A classic New Orleans dish made famous years ago and still served today at many fine Louisiana Cajun, Creole, and French cuisine establishments. The image displayed here shows the plating up of a Trout Pontchartrain portion, at The Columns Hotel, Circa 1985. Notice I am holding the plate with a white kitchen towel, one of the basics that we learn early but is often missed in many a restaurant: serve hot food hot, and on hot plates, serve cold food cold, and on cold plates. Amazingly simple to follow, yet often missed.
This classic dish has also seen a revitalization lately among restaurants both in and outside of Louisiana, and variations include additional ingredients in the topping such as shrimp and crawfish tails. In addition, some are now adding a thicker batter to the fish with eggs and breading, such as with panko breadcrumbs for a crunchier texture.
While trout is in the name of this dish, any white fleshed fish will work in this recipe. In addition, while button mushrooms are the traditional fare, you might consider adding in or substituting any variety of wild mushrooms for variation of flavor and texture. Chanterelles, morels, porcini, or oyster mushrooms are all quite good with seafood.
This version is adapted from the classic, and is also the version served at the Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in the mid-1980’s during the Chef Chris Canan and Chef Brian Coates era. It takes the basic lightly floured and sautéed trout filet and then is topped with sautéed crabmeat and usually is covered with a hollandaise or béarnaise sauce depending on the restaurant. The Columns Hotel version was topped with a lighter Beurre Blanc sauce. Click the link to see two versions of this white butter sauce recipe, one from the Columns Hotel, and the other from the Eiffel Tower Restaurant.
The original recipe given here lists a single portion as was prepared to order on the kitchen line at the Columns hotel, I have also included quantities for yielding 6 portions. If you are preparing the 6-portion yield version you may want to sauté three of the trout filets at a time to ensure the pan stays hot during the cooking process.
Season the trout filet(s) with the salt and white pepper mixture and dredge in the seasoned flour.
2.
Heat a sauté pan until very hot and add the clarified butter.
3.
Sauté the trout filet rounded side down first, when golden brown flip in pan and place in 450° F oven until done, about 5-8 minutes.
4.
In another sauté pan, heat the clarified butter and sauté the mushrooms and green onions until tender.
5.
Add the crabmeat and toss gently with the Worcestershire sauce, season to taste with the salt and white pepper.
6.
Center plate the trout, top with the crabmeat mixture, and then ladle the Beurre Blanc sauce on top.
7.
Garnish with fresh parsley and fresh lemon wedges.
*You may have noticed that in the ingredients for this recipe there is a salt and white pepper mixture, this is typically found on most kitchen lines, and is usually a 1:1 ratio mixture of salt to white pepper, the ratios can vary depending on the restaurant. If you want to mix up a small batch, typically 2 tablespoons of white pepper and 2 tablespoons of salt will do, seal and store the remainder for future use.
Now that Mardi Gras is over and for us Catholics and members of other denominations that observe Lent typically we give something up during the weeks before Easter. Moreover, in doing so we have selected to give up coffee and all red meats for the season of Lent, but look forward to eating much more seafood, and plenty of the bounty of the sea.
For the 40 days of the reflective, penitential season, it also can mean a season of giving to others. That is an idea that can extend beyond people of faith, to the betterment of our community. That might mean spending time in community or charitable work that serves vulnerable members of the community such as children, the sick or the elderly. Giving also means more than just opening up your pocket book, but can equate to giving of your time. Volunteering at the local food bank, charity organizations, or other non-profits that serve the community go much farther to helping the community. It also builds self-esteem knowing that you helped someone else have a better day. Locally, we have donated time in volunteering at local Catholic charities, food pantries and childcare giving. Globally, we donate money to several charity organizations throughout the year, in addition, I participate in the BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine, bloggers making a difference.
Back to food…what kind of seafood is available fresh this time of year, well, we still have oysters, shrimp and crabmeat, though still quite expensive, and if you are willing to shell out $12.00 a pound for fresh Louisiana crawfish tails you can get them too. Marcelle Bienvenu who writes in her article “It’s still too early for crawfish, but other Lenten choices abound” found in the Times-Picayune, the New Orleans newspaper and NOLA.com online, she reports that crawfishermen are bringing in really small catches right now, but warming temperatures in the next few months will have them increasing in numbers.
Today’s Lenten choice recipe is a quick and easy dish of sweet and spicy shrimp, inspired by the Weight Watchers recipe from page 32 in the cookbook, “Five ingredient, 15 minute recipes.” This recipe has a Weight Watchers point’s value of 7, and nutritional analysis is 322 calories, 4.7g fat, 28.3g protein, 39.6g carbohydrates, 0.4g fiber, 194g cholesterol, 392mg sodium, 78mg calcium.
Sweet and Spicy Shrimp
Serves 8
Ingredients
2
Lbs.
Shrimp, large 25-31 count, peeled and deveined
1
Tbsp
Cajun Spice blend
2
Tsp
Olive oil
1
Cup
Orange juice
½
Cup
Apricot preserves
4
Cups
Hot cooked rice
3
Each
Green onions, chopped
Procedure Steps
1.
Combine the cleaned shrimp with the Cajun spice blend and reserve.
2.
Combine the orange juice and apricot preserves in a small saucepan and heat until the preserves are melted into the orange juice, continue to simmer until slightly thickened.
3.
Heat the olive oil in a very hot sauté pan over high heat and add the shrimp. Sauté the shrimp evenly on all sides until almost pink, then add the orange juice mixture to the shrimp. Heat through until shrimp are pink, but not over cooked.
