Grilled Chicken Thighs with Smoky Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Cajun Shrimp Cobb Salad with Bacon Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo with Fried Okra Dippers
Crawfish Butternut Squash Mac N’ Cheese
Catfish Tacos with Tasso White Beans
Healthy Shrimp and Corn Chowder
Shrimp, Andouille, and Okra Stew
Fried Green Tomato BLTs with Caramelized Onion Remoulade
Grilled Chicken Thighs with Smoky Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
Chicken
4 skin-on chicken thighs
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. cracked pepper
2 tbsp. parsley, chopped
Sweet Potatoes
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced in large cubes
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce + 1 tsp. sauce
¼ cup honey
1½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
⅓ cup milk
1. Marinate chicken with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper, for 30 minutes (or as long as overnight) in a plastic zip bag or airtight container.
2. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover potatoes with water.
3. Bring the potatoes to a boil. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, preheat grill to 400 degrees.
5. Sear the chicken for 3 minutes on each side.
6. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and remove the chicken from direct heat or onto the top rack of the grill. (Can also be done on an indoor grill pan.)
7. Continue to cook until chicken is cooked through, about 20 more minutes. Remove chicken from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
8. With a hand-held mixer or stand mixer, whip your sweet potatoes with the chipotle peppers and their sauce, honey, salt, butter, and milk, until smooth.
9. Sprinkle the chicken with parsley and serve alongside the sweet potatoes.
Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeño pepper
4 green onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. ginger
1 tbsp. coconut oil
3 tbsp. curry powder
1 tbsp. water
1 lb. crawfish tails
1 can coconut milk
¼ cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. rice noodles
Directions:
1. Chop bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, 2 of the green onions, garlic, and ginger.
2. Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
3. Add your chopped veggies to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender.
4. Combine curry powder and water together in a small bowl and stir to make a paste.
5. Add curry paste to the vegetables and sauté for 2 minutes.
6. Add in crawfish and coconut milk. Stir to combine and cook for 10 minutes.
7. Add in tomatoes, season with salt, and heat through for 2 more minutes.
8. In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add rice noodles, and boil until just tender (3 to 4 minutes).
9. Drain and rinse the noodles.
10. Serve crawfish curry over noodles and top with remaining 2 diced green onions.
Cajun Shrimp Cobb Salad with Bacon Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
Salad
6 slices thick-cut bacon
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning (see page 3)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 head romaine lettuce
2 cups mixed greens
¼ cup red onion, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1 english cucumber, chopped
2 ears fresh corn, cooked and kernels removed
1 avocado
4 hard-boiled eggs
½ cup blue cheese crumbles
Vinaigrette
bacon drippings from the cooked bacon (about ⅓ cup)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
⅛ cup blue cheese crumbles
3 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cracked pepper
2 green onions, chopped
Directions:
1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, remove from the pan, place on a paper towel–lined plate, and set aside.
2. Season shrimp with Cajun Seasoning and heat olive oil over medium-high heat on an indoor grill pan or large skillet.
3. Add shrimp and cook about 2 minutes on each side until shrimp are just cooked through and have turned pink.
4. To make the vinaigrette, heat bacon drippings over medium heat and add vinegar, blue cheese, honey, pepper, and green onions. Cook for 5 minutes until cheese is melted and flavors have combined. Remove from heat and store in a mason jar until ready to serve. Best served hot or room temperature.
5. Layer lettuce and greens, onion, tomato, cucumber, corn, avocado, eggs, cheese, and shrimp.
6. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad when ready to serve.
Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo with Fried Okra Dippers
Ingredients:
Gumbo
2 large onions
1 cup celery
1 cup green bell pepper
½ cup green onions
1 whole chicken
4 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning (see page 3)
1 lb. andouille sausage
½ cup + 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
9 cups chicken stock
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
¼ cup fresh parsley
¼ tsp. cayenne
4 cups cooked white rice
Fried Okra Dippers
½ cup vegetable oil
1 lb. fresh whole okra
Fry Mix (see page 3)
kosher salt for sprinkling
Directions:
1. Chop onions, celery, bell pepper, and green onions.
2. Rub the chicken with Cajun Seasoning.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot and brown your chicken on all sides, but not fully cooked through. Remove chicken and set to the side to rest.
