Martha Boudreaux walking with Ben down the steps at Wanda’s backyard wedding.
This recipe is as close to my mom’s that I can approximate, both Monique and I agreed that with a few subtle changes this base recipe would be the same one-pot meal that came out of Martha Boudreaux’s kitchen in Algiers, in the New Orleans Westbank. Similar to the Southern favorite Hoppin’ John, with the addition of the black-eye peas, this jambalaya version is packed full of flavor with a rice dressing or dirty rice quality that makes us come back for seconds, or thirds! The fresh parsley and green onions added at the end lend a freshness to the dish, setting it apart from a general jambalaya recipe.
In memory of my mother and her recent passing, Martha Boudreaux’s kitchen legacy lives on with this dish prepared in our kitchen, and yours too, as I share with you our rendition of this classic recipe.
While downsizing and sorting through boxes I found the photo (above) of my mom Martha Boudreaux, and our son Ben which was taken during my sister Wanda’s wedding which took place in her backyard on Farragut Street in Algiers many years ago.
12 Ounces Smoked sausage, ¼” sliced, or ham steak cut into ¼” dice
1 Pound Lean pork stew meat, cut into ½” cubes
1 Tbsp. CCR Finger Lickin’ Rub, or Cajun Spice Blend
1 ½ Cups Onion, chopped
1 Cup Bell pepper, chopped (we used Poblano)
1 Cup Celery, diced
6 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Cups Chicken stock
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ Cups Uncle Bens Converted Long Grain White Rice
2 Cans Black-eyed peas (15oz each)
To Taste Salt and black pepper
½ Cup Curley parsley, chopped
2 Each Green onions, chopped
Instructions
In a heavy 4-quart Dutch oven or pot over medium-low heat, add the bacon grease or oil, season the pork with the rub or Cajun Seasoning, then brown it and the sausage until all pink is gone from the pork.
Add the onions, pepper, celery and garlic, stir well then cover and allow to simmer down for 15-20 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce, turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
Add the rice and black-eye peas, stir well, bring back to a simmer, then turn down heat and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid.
Season to taste and stir in the parsley and green onion, keep covered for another 10 minutes then serve.
This is my mom Martha Boudreaux’s famous drunken shrimp recipe. It is famous in my mind because back in the late 1970’s there were several young holy Mormon’s riding their cycles in the neighborhood. One Saturday my dad Joe and I were working in the yard when the two blessed men approached us telling about God and their devout story. My dad invited them to dinner one night during the week. Mom decided to make her drunken shrimp recipe since it would feed a large table of guests and maybe some leftovers too.
The afternoon before the dinner, mom made a point of telling Wanda and I not to mention that the shrimp was cooked in beer. Given that they had taken a sanctified vow not to partake of alcohol, coffee, and other vile things, they should not know about the alcohol in the recipe. It was our little inside joke, and it was all I could do not to tell them how wonderful the shrimp was because of the special secret ingredient. They loved the shrimp, and I must have had one of those huge grins from one ear to the other once they professed how much they loved the shrimp and potatoes.
There is one modification I would make to the recipe, I would add a touch of Worcestershire Sauce in with the beer and stock in step 1, maybe a couple tablespoons, it’s one of my secret ingredients in most soups and sauces that I prepare.
With tribute to my mother, Martha Boudreaux, and her recent passing on December 14, 2017, this is her Drunken Shrimp recipe that I now share.
June 26th, 2017 · Comments Off on Tahini Dressing and Memory Lane
I received an inquiry email from Shawn Holahan who was at Tulane University, New Orleans in the 1970’s and remembers dining at Nature’s Way Salad Shop, which at the time was located on Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans. He did some searching online for their original Tahini Dressing recipe and found a blog post of mine that mentioned some work I did at Nature’s Way. His inquiry and email thread are copied below for everyone to enjoy and as a formal record of food and restaurant history in New Orleans.
If you want to follow the email thread in chronological order, start from the bottom.
Hello Shawn,
You are welcome, and thanks for the approval for the blog post!
The address on Magazine street where Nature’s Way was located is now known as Taqueria Corona. I cannot remember when Nature’s Way closed, but it was sometime in the late 1980’s, and according to this “About” page http://taqueriacorona.com/about the taco restaurant started sometime in 1988. So it would seem that Nature’s Way was most likely running until around late 1987 to early 1988. Not sure if the owners did anything else, I do remember hearing that they were looking to retire, so I’m guessing that they decided to hang up their hats and get out of the restaurant business. Nature’s Way may have closed up sooner than 1987, as I do remember the location was vacant for sometime before Taqueria Corona started up.
