Some unique Cajun Food ?!
Answers: ...About 5 years ago my wife & I visited New Orleans & took a side trip to the Bayou Country. I love spicy food & felt like I was in Paradise then. I recently had a craving for some spicy Cajun snacks & I ordered Simply Cajun pickled chicken eggs + Simply Cajun pickled quail eggs + Simply Cajun polish sausage over the internet. I also discovered ( but did not order ) something called turducken ( which I understand is turkey stuffed with duck, chicken & sometimes creole sausage ? ) ??---Can anyone tell me what these items taste like ? Are they considered delicacies ? Are they aquired Tastes? Is Simply Cajun a good authentic brand or is there a better brand ? What does turducken taste like ? Does turducken taste good ? Lastly....does anyone know any good websites where similar Cajun food can be purchased ? What is the best website ? Are there other good Cajun foods you would recommend ?....And does anyone know of any Cajun supermarkets on Long Island, New York ? ----Thanks
I'm glad that you are a fan of our cuisine. It is mighty tasty. I hope that this will help. Turducken is amazing, it is tender and full of flavor, holiday favorites! I highly recommend it. Although I really can't describe it for you other than that it's great! I don't know much about cajun stores in New York, but I know some things that will help you cook. Tony Chachere's seasoning is a staple in every kitchen in Louisiana, it is a great start for seasoning anything! They also make a roux mix ( the base for gumbo) which has a great recipe for an amazing authentic gumbo. (although feel free to add lib and make it your own gumbo). You can also order riceland crawfish to be shipped which are farm raised here and they too have a great recipe for a great Etouffee....... when cooking with crawfish never use China crawfish the flavoring and the texture is not what you are looking for and it is much better to use the "real" thing. The best cookbooks that I can recommend for you are anything by Paul Prudomme, it'll knock your socks off!!! Prepare to cook for some time, but open some wine have some fun and the time the food takes to prepare will pay off, greatness takes time, even in the kitchen.
Here is a great recipe for BBQ shrimp--it is one of my favorites, but ya gotta have the Tony's to make it one of the most amazing things you will ever put in your mouth!
3-4 pounds of Prawn Shrimp ( it is important they are prawns)
4 sticks of butter
2 large bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing
1 jar Pepper Corns
Pepper Corns with a grinder
1 large jar of minced garlic
Tony's Seasoning
cut the butter into cubes and put it in a large deep pan, generously cover the butter in garlic, (don't be shy about the garlic-it's a huge part of what makes cajun food what it is), place prawns on top of this, add a little more garlic on top of prawns, pour in dressing, place pepper corns generously through out the dish, then grind at least half of the grinder of peppercorns over the dish evenly, add tony's to taste ( it's spicy!!!) Cover with tin foil, place in oven on 350 until shrimp turn bright pink! Don't let them over cook!!!
Get plenty of french bread, place in the center of the table, get bowls, and enjoy!!!! Make sure to get plenty of the "sauce" to enjoy with your shrimp and bread, it is amazing!!!
Good luck with your cooking adventures.
If you cook get Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook. This is the ultimate Cajun cookbook. I is not really for a beginner cook.
If you don't cook just search the web for food sources. You can get a wide variety of foods. You can even order cook crawfish. Just check where the food is being sent from and look beyond New Orleans as many towns in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama make good stuff.
As a final try, get some Zatarain's mixes and try them. They are in every super market, look in the rice aisle. Keep in mind they tend towards bland but they are an excellent starting point for building up on. I almost always suate an extra onion and green pepper. Never use jalape?os .
And if you do buy Paul's book proceed cautiously when using the amounts of cayenne pepper in his recipes.
haha my favorite is boiled crawfish, boiled shrimp,and boiled crabs and yeah bbq shrimp are pretty good!!
Turducken is good... try it!!
http://www.aboutsouthern.com
has alot of recipes and ideas.... good luck and good eating...lol