Cajun/Southern Food Exchange meeting #1: 11-13-10 noon

In response to the interest in NOLA/Cajun/Creole/Southern food and cooking, we are establishing this group to exchange information, recipes, samples and opinions. Those interested in participating should use this thread for posts about food you're working on, preparation methods, pics of your masterpieces, ingredient sources and questions about same. If there is interest, I would propose meeting periodically to exchange samples, ingredients and strategies, perhaps similarly to the way the other food exchange groups work. I'm not sure I could do something monthly but perhaps every 2 months?

Louisiana lovers please respond with your thoughts on this!!

First gathering: Saturday, November 13th, 2010 at noon at Boudreaulicious' W. Lakeview abode. Address to be PM'd. Given the terrific response and to ensure that it's comfortable for everyone, I'll cap this at 20 adults.

Attendees:

Boudreaulicious--Red beans & rice w/andouille sausage
Sean--Gumbo
Petite_Gourmande--Sazerac cocktails and Abita beer
Jimswide: Shrimp and Tasso pasta
irisarbor--Jambalaya
gjdad--Cajun gumbo
jygach--Shrimp pies
lougord99--chicken and dumplings and home-smoked Andouille
cabrito--greens w/ and w/o meat and chocolate meringue pie
bean--Bananas Foster cupcakes
Jean Blanchard + 1--cornbread and either a cajun cabbage casserole (with lots of bacon) or cajun meatloaf
Pairs4life--Prudhomme Family NA Anisette
jhawk--New Orleans BBQ shrimp, peanut butter fudge from Chef Donald Link's book Real Cajun, Red Velvet cake, Abita beer
Leek +1--Chesapeake Bay Crab Soup
LauraS--Shrimp Creole, Pecan Pralines
Cathy2 + 2--Fresh Apple Cake with a brown sugar glaze, Benne Wafers
AnotherMike--Drinks: Tchoupitoulas Sipper and beer

sounds like a great idea.

Id be available for 11/13 as it looks now.

Id be up for getting together occasionally to eat, share, trade and discuss some cajun/creole items, have a few cold ones & b.s.

Not sure if I would be up for doing a meal exchange as other groups do(bringing tupperware containers of entrees for others, etc) but I will go with the group if that is how it what everyone wants to do.

some group buys might be a good idea for items that are hard to find, or are perhaps of lower quality here in Chicagoland (andoullie, boudin, crawfish, etc.)

Id also be interested in a crawfish boil as soon as the season is upon us.

boudreaulicious wrote:In response to the interest in NOLA/Cajun/Creole/Southern food and cooking, we are establishing this group to exchange information, recipes, samples and opinions. Those interested in participating should use this thread for posts about food you're working on, preparation methods, pics of your masterpieces, ingredient sources and questions about same. If there is interest, I would propose meeting periodically to exchange samples, ingredients and strategies, perhaps similarly to the way the other food exchange groups work. I'm not sure I could do something monthly but perhaps every 2 months?

Louisiana lovers please respond with your thoughts on this!!

I'd be happy to kick this off with a meet-up at my place for our inaugural exchange. Perhaps Saturday, November 13th?

I am in!

I would be interested as well
E

I don't have enough freezer space to participate in an additional food exchange I was thinking we might try doing it like the dessert exchange--bring a batch of something to share that day and whatever is left people can bring containers and take home as they wish. I also love the idea of combined ordering of items like andouille, boudin, etc.

I'll make this an event notice and start a list! If a mod could please move this to the event board, that would be very much appreciated.

I might be able to come. I'll be putting an order to Jacob's in the next couple of days if anyone want to add a little sausage (or), then we can all save a little on shipping. Maybe we could set this up to be a get together with a Southern exchange and once in a while do a cookout (ie; crawfish boil!). I'll also go along with whatever is decided.

dan

I need a couple of gallons of tabasco original.

gjdad wrote:I need a couple of gallons of tabasco original.

Go to Costco.

every two months is better for me, also.
I make a pretty good jambalaya
I could do that for meeting #1 if life doesn't intervene too badly.

I think the commute from southern Georgia may be a bit too long. I'm sure you will enjoy!

I may have to hold a satellite meeting in the parking lot at Jacob's.

I would love to. Thinking of chicken and dumplings.

boudreaulicious wrote:In response to the interest in NOLA/Cajun/Creole/Southern food and cooking, we are establishing this group to exchange information, recipes, samples and opinions. Those interested in participating should use this thread for posts about food you're working on, preparation methods, pics of your masterpieces, ingredient sources and questions about same. If there is interest, I would propose meeting periodically to exchange samples, ingredients and strategies, perhaps similarly to the way the other food exchange groups work. I'm not sure I could do something monthly but perhaps every 2 months?

Maybe there should be two threads? One on Events to advise of this event and a second for discussion on Food and Shopping?

I suggest beginning a new thread for discussion and move this to Events.

Regards,

stevez wrote:

gjdad wrote:I need a couple of gallons of tabasco original.

Go to Costco.

I have no joy.

