
1 large can mushrooms stems and pieces
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 bay leaves
1/2 squeezed lemon, with rind
Accent
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper
1 cup sweet red wine

In a large, iron pot, slowly heat oil and flour, very slowly and stirring all the while. Keep fire low as possible and stir constantly with a spatula, for this roux burns easily. Cook until the roux is the color of milk chocolate.

Meanwhile, prepare an additional roux of tomato sauce and tomato paste. In another iron skillet, combine tomato paste and tomato sauce and cook over very low flame, stirring constantly. This usually takes longer than the flour roux. The roux will be done when it turns a dark brown color.

While the roux is being cooked, season chicken that has been cut into small pieces by sprinkling on salt and pepper, meat tenderizer, Accent, Season-All and cayenne pepper. Dip each piece in flour and brown on all sides. Set aside.

Finely chop onions, celery, shallots and bell pepper. Saute in the finished flour roux until vegetables are tender, stirring constantly. If the roux begins to stick, add a very small amount of oil.

Add the browned chicken, mushrooms, tomato roux and enough water to give a good liquid consistency, but not watery. Bring to boil, then immediately turn down to simmer. Add brown sugar, bay leaves, lemon juice with rind, Accent, oregano, Tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 hours, or until chicken begins to fall off the bone.

Fifteen minutes before the chicken is done, add 1 cup of any sweet red wine, the sweeter the better.

Serve over cooked spaghetti.

Shrimp Creole

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sliced scallions
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
4 tablespoons red wine
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 slices fresh lemon
2 cups water or fish stock
2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled
4 cups cooked rice

In a very heavy kettle heat oil and flour, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until a medium brown roux is formed. Add onions, pepper, garlic and parsley to cool the roux, then lower heat and continue cooking until vegetables brown slightly. Mix in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add wine and seasonings and mix. Bring mixture to a low boil. Add water or stock to desired consistency. When mixture boils, reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour. Add shrimp; cover, and simmer for 20 minutes more; do not overcook shrimp. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Serve over boiled rice.

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Spicy Seafood Gumbo

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 medium onions, chopped
8 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 (15 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 (28 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen okra, sliced, thawed
1 pound crab claws
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
5 bay leaves
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
2 teaspoons dried whole thyme
2 teaspoons dried whole basil
2 teaspoons dried whole oregano
2 teaspoons sage
1 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds medium-size shrimp, unpeeled
1 quart oysters, undrained
1 pound crab meat
1 pound fish fillets, cut into 1-inch cubes
Hot cooked rice
File powder (optional)

Combine oil and flour in a cast iron skillet; cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until roux is brown, but NOT black.

Stir in onion, celery, and garlic; cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Transfer mixture to a Dutch oven. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, okra, crab claws, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, basil, oregano, sage and pepper; simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Peel and devein shrimp. Add shrimp, oysters, crab meat and fish to Dutch oven; simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve gumbo over hot rice and, if desired, sprinkle with file.

Rabbit Gumbo

1 small onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 dressed rabbit (about 3 pounds), cut into pieces
1/2 pound smoked sausage, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sliced okra
Hot cooked rice

In a Dutch oven, saute onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add rabbit and enough water to cover. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is very tender.

Add sausage, salt, thyme, pepper and cayenne. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove rabbit; cool.

Debone and cut rabbit into bite-size pieces; return to pan. Stir in okra; bring to a boil. Serve in bowls over rice.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Louisiana Shrimp Puffs

3 pounds raw shrimp, peeled
1 cup white wine
1 cup butter
1 cup shallots, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, finely chopped
1 pint whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese
4 large eggs, boiled and finely chopped
1 cup black olives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Romano, for garnish
Parsley, for garnish
24 small pastry shells

Poach the shrimp in the white wine in a heavy 12-inch aluminum skillet until they turn pink and tender (this should take about 4 minutes over medium-high heat).

Scoop the shrimp from the poaching wine (save the wine). Separate them into 2 portions, and place each portion in a bowl to cool. At this point, leave half the shrimp whole and shred the other half into small slivers using the cutting blade of your food processor.

In the same skillet you used to poach the shrimp, melt the butter and gently saute the green onions, celery and bell pepper until they soften. Then pour in the whipping cream and the poaching wine and stir everything together until well blended. Now over high heat, reduce the cream-wine sauce to one-half of its original volume, STIRRING CONSTANTLY.

Drop the shredded shrimp into the skillet and simmer it gently into the sauce for about a minute or two. Then, little by little, start adding the cream cheese, stirring constantly. When all is well blended, season the mixture with the salt and pepper and remove the skillet from the heat. Toss in chopped eggs and black olives and fold them into the mix thoroughly.

Taste for salt and pepper once more.

Stuff the mixture into the pastry shells, top each one with a whole shrimp, sprinkle with parsley and Romano, and bake at 375 degrees F until bubbly.

Okra Gumbo

2 pounds shrimp
16 cups chicken stock (1 gallon)
1/3 cup butter
2 pounds okra, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes (#2 can)

Peel and clean shrimp.

Melt butter in soup pot. Add okra, onion, green pepper and saute. Add garlic and chopped parsley and cook for 2 minutes.

Add chicken stock and tomatoes. Add shrimp and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Stir thoroughly.

Serve with rice.

Makes 8 servings.