Regards,
Ryan Boudreaux
From: Shawn Holahan
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2017 12:37 PM
To: Ryan Boudreaux
Subject: Re: New Message From Boudreaux Family Farms – Get In Touch
Ryan
Wow! What a response!! Thank you very very much! I’ll be trying your tahini dressing recipe, and certainly will report back successful tweaks, if any.
That steamed vegetable plate was simply nirvana to me back then. I’d get an extra helping of tahini dressing – and depending on who was taking the order, I’d be charged extra. I googled Nature’s Way restaurant in hopes of finding the tahini recipe and wound up with your blog post. You brought me back in time with your perfect description.
Do you know whether the owners remained in the food biz?
And you absolutely have my permission to post my inquiry with my name on your blog (and yes, with the email address removed).
Thank you very much for taking the time for such a detailed response. You love food – I can tell. I’m a foodie at heart too – I mean, how can I not be after a life in NOLA?
Shawn
On Jun 26, 2017, at 10:52 AM, Ryan Boudreaux wrote:
Hello Shawn,
So great to hear from you and that you were a patron of Nature’s Way on Magazine Street in New Orleans back in the 1970’s. My family would frequent the shop on occasion when we were Uptown, (we lived on the Westbank in Algiers), I remember the wonderful smoothies, my favorite was the banana or strawberry, I loved the place then, and was so happy when I got to work there in the 1980’s.
I worked at Nature’s Way during night shifts only for a brief period of time in 1983 and possibly in 1984. Most of the prepared recipes were made by the owners/managers during the day shift, so I did not get many opportunities to prepare the dressings and such. Only if we got busy and ran out of something, and if I had the chance I’d whip up a small batch of whatever it was to get us through that shift, there were only two of us working the shop for the mid-afternoon to dinner hours. Unfortunately, they held all of their recipes close to the vest, and while I may have made the tahini dressing recipe once or twice I never recorded any of the preparations for my own use. I do however remember how all the smoothies were made. They also ran cheese enchiladas as a special and that is easy to replicate.
If I remember correctly the tahini dressing was a combination of the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, tamari, water, a bit of sesame oil and a touch of salt.
I’d try starting with this base recipe and see where it takes you:
Easy to make this dressing is perfect on fresh lettuce, spinach, or steamed vegetables
Ingredients
½ cup tahini
¼ cup water
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons tamari
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 pinch salt
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process till it reaches a smooth consistency. Add more water to thin the dressing if you prefer a thinner texture. It will thicken as it sits, so you can add water to thin as needed, and it will keep for a week or so refrigerated.
3.5.3226
While I worked there the steamed vegetable plate over brown rice was fresh broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, with options for the white cheddar cheese and turmeric on top after the vegetables were steamed. Not sure if the recipe had evolved over the years, but during my short time there it was just those three vegetables on the plate.
Please let me know how the recipe comes out for you, I’d be curious if you tweek it a bit. Off the top of my head the ingredients I would adjust are the tamari and lemon juice. Maybe make a batch with more tamari and less lemon juice, depends on the flavor profile you are after. The physiology of taste is an amazing thing, and how a particular flavor or taste can bring back a specific memory.
Hope this helps!
I am going to post this Q&A on the Cajun Chef Ryan blog so I have a record of it, just your name if that is ok with you.
Bon appetite!
Ryan Boudreaux
—–Original Message—–
From: Shawn Holahan
Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2017 12:35 PM
To: Ryan Boudreaux
Subject: New Message From Boudreaux Family Farms – Get In Touch
Chef Ryan – My inquiry comes from a trip down memory lane, or rather down Magazine St. and Nature’s Way Salad Shop during my Tulane years in the 70s. I saw a blog post of yours describing perfectly the steamed vegetable, brown rice, white cheddar , tahini plate. That was my “go to” meal on those infrequent occasions that I had a few extra dollars. Here’s my question (just when was I going to get to the question?!?): Any chance you remember the tahini dressing recipe? Loved that dressing and can’t replicate it. Also were the only vegetables in the dish broccoli, carrots and cauliflower? THANK YOU!!
April 18th, 2017 · Comments Off on Vinaigrette Dressing
This dressing was made often in the pantry station of the Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, LA. And was one of the dressings offered on salads as well for on buffet service. Our Smoked seafood salad was made with this dressing as well.
