Recipes

Recipe Chef Don Prepared on WAFB Channel 9 Wednesday, July 6th

Shrimp Salsa Recipe:
1 cup fresh mango, finely diced
1 cup fresh pineapple, finely diced
1 cup fresh papaya, finely diced
Zest of one lime
juice of one lime
juice of one orange juice
¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
½ cup purple onion, finely diced
¼ cup jalapenos, finely diced
½ can Rotel tomatoes, drained
salt and pepper
pinch of sugar
2 pounds cooked shrimp

Mix all ingredients well except shrimp. Let sit two hours to overnight. Add in cooked shrimp just before serving. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips. Note: Shrimp will get soft overnight because of citrus so do not put shrimp into salsa until serving time.

Finally… It’s Time for Tailgating!!

Ah! It’s football season and time for tailgating. Whether you’re a Tiger or a Jaguar or a fan of any local high school team, this is a surefire recipe that’s sure to score big with your tailgating teammates. I made up this recipe during my college years and perfected it for the bar menu as chef at Jumelles Restaurant in Bocage Village. Great for tailgating and casual parties, I call it Southwest Dip (which sounds a little better than taco dip right?). It’s made with fresh ground beef and has all the flavors of the Southwest combined in one tasty dish. Top it with cheddar cheese, jalapenos and green onions, and serve with tortilla chips. I guarantee your guests will love it. In fact, don’t be surprised if you’re not voted this week’s MVP.

Southwest Dip

For Meat Mixture:

- 5 lbs. ground beef

- 3 cups onions, chopped

- 1 cup celery, chopped

- 1 cup bell pepper, chopped

- ¼ cup garlic, chopped

- 2 – 1.25 ounce packets of taco seasoning

- 2 ounces jalapenos juice

- ¼ cup jalapenos from a jar, finely chopped

- 1 – 31 oz can re-fried beans

- 8 beef bouillon cubes

- 1 ½ tsp. salt

- ½ tsp. black pepper

- ½ tsp. red pepper

In a large heavy bottom pot, sauté ground beef over medium high heat until completely cooked. Drain off most of the fat and add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Simmer until wilted and add remaining ingredients. Simmer about ten minutes longer and keep warm.

Additional garnish:

- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

- 1 cup sliced jalapenos

- ½ cup sliced green onions

Assembly:

Place hot meat mixture in a large casserole or small chafing dish. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and heat in oven until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and garnish with jalapenos and green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.

What’s Cooking in October?

October kicks off with the bountiful harvest of pecans throughout the South. It’s another time of year that we “get while the gittin’ is good.” I still harvest pecans from our family tree in Belle Rose that’s been around since I was a little boy. This is an important time when I have to stock up on pecans for my Christmas fruitcakes. Although I am no relation that I know of to the Bergeron family in New Roads I do send my pecans to be shelled and often buy their fine product. I love pecan pie and I use a recipe from the Allons Manger (Let’s Eat) cookbook. I use raw brown sugar in the recipe that I get from Cora Texas sugar house in White Castle. Every year during harvest or as we call it in South Louisiana, “grinning,” I get my raw sugar while it’s still hot off the conveyor belt at the mill. I always grab me a “hand full” to taste. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? It runs deep in my family. This pie, although is not overly sweet, is great with fresh whipped cream. It will make two deep dish pies. Enjoy one yourself and give one away as a special treat. Don’t forget to keep this recipe on hand for the holidays. They’re right around the corner, you know.

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

- 1 box Pillsbury rolled pie crust (red box in refrigerated section)

- 2 deep dish pie pans

- 2¼ cups white corn syrup

- ¾ cup butter, softened

- 1 ½ cup brown or raw sugar

- 9 eggs, beaten

- 2 tsp. vanilla

- 3 cups pecans, chopped

- 24 pecan halves

- Fresh whipped cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Allow pie crust to set at room temperature for 15 minutes. Spray pie pans with non-stick spray. Unroll pie crust and place in pie pans. Fold under crust if it’s too big for the pan. Using your index finger and thumb from both hands, pinch the crust to make a decorative edge. In a medium mixing bowl, cream corn syrup with butter. I use a tabletop KitchenAid mixer. Add brown sugar and beaten eggs. Mix all thoroughly and fold in vanilla and pecans. Divide mixture into two pie shells. Decorate edges with pecan halves. Bake for 35-40 minutes until center of pie rises and is just set. Turn oven off and allow to cool in oven with door ajar for 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature with fresh whipped cream.

