Tag: benny cenac cooking

13 Foods Every Louisianan Craves when they Leave Louisiana

 

King Cakes, Po’boys, Gumbo.. Oh my! The list of foods that you can only truly enjoy if you’ve had them in Louisiana goes on and on. Onlyinyourstate.com, wrote this article of the top 13 foods you are sure to miss if you’ve had your share of time in the boot. One of our favorites is the one and only shrimp creole, which is why we decided to show you one of the best recipes we’ve found for it below. What food do you crave most from Louisiana?

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 cups seafood stock or shrimp stock
  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, in thick puree
  • Dash Worcestershire sauce
  • Dash hot sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds large shrimp (about 32), shelled and deveined
  • 4 tablespoons green onions, sliced for garnish

 

Directions

Heat a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil. Cook garlic, onions, celery, and green bell peppers. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne and let caramelize. Add the seafood stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 35 minutes. Add shrimp and cook about 4 more minutes, until they are bright pink and cooked through. Garnish with green onions.

30 Best Recipes fit for a Large Crowd

 

Do you have plans to cook for a crowd soon? These 30 recipes are sure to have your guest mouth’s watering and asking for the recipe before the meal is over. Southern Living has compiled 30 of the best breakfast recipes, along with tips and tricks that save you time and hassle when cooking for large groups. These recipes are also perfect to cook on a Sunday and have breakfast ready for the kids each morning before school!

One of our personal favorites is the cheesy sausage and croissant casserole recipe which is listed below. For the rest of these enjoyable recipes, click here.

Cheesy Sausage-and-Croissant Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 pound hot ground pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean)
  • 1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 6 green onions, sliced
  • 1 (13.22-oz.) package mini croissants (about 24), torn
  • Vegetable cooking spray
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese (about 8 oz.)

How to Make It

Step 1

Cook sausage about 8 minutes in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to crumble. Toss together sausage, Parmesan cheese, and next 3 ingredients; arrange mixture in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Step 2

Whisk together milk and next 2 ingredients; pour over the sausage mixture. Cover and chill dish for 8 hours.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 350°. Uncover casserole, and sprinkle with Gruyère cheese. Bake 45 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

 

As promised, we will be featuring a Thanksgiving recipe weekly until the day is here! This week we will be featuring a delicious sweet potato casserole that will be enjoyed by all – even those who swear off sweet potatoes.
This recipe can also be altered by adding extra sweet potatoes and/or baking them for one and a halt to two hours to bring out their full flavor instead of boiling them.
Try out our tips and let us know if you have any of your own!
Ingredients

• 4 cups sweet potato, cubed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• Add all ingredients to list

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish.
3. In medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding

 

Fall is in the air and Thanksgiving is only weeks away! This November we will be featuring some great ideas you can bring to your family Thanksgiving gathering that everyone is sure to love!

What better way to start than with bread pudding!? Not to mention it is pumpkin and pecan infused.

This amazing recipe is also couple with a bourbon sauce to top it off. Do not miss out on this original recipe!

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

  • Cooking spray
  • 3/4 c. pure pumpkin puree
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 c. milk
  • 1/2 c. heavy cream
  • 1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 7 c. day-old brioche, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1/2 c. pecan halves, roughly chopped

Bourbon Sauce

  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 c. heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp. bourbon

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
  • Make bread pudding: Whisk together pumpkin, eggs, milk, cream, sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, ginger, and nutmeg in a bowl until smooth. Fold in bread and pecans. Let stand 30 minutes. Transfer to prepared baking dish and bake until set, 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Make bourbon sauce: Combine sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until sugar mixture is dark amber in color, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully add cream and bourbon, stirring until smooth and creamy.
  • Serve pudding with sauce alongside.

Spicy Louisiana Shrimp Dip

 

This amazing shrimp dip recipe is perfect for Sunday football, birthday parties, or an upcoming Halloween party. Not only is it simple but you are sure to already have at least half of the ingredients at home! For step by step pictures and some extra tips on this versatile recipe, click here.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/4 cup chives, or minced green onions
  • 1 red bell pepper, minced
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
  • 12 ounces SeaPakShrimp Scampi
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 sourdough bowl

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Defrost the shrimp and chop the shrimp into 1/2 inch dice.
  • In a large bowl add the chives, bell pepper, mayonnaise, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, shrimp, lemon juice and zest, cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce and stir until combined.
  • Cut the top of the sourdough loaf off the bread.
  • Scoop out the insides until the walls of the bread are 1/2 inch thick.
  • Put the dip into the bread bowl.
  • Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and the bread is nicely browned.
  • Serve with crackers or baguette slices.

 

 

Wild Game Jambalaya

 

This venison sausage and duck breast jambalaya is a staple recipe that could be used with any of your favorite types of wild game meat. As stated on the website where you can find more information on the recipe here, this method is not your typical jambalaya with tomatoes, although you are more than welcome to add them to your liking. This technique is referred to as “brown jambalaya’. Either way, with or without tomatoes and whichever wild game meat you decided to use, this jambalaya is sure to be a family favorite that could easily be made to feed a large group.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 links venison Andouille sausage, sliced ¼ inch thick
12 duck breast tenders
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
Pinch of sugar
1 cup poached pheasant, shredded
2 cups uncooked rice
4 cups pheasant or chicken stock

Directions
1. Heat canola oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot set over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the sliced Andouille. As the sausage browns, add the duck tenders to the pot, followed by the mirepoix of onions, celery, green pepper. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits.

  1. Sprinkle the seasonings and sugar each over the meat and vegetables to cover them well. Stir and sauté for a few minutes, then add the minced garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
  2. Add the poached pheasant, along with the uncooked rice and stock. Raise the heat to high, then let everything come just to the boiling point. Lower the heat to a slow simmer, cover the pot and cook for 25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through.