2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
For the oysters
Peanut oil, for frying
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Dash hot sauce, such
as Tabasco
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose fl our
18 shucked oysters, see notes
MARDI GRAS
Continued from Page 1B
Served on ordinary rice,
this dish would be memo-
rable. But I served it on
John Besh’s Basic Louisiana
White Rice, which is so
good you may never want
to make plain white rice
again. You begin by sauté-
ing minced onion in butter,
chicken fat or olive oil. The
dry rice is then cooked in
that mixture for a couple
of minutes before you add
chicken stock, a bay leaf and
a pinch of salt.
You know how rice usu-
ally has little fl avor of its
own and acts merely as a
pleasant background for
other food? Well, this is the
opposite of that.
Meanwhile, if you’re going
to have big fun on the bayou,
you’ll probably want to be
doing it with jambalaya.
Jambalaya is basically the
New Orleans version of pa-
ella, the robustly seasoned
national dish of Spain: rice
simmered with broth, herbs,
spices and an assortment of
meats and fi sh.
Jambalaya traditionally
has sausage and shrimp
in it, as my grocery-store
friend knows well, but I like
chicken in mine, too. The
more the merrier, I say. My
version also incorporates
the trinity, of course, along
with a bay leaf, smoked pa-
prika, celery salt, thyme and
Creole seasoning, a blend
that you can either buy in
the store or easily make
yourself.
In New Orleans, they add
tomatoes to their jambalaya,
which makes it Creole style.
In Southwest Louisiana,
they make it Cajun style,
without tomatoes. I wanted
a New Orleans Mardi Gras,
so I used tomatoes. I like it
spicy, too, so I used tomatoes
with green chiles. Son of a
gun!
It is a waste of a trip to
New Orleans if you don’t
have oysters. Lots and lots
of oysters. You can get them
raw, you can get them grilled
and you can get them fried.
I like them fried, but
then again I also like them
raw and grilled. But for my
Mardi Gras feast, I fried
them.
There are two secrets to
making spectacular fried
oysters. The fi rst is soaking
the oysters in a fl avored
buttermilk mixture before
frying them. The second is
coating them in a combina-
tion of fl our and cornmeal,
which gives them a highly
satisfying crunch.
The subtle sweetness of
the corn goes particularly
well with the briny oysters,
too.
The problem with oysters
is that they can be hard to
fi nd in the middle of the
country. I bought mine at
Whole Foods, though seafood
stores should have them,
too.
Dessert was a diffi cult
choice, because New Orleans
is famously home to an
impressive number of great
desserts — beignets, pra-
lines, Bananas Foster, pecan
pie and king cake, among
others. After relatively little
thought, I chose bread pud-
ding. With bourbon cream
sauce. And spiced whipped
cream. You can see why it
did not take much thought
to choose it.
This is one of those cases
where the whole is better
than the sum of its parts,
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2021
HOME & LIVING
Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Jambalaya, with shrimp, chicken and sausage, is a classic Mardi Gras dish.
which is astonishing be-
cause each part is amazing
in its own right.
The bread pudding itself
is rich and creamy, with
bourbon, brown sugar, cin-
namon and vanilla, fl avors
that elevate any custard.
Slightly stale bread is
soaked in this cream-and-
egg mixture for two full
hours before cooking, so
when it is baked the cubes
of bread form a homogenous,
delectable loaf.
The pudding would be
exceptional on its own, but
then you spoon a sweet
cream sauce over it. The
sauce is thickened with
cornstarch dissolved in bour-
bon, which is an absolutely
brilliant idea by the recipe’s
author, Emeril Lagasse,
one of New Orleans’ most
celebrated chefs.
The bread pudding with
the bourbon cream sauce by
themselves would have been
enough. But then Lagasse
kicks it up another level,
so to speak, by topping it
with whipped cream spiced
with cinnamon and a hint of
nutmeg.
If you closed your eyes,
you’d swear you’re in New
Orleans.
keeping the beans covered by
1 inch or more of water.
4. Continue cooking the
beans until they are creamy
and beginning to fall apart
when they’re served.
