Seafood Marsh Stew is a perfect soup for these cold and wet winter days, we’ve had more than our typical share of below freezing nights here in the Deep South.

This is another preview recipe from my third cookbook Complete Cajun Cookbook: 100 Home-Cooked Bayou Classics, found in the Soups and Stews Chapter 5 on page 80.

The recipe page is displayed in the image below:

Bon appetite!

My next preview from my new cookbook, Complete Cajun Cookbook, on sale anywhere books are sold, is the Stuffed Artichoke recipe, found in Chapter 8 Vegetables and Salads, on pages 146-147.

Still found on sale at many local grocery store deli sections, and corner markets, stuffed artichokes can also be made at home with this recipe. Variations in the breadcrumb based stuffing include adding small shrimp or lump crabmeat, or both for added flavor profile and protein. A vegan based recipe could replace the Romano and Parmesan cheese with vegan-based cheese, and omit the anchovies and other protein variations.

This recipe has been a favorite, coming from the Italian cuisine influences on Cajun and Creole cooking methods.

The recipe pages from the book are displayed below:

Bon appetite!

My next recipe preview from my new cookbook Complete Cajun Cookbook is the Cabbage Casserole which is on page 153 in the Vegetables and Salads chapter. I’ve also included several more tips or “Lagniappe” below to give you more options, and honestly, recipes other than baking/pastry recipes are a guideline to be adjusted by personal preferences or ingredient availability. The recipe directly from the book is listed below, and be sure to check my tips just under the recipe:

Tips:

• The recipe calls for preheating the oven in the first step, and while this is a general practice with most recipes, I actually recommend you want until you have drained the cabbage in step 2, and to preheat the oven while the cabbage is cooling. This will give you plenty of time to get your oven preheated before placing the casserole in the oven. While most ovens preheat within 10-15 minutes, you many want to adjust your preheat time based on how your oven works, variations in ovens can differ by age, type, and location, all which can affect the preheat time.
• The time given to boil the cabbage should be adjusted depending on how soft and cooked you want your cabbage, very tender and soft, then keep it in the simmer for 30 minutes, slightly al dente, then reduce your boiling time. I’ve actually boiled the cabbage for just 20 minutes and have had great results with the tenderness. Adjust the boil time to your taste and flavor profile.
• Ground turkey, pork, sausage, or lamb are all great meat substations for this recipe, just add it into the recipe as you would be ground beef in step 3.
• Any long grain rice will do, but for this batch I used parboiled rice.

Bon Appetite!

Back in October 2021 Monique ordered us a new Frigidaire Professional 30” Front Control Gas Range with Air Fry from Southern Pipe & Supply in Picayune, MS. It was delivered in early December 2021, but we still needed a gas source, which she ordered from TNT Propane, located in Carriere, MS. The propane needed a tank too, and for our newly installed backup generator we needed it as well. After some project management, Monique was able to get TNT out the Monday before Christmas 2021 to install the propane tank, hook up gas lines to both the generator and the new range, and fill the tank with propane gas. It took Tony and his son at TNT about 3 hours to complete the job in a very professional manner.

The range has been installed since December 19, 2021, and has worked perfectly in many functions, including oven features like baking, convection baking, roasting, convection roasting, and warming settings. The range top burners have been used many times for boiling, sautéing, grilling, braising, and other cooking methods. We are pleased with the new Frigidaire range, just need to test out the air fry function, and includes an air fry tray. It also has an internal thermometer probe that can be used for getting internal temperatures of roasted meats, still need to test out that feature too. The continuous corner to corner grate material is cast iron, and it comes with a cast iron griddle/grill that can be used on the middle oval burners. The 18,000 BTU burner on the right gives me plenty of power to get my water to a boil quickly, or to quickly sauté meats, fish., or vegetables.

Cooking with gas!!! I love the new range and oven, gas is my preferred method of stove top and oven cooking. Gas gives you more control to make immediate adjustments to the heat level for an array of stove top uses. When I want to turn the heat down on pan I want it to be immediate, and not have to wait 5 or more minutes for the heat to dissipate, when I want to boil a pot of water I want it to come to a boil in a relatively short period of time, not 30+ minutes.

I hope to never go back to electric oven/stovetop cooking again!

All Hail Gas Cooking!!!