Saturday, June 03, 2006
Cajun Cooking in Crofton
Let me first say that anyone who knows me knows that I don't cook. I do know how. I just choose not to. However, with the right stove, cookware, and knives you can do a lot. So it is a fun challenge to use the S & L kitchen in Crofton and cook with Ben. I packed a couple of recipes and headed for the Shoppers (big supermarket) and Shoreline (wonderful fish and seafood market that any of you who have vistited Crofton will know about).
I told Ben last night that I was going to make Shrimp Creole today. He said, "Oh, we're going to make roux." I said, "What's roux?" Did you know that in all South Louisiana cooking the first thing you do is make the roux? Well, now you do and so do I!!
Many hours later, and thanks to the Crazy Roux Lady (well, that's what Ben and I called her because she takes roux very seriously) on CookingLouisiana, I know way more about Cajun Cooking than I did yesterday and it ain't easy!! Not only are there many "colors" of roux, but a whole philosophy on whether you should make Shrimp Creole with "shells on". We went with "shells off" and made shrimp stock for the Creole.
It turned out pretty well, but there's a lot of room for perfecting the Creole to satisfy your palate. Maybe we should watch Emeril and he could teach us how to "kick it up a notch!!!" CookingLouisiana says that old creole cooks start in the morning and cook all day. Crazeeeee!!!!
Besides the Cajun experience, today Ben and I went to an amazing used bookstore at Eastern Market in D.C. Ben got some stuff that is on his summer reading list, plus some short stories about Bangkok by an American-Thai writer. I got some stuff that I was looking for and some other stuff that practically fell off the shelf into my hands. We both picked some books that that we believe will be fun and funny reading for S & L in Thailand as well as becoming an addition to the permanent collection at the Floraville Complex lending library.
Ciao!
I told Ben last night that I was going to make Shrimp Creole today. He said, "Oh, we're going to make roux." I said, "What's roux?" Did you know that in all South Louisiana cooking the first thing you do is make the roux? Well, now you do and so do I!!
Many hours later, and thanks to the Crazy Roux Lady (well, that's what Ben and I called her because she takes roux very seriously) on CookingLouisiana, I know way more about Cajun Cooking than I did yesterday and it ain't easy!! Not only are there many "colors" of roux, but a whole philosophy on whether you should make Shrimp Creole with "shells on". We went with "shells off" and made shrimp stock for the Creole.
It turned out pretty well, but there's a lot of room for perfecting the Creole to satisfy your palate. Maybe we should watch Emeril and he could teach us how to "kick it up a notch!!!" CookingLouisiana says that old creole cooks start in the morning and cook all day. Crazeeeee!!!!
Besides the Cajun experience, today Ben and I went to an amazing used bookstore at Eastern Market in D.C. Ben got some stuff that is on his summer reading list, plus some short stories about Bangkok by an American-Thai writer. I got some stuff that I was looking for and some other stuff that practically fell off the shelf into my hands. We both picked some books that that we believe will be fun and funny reading for S & L in Thailand as well as becoming an addition to the permanent collection at the Floraville Complex lending library.
Ciao!
