Many of the essentials in a well-rounded New Orleans eating regimen are the most informal of dishes. The best demonstration of this is provided at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, where vendors sell more than 100 different dishes that are best eaten without tables, and sometimes even without plates or utensils.
The most celebrated of these dishes is boiled seafood, particularly boiled crawfish. The advent of live crawfish by the sack in the spring triggers a wave of crawfish boils all across South Louisiana. Everybody who boils crawfish has his own special way of doing it. I offer my version for first-timers.
The poor boy sandwich was invented in the mid-1920s during a streetcar strike. Bennie and Clovis Martin, owners of a busy restaurant in the Faubourg Marigny, served the poor boys on the picket lines a sandwich of roast beef gravy with just bits of beef on French bread for a nickel. After the strike, they added sliced beef to the gravy, and their baker, John Gendusa, devised an extra-long French loaf to put it on. The poor-boy sandwich soon became the official sandwich of New Orleans, filled with anything the maker thought might work (which is just about anything).
Rivaling the poor boy in local popularity is the muffuletta. The word is obsolete Sicilian dialect for the round bread loaf it’s made with. The muffuletta made its first appearance in New Orleans shortly after the first wave of Italian immigrants arrived in the city in the late 1800s.
Jambalaya is a distant descendant of Spanish paella but much more rustic. The best versions are made in giant pots outside, stirred with boat oars. Jambalaya is served in gigantic piles, almost always on a paper plate.
Here’s my pick of the best of these casual New Orleans favorites.
A crawfish boil is the great casual party food in South Louisiana, especially in Cajun country. It’s also a celebration of springtime, when the crawfish are available in abundance.
The peeling process goes like this: You break the crawfish where the thorax meets the tail. After removing a segment or two of the tail’s carapace, you can squeeze the meat out by applying pressure just above the tail fin. There is also some good crawfish fat inside the head, which you need to suck out—but that is not for beginners.
It’s traditional to boil potatoes, corn, heads of garlic, and other things in the pot with the crawfish and eat them as side dishes. It sounds better than it is, as everything winds up tasting the same. I say—knowing this is heresy—cook at least the corn separately.
2 cups salt
20 lb. live crawfish
8 large lemons, quartered
6 yellow onions, quartered
1 bunch of celery, with leaves, cut into eighths
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 bulb of garlic, halved
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
Four 3-oz. bags of crab boil (see Food Sources, this page)
4 –6 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. cayenne
3 lb. whole new potatoes
1. Fill a bucket or your kitchen sink with 2–3 gallons of cold water. Add about ½ cup of the salt and the crawfish; the salted water will purge the crawfish. Repeat the process with new, unsalted water 2–3 times until the water is only slightly dirty.
2. In a large stockpot, bring 5 gallons of water to a boil. Add the remaining 1½ cups of salt and all the ingredients except the crawfish and potatoes, and return to a boil. Let cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the crawfish and potatoes, return to a boil, and continue boiling for 15 minutes. Make sure there’s enough water to completely cover the crawfish. Remove a crawfish after 15 minutes and see if it’s cooked through. If it is, turn off the heat and let the crawfish steep until the potatoes are tender.
4. Now the peeling and eating process begins. Serve the potatoes on the side. SERVES EIGHT NORMAL EATERS OR TWO SERIOUS CRAWFISH FANATICS.
As with many Louisiana dishes, jambalaya has distinctive Creole and Cajun versions. Creole jambalaya is reddish, a color it gets from tomatoes. Cajun jambalaya never includes tomatoes and is brown. Creole jambalaya almost always contains shrimp. Cajun jambalaya always has smoked sausage or tasso. Instead of stepping into the endless “which jambalaya is better” debate, I present here my favorite version. It has elements of both styles, with oysters providing a unique flavor. I don’t include tomatoes—but if you add a 16-ounce can of crushed tomatoes with the vegetables, that would be perfectly okay and quite authentic.
