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Started By
Message
Hell me plan a "Cajun" menu
Posted on 8/10/16 at 11:34 am
Posted on 8/10/16 at 11:34 am
I'll be cooking dinner for about 10 coworkers at a lake house in Wisconsin in a few weeks. Here are the caveats:
I will have limited time to prepare, as we will be in meetings all day. I'm also not sure what I will have at my disposal as far as equipment goes.
My preliminary plans include a charcuterie borard featuring products from local meat markets... Head Cheese, Boudin, Andouille, etc.
For a hot app, I'm gonna do BBQ Shrimp
Also gonna make a gumbo... Probably Shrimp and Okra. I can do this ahead of time and ship it up there.
I'm trying to come up with another "main" dish that's a really authentic Cajun dish that isn't something served over rice. This is where I really would like suggestions. Maybe Griaddes?
I will have limited time to prepare, as we will be in meetings all day. I'm also not sure what I will have at my disposal as far as equipment goes.
My preliminary plans include a charcuterie borard featuring products from local meat markets... Head Cheese, Boudin, Andouille, etc.
For a hot app, I'm gonna do BBQ Shrimp
Also gonna make a gumbo... Probably Shrimp and Okra. I can do this ahead of time and ship it up there.
I'm trying to come up with another "main" dish that's a really authentic Cajun dish that isn't something served over rice. This is where I really would like suggestions. Maybe Griaddes?
9
Posted on 8/10/16 at 11:42 am to dpd901
quote:
another "main" dish that's a really authentic
quote:
that isn't something served over rice
Posted on 8/10/16 at 11:45 am to dpd901
Crawfish pie
Crawfish cornbread
Stuffed eggplant
Crawfish cornbread
Stuffed eggplant
Posted on 8/10/16 at 11:49 am to dpd901
It's grillades and you could make that ahead of time and ship it with the gumbo. They freeze well and taste fine after freezing. You'll need to make the grits there.
Do you need more than one entree? That's a lot of food (and heavy at that) you're thinking of serving for one meal.
I don't think of bbq shrimp as "Cajun". It's more a New Orleans dish. Shrimp or crawfish etouffee would be Cajun to me.
I don't know if grillades are "Cajun" or more a New Orleans staple. I would say the recipes with tomatoes are more "Creole" in nature.
Maybe you should plan a "Louisiana" menu rather than a "Cajun" one.
Do you need more than one entree? That's a lot of food (and heavy at that) you're thinking of serving for one meal.
I don't think of bbq shrimp as "Cajun". It's more a New Orleans dish. Shrimp or crawfish etouffee would be Cajun to me.
I don't know if grillades are "Cajun" or more a New Orleans staple. I would say the recipes with tomatoes are more "Creole" in nature.
Maybe you should plan a "Louisiana" menu rather than a "Cajun" one.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 11:49 am to dpd901
Given your limited prep/last minute cooking time, I'd say that gumbo is a natural. Make it chock full of "stuff" and it can easily serve as the entree.
Charcuterie sounds fine as a starter course...I don't really see the need for a hot appetizer like BBQ shrimp, esp since you don't have time to prepare them at the last minute (assuming you mean the "real", head & shell on variety, not the far less delicious peeled, sauteed kind).
If you want an alternative entree, why not crawfish etouffee?
What you need are sides/veg...and a dessert. Smothered green beans & new potatoes cooked w/a little tasso, or blackeyed peas cooked w/diced ham or pickled pork, or potato salad. Or, if you can get good tomatoes up there, a sliced tomato & cucumber salad, sprinkled w/some cane vinegar.
Make a gateau de sirop for dessert...a spice cake sweetened w/cane syrup. Serve w/sweetened whipped cream or little scoops of ice cream. Here's my gateau de sirop recipe: LINK
Charcuterie sounds fine as a starter course...I don't really see the need for a hot appetizer like BBQ shrimp, esp since you don't have time to prepare them at the last minute (assuming you mean the "real", head & shell on variety, not the far less delicious peeled, sauteed kind).
If you want an alternative entree, why not crawfish etouffee?
What you need are sides/veg...and a dessert. Smothered green beans & new potatoes cooked w/a little tasso, or blackeyed peas cooked w/diced ham or pickled pork, or potato salad. Or, if you can get good tomatoes up there, a sliced tomato & cucumber salad, sprinkled w/some cane vinegar.
