Cajun and Acadian Recipes
lynnescountrykitchen.net
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This section is dedicated to a friend, Arlene, from Houston, Texas. What a wonderful thing is the internet? Over my years in creating this website, I have found many friends, and Arlene has become one of them, through our love of cooking and recipes.
| Terms and Definitions |
Acadian (Cajun) Cuisine is a recipe by itself. For the ingredients take the classical French cuisine, combine it with Spanish classical cuisine, blend well, take herbs and spices from France and Spain, and sometimes couple with seasoning learned from the Choctaw and Chickasaw American Indians. Then be sure to add the ingenuity, the creativity, and the keen taste of refugee Acadians, who had to learn the use of nature's own food wherever these were to be found. Now, add the exotic taste and magic seasonings of the African cook. Voila! This is the Acadian cusine whose tenets are economy and simplicity governed by patience and skill to produce a subtle, exotic, and succulent cuisine.
This recipe for Acadian Cuisine may sound a great deal like Creole cuisine. You're right, it does, but please note that there is a slight difference in the two cuisines. A Creole is a native Lousiana born of European parentage. There is Creole Cuisine and Acadian Cuisine! The two have much similarity but also many differences.
Acadian Cuisinie, unlike Creole Cuisine, uses herbs, seasoning and spices to bring out the full taste of the main ingredient. Thus, the product is not highly seasoned and the original flavor of the main ingredient predominates. There is a French saying, "L'exces en tout est defaut" (Excess is always a fault), which well describes Acadian Cusisine.
A dish is a blend of ingredients which either "set off" or "tone down" to create a new and delicious taste. When an Acadian uses seasonings, spices, or herbs, it is not because they are tasty; it is because these bring out the flavor of the meat, fish, or whatever food she is preparing. Thereby, food becomes more delectable and unique in taste. If the flavor of any one of the seasonings, herbs, or spices stands out, the dish is considered a failure.
Another difference in the Creole and Acadian Cuisine is that the Acadian dishes are not as greasy or there is not excess fat. The French leave a minimum of fat in a completed dish. When the recipe says "Pour fat off skillet," the Acadian cook does just that to "de-glace" the pan (i.e. to pour a little cold water in the skillet and scrape loose the browned part to add flavor and finesse to the dish), in other words, une sauce rouille. Because the Acadian homemake was very economical, we find through her ingenuity, patience, and a keen sense of taste, the third difference between Creole and Acadian cuisine. Namely, those numerous, delicious, attractive wholesome dishes made from leftovers such as: stuffed vegetables, stews, puddings, soups, etc.
Many of the recipes in this section are from "Cajun Cusine - Authentic Cajun Recipes From Louisiana's Bayou Country" - considered one of the best cookbooks on Cajun cooking. Thanks Arlene for your precious gift!
15-Minute Red Beans and Rice
Acorn Squash
Au Gratin Potatoes
Baked Beans
Baked Cajun Rice
Baked Chicken
Baked Cushaw (Squash)
Baked Ham
Baked Stuffed Redfish
Banana Crepes
Basic Batter For Pancakes
Bay Leaf Potatoes
Bayou Sauce Piquante
Beans and Rice Bayou
Beans and Rice Creole
Beef with Black Beans and Rice
Beer Boiled Shrimp
Beignets
Beignets 2
Biscuit Dough
Biscuits
Black Bean Soup
Black Bean and Rice Soup
Black Beans Creole
Boeuf A La Mode
Boeuf Roti (Roast Beef)
Boiled Crawfish
Boudin
Boudin Balls
Boudin Balls 2
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse, Creole-Style
Brisket Stuffed with Cornbread Dressing
Broiled Redfish
Broiled Spanish Mackerel
Butter Beans
Buttered Corn
Cabbage Rolls
Cajun Babies
Cajun Beef Soup
Cajun Chicken Burgers
Cajun Gravy
Cajun Lima Beans
Cajun Pork Roast
Cajun Potato Cakes