¼ cup vegetable oil
4 lb. chicken-leg quarters, each cut into 4 pieces, bone in
2 lb. andouille (see this page) or other smoked sausage, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups oyster liquor or chicken stock (see recipe, this page)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. Tabasco
1 Tbsp. salt-free Creole seasoning
1 Tbsp. salt
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. dried marjoram
4 cups (uncooked) Uncle Ben’s rice, or similar parboiled rice
2 green onions, chopped
3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped
4 dozen large fresh, shucked oysters
1. Heat the oil in a heavy kettle or Dutch oven. Add the chicken and sausage, and brown the chicken all over. Add the onions, peppers, celery, and garlic, and sauté until they wilt. Add the oyster liquor or stock and 5 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the browned bits in the pot.
2. Add the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, Creole seasoning, salt, bay leaf, thyme, and marjoram. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside. Stir the rice into the pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove the chicken meat from the bones and set aside. When the rice is cooked, stir in the chicken meat, green onions, parsley, and oysters. Continue to cook, uncovered, gently stirring occasionally, until the rice just starts to dry out. Adjust the seasonings as needed. SERVES TWELVE TO EIGHTEEN.
Lakeview Seafood was a joint on the road to the old lakefront fishing-camp community of Little Woods. Its owner, a former Marine Corps baker, had an interesting idea. Instead of serving the traditional oyster loaf on French bread, he baked a standard loaf of white bread, cut off the top, hollowed it out, buttered the inside, and filled it with fried seafood. He called these “boats,” and they were a big hit. Oysters are a natural for this great oversized sandwich, but you can also use fried shrimp, catfish, or even small soft-shell crabs. Serve with lemon wedges, hot sauce, and french fries on the side.
1 loaf unsliced white bread (sold at supermarkets with in-house bakeries)
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter, softened
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ tsp. lemon juice
Peanut oil, for frying
3 dozen medium fresh, shucked oysters
½ cup corn flour (Fish-Fri)
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp. salt-free Creole seasoning
1 Tbsp. salt
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cut the loaf horizontally into 2 halves; set the top half aside. Make a vertical cut about 2 inches deep all around the top of the lower half of the loaf, about ½ inch from the sides. Push down the bread within the cut perimeter to form a pocket in the center of the loaf.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and parsley, and cook until fragrant, then add the lemon juice and remove from the heat. Put the remaining butter in a bowl and stir in the garlic-parsley-butter mixture. Coat the inside of both halves of the loaf with the garlic butter. Toast the bread in the preheated oven until the inside surfaces of both halves just start to brown.
3. Pour the oil into a cast-iron pot or deep skillet to a depth of 1 inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 375 degrees F.
4. Meanwhile, combine the corn flour, cornmeal, Creole seasoning, and salt in a large bowl. Toss the still-wet oysters, 6 at a time, in the corn flour mix. Fry the oysters in batches until golden brown and crisp, then load them into the pocket half of the loaf. Place the top of the loaf over the oysters and serve with lemon wedges, hot sauce, and french fries. MAKES ONE OYSTER BOAT—ENOUGH FOR TWO PEOPLE.
The poor-boy sandwich is one of the essential flavors of New Orleans, and roast beef is king of the poor boys. (For a bit of poor boy history, see this page.) Making roast beef for poor boys is more about making gravy than roasting beef. Inside round seems to taste best, but some cooks like eye of round or even rib-eyes. It’s best to cook the beef the day before because it will throw off lots of good juices for the gravy and the cold beef will be easier to slice. You can keep the gravy in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator for a few weeks or freeze it for even longer storage.
The most critical step in making a roast beef poor boy is to put the whole, assembled sandwich into a hot oven for two or three minutes before serving it. The flavor and aroma of the toasted French bread double the goodness.
ROAST BEEF AND GRAVY
4–6-lb. inside round of beef, trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1 large yellow onion, quartered
1 whole garlic bulb, outer papery skin removed and bulb cut in half
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. dried marjoram
¼ tsp. black peppercorns
1–3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
SANDWICH
3 loaves poor-boy bread or 6 French baguettes, cut lengthwise and into sections 6–8 inches long
GARNISH
1 head lettuce, shredded coarsely
8 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Mayonnaise
Dill pickle slices
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Put it in a Dutch oven or kettle filled about a third of the way up with water. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, and black peppercorns. Roast, uncovered, for 4–6 hours, turning the roast and adding water every hour or so. The water level should slowly drop, but don’t let it get less than about 2 inches deep. The beef is ready when a meat thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees F.
