French Quarter Fritter Batter - weekend recipe

If you visit New Orleans for its Cajun and Creole cuisine, you’ll soon discover the many desserts synonymous with the venerable city. The Big Easy is probably the fritter capital of the world. Known in New Orleans as the beignet, the fritter can combine with almost any fruit to create an exquisite desert. Think apple, banana, or cherry fritters. Let your imagination go wild. It all starts with the fritter batter, and here is the recipe. Hey, if you can't visit New Orleans soon, read my French Quarter mystery Big Easy and take a trip in your mind.

Ingredients 

·         1 cup flour, sifted

·         ½ cup water, cold

·         2 eggs

·         ½ cup sugar

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

·         2 Tbsp. brandy

·         ¼  tsp. salt

Directions

Separate the eggs. Beat the whites into a thick froth and reserve. Add the yolks to the flour, and then beat until very light. Add the sugar and blend well. Add the brandy and beat lightly, and then add water and oil to make the batter the consistency of a thick starch. Add the egg whites and beat well. The batter is now ready for the desired fruit needed to create your amazing Creole dessert beignet. Enjoy!

Eric'sWeb

Bertram Picou's Spicy Tomato Sauce - a weekend recipe

Except for occasional help from his on again, off again girlfriend Shirley, Bertram Picou relies mostly on himself to manage his French Quarter bar. Every now and then, he grows tired of tourists and locals, and shuts the doors for some R and R, usually cooking something just for himself. Sometimes, his friend Wyatt Thomas becomes the lucky recipient of his cooking prowess.

Bertram might lug his charcoal grill upstairs to Wyatt’s room, grilling on the balcony overlooking Chartres as they listen to the sounds of boats on the river, and cacophony on Bourbon Street. When Wyatt gets very lucky, Bertram, drinking shots of Cuervo as he cooks, will grill up his Andouille Fired Oysters, topping them with his spicy tomato sauce.

Here’s the recipe for Bertram’s own spicy tomato sauce. It’s a great sweet and sour sauce that goes perfectly with broiled and baked fish, and, oh yes, Andouille Fired Oysters. Stay tuned for Bertram’s Andouille Fired Oyster recipe. Meantime, here’s the recipe for his spicy tomato sauce.

Bertram’s Spicy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

·         1 onion, thinly sliced

·         2 Tbs. butter

·         2 tomatoes, fresh, finely chopped

·         2 lemons, juiced

·         1 ½ Tbs. sugar

·         ½ tsp. mustard, dry

·         salt, to taste 

Directions 

Sauté onion in butter and then stir in tomatoes. Add lemon juice, salt, and mustard, and then simmer for a few minutes.

 

Check out more of Bertram and Wyatt in the French Quarter mysteries Big Easy, City of Spirits, and Primal Creatures.

Eric'sWeb

Mama Mulate’s Salade de Crevettes d'Orange - a weekend recipe

Mama Mulate is a character from my French Quarter murder mystery Big Easy. Being a voodoo mambo, she is deft at preparing magical potions and enchanted concoctions. She’s also a great cook and here’s her recipe for a wonderful summer salad.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 Tbsp. orange peel, dried and ground
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 oz. lime juice, fresh
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 4 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Triple Sec

Preparation

In a large bowl, combine orange peel, paprika and brown sugar. Toss the shrimp in the mixture, shaking until evenly coated. Sauté shrimp in olive oil. Toss plum tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell peppers, and cilantro in a large salad bowl. Whisk together red wine vinegar, remaining olive oil, lime juice and Triple Sec. Top individual salads with shrimp and serve.

Eric'sWeb

Mama Mulate's Creole Zucchini Casserole - a weekend recipe

Mama Mulate is a character in my French Quarter murder mystery Big Easy. When she’s not mixing voodoo potions, or teaching English at Tulane University, she’s likely in her kitchen, whipping up a meal fit for a Mardi Gras king. She has a garden behind her house near the river in New Orleans, where she grows her own herbs and vegetables. Check out her recipe for Creole zucchini.