Adapted from Mable Savoie’s recipe in Allons Manager

What’s Cooking in November?

If we have a season for eating in Louisiana, it definitely kicks off in full force during November. It’s too late now if you wanted to shed a few pounds before holidays. Seems as though the Christmas season last about two months now and this year we are just about booked solid. The recipe this month I would like to share with you is a dish given to me by my neighbor Ms. Noonie. She lives together with her sister Ms. Blackie. One is 88 and the other 89 but I won’t tell who’s oldest. We often send food over the fence to each other. The elder of the two says that her sister is half dead and she don’t care if she lives or not. That does not stop them from cooking or eating though. One day they sent over this casserole with crabmeat and eggplant. Boy was it good. I haven’t tasted anything that good since my grandma Tute was alive. It was just simple ingredients and flavors tied together with years of cooking experience. Grandma Tute use to make her own bread crumbs from leftover bread. I can remember a cookie sheet with bread on it in the oven drying out from the pilot light under the stove. What memories of great meals that brings back. I’m so glad commercial stoves like I have in my catering kitchen still have pilot lights. Something as simple as fresh bread crumbs will certainly make a difference in a dish. And oh yes I make bread crumbs just like Grandma Tute use to do in the oven overnight on a cookie sheet with just the heat of a pilot light. Trust me it makes a difference.

I have pretty much been able to recreate that casserole and it’s great as a side for the holidays or as a main dish for a meal. I use claw crabmeat because I like the flavor and sweetness, but feel free to dump in a pound of jumbo lump to really impress your guests. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Ms. Nonnie & Ms. Blackie’s Crabmeat and Eggplant Casserole

Ingredients:

- 4 medium eggplants (about 5 ½ to 6 pounds)

- 8 ounces (1 stick) butter

- 3 cups red onion, diced

- 10 toes garlic, chopped

- 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, drained

- 2 pounds claw crabmeat, picked free of shells

- salt to taste

- black pepper to taste

- cayenne pepper to taste

- 8 chicken bouillon cubes, crushed

- 1 cup sliced green onions

- ½ cup chopped parsley

- 2 cups plain or Italian breadcrumbs (plus additional for topping)

- Parmesan cheese shredded, optional

Peel and cube eggplant and soak in salted water for fifteen minutes. Bring a large pot of water to boil and blanch eggplant for ten minutes in lightly salted water. Remove to a colander and drain well pressing out the excess water. In a large heavy bottom pot heat butter over medium high heat and add red onion and garlic. When vegetables become tender add drained tomatoes and blanched eggplant. Season to taste with salt, peppers and chicken bouillon cubes. If using Italian breadcrumbs remember that this will add salt to dish so be wary when adding salt at this point. Simmer on low for about fifteen minutes and fold in crabmeat. Remove from heat and fold in breadcrumbs. Place in a large casserole and spread out evenly. Sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for thirty minutes.

Serves 8 people

What’s Cooking in May?

My momma was a great cook. She cooked her one pot meals during the week to feed us five kids. She doesn’t cook anymore because she had her own meals on wheels in a chef son. It’s my payback for her cooking for us when we where young. My daddy was a great cook too and often cooked on the weekends. Every Sunday was like a Piccadilly Cafeteria in our home with lots of fresh home cooked meals. We always had a garden so there lots of fresh vegetables at each meal. I remember stuffed mirliton, cabbage rolls, smothered round steak, butter beans and rice. Oh and salt meat boiled with new potatoes dabbled with mayonnaise. Gosh I miss that! I can hardly think of any vegetable that we could not eat on top of rice. Fresh green beans cooked with a roux would be a perfect example. A sweet tooth runs in the family and daddy made the best bread pudding. It’s a perfect dessert to for Mother’s Day and I am happy to share our family recipe with everyone. Look for a video cooking demonstration on the bottom of the home page of my website and we can make it together.

Daddy’s Bread Pudding with Meringue

Ingredients:

Pudding

-8 egg yolks

- 2 cups sugar

- 12 oz can evaporated milk

- 2 cups whole milk

- 1-8 oz. Can crushed pineapple

- 1 tsp. Vanilla

- 6-8 slices white bread, broken in small pieces

- ½ cup raisins ½ block butter, cut into cubes

Meringue

- 8 egg whites (room temp)

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 tsp. Cream of tartar

- ½ tsp. Vanilla

Preparation:

Pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine and mix pudding ingredients in a large bowl starting with sugar and egg yolks, milks, pineapple, bread and raisins. Pour all into a 9X14 inch or larger pan. Dot with chipped butter. Bake about 45 minutes stirring the mixture halfway through the cooking process.

