This is one of the most traditional staples served in southeast Louisiana and it is a regular, often required and expected dish on Mondays in many New Orleans eateries. The ole story goes that on Mondays most folks did their laundry, and back in the day laundry was an all day affair with manual washing and rinsing and then hanging the clothes on the line. So before doing the laundry folks would put on a large pot of red beans because they would take hours to make and you could leave them there on the stove without having to watch them or stir it often.

School cafeterias throughout the region serve the typical Red Beans and Rice lunch every Monday, and the popular dish includes a helping of collards, a large square of cornbread, and a large link of smoked sausage too! I grew up on this stuff for 12 years while attending the New Orleans Public School System from elementary school, junior high and through high school. Most lunch spots around town still serve them on Mondays in and around New Orleans.

But why wait until Monday to eat them; you can have red beans on any day of the week, so here is my recipe for a nice pot of red beans. This recipe is easily doubled and like most one pot meals it tastes better the next day, and the next…and it freezes very well too for large batch cooking. We like to take the leftovers and freeze individual lunch sized portions for bringing to work, saves on lunch money too!

Red Beans

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1          lb.        Red Kidney Beans, dry

1          lb.        Smoked Sausage, ¼” slices

2          cups     Onions, chopped

2          cups     Bell pepper chopped

2          cups     Celery, chopped

¼         cup       Garlic, minced

1          Tbsp    Basil

1          Tbsp    Italian Seasoning

1          Tbsp    Oregano

1          Tsp      Thyme

2          each     Bay Leaves

6          cups     Stock, chicken or beef

1          Tbsp    Worcestershire sauce

½         Tbsp    Hot sauce

To taste          Salt and White Pepper

Steps/Procedures

Rinse and sort the beans to remove any small debris or rocks then soak them in warm water overnight or for up to 2 hours.
In a large stock pot add the smoked sausage slices and brown them over a medium high heat, stirring often to brown evenly.
Add the onions, bell pepper and celery (Trinity) and stir well to sweat down.
Then add the garlic and all the herbs and bay leaves, stir well and continue to sauté.
Drain the water from the red beans and add them to the stock pot with the Trinity and then gently pour the stock to about an inch above all the ingredients.
Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer.
Add the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce and continue to simmer for up to 2 hours. Check the beans about every 30 to 45 minutes and stir well each time. Up to 2 more cups of stock may need to be added as the beans absorb the stock.Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve over fresh cooked rice. Also good with this dish is some fresh chopped onions on top with some fresh drizzled hot sauce. Don’t forget the cornbread too.

I was watching Emeril Live on the Food Network the other night and the theme of that segment was Onions, so I thought it would make an excellent post topic for the CCR blog. There are so many varieties that fall within the onion culinary category I thought I would touch on a few of them before I share my recipe for Seven Onion Soup.

Besides the different colors and shapes of onions there are several varieties, but they all fall within the genus allium and species A. cepa of the scientific classification, or the Binomial name of Allium cepa
L. There are  ten known varieties commonly available in the United States which include: Western Yellow, Northern Red, New York Bold, Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Empire Sweet, Mexico, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia. For culinary classification purposes there are the commonly known yellow onions, white onions, red onions, and pearl onions which can be found at just about every fresh market or grocery. Then there are green onions, chives, and leeks. Shallots and garlic are also lumped into the onion category of culinary uses.

I love the aroma produced when sauteing onions in a little olive oil. It typically means that something good to eat is coming out of the kitchen soon. One of my favorite soups is French Onion Soup, it is right up there on my Top 10 List of Favorite Soups (soon to be published). But another of my favorite soups is Seven Onion Soup, which is a veloute based cream soup containing red onions, yellow onions, white onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, and green onions. Served with some crispy French bread this soup is great for any day.

Seven Onion Soup

Yield: approx 4 gallons

Ingredients:

¼         cup       Clarified butter

½         cup       Garlic, minced

½         cup       Shallots, minced

6          cups     Yellow onions, julienne

6          cups     White onions, julienne

6          cups     Red onions, julienne

4          bunch   Leeks, julienne

2          lbs.       Blond roux

3          gal        chicken stock, warm

1/4       cup       Worcestershire Sauce

1          Bunch   Thyme, fresh, chopped fine

2          quarts   Heavy cream (Or 1 quart ½ and ½ and 1 quart heavy cream)

To taste            Salt and white pepper

2          bunch   Green onions or chives, chopped

Procedure:

1. Sauté the garlic and shallots in clarified butter then add the yellow and red onions and the leeks and continue to cook until soft and translucent.
2. Add the roux and stir to incorporate well into the onion mixture.
3. Add the warm chicken stock and whip until roux is smoothed into the liquid.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and skim any scum from the top of the liquid.
5. Add the Worcestershire Sauce and fresh chopped thyme and stir well.
6. Stir in the heavy cream and then season to taste with the salt and white pepper.
7. Garnish with the green onions or chives.