2. Remove the roast from the pot and place in a pan that will catch all the juices that come out as it cools. If you’re cooking a day ahead (recommended), wrap the beef and refrigerate it as soon as it’s cooled to room temperature. If making it the same day, wait at least an hour before slicing.
3. Skim off fat from the stock in the pot. Use a coarse sieve to strain the stock into a bowl, then return the stock to the pot. Add any juices that come out of the roast as it rests. Bring the stock to a simmer. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Cook to a thin gravy consistency. (This also benefits from being made a day ahead and cooling in the refrigerator.)
4. When you’re ready to make sandwiches, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring the gravy to a simmer and whisk in the flour (but only if the gravy appears to need thickening). Add the Worcestershire sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. (It’s a common practice in New Orleans to add Kitchen Bouquet to darken the sauce, but I never do.)
5. Slice the roast beef as thin as possible. Collect all the crumbs and slivers that fall off as you do this (the debris) and add them to the gravy. Stack as much sliced roast beef as you want on a length of French bread. Garnish with lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and dill pickles. Spoon on as much gravy as the sandwich can hold. Bake the assembled sandwich for about a minute to toast the bread. MAKES TWELVE TO EIGHTEEN POOR BOYS.
Muffulettas are right up there with poor boys in popularity and goodness among local sandwiches. What makes them special is the dressing. It’s called olive salad, and it’s something like antipasto, made by marinating not only olives but also a host of other vegetables in olive oil, a little vinegar, and a lot of garlic and herbs. This recipe starts from scratch, but you can use prepared Italian giardiniera in place of the non-olive vegetables.
The muffuletta is filled with as many as three meats and three cheeses, all sliced very thin. Ham and Genoa salami are essential; mortadella is optional but desirable. Mozzarella, provolone, and Swiss cheese can be used in any combination. The best bread to use is the muffuletta loaf made by the United Bakery, an old, small company whose limited output never satisfies the demand. Any crusty round loaf with a medium-light texture will do.
The great controversy concerning muffulettas is whether they should be heated or not. The current vogue is to do so until the cheeses melt. My take is that this throws off the flavors and textures of everything and that a room-temperature muffuletta is superior.
OLIVE SALAD
2 medium carrots, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 small red bell pepper
16 large green olives, pitted
2 cups medium green olives, pitted
1 cup brine-cured black olives, pitted
1½ cups extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup brining juice from the olive jar
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
¼ cup (a small jar) capers
10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
SANDWICH
3 loaves muffuletta bread, or other medium-texture loaf, 8 inches in diameter
1 lb. lean, smoked ham (I recommend the local Chisesi ham), thinly sliced
1 lb. Genoa salami, thinly sliced
½ lb. mortadella (optional), thinly sliced
2 lb. total of at least 2 of these cheeses: mozzarella, provolone, or Swiss, thinly sliced
1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Boil the carrots and cauliflower until crisptender, about 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside.
2. Roast the bell pepper under a broiler until the skin turns black and blistered in spots. Keep turning until the entire exterior is that way. Remove, cool, peel, and remove stem and seeds. Cut into ½ x 1-inch pieces and set aside.
3. With a knife (not a food processor), coarsely chop the olives. It’s okay if some of the olives are cut into just 2 pieces or not at all. Transfer the olives to a large non-metallic bowl. Add all of the remaining olive salad ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least a day; a week is better (stored in jars).
4. To make the sandwich: Cut each loaf in half crosswise and spoon olive salad with a lot of the marinating oil onto both halves. Put 3–4 slices (or more) of each of the meats and cheeses onto the bottom half. Cover with the top half of the loaf and cut each sandwich into quarters. Figure 1–2 quarters per person, but know that it is hard to stop eating muffulettas, even if you’re full. SERVES SIX TO TEN.
When we have a pizza party, we often make it an outdoor event and bake the pizzas on the grill. This works better than you can possibly imagine. You don’t even have to put the top down on the grill, unless it’s a windy, cold day. Any pizza topping works, except one: pepperoni, which needs heat from above, just sits there getting flaccid and unpleasant. Spinach and other vegetable pizzas are particularly good done on the grill.