Meringue

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until very stiff. Spread over baked pudding and bake another five minutes or until meringue is golden brown.

What’s Cooking in March?

If I have a favorite family day, it certainly occurs during crawfish season. As a child, my daddy would take us “crawfishing.” We used set nets, which was basically a triangular-looking wire frame with a net on the bottom, often baited with chicken necks or beef melt. The net would be placed in a shallow ditch or swampy area near the edge of the water. To place the net out and also check the net, we would use a long pole with a nail on the end. The nail on the end of the pole keeps the net from sliding off when it’s lifted out of the water. Usually (and hopefully), it’s filled with crawling mudbugs, but sometimes other creatures would dine in as well – like snakes!

It’s rare that you hear of anyone going “crawfishing” anymore. The kids today don’t know what they are missing. Of course in my family we now get our “select” crawfish from some 200 acres of ponds at Ourso Farms in Bayou Goula. A few hundred pounds is usually sufficient for lunch, with enough remaining to peel and make crawfish stew for dinner. Those leftover potatoes from the crawfish boil become potato salad. Cook some rice and the day will end in a grand finale of good food and good family times. Here is a great recipe your family will surely enjoy.

Crawfish Stew

Ingredients:

- 1 cup vegetable oil

- 1 cup flour

- 2 cups onions, diced

- 1 cup celery, diced

- 1 cup bell pepper, diced

- 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1-ten ounce can diced

- Rotel tomatoes

- 8 cups water or chicken stock

- 2 tbsp. chicken bouillon

- 1 tbsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

- ½ tsp. black pepper

- 1 tbsp. sugar

- 2 large bay leaves

- 2 shakes Louisiana Hot sauce

- 1/2 tsp. liquid crab boil

- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

- 2 pounds crawfish tails

- 2 cups sliced green onions

Preparation:

In an eight-quart heavy bottom pot, heat oil over medium to high heat. Stir in flour, and continue to stir until the roux is a copper color. Be careful as this is very hot. When roux is ready, add onions, celery, and bell pepper. Lower heat and add garlic. Let cook about five minutes for vegetables to caramelize. Add Rotel and water (or stock). Blend well, making sure roux has dissolved. Bring to a low simmer and add chicken bouillon, salt, peppers, sugar, bay leaves, hot sauce, crab boil, and parsley. Cook about one hour, stirring often. When stew cooks down to a nice, slightly thick consistency, add crawfish and green onions. Cook about five minutes longer and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Serve over white rice.

About 8-10 servings

What’s Cooking in June?

Each year I get my peaches from Ruston, Louisiana. My Uncle Tommy picks them up on his way back from Homer, Louisiana to visit his daughter Maria. That’s way up in north Louisiana. These are absolutely the most flavorful peaches on earth hands down. Or hands up and the juice drips down your chin and arm after taking a bite. Now that’s the sign of a good peach. I make peach preserves and I leave the stone in the jar. It adds flavor to the preserves and that’s how Grandma Tute always did it. One year I took all my peach peelings and cooked them down and used this as a filling for a peach pie. It was amazing and I wish I had some peach peelings now to recreate that dessert. One of my favorites is peach cobbler. Serve it with ice cream and you will surely be in peach heaven.

Ruston Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

- ½ pound unsalted butter, melted

- 4 cups peeled and sliced Ruston peaches, sprinkled lightly with ½ cup sugar

- 2 cups flour

- 2 cups sugar

- 1 cup milk

- 1 Tbs. baking powder

- pinch of salt

- vanilla ice cream

Preparation:

Pour butter in 9X13 baking dish. Mix flour, sugar, milk, baking powder and salt until well blended. Pour over butter. Sprinkle with sugared fruit. So let’s get this straight. Butter goes first, then batter then fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until set. Serve with vanilla ice cream

Serves about 12 servings

Hurry, hurry! Get those figs & blackberries while you can!

