First you start with a roux - Louisiana Cookin

Tuesday, 17 January 2012 12:49

First you start with a roux ^Featured

Written by Daniel Schumacher

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First you start with a roux, but that's only the beginning. Since the settlement of northwest Louisiana in 1714, the founding of New Orleans four years later, and Acadians' arrival in Southwest Louisiana, the state's cuisine has grown to incorporate bountiful harvests and the rich cultural heritages of its diverse people. As French, Spanish, African, Irish, German, Italian, and Native American cooks brought their cultures' unique ingredients and techniques to the gumbo pot, they eventually created Louisiana's most beloved Cajun and Creole dishes. Like every great culinary tradition, Louisiana's is evolving by incorporating fresh Asian and Hispanic influences.

From the Gulf of Mexico's great seafood bounty to the rice and sugarcane fields, Louisiana is full of delicious flavors, colorful characters, and a joie de vivre. While New Orleans' Creole cooks mastered étouffée, jambalaya and stuffed mirlitons, Cajuns perfected boudin sausages and used filé powder to thicken their gumbos. Meanwhile, North Louisiana hunters and fishermen along with the rest of the Sportsman's Paradise, enjoy the state's deer, rabbit, wild turkeys, and ducks. It is often said that a true Cajun can look at a field of rice and know how much gravy they would need to cover it.

Juicy citrus, sweet peaches, tender pecans, briny oysters, and buttery sweet potatoes make living more enjoyable, and Louisiana has some of the best. Hitting the road in search of a king cake, Andouille link, or sno-ball couldn't be more Louisiana. With their creative streak and indomitable spirit,

Louisianians don't eat to live, they live to eat. Whether at a back yard crawfish boil, tailgating at a sports event, or a festival fais do-do, where family and friends gather, Louisiana music will never be far behind.

Seasoning cast iron, cleaning fresh soft-shell crabs and using the holy trinity are all essential to Louisiana cooking. We hope you can take these articles and recipes and make the most of what Louisiana has to offer.