4. Sauté the sausage in the same pot and remove when browned.
5. Make the roux by adding vegetable oil and flour to the pot over medium to medium-high heat.
6. Stir the roux for 20 to 25 minutes consistently, until the roux is caramel in color, careful to watch the heat and not let the roux burn. Adjust the heat accordingly if the roux starts to brown too quickly.
7. Add the veggies to the roux and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes until veggies start to tenderize.
8. Add sausage back to the pot.
9. At this time, pour in chicken stock and bay leaves.
10. Add the whole chicken back to the pot to continue cooking all the way through.
11. Simmer the gumbo for 2 hours until chicken is falling apart and all flavors have combined.
12. Remove chicken and shred the meat, discarding the skin and the bones. Add chicken meat back to the gumbo.
13. About 30 minutes before gumbo is ready to serve, heat vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until it reaches about 375 degrees. Test the temperature by adding a little of the Fry Mix to the oil to see if it’s hot enough—it should sizzle when ready.
14. Coat okra in the Fry Mix and place the okra in the hot oil. Cook on both sides for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown.
15. Remove okra to a paper towel–lined plate and sprinkle with kosher salt.
16. To serve gumbo, spoon over white rice with fried okra dippers on the side and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
One of my favorite ways to get inspired in the kitchen is to shop at local farmers’ markets. I fell in love with the idea of farmers’ markets after moving to Louisiana and found myself doing most of my shopping with local farmers each week. Letting the produce and meats available dictate my menu planning each week is exciting and allows me to experiment with new takes on all my favorite recipes.
Louisiana in particular has a warmer climate throughout most of the year, allowing an abundance of produce to grow throughout the year. On top of that, I can find meats and seafood of all varieties including lamb, beef, goat, shrimp, crab, alligator, free range chickens, and pork. I call the Red Stick Farmers’ Market in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, my home market. I know my farmers and they know me. I got hooked on items like Berkshire ground pork (which makes the richest and juiciest burger because it comes from a breed of pig dating back three hundred years) and fresh produce including figs, greens of all varieties, and satsumas, to name a few. Not only is there fresh produce and meats, but also homemade jams, dips, breads, and so much more.
In addition to the quality of the food at local farmers’ markets being top notch, there is something about the feeling of community you get when you shop your local market. Fresh flowers, families enjoying the outdoors, seeing your neighbor while you grab a breakfast pastry, and knowing you are buying quality ingredients from farmers who need your support are all reasons that farmers’ markets rank high on my list no matter where I live.
After moving to Texas, I will say that the single thing I miss most about Louisiana is my local market. I knew my farmers and looked forward to seeing them as well as friends every Saturday morning. Regardless if you have a farmers’ market near you, you can find seasonal produce and quality meat at most grocery stores these days. I try to shop items grown nearby or locally when I can’t shop fresh from the farm! Knowing where my food comes from is important to me, and I feel better about eating it knowing where it was produced.
In this book, you’ll find that I took my favorite Louisiana recipes and showed you my own take on how I make them in my kitchen, which in most cases includes farm-fresh ingredients. These somewhat fresher takes on the classics are Cajun-approved and I think you will love creating them wherever you live!
Check out the local markets in your area and see what is available. Try something new and get to know the farmers and people who live in your community. You can find almost all of the ingredients used in this book throughout the country and, more times than not, can substitute seasonal ingredients as they are available. My hope is that you can experience a little taste of the food that I have grown to love so much by cooking a fresher take on Cajun cuisine in your own kitchen!
