Louisiana – Hungry for Louisiana

4th of July, Corn, Farmers Markets, Fresh produce, Healthy, Local, Louisiana, One Pot, Soups, Squash

Corn and squash soup brims with summer goodness

July 1, 2015

One of the easiest ways to use fresh summer produce is in a luscious seasonal soup. I know, it’s hot outside, but your AC is probably on full blast, and soup is an inside dish. Corn soup (…and its many versions) is a longtime favorite around South Louisiana, but adding squash to the mix creates depth and wholesome goodness. Thanks to the Red Stick Farmers Market for planting the seed with their annual Corn & Squash-tastic event last Saturday celebrating the summer bounty. The idea of combining the two got stuck in my head and led to this simple recipe, which gives me a chance to do something different with yellow squash. I admit to getting stuck sometimes on expanding my use for it.

This soup tastes rich, but it’s really pretty healthy. A portion of the corn is pureed with a little broth to create a creamy consistency without actually using cream.

4th of July, Breakfast, Desserts, Figs, Fresh produce, Fruit, Louisiana

Figging out: Fresh fig cake

June 29, 2015

The figs have started to ripen here in South Louisiana, and a couple of days ago, we started harvesting the sweet fat fruit from our backyard tree – braving mosquitoes and trying to beat the birds. Some days we eat every last fig over the sink within minutes of giving them a rinse. Other days I manage to set some aside and share them with my friends, especially my next-door neighbor, Martha. She paid me back for fresh figs once with a really yummy fig cake. It’s a great use of figs – super moist with a light, but sturdy texture and pleasant, subtle fig flavor. The recipe, Martha tells me, is modified from the Junior League of Monroe’s popular 1972 cookbook, The Cotton Country Collection. Tone down the sugar, and it makes a super breakfast cake. Here it is, below.

4th of July, Hungry for Louisiana, Local, Louisiana, Maggie Heyn Richardson

4th of July Giveaway: Enter this contest

June 25, 2015

Crawfish boudin paella chased with a gin-filé cocktail and followed by a Creole cream cheese snoball? What’s your most creative use of the ingredients featured in Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey? Compete in this fun 4th of July contest and you could win a free, signed copy of the book and a complimentary package of hand-harvested bay leaves, so essential in Louisiana cooking.

Cajun, Corn, Local, Louisiana, Shrimp, Southern, Vegetables

Corn macque choux inspired by my pal Jay on The Next Food Network Star

June 24, 2015

We’re rooting hard in Baton Rouge for our own Jay Ducote to take top honors on The Next Food Network Star, and one of his recipes on the show inspired dinner at my house this week. Jay is a friend and fellow blogger/food writer (among other talents), and it’s been fun to watch him soar on a national level on both Cutthroat Kitchen and now possibly as Food Network’s next big thing. A few episodes into the annual series, he’s showing his natural ability to gab and connect, and he’s playing to his strengths as a chef who favors big Southern flavors. The Cajun tasso macque choux he prepared for a large crowd during the first episode earned kudos – and it prompted me to make my own version.

Fish, Louisiana

Summer supper: Dijon encrusted fresh fish

June 1, 2015

Mild, white fish needs a little help to shine. One of my favorite ways to prepare it is by painting one side of the fillet with Dijon mustard before breading and pan-frying. The tangy mustard is a great foil for the fish’s neutral flavor, lacing it with punchiness and locking in its juices.

This is a dish designed to please modern families. It’s affordable, flavorful, appealing to children and ready in 10 minutes. You can dress it down with Cole slaw and baked beans, or up with fresh asparagus or broccoli rabe. And its preparation requires only a few dishes.

Serves Four

4 mild, white fish fillets, such as flounder, tilapia, catfish, grouper or speckled trout
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
½ cup corn meal
½ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Olive oil for frying
Fresh lemon and herbs for garnish
Mango salsa (optional)

Place fillets in a pie plate and pour milk over them, ensuring each is wet on both sides. In another pie plate, or on a large dinner plate, add bread crumbs, corn meal, salt and pepper. Blend with a fork. Place mustard in a small bowl. Lift each fillet from milk, slather one side with about a tablespoon of mustard, then dredge fish in bread crumb mixture on both sides, starting with the mustard side. Gently shake off excess, and place fillets on clean plate.

Heat about 3-4 tablespoons olive oil to medium high in large skillet, or enough to thoroughly coat bottom of pan. When oil is hot, add fillets. Cook for two minutes on one side, then carefully flip and cook two minutes on the other side.

Serve immediately with fresh lemon, chopped herbs and a side of store bought or homemade mango salsa.

Blueberries, Breakfast, Desserts, Fruit, Local, Louisiana, Peaches

Summer fruit sauce perfect for pain perdu or pound cake

May 28, 2015

You know summer is here when long-awaited fruits emerge. Lately, I’ve been picking up pints of blueberries from our local farmers market, and my own backyard blueberries and blackberries (so easy to grow here!) are ripening like crazy. My kids and I try to head outside early so we can harvest them before the birds beat us to it. It’s a mad rush. Fresh blueberries make their way into lots of different recipes in my kitchen, but one of my favorites is a fast and easy fruit sauce that’s a perfect topper for dessert or a sweet breakfast.

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