Now that strawberry season is long gone and blueberries are about done for, it’s time for two more of nature’s delicious gifts, figs and blackberries. However, there’s a short window in the summer, especially for figs, where it’s possible to pick these little delicacies at just the right time to take advantage of their juiciest and best flavor. So, watch your fig trees and blackberry bushes, or if you can’t pick ’em yourself, head out to the farmer’s markets and fruit stands and support our growers by buying local and buying often!

Figs

Let’s get this straight. I just love figs. I can remember picking figs at my grandmother’s house and she would peel some for us and leave the stem on just like it was nature’s lollipop. Like back then, we still get together ,as a family, and pick figs from the trees at my sister’s house on Ourso Farms and we make preserves that last all year. Our delicious homemade fig preserves can most often be found in our catered breakfasts and have been known to transform an ordinary biscuit into an out-of-this-world delight. Most importantly, we put up another batch of figs for use in the Bergeron Family’s famous fruitcakes. However, you have to wait until the holidays for those.

Blackberries

The best place to pick blackberries is behind the levee in White Castle (although I won’t give away my secret as to exactly where). In addition to using them to make homemade jelly, you’ll find these little rascals on my summertime menu in a variety of dishes like pies, cobblers and tarts.

However, I have two favorite recipes: Grandma Tute’s Blackberry Jellyrolls and my own after-dinner brandy cordial of which I make 2-3 bottles a year. I call it Blackberry Bounce.

When we would begin picking, Grandma Tute used to sit on a stool in front of the blackberry vine and poke the bushes with her walking cane to make sure nothing was creeping amongst the berries. After we had gathered enough, she would make homemade jelly and the best jellyroll you’ve ever had in your life. If you don’t believe me just ask my cousins. Her recipe for the jellyrolls is below for you to enjoy. The Blackberry Bounce will stay as secret as my favorite “picking” spot behind the levee in White Castle.

Grandma Tute’s Blackberry Jelly Rolls

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup sugar

- ¼ cup cold water

- 1 tsp vanilla

- ¾ cup all-purpose flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- Pinch of salt

- ¼ cup powdered sugar

- 1 cup blackberry jelly (or jelly of your choice)

- 10×15 inch jellyroll pan

- large clean dish towel

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line 10×15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Spray bottom and sides of pan with non-stick spray. Cream eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer. Add water and vanilla; continue to mix. Blend in flour, baking powder, and salt. Continue mixing until light and fluffy. Pour mixture onto cookie sheet and spread evenly. Bake 12-14 minutes or until cake separates from side of pan and springs lightly to touch. Do not overcook as edges will get crunchy. Allow to cool slightly.

Place a large, clean dish towel on countertop and cover with parchment paper. Sprinkle the paper generously with powdered sugar. After the cake has cooled 5-6 minutes, turn out onto sugared paper. Peel off parchment paper that cake was baked on. Beginning at the narrow end roll towel, parchment paper, and cake up until it resembles a rolling pin. Allow to set for 10 minutes rolled up. Put jelly in a bowl and stir to make it smooth for spreading. Unroll cake and spread evenly and completely from corner to corner with jelly. Roll up again as before but without the paper and towel. Allow to set and cool for about thirty minutes before slicing. When set, slice into ¾ inch pieces, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve.

Makes approximately 12-14 slices.

What’s Cooking in January?

New Years is the time for resolutions. For the Bergerons, our first resolution was to start January with the traditional pork roast, black-eye peas and smothered cabbage on New Years Day. Certainly, you can’t begin the year with out good luck and prosperity can you? As for the pork roast? Well, this is the South and we do love our pork. When I was a kid, my daddy always cooked a fresh ham, which is a whole, bone-in uncooked hind leg of the pig. It takes almost all day to cook and will feed a house full of family and friends, plus it’s a great way to start off the year (not to mention a good way to soothe the after-effects of a lively New Year’s Eve). If you have a large crowd to feed I would certainly recommend my Hap Hap Happy New Year’s Pork Roast recipe.