The best way to make pizza dough is in a big, strong mixer (like a KitchenAid) with the dough-hook attachment. You can also do it, in batches, in a large food processor, or you can make the dough manually. I have instructions for both mixer and manual methods.
This pizza crust can also be baked in the oven. It’s especially good using a thick pizza stone, heated for a half-hour in the oven before the first pizza goes on.
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
3½ cups bread flour
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups Fresh Pizza Sauce (see recipe, this page)
2 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
Your choice of pizza toppings
1. In a small bowl, stir the yeast and sugar into 1 cup of warm water. Allow the yeast to come alive for 5 minutes.
2. Mixer method: Combine the flour, oil, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment. Add the yeast-water mixture and mix on low speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer bowl. If necessary, add more water, a little at a time, to get a smooth, but not sticky, dough.
Hand method: Pile the flour on a clean work surface. Make a depression in the center and add the oil and salt. Add the yeast-water mixture, a little at a time, and mix to form a dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth but not sticky, about 15 minutes. Roll dough ball away from you while, with the same motion, tearing it in half. Put it back together and repeat a few times.
3. Place the dough on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan, cover it with a damp, clean towel, and let it rise for 1½ hours in a warm, moist place. (The inside of an oven, turned on for 1 minute, then turned off, works well.) When the dough is double its original size, punch it down and divide it into 6 balls. Flatten each slightly, sprinkle with some flour, and return to the oiled pan, well apart. Let them rise again, covered, for about 30 minutes.
4. Fire up the grill to get a medium-high heat. Roll each piece of dough out to a 12-inch round. Place the dough on the grill and let it bake for 1–2 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. (It may balloon; this is okay.) Turn the crust over and top with some of the sauce, cheese, and other toppings of your choice. Continue to grill the pizza for 3–5 minutes until the cheese melts. You do not need to close the top of the grill. Slice and serve immediately. MAKES SIX 12-INCH PIZZAS.
Near as I can tell, this dish infiltrated New Orleans from the West Coast and caught on in a wide variety of restaurants. It’s a great party dish: big shrimp butterflied and stuffed with a mixture of mozzarella cheese and jalapeño, wrapped in bacon, and broiled until crispy. Its goodness owes much to the quality of the shrimp we have in New Orleans. Make a million of these: Once people start eating them, they won’t be able to stop.
24 large (16–20 count) shrimp, peeled, with tail shell intact, and deveined
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
12 slices bacon, cooked until lightly browned but not crisp
2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeño pepper
1. Preheat the broiler. Wash the shrimp and pat dry. Butterfly the shrimp. Cut the cheese into pieces a little smaller than the shrimp. Cut each piece of bacon in half.
2. Fill the center of each shrimp with about ¼ teaspoon chopped jalapeño, top each with a piece of cheese, and wrap a piece of bacon around all. Secure the bacon with a toothpick.
3. Place the shrimp on a baking sheet and broil until they turn pink. Turn the shrimp and return to the broiler until the cheese begins to melt. Serve immediately. MAKES TWENTY-FOUR.
Mary Ann’s Spinach and Mushroom Dip
My wife, Mary Ann, loves to improvise dips. This is the best one she’s ever made.
3 Tbsp. butter
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
8 oz. small button mushrooms, sliced
One 10-oz. bag of fresh spinach, picked and washed
⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Dash of Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green onions and sauté until soft. Add the mushrooms, spinach, and ¼ cup of water, and cook until the liquid is evaporated. Transfer the mixture to a cutting board and chop.
2. Return the mushroom-spinach mixture to the skillet. Add the cream and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
3. Cut the cream cheese into pieces and stir into the pan contents. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Serve with croutons, pita crisps, or other dippable food. MAKES THREE CUPS.
This is what I slather all over the hamburgers I make at home. Aficionados of Bud’s Broiler, an old local chain of charcoal-broiled hamburger joints around New Orleans, may note that this is a bit similar to the sauce on Bud’s Number One.
3 Tbsp. dill relish, well drained
2 Tbsp. smoke-flavored barbecue sauce
1 tsp. Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate what you don’t use immediately. MAKES ABOUT A HALF CUP.