Ingredients:
1 onion
½ cup celery
1 green bell pepper
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning (see page 3)
1 dozen large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 dozen littleneck clams
1 dozen mussels
1 lb. crabmeat
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 lb. spaghetti pasta noodles
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
4 green onions for topping
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:
1. Chop onion, celery, and bell pepper.
2. Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large and deep skillet.
3. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until vegetable are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add can of tomatoes, chicken broth, and Cajun Seasoning, and let cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add seafood and cover the skillet. Let the seafood cook for 5 minutes until clams and mussels open and shrimp are cooked through.
6. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heavily salt the water and add pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package instructions.
7. Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of pasta water.
8. Add pasta into the seafood mixture along with the reserved pasta water.
9. Top with green onions and parsley and serve immediately.
Crawfish Butternut Squash Mac N’ Cheese
Everyone loves mac n’ cheese, and with my creamy butternut squash cheese sauce and spicy crawfish thrown in for a twist on a favorite, your whole family is sure to love this dish!
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. pasta shells
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup milk
1 pinch nutmeg
1 cup pecorino romano cheese
1 lb. crawfish tails
½ cup plain bread crumbs
2 tbsp. parsley
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut the butternut squash in half, peel, remove the seeds, and then cut into large, 1-inch chunks.
3. Layer squash onto a baking sheet and add olive oil, salt, and half the pepper, and toss to coat.
4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until squash is caramelized and tender.
5. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Heavily salt the water and then add pasta shells and cook until just before al dente. (They will finish cooking in the oven.) Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of pasta water.
6. Purée your squash after it cools slightly, adding the reserved pasta water to thin out the squash purée.
7. In a medium-sized pot, add flour and butter and cook for a couple minutes until the roux has cooked a bit. Slowly add in the milk, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps.
8. Season the béchamel with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and let thicken for 5 to 10 minutes until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.
9. Add the butternut squash purée to the béchamel sauce along with half of the Pecorino Romano cheese and stir until cheese has melted and butternut squash is combined.
10. Add crawfish tails and heat through.
11. Pour pasta shells into the cheesy butternut squash sauce and place in greased ramekins or baking dish.
12. Combine the rest of the cheese with the bread crumbs and parsley and sprinkle liberally over the mac n’ cheese to create a crust.
13. Drizzle the crust with olive oil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly and brown. Serve immediately.
Ingredients:
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
Fry Mix (see page 3)
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup Remoulade Sauce (see page 1)
4 pieces lettuce
4 tomato slices
4 french bread rolls
Directions:
1. Season shrimp with salt and pepper.
2. Dredge the shrimp in the Fry Mix.
3. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until heat reaches 375 degrees, or test by placing some Fry Mix into the hot oil—if it sizzles, it’s hot enough.
4. Cook shrimp on each side 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
5. Place the cooked shrimp on a paper towel–lined plate to rid of excess grease.
6. Slather Remoulade Sauce on both sides of the French bread and layer shrimp, lettuce, and tomato in between.
7. Serve immediately.
Catfish Tacos with Tasso White Beans
These tacos are Louisiana-fied with pan fried catfish and savory white beans seasoned with tasso ham and topped with crunchy cabbage to create the perfect taco combination!
Ingredients:
½ lb. white beans
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ lb. tasso
4–6 cups chicken stock
4 catfish filets, cut into thin strips
Fry Mix (see page 3)
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup purple cabbage
juice from 1 lime
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 avocado, sliced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
flour or corn tortillas
Directions:
1. Soak white beans overnight in water.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Sauté onion, jalapeño, and garlic in the olive oil until tender.
3. Add in Tasso, beans, and 4 cups of chicken stock. Add more chicken stock as the beans cook if liquid evaporates.
4. Cook for 4 to 6 hours until the Tasso is pull-apart tender and beans are cooked through. (Can be made in advance or in a crock pot.)