5. Remove the ham hock
meat from the bones, roughly
chop it and add it back to the
pot of beans.
6. Stir in the green onions
and season heavily with salt
(beans need a lot of salt),
black pepper and hot sauce.
Serve with white rice.
soft, about 5 minutes. Add
bay leaf, 2 teaspoons of Cre-
ole seasoning, thyme, celery
salt, smoked paprika and rice;
cook 2 minutes, stirring. Add
tomatoes and broth. Bring
to a boil, lower temperature
to low, cover and simmer 15
minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in shrimp and pars-
ley. Cook until shrimp are
pink and curled, from 2 to 5
minutes depending on their
size. Stir in chopped green
onions and serve.
JAMBALAYA
BASIC LOUISIANA
WHITE RICE
Notes: Creole mustard is
available at most grocery
stores, or you can somewhat
re-create the fl avor by mix-
ing 11/2 teaspoons Dijon
mustard with a dash of
Worcestershire sauce and a
dash of hot sauce.
Shucked oysters are
oysters that have been re-
moved from their shell; this
requires a special shucking
knife (a sturdy glove helps,
too). Shucked oysters can
also be purchased in a can;
they are fi ne for frying.
1. To make the remoulade
sauce, mix together the may-
onnaise, mustard, paprika,
vinegar, Worcestershire sauce
and hot sauce in a small bowl
until well combined. Season
with salt and pepper. Serve
immediately or cover with
plastic wrap and refrigerate
until serving.
2. Heat about 3 inches of oil
in a pot to 350 degrees.
3. Whisk together the
— Recipe from “My New
— Recipe by Daniel Neman buttermilk, garlic powder, pa-
Orleans: The Cookbook” by
(Creole seasoning recipe prika and hot sauce in a bowl.
John Besh adapted from allrecipes.com) Whisk together the fl our,
cornmeal, salt and pepper
together in a separate bowl.
4. Add the oysters to the
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
buttermilk and let soak. Then
Yield: 6 servings
remove, letting the excess
drip off, and dredge through
2 tablespoons canola oil
the cornmeal mixture, tapping
1 pound andouille
1 tablespoon chicken
off the excess. Fry in the hot
sausage, sliced
fat, extra-virgin olive
oil in batches, until golden
Salt and pepper
oil or butter
and crisp, about 2 minutes.
4 boneless, skinless
1 small onion, minced
Remove to a paper towel-
chicken thighs, cut
1 1/2 cups long-grain
lined plate and sprinkle with
into 1-inch pieces
white rice
salt and pepper. Serve hot
2 cups diced onion
3 cups chicken stock
with the remoulade sauce.
1 cup diced celery
1 bay leaf
1 large red bell pepper, diced 1 to 2 pinches salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
— Recipe by Patrick and Gena
1 bay leaf
Neely, via Food Network
1. Put the fat, oil or butter
2 teaspoons Creole
and the onions into a medium
seasoning, see note
saucepan and sweat the on-
1 teaspoon dried thyme
ions over moderate heat until
3/4 teaspoon celery salt
they are translucent, about
1 1/2 teaspoons
5 minutes. Pour the rice into
smoked paprika
the pan and stir for 2 minutes.
Yield: 8 servings
2 cups uncooked
Then add the chicken stock
Yield: 9 servings
long-grain rice
and bring to a boil. Add the
2 onions, diced
2 (10-ounce) cans diced
bay leaf and the salt.
1 green pepper, seeded
tomatoes and green
2. Cover the pan with a lid, For bread pudding
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
and diced
chiles, such as Rotel
reduce the heat to low and
1 rib celery, diced
3 cups chicken broth
cook for 18 minutes. Remove 4 large eggs
1 cup fi rmly packed
2 tablespoons rendered
1 pound peeled raw
the pan from the heat, fl uff
light brown sugar
bacon fat or other
shrimp, deveined
the rice with a fork, and serve.
