Red Bean Gumbo
Red bean gumbo brings the comfort of “Monday beans” but makes it special with the added complexity of roux and eggs.
Muffuletta
It’s meaty, it’s cheesy, it’s briny, and oh so good! Muffulettas (muff-a-lottas) are an Italian American sandwich invented in New Orleans by Sicilian immigrants. It boasts layers of salami, ham, cheese, and olive salad on a round Italian loaf topped with sesame seeds and happens to be my favorite childhood sandwich.
Tomato, Cucumber, and Onion Salad
A salad can’t get much more refreshing or more summery than tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions topped with olive oil and vinegar. It’s flashy and classy. It belongs equally at a potluck picnic or on a fine dinner table.
Fish Courtbouillon
It’s spicy and soul-warming yet light with fish and bright with lemon juice. Fish courtbouillon is a Cajun dish that is often not found in restaurants and mostly unknown to people outside of South Louisiana.
Grits and Grillades
Grits and Grillades are the classiest and most comforting of all brunch dishes in New Orleans. It’s pieces of beef cooked in the most flavorful and complex of gravies. While tomato sauce takes the back seat, it creates depth of flavor and cloves gives it the unexpected hint of sweet and bitter that warms the soul on the greyest of winter days.
Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Gumbo is one of the only foods I can think of that equally belongs at a fine dining restaurant, school cafeteria, hunting camp, tailgate party, Christmas parties, concession stands, and weeknight meals. Perhaps gumbo fits so many occasions because of its ease of cooking, forgiving nature, bold flavor, and soul-warming capabilities.
Grande Pates
Grande pates is dough that is pulled, fried, and served with smoked sausage and a good helping of Steen’s cane syrup. It’s a perfect harmony of sweet, savory, and smoky.
Shrimp and Corn Soup
It’s bold and spicy. You can call it summery with its abundance of corn and shrimp but will hold its own with the best of winter soups because of its depth of flavor.
Smoked Sausage and Rum Quiche with Cane Vinegar Onions
The quiche has it all. It’s creamy, smoky, a bit of sweet, and a bit of crunch.
Creole-Spiced Poached Fish
With warming spices of allspice, coriander, and cloves, it creates a comforting dish full of flavor that is perfect for an early spring cold snap. The flavors are reminiscent of grits and grillades.
Smothered Cabbage
Smothered cabbage more than makes up for its looks with its bold flavor. It warms the soul with its smoky, sweet, and buttery notes.
Smothered Potatoes with Smoked Sausage
The simplest of foods can bring the most abundant amount of flavor. It’s a bit smokey, a bit spicey, and a whole bit comforting.
Farre or Dressing
Dressing was always one of my favorites during the holidays. It's rich, comforting, and flavorful. Pair it with roux peas and it’s a match made in heaven.
Petite Pois also known as Roux Peas
Sweet peas slowly simmered in a roux brings a depth to the bright peas. Let that rich gravy seep into rice and that’s all that you’ll want to eat.
Steamed Shrimp
Steamed shrimp are bright and light and nourishing and hits the spot every time. Black pepper and cayenne give the shrimp a little spice, lemon keeps it fresh while the shrimp juices mix with butter and olive oil to create a decadent sauce.
Crawfish Cornbread
Crawfish cornbread is one of those things I took for granted growing up. It was common. It never grew tired. It was delicious. I could never eat enough of it.
Butter Beans and Shrimp
These legumes are creamy and an ultimate comfort food, yet it’s healthy. It’s a Cajun dish that flies under the radar and I want to change that.
Red Beans and Rice
We used to eat red beans and rice with smoked sausage browned in a frying pan. For an extra special treat, pour a little cane syrup on the sausage after it’s on your plate.
Wedding Cake
I’m definitely a wedding cake person. Before I lose you because there’s nothing special about wedding cake, wedding cake should be a white cake with almond flavoring, filled with fruit pineapple (most traditional), lemon or strawberry.
Crawfish Etouffee
Etouffee creates two camps of people: those who make it with a roux and those who use raw flour to thicken the mixture. I grew up eating both kinds, and like them both. The latter has my heart, perhaps because that’s the kind we had at my house growing up.