Louisiana Cookin' January/February 2023

ALTHOUGH KING CAKES ARE available year-round at some outlets (it’s basically heresy but people must be buying them), they are part of the seasonal culinary ebb and flow that helps ground us and track the passage of time. Since leaving New Orleans, I miss the biweekly trips to pick up traditional and novel cakes and sharing them with my officemates (much to the simultaneous delight and chagrin of Senior Digital Editor Courtney duQuesnay). Between classic McKenzie’s Bakery cakes (former editor Caitlin Watzke’s favorite) and whoppers like Chef Lisa White’s gold-flecked, custard-stuffed version or the guava-and cream cheese-stuffed cake from Norma’s Sweet Bakery (one of my go-tos), we relished every bite. That’s what got me started about this year’s king cake feature, the one in which we share our interpretations of notable…

THE BEST STOP LOUISIANA AND TEXAS For all manner of Cajun delicacies—boudin, cracklin’s, gumbo, andouille sausage, and more—folks traveling along Interstate 10 would feel compelled to take the short side trip to Scott for Best Stop Supermarket. The locally-run store has been operating from that location since 1986 but has recently opened three new outposts in the Lone Star State. Soon, residents of Katy, New Braunfels, and The Woodlands will be able to enjoy those Bayou State staples without having to make the journey. beststopinscott.com COVINGTON BEER GARDEN COVINGTON Downtown Covington got a little livelier in October with the opening of the Covington Beer Garden. This expansive and well-designed indoor/outdoor space across from the town’s Tammany Trace Trailhead features dozens of taps as well as large-screen TVs for sporting events. In addition to…

FOR A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR, many Louisianans turn to black-eyed peas and rice. In this lightened-up version, we swapped out the traditional pork products (ham, bacon, or fatback) for olive oil and added another auspicious food: collard greens. The greens’ mild flavor is a tasty tweak to this old-timey dish, but most hearty greens (like mustard greens or kale) would do well here, too. BLACK-EYED PEAS AND GREENS MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS To make this dish even lighter and fresher, substitute cooked riced cauliflower for the long-grain rice. 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided1 large yellow onion, halved, divided5 garlic cloves, crushed, divided1 (1-pound) bag dried black-eyed peas*, rinsed2 dried bay leaves4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided1 teaspoon lemon zest¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper1 pound collard greens, stemmed, thinly sliced…

FOR MANY PARTS OF THE country, strawberries are a harbinger of springtime, but for lucky Louisianans, the season’s first berries can begin appearing at markets as early as January. Their sweetness and abundance both grow as the months get warmer, but nonetheless, strawberries can be a bright ray of sunshine in January. In the early 20th century, the advent of refrigerated railcars and Ponchatoula’s rich soil led to the development of a vast strawberry industry. Many of those berries were packed onto the railroads for northern markets, but the local demand remained strong as the railroad’s heyday waned. Whether you’re eating them fresh, making infusions, or coaxing out even more sweetness by roasting them, Bayou State strawberries are the ultimate luxury. STRAWBERRY AND CRISPY PROSCIUTTO TOASTS WITH BALSAMIC REDUCTION MAKES 6 Splurge for some…

POST UP AT ONE OF THE DOZENS OF CAFÉS sprawled throughout the Crescent City and you’re likely to find a cup of coffee with a long and strong history that is uniquely New Orleans. Chicory coffee, a blend of ground coffee beans and ground chicory root brewed to rich, full-bodied perfection, has been a common concoction in the city since the mid-19th century. The technique originated with the Dutch but was adopted by the French during Napoleon Bonaparte’s early 1800s Continental System instituted to halt trade with Britain. With British coffee shipments no longer in the cards and a country full of folks craving their coffee fix, the French began substituting ground chicory root for their morning cup of java. Even after the ban had lifted, chicory root consumption stuck around. Chicory…

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO CATCH A FISH: casting, netting, spearfishing, gigging. Every summer, my family and I made the trek to Grand Isle, for a two-week vacation. By day, my seven siblings and I swam in the surf, fished and crabbed, but once the sun dropped and the lights of the oil rigs twinkled against the night sky, we hit the beach with our kerosene lanterns to gig for flounder. We walked slowly through the surf, searching for small mounds of humped sand on the bay floor. Once discovered, the fish was gigged and added to the ice chest, a delicacy to enjoy the next day. Though we gigged for flounder in the summer months, fishing for flounder during Carnival season is exceptional as well. It just so happens that Russia’s…