Louisiana Cookin' January/February 2021

MARDI GRAS is my favorite holiday. I love everything about it: the lively parades, the colorful floats, the upbeat music, the delicious food, the feeling of merriment and joie de vivre that permeates the air. With all of this excitement, how could you not be ready for Carnival season? Due to current events, I expect that Carnival 2021 will be quite different from years past, but there are still ways we can celebrate from home. This year, I look forward to indulging in my favorite king cakes and trying a few new ones, but I also plan on baking some of my own. In this issue, we included four king cake recipes that will help make that feat a little easier with the use of store-bought dough. Our Easy Cinnamon Roll…

MODESTO TACOS TEQUILA WHISKEY BATON ROUGE The Baton Rouge restaurant group behind Izzo’s Illegal Burrito, Lit Pizza, and Rocca Pizzeria opened its latest concept, Modesto Tacos Tequila Whiskey, on Burbank Drive in September. The menu features a taco section with options such as Chicken Mole and Brisket Birria, as well as enchiladas, salads, and appetizers including Queso Fundido. As its name suggests, the restaurant offers an extensive selection of tequila and whiskey in addition to fresh margaritas and craft cocktails. eatmodesto.com RED STICK SPICE COMPANY BATON ROUGE Red Stick Spice Company recently unveiled its new 1,800-square-foot teaching kitchen directly next door to the retail location on Jefferson Street in Mid City Baton Rouge. The new kitchen features four full-size Monogram ranges, a hearth oven, a 12-seat dining room table, and an accent wall…

AMID ALL THE INDULGING in king cake and other treats during Carnival season, it’s nice to have something light to snack on. Hummus is a delicious and crowd-pleasing appetizer, and in this recipe, we blended in roasted beets, garlic, and lemon for extra flavor and a beautiful color. Paired with crunchy vegetables and pita chips, it’s a healthy yet satisfying snack you can enjoy throughout Carnival season. ROASTED BEET HUMMUS MAKES 12 SERVINGS This colorful hummus has plenty of flavor from roasted beets, garlic, lemon juice, and goat cheese. 3 medium red beets (about 12 ounces), unpeeled and trimmed4 tablespoons olive oil, divided3 cloves garlic1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained4 ounces goat cheese3 tablespoons tahini1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice1½ teaspoons kosher saltCucumber slices, yellow bell pepper strips, celery sticks, carrots, and pita chips,…

OYSTERS ARE MUCH MORE VERSATILE than you might think. With their sweet, briny flavor and plump texture, they are nearly perfect served straight from the shell, dressed with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon or a splash of hot sauce. But for those times when you’re craving something different, oysters can be just as spectacular baked, fried, poached, or roasted. This winter, we have a few new oyster recipes for you to try. Whether you bake oysters with herbs and butter, fry them and pile them on slider rolls with crunchy slaw, or poach them in a savory pan sauce, you’re bound to fall in love with one of these stellar ways to cook with oysters. BAKED OYSTERS WITH HERB BUTTER AND FRIED SHALLOTS MAKES 18 Herb butter adds incredible flavor to…

EVERY WINTER, my brothers and I looked forward to the boucherie, a social event that gathered neighboring German, African American, and Cajun families to slaughter several hogs. This laborious task provided fresh meat as well as smoked and salted meats for families’ use throughout the winter, spring, and summer seasons. Everyone was assigned a task, from fire-stoker to bristle-scraper to boudin-maker. Before dawn, large cauldrons of scalding water were prepared over hot, open fires. Several 300- to 800-pound pigs were slaughtered by cutting the jugular vein, with the blood gathered and salted to make red boudin. The pig was scalded and the bristles removed, which were sold later to brush manufacturers. Then the pig was strung from a tree, and the intestines removed and cleaned to use as casing for andouille,…

WHILE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY unwinds from the busy holiday season, Louisiana prepares to move into Carnival season and welcome back the beloved king cake. While cinnamon-filled brioche king cakes can be found in nearly every bakery and grocery store in the state, the galette des rois, or French king cake, is an elegant specialty offered at select bakeries. These king cakes start appearing inbakeries on Epiphany (January 6), a Christian feast day observing the arrival of the three kings to visit the infant Jesus after his birth, and are available through Mardi Gras day, which falls on February 16 this year. Originating in the northern region of France, this style of king cake features layers of delicate puff pastry filled with frangipane, a decadent pastry cream made from ground…