What can we say. . . we're Cajun! And Cajuns live to eat! It makes my heart take flight to see the next generation picking up traditional cooking. I'm especially pleased to see my two nephews learning to fend for themselves in the kitchen. The men in our families down here on the bayou can hold their own when it comes to cooking, but it's usually in the seafood and wild game departments. My Papa Babin made a mean turtle sauce piquante (pronounced PEE-con) and my Pyran Wayne ("Pyran" is Cajun for "Godfather") can cook up deer so tender it would make a vegetarian think twice about their choice!
So when my nephew Philip announced he was making crab cakes for the whole family for dinner, we were happy to be his dining guinea pigs! The basis of his concoction was from a recipe that won a contest a few years ago and was printed in the local newspaper. From the basic recipe, he modified and tweaked it until it had his own signature on it. The end product was so tasty that he's pretty much deemed the official crab cake maker of the family from here on out! I saved a left over one and scrambled it into some eggs for an awesome breakfast the next morning!
Staying on the food theme, my dad and I picked up a sack of raw oysters from the local oyster fisherman in town. My mom committed a cardinal sin of buying some already shucked at the grocery store to make the oyster dressing at Thanksgiving. The general consensus was that they were so washed down there was no taste left. So to avoid a similar disaster at Christmas, we got some fresh from Louisiana waters still in the shell. 
It's only later in life that I've acquired a taste for these mollusks raw. I've always enjoyed them fried on a po-boy sandwich or in traditional dirty rice, but somewhere in my twenties I started to appreciate the intensely salty flavor and uniquely fleshy texture. As with most things that Cajuns eat, I often look at it and wonder who gazed upon this mucus-like blob in a relatively ugly shell and deduced that it might make a good meal! Thank goodness for that first intrepid soul!
This last picture is of a beautiful sight. . . what I opened my eyes to after a leisurely nap on the swing in my parents' yard!!! Although it turned cold for a couple of days, we are now back in the upper 70s with a lush humidity level in the 60s. Once again, I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt for the day.This is pretty much a synopsis of my time back at home so far. I've gone back to the gym with my mom and sister and went to my nephew Philip's basketball game last night. I'm really enjoying being part of their everyday lives, even if it's just for a little while.
3 comments:
I'm hungry already! Merry Christmas ya'll!
Love, Suzanne and the Bunch
Hi Babes, Glad you're home and enjoying all the usual Cajun foods. Seeing Philip try his hand at crab ackes reminded me of 'Mom's gumbo. This is a recipe for MawRuby's Oyster Gumbo. I've finally got it down pat and Gary's wife, Mel, does too. That tradition lives on! Maw Ruby and Aunt Evelyn made a 'recipe' for the rest of us. (Thank you!) It works. From my MyFamily.com website
Title: Ruby's Christmas Oyster Gumbo
Description:
A Christmas tradition in my mother in law, Ruby's, home is now a Christmas tradition in our home. This makes a huge pot of gumbo and it does freeze very well, that is, if you have any left. We start eating it on Christmas Eve night and it's usually all gone the day after Christmas.
"Mom" told me that when she was a young child, around the holidays the seafood man would pass. This was in a wagon pulled by a horse in the rural community of Bayou Blue near Houma, LA. They would sometimes purchase what ever he had to sell that day. Around Christmas, her mother would get a gallon of oysters for the gumbo. "That was when a gallon was really a gallon", she told me. She didn't recall if her mother, "Granny" to us, came up with the recipe or if it came from Granny's grandmother, who raised Granny since she was a small child. Regardless of who started the tradition it has been gratefully continued in our family.
Mom and Evelyn made this recipe especially for me since I had attempted it a couple of times and my results fell very short of her excellent gumbo.
Ingredients:
1 cup oil
1 & 3/4 cup plain flour
2 or 3 large onions, chopped
1 & 1/2 cup chopped celery
1 green bell pepper, chopped
water or chicken broth
1 to 2 gallons oysters and juice
1 cup chopped green onion tops
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon gumbo filet
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In at least a 12 quart pot make a roux of flour and oil until the color of peanut butter, no darker. Add onion and cook 15 to 20 minutes longer. Roux will darken more. Stir often. Add celery and green pepper and cook 15 minutes. Add about 1 quart of water or broth and stir to thicken gravy. Slow simmer, covered, as long as it takes for seasonings to nearly disintergrate, about 45 or 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Note: Gravy will decrease in volume. Drain oysters and hold the juice. Add oysters to pot and 'smother', covered, about 15 minutes. Add oyster juice, water and/or broth to make gumbo consistancy. (I nearly fill the pot). Taste and add salt, pepper and hot sauce, if desired. Heat the pot to simmering, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add green onion tops, parsley and sprinkle filet over the top. DO NOT STIR FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES . Makes 12 quarts. Serve over hot rice
Note: If you wash the oysters, save the water and strain along with any oyster juice and use as part of the liquid of the gumbo. I use an old clean stocking to strain.
Note: If you use the two gallons of oysters you should increase the other ingrediants a little and the size of the pot.
Note: The gumbo will be a light color. If you want to cheat, you can add Kitchen Boquet to make it darker. It does not affect the taste.
Note: Stirring while pot is too hot with the filet added can make the gumbo have a slimmy consistancy. Let the pot cool a little before stirring.
Number Of Servings:
Preparation Time:2 hours
From
Aunt Cynt
Houma, LA
Thanks Aunt Cynt! I heard you passing this down to Derek yesterday. Might have to stop by for a taste!
Merry Christmas!
Karen
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