Cathy2 wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:In response to the interest in NOLA/Cajun/Creole/Southern food and cooking, we are establishing this group to exchange information, recipes, samples and opinions. Those interested in participating should use this thread for posts about food you're working on, preparation methods, pics of your masterpieces, ingredient sources and questions about same. If there is interest, I would propose meeting periodically to exchange samples, ingredients and strategies, perhaps similarly to the way the other food exchange groups work. I'm not sure I could do something monthly but perhaps every 2 months?

Maybe there should be two threads? One on Events to advise of this event and a second for discussion on Food and Shopping?

I suggest beginning a new thread for discussion and move this to Events.

Regards,

If a mod could move this over to events that would be much appreciated--that was the original intent once we determined that there was interest in actually meeting and we set a date. I think we have plenty of threads on various cooking topics that we probably don't need another one in shopping and cooking.

Fantastic idea; please count me in!

I'm open on the format - whether it's an exchange conducted as others are, or something else, and whether it's monthly or bimonthly or occasional, I don't much care. I'd be interested in one get-together where all we would do is bring the cajun/creol/nola cookbooks we each use and pass them around to look at! I also think that scheduling some get-togethers at the Chicago-area restaurants known for this cuisine (note, I am including Utica in the definition of Chicago-area) would be a fun way to get out to those places I've been meaning to visit or revisit. We might find we're done with the idea after a half a dozen meetings ... or not.

Laissez les bons temps roulez!

I like Katie's idea of having an occaisional meet-up at a restaurant also...

That's a great idea.

I'm interested in this--add me to your list, if you will.
I'm currently on a chicken liver jag, but don't know where my taste buds will take me when November rolls around. Hoppin' John is banging @ the back of my brain.

Of my approximately 500 cookbooks, I have exactly one southern cooking book. The Lee Brothers. Of that cookbook, I've cooked exactly ummm. nothing. It seems like every time I go to make something, I have to consider my audience and I don't think they'll like what I make. I'd like to start exploring southern/cajun cooking so this might just be the right place to do that. Don't know if I can keep up with some of the more experienced southern cooks but I'll give it a try. Count me in.

Jean Blanchard wrote:Of my approximately 500 cookbooks, I have exactly one southern cooking book. The Lee Brothers. Of that cookbook, I've cooked exactly ummm. nothing. It seems like every time I go to make something, I have to consider my audience and I don't think they'll like what I make. I'd like to start exploring southern/cajun cooking so this might just be the right place to do that. Don't know if I can keep up with some of the more experienced southern cooks but I'll give it a try. Count me in.

Fantastic!!! The best part of these exchanges is the opportunity to try out things you've always wanted to do but just never did for whatever reason. I'm excited to get some critiques to help improve some things I've made but never felt that I mastered!! Adding you to the list

boudreaulicious wrote:

Jean Blanchard wrote:Of my approximately 500 cookbooks, I have exactly one southern cooking book. The Lee Brothers. Of that cookbook, I've cooked exactly ummm. nothing. It seems like every time I go to make something, I have to consider my audience and I don't think they'll like what I make. I'd like to start exploring southern/cajun cooking so this might just be the right place to do that. Don't know if I can keep up with some of the more experienced southern cooks but I'll give it a try. Count me in.

Fantastic!!! The best part of these exchanges is the opportunity to try out things you've always wanted to do but just never did for whatever reason. I'm excited to get some critiques to help improve some things I've made but never felt that I mastered!! Adding you to the list

Hmmm, I may need to carry this idea/concept over to both the dessert exchange and the vegetarian exchange. I think there are loads of opportunities in both categories to focus on Southern Foods.

Jen, I may just show up to take a look, because if it's like most southern foods & knowing this group, there will be pork in the water.

bean wrote:I'm interested in this--add me to your list, if you will.
I'm currently on a chicken liver jag, but don't know where my taste buds will take me when November rolls around. Hoppin' John is banging @ the back of my brain.

Can't you just do traditional deep fried chicken gizzards & livers?

I hated the livers (any animal, from calf to chicken) but chicken gizzards were divine. My family rarely fried things, but a few times a year there would be chicken gizzards with rice and greens.

I'm from rice country so there was always rice.

Chicken livers put the dirty in dirty rice, I can't make it without them!

dan

gonefishin wrote:Chicken livers put the dirty in dirty rice, I can't make it without them!

dan

Dan--I certainly hope not--that would be a sacrilege!!!

And PFL, please do stop by and I promise to have some meat/meat-juice free RBAR for your dining pleasure. Hoping someone will bring some cajun/southern sweets too...

I'm trying to make this happen for me. My two challenges are:

1) What to do with my two young kids? -and-
2) I want to make my killer sauteed frog legs. I just don't know how to present them without cooking them on-site. Warmed up frog legs are not good. You need to eat them hot off the stove.

Please include me, my wife and my two boys to this culinary adventure. I plan on making frog legs sauteed in a tomato garlic butter and white wine sauce.

Thanks to boudreaulicious for hosting this and graciously welcoming my family!!!

Very much looking forward to the frog leg cooking demo--something I've never tried to make at home!!!

My wife will be making a southern style dessert to be determined. Stayed tuned.....

HI - if it's not full, can you include me (and possibly DH)?

And where are we drawing our line for "Southern" ? My thought was Chesapeake Bay Crab Soup. If we are short on veggies, I could make Stewed Greens.

I will also be with my husband. He's the driver...and eater.