Established in 1862 and serving cafe’ au lait and beignets ever since, this historic coffee stand is located on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. An order of beignets includes three of the pillow shaped crispy fried yeast dough squares topped with a generous amount of powdered sugar. It is open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day with the exception of Christmas Day and the occasional day a hurricane passes through the area, in fact it did close for Hurricane Katrina at midnight before the storm hit and remained closed for about two months. During this time the owners took the opportunity to renovate the kitchen while the population was also returning and in the initial stages of rebuilding. The French Quarter location re-opened up to great fanfare on October 19, 2005 and has remained open since. Since the 1980’s Cafe du Monde has opened up many retail locations at local shopping malls in and around New Orleans and the Northshore.

Never been cheated at this place, if calories didn’t count I would eat breakfast at Cafe du Monde every morning!

Cafe Du Monde
800 Decatur St
New Orleans, LA 70116

Before the Interstate was completed in Louisiana we used to travel from New Orleans through Baton Rouge by way of Airline Highway, also known as Highway 61. Heading along the route northwest and about 30 miles outside of New Orleans is La Place, where the old Airline Motors Restaurant  (221 E Airline Hwy, La Place, LA 70068) is located and it became a regular stop for breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on the time of day we were traveling. At least three or four times a year we would drive through on our way to Morse, LA and then to Pineville, LA to visit the Boudreaux or Christoffel clan during holidays and other times of the year. As a child I would always order shrimp and I can remember the ole Airline Motors having some of the best Fried Butterfly Shrimp with French Fries and cocktail sauce or ketchup. They had some great breakfasts too, and they were really known for their fried chicken. Airline Motors never became or ever was a culinary mecca, but it was one of those stops during a long road trip that you always looked forward to resting and eating. The restaurant has been closed and reopened several times over the past 20 years since Interstate 10 took most of the through traffic away from Airline Highway, but the fond memories of childhood shrimp binges will never be forgotten.

Monique used to order shrimp as a child as well and even remembers giving her dad a time when they were on vacation in the mountains and she wanted shrimp there too. Traveling about 1,500 miles from the Gulf the only shrimp to be found were frozen and probably 11 months old! But when your young you don’t know any better, you just want some fried shrimp.

Today we can’t get enough shrimp, weather they are boiled, in a New Orleans Style BBQ, or chilled in a cocktail fashion seems like we can never eat enough of the little gems. Every week I buy a couple pounds of shrimp and typically make a quick dish with them, they cook up so easily and it is a real special treat when I can score some fresh Gulf shrimp.

I bought 2 pounds of 16-20 count shrimp at the local grocery and decided to just make a simple shrimp cocktail and remoulade with a bed of romaine lettuce and tomato wedges. So I put together a small pot of boiling liquid and set up the chilled plates. Once the shrimp were boiled in the shell I drained and then chilled them in some ice until they were cold. I also made a quick cocktail sauce and remoulade sauce to serve with the shrimp. From start to finish the whole meal was ready in about 30 minutes, it really can be that quick if you are on a tight time limit.

Shrimp with Cocktail and Remoulade Sauces

Serves 3 – 4

Ingredients

2          lbs.      Shrimp, 16-21 count, shell on, headless

1/3       cup     Cajun Spice blend

2          quarts  Water

2          Tbsp    Lemon juice

1          Tbsp    Hot sauce

2          Tbsp    Salt

4          cups    Ice

4          cups    Shredded lettuce

1          each    Tomato, cut into wedges

Procedure

1. Combine the water, Cajun spice blend, lemon juice, hot sauce and salt in a large stock pot.
2. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Add the shrimp and allow to simmer until shrimp are just turned pink and almost cooked through.
4. Turn off heat and allow shrimp to soak for about 5 more minutes.
5. While shrimp are soaking take the ice and place in a large bowl.
6. Pour out shrimp through a colander and drain the liquid in the sink, and then gently add the shrimp to the ice in the bowl and toss gently. Allow the shrimp to chill well.
7. Peel the shrimp leaving the last segment and tail intact.
8. Arrange the shredded lettuce and tomato wedges on chilled plates and top with the chilled shrimp ensuring an even portions for everyone.

Cocktail Sauce

1          cup      Ketchup

1          cup      Chili Sauce

2          Tbsp    Prepared horseradish

1          Tbsp    Worcestershire sauce

1          Tbsp    Fresh lemon juice

½         Tbsp    Hot sauce

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix well to incorporate then chill before serving.

Remoulade Sauce

1          cup      Ketchup

1          cup      Mayonnaise

½         cup      Whole Grain Mustard

½         Tbsp    Worcestershire sauce

½         Tbsp    Hot sauce

½         Tbsp    Fresh lemon juice

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix well to incorporate then chill before serving.