Cajun Pork Paté
Cajun Shepherd's Pie
Cajun Shrimp Creole
Cajun Smothered Chicken
Cajun Sweet Potatoes
Calas
Calf Liver in Wine
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Candied Sweet Potatoes 2
Candied Yams and Apples
Catfish Court Bouillon
Catfish Etouffeé
Cauliflower Au Gratin
Cheesy Shrimp Canapes
Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken Fricassee
Chicken Gumbo Filé
Chicken Medallions and Grits
Chicken Maque Choux
Chicken-Okra Gumbo
Chicken-Oyster Gumbo
Chicken-Oyster Pie
Chicken, Pork, and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya
Chicken Sauce Piquante
Chicken Sauté Aux Gros Onions (Chicken Smothered In Onions)
Chicken Stew
Chick Peas with Pasta, Creole-Style
Coleslaw
Cooked Red Beans, Creole-Style
Cornbread
Cornbread Dressing
Corn Fritters
Corn Pudding
Corn Soup with Shrimp
Couche-Couche
Crab and Shrimp Bouillon
Crab Bisque
Crab Dip with Crudites
Crab Meat Divine
Crab Salad
Crab, Shrimp, and Okra Gumbo
Crab Soup
Crab Stuffed Potatoes
Crabmeat Dip
Crawfish Balls
Crawfish Bisque
Crawfish Bisque 2
Crawfish Etouffeé
Crawfish Etouffeé 2
Crawfish Jambalaya
Crawfish Puffs
Creamed Corn
Creamed Egg Chartres
Creamed Potatoes
Creole Calas
Creole Boiled Beef
Creole Shrimp Omelets
Creole Tartar Sauce
Creole Tomatoes
Crepes Fitzgerald
Crockpot Pork and Potatoes
Croquignoles (Doughnuts)
Cucumber and Onion Salad
Daube Glace
Deep-Fried Catfish Appetizers
Dessert Crepes
Dirty Rice
Dirty Rice 1
Dirty Rice 2
Dirty Rice 3
Duck with Pears and Wine
Dumplings
Easy Breakfast Bake
Eggplant-Chicken Casserole
Eggplant Fritters
Eggs Hussarde
Eggs Nouvelle Orleans
Eggs Sardou
Fish Court Bouillon
Fried Okra
Fried Onion Rings
Fried Pork Chops
Fried Sweet Potatoes
Fry-Baked Chicken
Gail's Red Beans and Rice
Garlic Grits
Green Beans
Green Rice
Gigot De Mouton (Leg of Lamb)
Grillades and Grits
Grilled Panne (Breaded Veal)
Grillades (Steaks Acadian)
Grits
Grits and Cheese Casserole
Gumbo
Gumbo Z'Herbes (Mustard Greens Gumbo)
Hen and Sausage Gumbo
Hollandaise Sauce
Hurricanes
Hush Puppies
Jambalaya
Jambalaya Fettuccine
Kidney Stew
Lima (or Red) Beans with Sausage
Lima Beans and Shrimp
Louisiana Bayou Fish Fry
Louisiana Chicken
Louisiana Pork and Beans
Louisiana Red Beans and Rice
Louisiana Shrimp Creole
Louisiana Stuffed Crabs
Macaroni and Cheese
Making A Roux
Maque Choux
Maque Choux with Tomatoes
Marchand de Vin Sauce
Mardi Gras Chicken
Mardi Gras Madness Punch
Marinated Crab Meat Salad
Meat Loaf
Mom's Fried Chicken
Mustard Greens
Mustard Greens and Turnips
Oyster Croquettes
Oyster Soup
Oysters and Bacon en Brochette
Oysters Beinville
Oysters in Patty Shells
Oyster Soup
Oysters Rockefeller
Oysters Rockefeller 2
Pain Perdue
Pain Perdue 2 (Lost Bread or French Toast)
Pain Perdu 3
Peachy Chicken
Pecan Rice
Pork Chops in Tomato Gravy
Pork Fricassee
Pork Grillade
Pork Roast
Pork Sausage
Pork with Turnips
Potato Salad
Praline-Topped Sweet Potatoes
Pumpkin Bread
Red Bean Soup
Red Bean Succotash
Red Beans and Rice
Red Beans and Rice 2
Red Beans and Rice 3
Red Kidney Beans
Roast Beef
Salisbury Steak Creole
Sausage and Potato Stew
Sausage and Tomatoes
Sausage Balls
Savory Giblets
Scalloped Corn
Seafood Gumbo
Seafood Gumbo 2
Seafood Salad
Shellfish Boil
Shrimp and Crab Gumbo
Shrimp-and-Crab Stuffed Flounder
Shrimp and Ham Jambalaya
Shrimp and Okra Gumbo
Shrimp Balls
Shrimp Cornbread
Shrimp Creole
Shrimp Gumbo
Shrimp Gumbo 2
Shrimp or Crab Mold
Shrimp Salad
Shrimp Sauce Piquante
Smothered Cabbage
Smothered Chicken
Smothered Eggplant
Smothered Liver
Smothered Okra
Smothered Pork Sausage
Smothered Round Steak In Onions
Snap Beans with Potatoes
Snap Beans with Roux
Speckled Trout Amandine
Speckled Trout Marguery
Spiced Stewed Okra
Spicy Seafood-Stuffed Bell Peppers
Squash Acadian
Stewed Lima Beans
Stewed Potatoes
Stuffed Banana Peppers
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed Crabs
Stuffed Eggplants with Beef
Stuffed Eggplants with Pork
Stuffed Shrimp
Stuffed Trout
Sucre Brule
Summer Day Fast Soup
Sweet Cornbread
Sweet Potato Pie