Another in the Series of:

Tripping in N’Awlins

Your author had the pleasure of living upside the River in New Orleans while working on his doctorate in biochemistry. By the way, biochemistry is just like cooking only with lots of math.

My years in New Orleans (N’Awlins) impressed upon me the wonders of cooking with a kick. As always with Cajun recipes, lots of substitutions are possible. Cajuns cook whatever is fresh and find really creative ways to use leftovers. They are creative and frugal.

Notes on Cajun ingredients:

Rice - A staple of Louisiana cooking. The State is second only to California in rice production. I prefer the short grain fluffy white rice, lightly steamed. In future recipes I’ll share the secrets of “dirty” rice.

Most of us in the South had Teflon coated rice cookers, which make perfect rice all of the time. Rice blends with many Cajun and Creole ingredients better than other starches such as potatoes.

Andouille - (An-doo-ee)- This smoked ham sausage from Louisiana is wonderfully spiced and leaner than typical pork sausage. It is firm and won’t fall apart. A little goes a long way. Get the best you can find, it’s worth it. Andouille can be a main spice in many dishes from red beans (gads they are good) to Cajun Chaos.

Heat - The pepper compliment to Cajun food. Traditionally, cayenne pepper is used but modern Louisiana cooking employs many other peppers for both heat and flavor ranging from cracked black pepper to fresh and dried chili from a variety of sources. For lazy Cajun cooks like myself we just make up an “essence” (yes, Emeril’s is good but later I’ll show you how to make your own and save $$$). Or use a jug of “Crystal” hot sauce (some prefer the aged Tabasco sauce from the beautiful McHinnery factory in the bayou). I love to use fresh vine ripened red Serrano peppers or dry flaked New Mexico Chili.

The Holy Trio - Chopped bell pepper, onions, and garlic. Oh buddy. Go fresh, it makes a difference. I love Maui onions (which are actually Texas yellows) and/or fresh shallots, red bell pepper (yellow are even better), and loads of garlic. When the holy trio is married to chili pepper the union is guaranteed to light up all of your taste buds. Oh quit worrying about your breath. With all of the cannabis and wine in this recipe everyone at the table will be far too baked to notice. OK, here we go.

Cajun Chaos