5. Dredge catfish strips in the Fry Mix. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 375 degrees.
6. Cook catfish on both sides for 3 to 5 minutes until fish is cooked through and batter is golden.
7. Place the cooked catfish on a paper towel–lined plate to rid of excess grease. Shred cabbage and squeeze lime juice over cabbage and toss with salt and pepper, let sit 10 minutes.
8. Warm tortillas in the oven.
9. To prepare tacos, layer catfish, white beans, cabbage, avocado, cilantro, and serve immediately.
Healthy Shrimp and Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
3 stalks celery, diced, with leaves included
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
5 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cups chicken stock
⅛ cup clam juice
2 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk, fat-free or 2%
1 lb. of shrimp, peeled
2 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
green onions for topping
Directions:
1. In a large pan, sauté the celery and onion in the olive oil and butter on medium heat until they start to soften.
2. Add the potatoes, thyme, chicken stock, clam juice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook until potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
4. Add the milk and bring the broth back up to a simmer and then add shrimp and corn and cook until shrimp are pink and corn is warmed through.
5. Taste the broth to see if more salt or pepper is needed at this time.
6. Serve with crusty bread or saltines and chop some green onions for garnish.
Shrimp, Andouille, and Okra Stew
Ingredients:
1 lb. andouille Sausage, sliced into thin discs
1 cup fresh okra, diced
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper to taste
1 can diced tomatoes, juice included
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Heat a large pot over medium heat and brown the sausage until it starts to get color on both sides.
2. Add the okra, garlic, bay leaves, one chopped green onion, and red pepper flakes and sauté until the okra loses some of its strings (they will naturally fall out) and garlic softens.
3. Add the shrimp and salt and pepper to season. Stir until shrimp are just pink.
4. Add can of tomatoes, another sprinkle of salt and pepper, and stir. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Before serving, top with the remaining green onions and serve over rice in a bowl.
Fried Green Tomato BLTs with Caramelized Onion Remoulade
Ingredients:
1 lb. thick-cut bacon
2 onions, sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp. reduced fat olive oil mayo
salt and pepper to taste
2 green tomatoes
Fry Mix (see page 3)
1 cup mixed greens
4 slices white bread
Directions:
1. Place bacon on an aluminum foil–lined baking sheet.
2. Set oven to 400 degrees.
3. Place bacon in the oven before the oven is actually preheated and, as the oven comes to full temp, the bacon will cook slowly.
4. Cook the bacon for 20 to 25 minutes until crispy, turning once.
5. While bacon is cooking, slice onions and cook over medium-low heat with the olive oil until the onions are lightly browned and caramelized.
6. After they have cooled slightly, add the onions to the food processor along with Greek yogurt, mayo, salt, and pepper. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
7. After bacon is done, place it on a paper towel–lined plate to drain any excess grease.
8. Slice tomatoes into about ¼-inch-thick slices. Dredge each slice in the Fry Mix.
9. Heat vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and fry the tomatoes on each side for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown.
10. Toast bread until golden brown.
11. Spread a layer of the caramelized onion mayo on each piece of bread, and then layer mixed greens, bacon, and tomato. Serve immediately.
Ingredients:
2 lb. ground pork
2 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning (see page 3)
½ cup Remoulade Sauce (see page 1)
6 slices white cheddar cheese
6 brioche buns
1 tbsp. salted butter
6 pieces romaine or leaf lettuce
6 slices red onion
Directions:
1. Heat grill to 400 degrees or indoor grill pan to medium-high heat.
2. Combine the pork and Cajun Seasoning and form 6 burger patties.
3. Make Remoulade Sauce and set aside.
4. Grill burgers on each side for 5 to 7 minutes until cooked through, leaving the grill lid open while the burgers cook.
5. Place cheese on each burger and close the grill lid until cheese is melted, another 2 minutes.
6. On a griddle or large pan, melt salted butter and place the buns cut-side down to toast slightly until browned on the inside, or alternatively place on the grill until buns have toasted.
7. To plate, layer remoulade on both sides of the bun and then top with onion, lettuce, and the pork burger. Serve immediately.