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini squashes, ¼ inch slices

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 tomatoes, chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

• 3 Tbsp butter

• 2 Tbsps flour

• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

• ¼ tsp oregano

• ¼ tsp basil

• 1 bay leaf

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

• ½ cup bread crumbs

Directions

Cook zucchini (about 5 minutes) until tender, but firm. Drain and arrange in greased 2 quart casserole dish. Melt butter over medium heat in medium saucepan, and add flour. Stir until smooth and bubbly.

Add tomatoes, onion, and cloves of garlic, green bell pepper, brown sugar, salt, bay leaf, oregano and basil. Cook for 5 or 6 minutes. Remove bay leaf and cloves of garlic. Pour mixture over zucchini. Top with bread crumbs and cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes.

Eric'sWeb

Mama Mulate's Voodoo Dipping Sauce - a Mardi Gras, weekend recipe

Mardi Gras Day, or Fat Tuesday, is this coming Tuesday. Six Carnivals since Katrina, the Crescent City will be rocking. Voodoo mambo Mama Mulate can mix a potion for anything from growing hair to casting an undying spell of love. She’s also a great cook.


One of Mama’s favorite Mardi Gras finger foods is Cajun Chicken Fingers, a lightly-breaded delicacy you can’t eat just one of. Along with her chicken fingers, she makes the meanest dipping sauce in the universe. Here is the secret recipe for her famous Voodoo Dipping Sauce. Don’t tell her I gave it to you, or she’s liable to make a certain bodily part of mine shrivel up and fall off. P.S.- read more about Mama Mulate in my new ebook Voodoo Nights.

Mama Mulate’s Voodoo Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• ½ cup cold water
• 1 t cornstarch
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 T green onions, thinly sliced
• ½ green pepper, small, thinly sliced
• 1 T lemon juice
• 4 t prepared Dijon-style mustard
• ¼ t onion powder

Directions

Place water in a medium saucepan, and mix in cornstarch to dissolve. Stir in honey. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat. Stir in green onions, lemon juice, prepared Dijon-style mustard, onion powder and green pepper. Serve warm or chill in the refrigerator. Happy Mardi Gras, and laissez les bons temps rouler!!

Eric'sWeb

Tomatoes Bonaparte - a recipe

Many years ago, Anne and I flew to New Orleans with friends Gary and Carroll. It was off-season, somewhere between Mardi Gras and the Jazz Festival, so we got a good rate on a French Quarter hotel. Not much was happening except for the Festival of the Tomato.

Cajuns and Creoles love their tomatoes and use them as ingredients in almost everything. While enjoying the Quarter during the festival, we tasted many wonderful variations of tomato dishes. We quickly learned, when topped with oils and spices, the tomato needs no other ingredients. Here is a standalone tomato recipe I think you will enjoy as much as I do.

Tomatoes Bonaparte

Ingredients
· 2 large Creole tomatoes
· ¼ pound fresh mozzarella cheese
· Several stems fresh basil
· 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
· ¼ cup high-quality salad vinegar
· 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
· ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
· ½ teaspoon salt
· Freshly ground pepper

Directions
Slice tomatoes about 1/3 inches thick. Place a slice on each of 2 salad plates, then a slice of mozzarella, then several basil leaves. Make 2 more layers and drizzle with as much dressing as desired. To make dressing, whisk the vinegar and mustard together in a small bowl.
Gradually pour in the olive oil, continuously whisking. Add salt and continue whisking until smooth. After adding dressing to Bonaparte’s, place a few basil leaves around the plate and grind pepper lightly over all.

Serves two

Eric'sWeb

Lily's Red Snapper Louisianne - a weekend recipe

Red snapper is perhaps the most popular main entrée at many fine restaurants in New Orleans. My Cajun ex-mother-in-law always prepared a wonderful version she called, simply, red fish.

Lily always made her signature dish when her little brother Junior brought home red snapper from one of his morning fishing trips. I don’t have Lili’s recipe (she did everything by memory) but here is a similar one.

2 onions, minced
1 sprig saffron
2 green peppers, minced
4 pounds red snapper
2 fresh mushrooms, minced
1 cup white wine
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
6 fresh tomatoes, peeled

Cook onions, peppers, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes, add tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes. Add saffron. Remove head and middle bone from fish and arrange in a buttered baking dish. Pour wine over fish and season very lightly with salt and pepper. Add sauce and cook for 30 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Garnish with parsley. Serves 8 to 10.

