Winter's cold, even in Louisiana. So here's something to warm you up. A key to a good bisque is to have tasty stock, so we take the time here to make one from shrimp shells and heads. It's great if you can use fresh corn but not at all necessary, given the richness of the ... Read more

Some people have a sentimental attachment to canned cranberry sauce for the holidays. If you'd like to go in a different (and less gelatinous) direction, it's not hard to make cranberry sauce from scratch. It will contain recognizable cranberries, and you can add flavor to ... Read more

Sauce Piquante, with its distinct pepper flavor and heat, is a versatile component of many traditional Louisiana meat and fish dishes. Without too much looking, you can find versions featuring venison, snapping turtle, frog legs, quail, duck, and alligator (the latter avail... Read more

Here's a new way to make your next batch of wings. The term "jerk" refers to both a seasoning mix (with lots of characteristically Jamaican ingredients like thyme, allspice, and scotch bonnet peppers) and a style of cooking (long, slow, low heat barbecue). Only meat that s... Read more

Here's a classic version of this Creole favorite, just in time for Lent. Similar to the crawfish variety, shrimp étouffée is generally lighter, as crawfish tails are packed in their own fat. The recipe is of the straightforward "first you make a roux" Louisiana variety. Jus... Read more

This fancy fresh peach pie is like your best summertime memories, baked into a classic double crust and served with a scoop of vanilla. It wraps ripe seasonal peaches, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sweetness in a delicate and flaky French butter crust. The whole pie takes two stic... Read more

This recipe is a great alternative to stuffed peppers as a way to use up all those summertime bell peppers. It turns them into a handy and useful form, ready to be added to sandwiches, served as a side dish, or as a ready-make pasta sauce. They'll last in refrigerator for a... Read more

Native to the Iberian peninsula, and not usually associated with Louisiana's culinary heritage, gazpacho nevertheless turns up in local cookbooks, like Pirates Pantry (Quick Gazpacho Soup) and River Road Recipes (Cold Tomato Soup I & II). Not so surprising, given our Spanis... Read more

With rice, as with riffs, dirty is good! Dirty rice, a kind of Proto-jamalaya, is staple of many varieties of Southern cooking, including Creole and, of course, Cajun. It's a pretty fool proof and forgiving dish. Most recipes include a couple of varieties of meat and the f... Read more

Potatoes and leeks make for a versatile pairing of ingredients. In the three overlapping recipes below, we'll adapt a simple basic procedure to very different ends.  The simple version of potato-leek soup is a great recipe if you're trying to learn to cook -- pretty fool-p... Read more