Hap Hap Happy New Year’s Pork Roast

Ingredients:

- 1 fresh bone-in ham (14-18 pounds)

- 20 toes of fresh garlic, peeled and left whole

- 3 dried cayenne peppers or 1 tbsp. cayenne pepper flakes

- 1 tbsp. Black pepper with extra for outside of roast

- 4 tbsp. Salt with extra for outside of roast

- 1 cup vegetable oil

- 1 cup water

- 10 shakes of Peychaud’s bitters plus more for outside of roast

- 1 Reynolds Oven Bag, turkey size

- 1 Tbsp. flour

- 1/2 cup cornstarch

- 1 cup water

- Cooked white rice if desired

- Good luck and prosperity

Preparation:

The roast can be stuffed right before cooking but it’s best to do this night prior so the flavors can develop. Place the garlic, cayenne peppers, black pepper, salt, vegetable oil, water and bitters in a blender. Blend until all is finely pureed. Inject the roast throughout using a metal injector. If you do not have an injector, use a paring knife and cut half-inch slits around the roast and use a squeeze bottle to get the marinated in the roast. Some of the marinated will drip off and rub the excess around the roast on all sides. Season the outside of the roast with more salt and pepper. Shake the flour in the oven bag and place the roast inside. It may take more than two hands to do this so get someone to help you. Shake the bitters all over the roast and seal the bag. Cut about four slits in the bag so the steam can vent and place the ham in a large roasting pan. Bake in an oven for 325 degrees or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. This may take 5-7 hours. A general rule of thumb is 22-26 minutes per pound. Remove from oven and let roast rest for about a half hour. To make gravy take the drippings from the oven bag and place in a sauce pot with 2-4 cups of water. Taste the stock and if too salty add more water. If not salty enough add more salt. Bring this mixture to a low boil. Make slurry with the cornstarch and water. Add slowly to simmering stock and cook until thickened or about ten minutes. If gravy is still too thin make another slurry and add to mixture. Carve pork roast and serve with rice and gravy. To ensure good luck and prosperity be sure to serve with black eye peas and smothered cabbage.

What’s Cooking in February

I was asked to participate in the ninth annual Laurel Street Lollapalooza this past January. The Mardi Gras-themed “Fête des Artistes” celebrates Baton Rouge art with “live music, a silent auction and great food from some of Baton Rouge’s finest culinary artists. This event raises funds for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge which promotes everything art in our area. We were planning on serving salmon terrine which is one of our signature cold dishes but the recent cold snap prompted me to create a warm soup using smoked salmon. And with the temperature dipping to 27 degrees my newest soup, Smoked Salmon Bisque, was a huge hit. And the next thing I knew the crowd broke out into a flash mob with dancing in the street. Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOjm–PZJ20

Try the recipe below and if you don’t want to make the soup stop by Mid City Market and get some from our freezer.

Smoked Salmon Bisque

Ingredients:

- 8 ounces butter (2 sticks)

- 1 ½ cups chopped seasonings (onions, celery & bell pepper)

- 2 tbs. garlic, chopped

- 1 cup flour

- 6 cups water or chicken stock

- 2 tbs. parsley, finely chopped

- Salt, black, cayenne & white pepper to taste

- 2 tsp. chicken base

- 2 tsp. lobster base

- 8 ounces heavy whipping cream

- 4 ounces smoked salmon, finely chopped

- ½ cup green onions, sliced

- 1 tbs. Fresh dill

- Optional garnishes of capers, eggs & purple onions

Preparation:

- In a large heavy bottom pot, heat butter over medium high heat.

- Stir in chopped seasonings and garlic.

- Cook until wilted, reduce heat and stir in flour.

- Cook five minutes stirring often.

- Add water/stock mixing well.

- Bring to a low simmer and add parsley, salt, peppers and bases.

- Stir well and simmer about 10 minutes.

- Stir in cream and bring to a simmer again.

- Fold in smoked salmon, dill and green onions.

- Cook five additional minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

What’s Cooking in December

December is our busiest time of the year. We start December 1st running and don’t quit till December 23rd. On the 24th I rest. (And do my shopping.) One of our Christmas Eve traditions is for my family to not only exchange gifts and revel in each other’s company, but also to enjoy a delicious baked ham. I created a recipe I called “Coca-Cola Glazed Ham.” The ham is slowly boiled in water then baked and basted with glaze made with Coke. Try this recipe once and soon it will be a tradition in your family. Believe me, it’s a Classic!

Coca-Cola Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

- Hormel Brand EZ Cut Ham

- 1 Two liter coke

- 1 large can pineapple juice 46 ounces

- 6 ounces corn syrup

- 3 cups brown sugar

- ½ cup yellow mustard

- ½ cup cornstarch

- ½ cup water

- 1 can pineapple rings

- 1 jar cherries

- 1 Tbsp. whole cloves

Preparation:

Place ham in a large pot and cover with water. Simmer ham in a pot of water for two hours. Do not boil. While ham in simmering make the glaze. Put coke and pineapple juice in a large pot and reduce on medium high heat until it takes the consistency of a thin syrup. Add corn syrup, brown sugar and mustard. Bring to a low simmer and thicken with slurry of cornstarch and water.

