Itinerary and Arrival

I introduced our world traveler and family friend Mike Addison in the introductory post for the new “Bon Vivant Travels” category for the Cajun Chef Ryan blog entitled Bon Vivant Travels, First Stop…South America. Mike embarked on his worldwide journey on Saturday, October 10, 2009, leaving from Houston, TX for a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina where he will spend the first leg of the adventure in South America. Here is Mike’s introductory email and trip itinerary:

We did not hear from Mike for another 12 days, and until Thursday, October 22, 2009 when he sent us this email from Buenos Aires, Argentina (I’ve added the images to the email text, and click on them for a larger view):

Here is an excellent post on Tarta found on the “From Argentina with Love” blog by Rebecca Caro. In addition, for the asado I found Asado Argentina, a wonderful site devoted to the barbecue methods, techniques, and cuts of meat in particular to Argentine cuisine.

Mike’s post script was due to his camera’s digital memory card getting a virus from a computer, it infected all the images and he may be able to get them restored once back to the States, he purchased a new memory card since.

Stay tuned for Mike’s next installment of adventures in South America…

A little less than a year in the making this cookbook is a culmination of over 140 bloggers over 60 countries worldwide who came together with the notion of giving back to the community, specifically to the problem of hunger among the children of the world. Now, with over 200 members internationally, the fruits of their labor have ripened to perfection.

BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine Bloggers Making a Difference was started out early this year by a small group of foodie bloggers and evolved into the cookbook project “The BloggerAid Cook Book” which is now finally available for purchase online. The BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine Cookbook is now available through the Create Space estore. The estore is a connection of Amazon. You will not find the book on the Amazon.com site – royalties for the School Meals Program are much higher through the estore. The children need as much support as we can give them!

Click on the image of the cookbook cover above to make your purchase. Alternatively, click the URL listed here: https://www.createspace.com/3405882

I originally posted on this endeavor back on March 10th of this year, (BloggerAid – Bloggers Uniting to Aid in the Alleviation of Hunger) and here is what I had to say then:

I joined BloggerAid awhile back because it is a great cause, and which represents one I have helped support over the years in my restaurant industry days.  I have volunteered many hours and donated much food on behalf of several restaurants that I have worked to help local food banks in New Orleans, LA.   Now I have a chance to help the children of our future and our world by being a member of BloggerAid.

Currently BloggerAid supports the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations frontline agency and one of WFP’s largest areas of assistance is called School Meals.

One of the first projects that BloggerAid has taken to task is to put together a cookbook of recipes from foodie bloggers and once it is published toward the end of 2009 all proceeds from the sales of the cookbook will go toward fighting hunger. In fact, the great folks at BloggerAid announced that 100% of the profit from the sales of the cookbook would be directed to School Meals, the program of The World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations frontline agency mentioned above.

For my contribution and as part of the cookbook I have entered one of my family favorite recipes, Cajun Meatballs and Spaghetti. I cannot divulge the ingredients at this time and until the cookbook is available, so be on the look out for when the cookbook makes its public appearance! I hear sometime around November or December of this year.

Please show your support and spread the word on this wonderful program, and please consider making a purchase of this cookbook for a great cause.

Regards,

Ryan Boudreaux

CCR  =8~)

This recipe is straight from the book Diet for a Small Planet, (1982) by Frances Moore Lappé, which is the 10th Anniversary Edition. I was in New York City and spending a week in June of 1982 with my sister who lived in Manhattan at the time and found this book at a progressive bookstore.  This is the first book I bought that could be labeled within the cookbook category, but at the time it was more than just a cookbook.

This book is a statement about a way of life and living that Lappé has been espousing since the early 1970’s. Eating healthy with an observance of the good bounty and all the while treading lightly on mother earth. She promotes the use of what is called “complementary proteins”, combining two or more less-usable proteins to create one of a better “quality”. Over the years millions of people have bought copies of this book among others by Lappé, and it is a testament to the staying power of good food and responsible eating. I am sure the 20th anniversary edition of this book has even more updates in it as the 10th did in celebrating the 1980’s. Now in the 2000’s there is a new surge of support and promise for locally grown, organic, unprocessed and whole foods that continues to grow. I look forward to obtaining an updated copy of this favorite book of mine, the paperback spine has broke in two and it just goes to show how much it has been used over the years.

A few months ago, my stepson Bryan asked me to start putting up recipes that he could use for his new apartment life while attending Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, LA. So I created the College Life Cooking category and have already tagged a few posts for him. This recipe is one I made on many occasions at friends apartments when I too attended LSU in the early 1980’s, it is quick, cheap and easy to make and tastes really good too. Tread lightly on mother earth, eat well, and she well provide!

Here is the recipe straight out of the book as it is presented on page 252. I’ve followed this procedure many times and have never had problems with it, always came out as expected.

In the 1982 edition for this recipe Lappé writes…”A nondairy favorite of Bill and Akiko Shurtleff of the Soy-foods Center in Lafayette, California, who point out that ‘tofu takes the place of ricotta cheese and provides protein complimentarily for the lasagna.’ Delicious hot or cold.”

When I made this batch the recipe was doubled, as shown in the image at right above, it makes from 12 to 16 servings from the large casserole dish. (NOTE: Click on images for a larger view.)

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Jack Hines, owner of Foods C’est Bon Limited out of Kenner, LA introduced this hot appetizer to the masses and food service industry many years ago. Now other wholesale foodservice manufacturers are producing them as Sausage En Croute, same product, different name.  Many kitchens do not have the resources to prepare these in the hundreds or thousands, so Foods C’est Bon Limited and other companies still sell these specialties through wholesale food purveyors such as Sysco, Conco, and others. However, having prepared them myself in kitchens for years by purchasing the raw ingredients and assembling them by hand, the resulting savings in food cost outweighs the labor cost.

The hot hors d’oeuvre consists of a portion of highly spiced or seasoned sausage such as an Andouille or Cajun smoked sausage and then surrounded by puff pastry dough. Once baked in the oven for about 30 to 45 minutes at 375° F, then served warm on platters or chaffing dishes, it holds up well for several hours of service.

The appetizer typically accompanied with Creole mustard for dipping, or even a variety of mustards. In addition, in this version of the recipe a small dollop of the Creole mustard is put onto the puff pastry before adding the sausage portion. If Creole mustard is not available in your area, any whole grain mustard will work. The main components are any type of sausage that you prefer and sheets of frozen puff pastry dough, along with a little egg wash and Creole mustard filling out the ingredient list. Here is the simple recipe for making your own Cajun En Croute hot appetizer or hors d’oeuvre for your next holiday party or special occasion.

NOTE: Click on images for a larger view.

Yield: 24 individual hors d’oeuvres