Creole & Cajun
Creoles
were originally descendants of early French and Spanish settlers in the New World. The term "Creole" became very popular in the colony. It was used to apply to people and things native to the colony. The word comes from the Spanish "criollo ...a child born in the colony". The term first applied to natives of the West Indies, Central and South America, and the Gulf States region, but eventually became synonymous with the race of people found in Louisiana.
These settlers mixed their traditional with dishes of the Native Americans and Africans to form the Cajun and Creole dishes that New Orleans is famous for. Cajun and Creole cuisines have a few things in common -- like the fact that they are both from Louisiana, and have a tendency to be SPICY! However, for every similarity, there are 15 reasons why they are not similar .
Foods like Oysters Rockefeller, Shrimp Remoulade and Bananas Foster, traditionally used the butter available to the wealthy Creoles, and more expensive ingredients. Some people will tell you that if a dish has tomatoes, it’s Creole, not Cajun. That isn’t always true. Tomatoes have been known to turn up in Jambalaya or Gumbo, which are both Cajun.
The words Cajun and Creole are not interchangeable, even where food is concerned. Many Cajun and Creole dishes are based on a roux and use some of the same ingredients such as cayenne pepper, okra, sweet potatoes, squashes, beans, corn and sassafras ( filé).
Differences do exist between the two cuisines. The word Creole implies a cultural mix of West-European, African, Caribbean and native Indian. To most south Louisiana blacks, Creoles are of a multiracial heritage with African and Caribbean roots. Creole and Cajun cuisines continue to evolve and even merge into what might be called "South Louisiana cuisine."
Creole & Cajun Recipes
Oysters Louisiana
Chicken New Orleans
Shrimp Creole
Creole Gumbo
Red Beans and Rice
Jambalaya
Bananas Foster
New Orleans Lemonade
4 oz butter, melted - 1 1/2 pints oysters, drained
- 4 green onions, finely
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound fresh lump crabmeat
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter in skillet. Add oysters and cook until dry. Add onions and garlic
crisp, add onions and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Fold in crabmeat and bread crumbs Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
2 lbs chicken, cut into bite size pieces
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1 medium bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cups chicken stock
2 - 10 oz cans tomatoes
6 oysters
1 dozen fresh shrimp
Tbsp. parsley, chopped
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup brandy
Sauté chicken pieces in oil until tender. Remove
and set aside. Add flour to juice in pan and stir to make roux. Add bell pepper
and onions and sauté for 10 minutes, then add chicken stock and tomatoes. Cook 5
minutes then return chicken to pan. Add oyster, shrimp, parsley and mushrooms
add cook for 15 minutes. Blend in wine and brandy, stir and remove from heat
1/2 cup butter
5 Tbsp flour 1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced1/2cup green bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup celery, chopped 1 - 1 can whole tomatoes
pinch of thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Melt butter in 2 quart saucepan. Add flour and
cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to make a roux. Add onion, bell
pepper and celery and cook until tender. Add tomato sauce and whole
tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add water, salt and
cayenne. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add shrimp. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve over rice.
4 crabs
2 lbs shrimp
2 gallons water for shrimp stock)
2 lbs okra
1/2 cup butter
1 cup olive oil 1 cup flour
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 bunch green onions
1 2# can whole tomatoes
-
1 tsp gumbo filé
hot sauce to taste
1 lb fresh lump crabmeat
salt and pepper to taste
Clean crabs and cut into sections. Peel shrimp
and set aside. Boil shell in 2 gallons of water to make stock. Continue boiling
while preparing the rest of the recipe. In saucepan sauté okra in butter,
being careful not to burn it. In a 2 1/2 gallon pot, heat oil and flour and stir
until golden brown. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and green onions, sauté until
soft. Add hard shell crabs and tomatoes and sauté for 3 minutes. Slow stir in
filé powder, and slowly pour into boiling stock. Add okra, hot
sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and cook for 1 hour. Add shrimp 5
minutes before cooking time is complete. Add crabmeat 3 minutes before serving.
1 ham hock
1 lb red beans
6 cups cold water
4 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Wash beans in cold water. Drain beans, put in
dutch oven with cold water, cover and bring to a boil slowly. Put butter in a
skillet, add onion, bell pepper garlic, bay leaves and salt and pepper to
taste. Cook until tender. Add vegetable and beans and cook at least 2 hour. Serve with rice.
Top
- 1/4 lb ham, diced into 1/2" cubes
- 1/4 lb smoked sausage, cut in 1/2" pieces
- 1/4 lb hot links sausage, cut in 1/2" pieces
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 rib celery, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 - 10 oz can whole tomatoes
- 1 - 10 oz can tomatoes sauce
- 1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 cups uncooked rice
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp, fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp thyme
- hot sauce to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 cups boiling water
Put ham, sausages, onions, green pepper, celery, garlic and bay leaf in 3 quart saucepan . Cover and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and shrimp, cook for 10 minutes. Add rice, paprika, salt, parsley thyme and hot sauce. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add the boiling water. Bring to a boil and let boil 5 minutes. Stir, then cover, simmer until rice is tender, about 35 minutes.
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 ripe bananas
- 3 oz banana liqueur
- 3 oz rum
- 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
Put brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in a skillet. Cook on low heat until sugar dissolves. Stir in banana liqueur. Peel bananas and slice lengthwise, then cut each section in half. Add bananas to sugar sauce. Cook until bananas begin to soften and start to brown about 3 minutes. Add rum, Cook 2 more minutes until the rum is hot. Ignite the rum with a flame, when flames (alcohol) burns out. Put 4 banana pieces and sauce in each of 4 serving bowls. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- 6 lemons
- 5 Tbsp canned cherry juice
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 quarts water
Squeeze lemons and strain juice being careful to remove all seeds. Put lemon juice in a pitcher and add chery jiuce, sugar and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Serve in glasses filles with chrushed ice.
 
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