1/2 teaspoon ground
fl avorful fat such as
1/2 cup chopped
— Recipe from “My New
cinnamon
duck fat or olive oil
fresh parsley
Orleans: The Cookbook” by 1/8 teaspoon freshly
1 pound dried red
4 chopped green onions
John Besh
grated nutmeg
kidney beans
Note: Creole seasoning is
1 teaspoon pure
2 smoked ham hocks
available in the spice aisle
vanilla extract
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup bourbon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper of many grocery stores, or
you can make it yourself by Yield: 3 servings
2 cups half-and-half
3 green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper
combining 1 teaspoon onion
For the remoulade sauce
Vinegar-based hot sauce,
powder, 1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 cup mayonnaise
such as Tabasco or Crystal powder, 1 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 teaspoons Creole
4 cups cooked Basic
oregano, 1 teaspoon dried
mustard, see notes
Louisiana White
basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
Rice, see recipe
thyme, 1/2 teaspoon black
1 1/2 teaspoons white
pepper, 1/2 teaspoon white
wine vinegar
1. Sweat the onions, bell
pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cay-
peppers and celery in the
enne pepper, 21/2 teaspoons 1 1/2 teaspoons
Worcestershire sauce
rendered bacon fat in a heavy paprika and 1 1/2 teaspoons
Take out and Catering is Available.
Dash hot sauce
soup pot over medium-high
salt.
515 Campbell Street Baker City
Salt and pepper
heat.
541-523-4318
1. Heat oil in a large Dutch
2. Once the onions become
oven or stock pot until hot;
translucent, add the kidney
beans, ham hocks, bay leaves add sausage and cook until
and cayenne, then add water browned on both sides,
stirring frequently. Season
to cover by 2 inches.
chicken with salt and pep-
3. Increase the heat and
bring the water to a boil. Cov- per, add to pot and cook
er the pot, reduce the heat to until browned on all sides,
stirring frequently. Add onion
low, and allow the beans to
and cook, stirring occasion-
slowly simmer for 2 hours.
Periodically stir the beans to ally, until brown, about 15
minutes.
make sure they don’t scorch
2. Add celery, red bell pep-
on the bottom of the pot, add-
ing water if necessary, always per and garlic, and sauté until
CLASSIC NEW
ORLEANS BREAD
PUDDING WITH A
BOURBON SAUCE
RED BEANS AND
RICE
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FRIED OYSTERS
8 slices day-old French
bread, cut into 1/2-inch
cubes (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup raisins, or
more if desired
Sprigs fresh mint, for
garnish (optional)
Powdered sugar, for serving
For the spiced cream
1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground
cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly
grated nutmeg
For the bourbon sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons pure
vanilla extract
6 tablespoons
granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons bourbon
1. For the bread pudding:
Preheat the oven to 350
degrees and grease a 6-cup
(9-inch-by-5-inch) loaf pan
with the butter.
2. Whisk the eggs, sugar,
cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla
and bourbon together in a
large mixing bowl until very
smooth. Add the half-and-half
and mix well. Add the bread
and raisins and let the mix-
ture sit for 2 hours, stirring
occasionally. Pour mixture
into the prepared pan. Bake
until the pudding is set in the
center, about 55 minutes. Let
cool for at least 5 minutes
before serving.
3. For the spiced cream:
Beat the cream with an elec-
tric mixer on high speed in a
large mixing bowl for about 2
minutes. Add the sugar, cin-
namon and nutmeg and beat
again until the mixture thick-
ens and forms stiff peaks,
another 1 to 2 minutes.
4. For the bourbon sauce:
Heat the cream, half-and-half,
vanilla and sugar in a sauce-
pan over high heat, whisking,
for 3 minutes. Dissolve the
cornstarch in the bourbon.
When bubbles form around
the edges of the cream, whisk
in the bourbon mixture. As
the cream boils up, remove
the pot from the heat and
continue whisking vigorously
until thoroughly blended and
slightly thickened. Place over
low heat and simmer for 1
minute. (This is not a thick
cream sauce; it’s meant to be
fairly thin.)
5. To serve, cut the pudding
into 1-inch thick slices. Lay
each slice in the center of a
serving plate. Spoon some
of the bourbon sauce over
the pudding and top with the
spiced cream. Garnish with a
sprig of fresh mint and pow-
dered sugar.
— Recipe by Emeril Lagasse
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