Take ham out of water and put in a deep baking pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Decorate ham with pineapple and cherries using toothpicks to secure. Prick surface of ham with cloves. Pour about one third of glaze over ham and baked uncovered for thirty minutes. Pour another third of glaze over ham and bake a half hour. Pour remaining glaze over ham and bake thirty more minutes. Allow ham to cool slightly before slicing. Serve with fresh baked rolls and condiments.

Goodies from Grand Isle

I spent many a hot August days (and nights) in Grand Isle, Louisiana, on our family vacations. We often camped out in tents on the beach with only the breeze from the Gulf for our air conditioner. One day my daddy dug a hole in the sand and put a watermelon in it to keep it cool. The melon was covered with sand and an “X” marked the spot. Well, during the night the tide came in and washed the “X” away and all these years later we are still looking for that sweet, ripe melon to come bobbing to the surface.

In the evenings, we feasted on our “catch of the day,” which was just that—whatever we caught from the Gulf. If the fish were biting we had fried fish. At night we would gig for flounder and get soft shell crabs at the grassy edge of the bay. If the crabs were running it would be boiled or stuffed crabs. And if we were lucky enough to catch some shrimp, then it was seafood gumbo all around.

When I was a kid there were always lots of hungry mouths to feed and we often ate large, one-pot meals that would feed the masses. I created a dish I call Shrimp Pasta Jambalaya that is a little bit Cajun, a little bit Creole and a whole lot delicious. It will certainly make your guest happy.

Seafood Pasta Jambalaya

– 2 Tbsp. olive oil

– 3 cups chopped seasonings (onions, celery & bell pepper)

– 1 Tbsp. Garlic, chopped

– 5 cups water or stock

– 1-ten ounce can cream of mushroom soup

– ½ -10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes

– 12 ounce can crushed tomatoes

– 1 Tbsp. sugar

– 6 chicken bouillon cubes

– 2 tsp. salt

– 1 tsp. dried basil

– 1 tsp. dried thyme

– ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

– ½ tsp. black pepper

– 1 Tbs. hot sauce

– 2 pounds peeled raw shrimp

– 1 pound claw crabmeat picked for shells

– 1 bunch green onions, sliced

– ½ bunch fresh parsley, chopped

– 1-pound rotini pasta

In a large heavy bottom pot, heat oil on medium high heat. Add seasonings and garlic and sauté until wilted. Add water, soup, tomato products, sugar, chicken bouillon and all spices. Bring to a low simmer. Add shrimp and simmer for five minutes. Taste and adjust spices if necessary. Mixture should be a little salty at this point. Add crabmeat, green onions, parsley and rotini pasta. Bring to a low simmer and cook covered for ten minutes. Stir and cook an additional five minutes until pasta is al dente.

What’s Cooking in April

Louisiana strawberries are always exceptional and every season we incorporated these fresh berries in our menus as many ways as possible. Chocolate dipped strawberries are always Aunt Judy’s favorite but we also make delicious strawberry shortcake layered with sugared berries, home made whip cream and ladyfingers. And it’s way good let me tell you. My inspiration for this recipe came from Doris Solomon formally of New Orleans but now a Baton Rougon thanks to a hurricane named Katrina.

Mrs. Solomon’s Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:

* 2 pints of fresh strawberries
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 cups heavy whipping cream
* ¾ cup powdered sugar
* 1 tsp. cream of tarter
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 2 packs of soft Lady fingers
* Mint leaves for garnish
* 1 cup flour

Preparation:

IWash and slice strawberries. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Stir well and allow to marinate in the refrigerator thirty minutes stirring every ten minutes to melt the sugar. Pour whipping cream into a chilled bowl and add powdered sugar and cream of tarter. Beat with an electric mixer slowly at first then on high speed until the cream holds stiff peaks. Fold in vanilla. Divide ladyfingers into four sections. Lay one section in the bottom of a clear glass container. Put ¼ strawberries and juice over ladyfingers. Put one fourth of the whip cream over strawberries. Repeat 3 more times ending with whip cream. Garnish with fresh mint. Place in refrigerator for one to two hours before serving.