Fiction South

Shrimp Ravioli - a weekend recipe

The restaurants of New Orleans are truly the gems of the City. Here is a recipe I found on the web from the Rib Room of New Orleans. Enjoy.

Shrimp Ravioli "Bay Eloi" in Shrimp Herb Essence

Ingredients:
6 Pieces Shrimp Ravioli
4 oz Shrimp Stock
4 oz Whole Softened Butter
½ tsp Shallots Chopped
½ tsp Garlic Chopped
2 oz White Wine
3 oz Diced Tomatoes
½ tsp Parsley Chopped
½ tsp Tarragon Chopped
½ tsp Chives Chopped
3 Pieces 10-15 Count Shrimp Grilled
4 oz French Spinach Sautéed in Butter

Method:
Sweat shallots and garlic in olive oil. Add white wine and reduce by half. Add shrimp stock and reduce by half. Incorporate the butter by whipping in with a wire whip. Finish with diced tomatoes and herbs. Blanch ravioli in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

For Plate:
In large bowl, add sautéed spinach. Arrange ravioli on top of spinach. Spoon sauce around ravioli. Garnish with grilled shrimp and herb sprigs.

Fiction South

Crab Meat Broussard - a weekend recipe

New Orleans is the home of many fine restaurants. Broussard’s, a French Quarter destination since 1920, is one of the best. Here is a recipe from Broussard’s website as interpreted by Chef Gunter Preuss. Try it and enjoy.

CRAB MEAT BROUSSARD

Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 6 jumbo shrimp, peeled, tail left on, deveined; butterfly
- 1 oz. (2 tbsp.) olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 fresh artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 oz. brie cheese
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. whole fresh thyme leaves
- ¾ lb. jumbo lump crab meat
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, melt the butter and sauté the shrimp until they are just cooked. Set aside to cool. In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the yellow onion, artichoke hearts, and garlic over medium heat until the onions become limp. Sprinkle in the flour and mix well while cooking for a minute more.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and then add stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for three minutes.

Add the heavy cream and simmer for another five minutes. Take the brie and scrape off and discard the white skin; cut cheese into small pieces. Add brie to the ream sauce and stir until all of the cheese is melted and mixed well. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, olive oil, and thyme. Set aside.

After the cheese mixture is cool, gently fold in the crabmeat, being careful not break up the lumps. To assemble, place one shrimp in the center of an oven proof serving dish so that it stands. Spoon the crabmeat mixture around the shrimp and sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture. Repeat with the remaining shrimp. Arrange the dishes on a large baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes, or until the crab mixture is hot and bubbly.

Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Fiction South

Creole Crawfish and Tasso Chowder - a weekend recipe

Located a half block from Bourbon Street, the Bombay Club features spirits, music and nouveau Creole cooking. Here is an original recipe from their website. Try it and enjoy.

Creole Crawfish and Tasso Chowder

Ingredients:

½ c. Salad oil
½ lb. Bacon, diced
1 cup Tasso, finely diced
1 Large Onion, diced
3 Celery stalks, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 ea. Red and Green Peppers, diced
2 ears Corn, remove kernels from ears
1 Tbs. Tarragon, Thyme, Kosher Salt
1 ½ Tbs. Garlic, minced
2 tsp. Fresh cracked black pepper
1 ea. Bay leaves, 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
½ c. White wine
¼ c. Worcestershire sauce, 2 dashes Tabasco
1/2 gal. Shrimp stock or broth
1 c. Blonde roux
1 qt. Heavy cream
4 c. Crawfish tails, pre-cooked
3 ea. Russet potatoes, cubed and par-boiled

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium stock pot, add bacon, sauté 3 to 5 minutes or until bacon is slightly crispy. Add Tasso, onions, celery, carrots and peppers, sauté for 5 to 7 minutes. Add corn, garlic, herbs, and spices, sauté another 2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze with white wine, Worcestershire, and Tabasco, simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp stock, bring to a boil then whisk in roux, stirring well, so no lumps form. Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes, add heavy cream, crawfish, and strained potatoes. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Season to taste.

Louisiana Mystery Writer