4.
Serve each portion with ½ cup of cooked rice and 3/4 cup of the shrimp and sauce. Garnish with the green onions.
Question: Are you giving up anything for the Lenten season? Are you giving back anything as alms-giving to support your community?
First, I will share with you some of New Orleans Mardi Gras music with a few videos of famous New Orleans musicians. Then you can view what New Orleans Mardi Gras looked like in 1941, sixty-nine years ago. Next is a list of all the parades in New Orleans today, starting with Zulu and ending with truck parades. Then you will need to take a quiz. Yes folks, there is a test on today’s blog, it is a Mardi Gras Quiz on delish.com, Foods of New Orleans. All quizes will be graded at the end of class! But, if you need help I have plenty of links to Mardi Gras food sites that can help you answer all the quiz questions. And then we wrap up with all the previous Mardi Gras links in the series.
Music
These are some of the lyrics from the song “It’s Carnival Time” made famous by Al Johnson, and featured in the video below. Al is singing at a Louisiana Music awards, after being inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
The Mardi Gras Series
Join me with Drick Perry and his Drick’s Rambling Café as we celebrate the Mardi Gras season while he reports on the Mobile, AL festivities, and you can view today’s post on Fat Tuesday, and follow along with the Cajun Chef Ryan blog as we feature the New Orleans Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is famous for not only the wonderful food, but the great music and spirit too, one of the great traditions about Mardi Gras in New Orleans is the wonderful music, and here is Dr. John, singing Mardi Gras Mambo…
New Orleans Mardi Gras Day Parade Schedule
The big day is finally here, and today marks the biggest day of the Mardi Gras holiday carnival celebrations. Traditionally the Krewe of Zulu rolls early in the morning, around 8:15 am in Uptown and their most famous throw is the decorated coconut.
The schedule parades for Mardi Gras day in the metro New Orleans area are listed below, but for full coverage with live web cams on some parades goto NOLA.com and their New Orleans Mardi Gas 2010 page:
Orleans Parish
• Zulu – Uptown, 8:15 a.m.
• Rex – Uptown, 10 a.m.
• Elks Orleans – Uptown – after Rex
• Crescent City – Uptown – after Elks | Watch live Argus – Metairie, 10 a.m.
• Elks Jefferson – after Argus
• Jefferson Trucks – after Elks
West Bank
• Grela – West Bank, 11 a.m.
• Bes – West Bank, after Grela
And now, some of the great Mardi Gras foods, another New Orleans tradition and heritage.
Tom Fitzmorris is a local New Orleans food critic; media personality with a weekday radio show devoted to food appropriately named “The Food Show”, and author, here is his take on Mardi Gras foods with A New Mardi Gras Idea, and Today’s Food Almanac too!
So you probably have chocolates in mind when you set out to get some Valentines Day gifts for the loved ones in your life. However, have you thought about making a Valentines gift? Chocolate truffles are quite easy to make and require at the very basic only two ingredients for the truffle base, heavy cream, and chocolate. Added flavorings can be incorporated as well as long as the ratio of fat to liquid is kept the same. This truffle base recipe yields a ½-gallon of truffle base, which equates to about 64 1-ounce truffles, or 128 ½-ounce truffles. If other liquids and fats are incorporated, the yield will increase accordingly.
This is a professional recipe that was handed down to the pastry apprentices in our classes circa 1984, by our Master Baker Instructor Chef Mark Fitch. Mark was trained early at the age of 12 as a baker and worked through several hotels as Chef Patissier in the U. K., before making his move to the U.S., and is now he is a Master Chef and principal technologist for food service product development with Pepperidge Farm. Thank you again Chef Mark for a perfectly wonderful recipe that has stood the test of time.
Ingredients
1
Quart
Heavy cream
1
Quart
Chocolate, dark, milk, or semi-sweet
Optional fillings
Eggs, whipped*
Butter, softened*
Hazelnut oil*
Rum, brandy, Frangelico, any alcohol*
Optional decorations
Cocoa powder
Crushed nuts
Chocolate shavings
Melted white chocolate
Crushed mints
Tinted sugars
*Liquids and liquors can be mixed in as long as the liquid to fat ratio is constant or a 1:1 volume ratio as with the chocolate and heavy cream. For example, if you add 4 ounces (½ cup) of softened butter to the mixture then you should add 4 ounces (½ cup) of liquor or other liquid.
Remember: Use equal portions in a 1:1 volume ratio of heavy cream to chocolate, the optional ingredients can be added as long as the liquids to fat ratio is kept constant.
Procedure Steps
1.
In a large saucepan with a wire whip bring the heavy cream to a boil then add this to the chocolate in a large stainless steel bowl and stir well until chocolate melts.
2.
Refrigerate mixture until room temperature or below is reached. This will cause the mixture to react the same as if it were whipped, and if left long enough it will eventually break.
3.
The mixture becomes lighter in color and firmer in texture and will solidify as it cools, and taking a wire whip to the mixture with a few strokes of the whip will make it soft again. It can be warmed again to offset the solidifying issue if it becomes too thick.
4.
Scoop ½-ounce or 1-ounce balls of the mixture and roll in cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate shavings, crushed nuts, or tinted sugars for variety and place on parchment lined sheet pans and refrigerate until solid again. In addition, truffles can be drizzled with melted white chocolate when the truffles are placed onto a wire rack. Then transfer wire rack to a sheet pan and allow the drizzled truffles to set up in refrigerator as well. Also, the truffles once cooled can be dipped in other chocolates to form an outside shell as seen in the image below.