Make a gateau de sirop for dessert...a spice cake sweetened w/cane syrup. Serve w/sweetened whipped cream or little scoops of ice cream. Here's my gateau de sirop recipe: LINK
Posted on 8/10/16 at 11:52 am to Gris Gris
quote:
I don't know if grillades are "Cajun" or more a New Orleans staple. I would say the recipes with tomatoes are more "Creole" in nature.
So SE LA bayou cajuns make grillades, but they're nothing like NOLA/city grillades. Bayou cajun grillades are grilled, spicy, very thinly sliced cuts of pork...sometimes pork shoulder, other times loin or even tenderloin. Some folks like to marinate the pork, others use a dry seasoning mix, but everyone grills 'em hot & fast. It's a "boucherie" dish....one of those things commonly cooked at a hog butchering.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:14 pm to hungryone
So the bayou grillades are not a smothered version like the traditional New Orleans grillades? That's what I'd read some years ago and I assumed he was doing the smothered version with grits which I wasn't sure was of Cajun origin.
I also don't think he needs more than one entree (and could drop the bbq shrimp), unless he wants to have a meat and a seafood option for folks for some reason. Gumbo is fine for an entree. Potato salad and/or sweet potatoes on the side to make it more "Cajun". We sometimes put out a cup of rice, a cup of potato salad and a sweet potato when we serve it and let the guests pick what they want in it.
I still think for what he's thinking, he should call it a "Louisiana" meal rather than a "Cajun" meal when talking "authentic...more leeway on foods in my mind.
I also don't think he needs more than one entree (and could drop the bbq shrimp), unless he wants to have a meat and a seafood option for folks for some reason. Gumbo is fine for an entree. Potato salad and/or sweet potatoes on the side to make it more "Cajun". We sometimes put out a cup of rice, a cup of potato salad and a sweet potato when we serve it and let the guests pick what they want in it.
I still think for what he's thinking, he should call it a "Louisiana" meal rather than a "Cajun" meal when talking "authentic...more leeway on foods in my mind.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:19 pm to dpd901
quote:
a really authentic Cajun dish that isn't something served over rice
does not compute... I kid
how about Stuffed Mirlitons ?
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:22 pm to Kajungee
Crawfish Etouffee is not difficult and doesn't take long to cook and besides they may have never had crawfish before.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:31 pm to dpd901
Grillades and grits . Cook the grits fresh, thaw and warm up the gravy.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:32 pm to dpd901
Jambalaya 
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:34 pm to Cajunate
quote:
Crawfish Etouffee
Doesn't get more Cajun than that to me.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:47 pm to Gaston
Thanks for all the feedback. I was definitely referring to the Bayou Grillades and not NOLA style. I figured I could even get one of the other guys to grill those while i did other stuff.
I thought about just doing a jambalaya, but it's something I'd have to stand over constantly until the lid went on. I also like the idea of the Etouffee, but I didn't know if I needed a second served-over-rice dish. I also find Etouffee doesn't reheat as well as other gravies because of the fat content. I plan on cooking as much as possible ahead of time and mostly reheating.
The idea of doing the BBQ shrimp was that I could make the sauce at home, and just add it to a baking dish along with the shrimp and just pop it into the oven.
I thought about just doing a jambalaya, but it's something I'd have to stand over constantly until the lid went on. I also like the idea of the Etouffee, but I didn't know if I needed a second served-over-rice dish. I also find Etouffee doesn't reheat as well as other gravies because of the fat content. I plan on cooking as much as possible ahead of time and mostly reheating.
The idea of doing the BBQ shrimp was that I could make the sauce at home, and just add it to a baking dish along with the shrimp and just pop it into the oven.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:50 pm to dpd901
Baked or Fried Catfish
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:52 pm to Gris Gris
quote:
So the bayou grillades are not a smothered version like the traditional New Orleans grillades?
No, sliced pork cooked on a grill is what we call Grillades.
New Orleans Grillades is called steak gravy.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 12:57 pm to CHEDBALLZ
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the word "Grillade" means "to grill"
My FIL from Cut off says this originated from boucheries when they would give the kids the little trimmings from butchering the pig. They would put them on skewers and grill them over the fire.
My FIL from Cut off says this originated from boucheries when they would give the kids the little trimmings from butchering the pig. They would put them on skewers and grill them over the fire.
Posted on 8/10/16 at 1:04 pm to dpd901
quote:
My FIL from Cut off says this originated from boucheries when they would give the kids the little trimmings from butchering the pig. They would put them on skewers and grill them over the fire.
That's my understanding, but because you said you didn't know what equipment you would have, I assumed you were referring to the "smothered" grillades, which would actually be a good entree, though not Cajun.
What recipe do you use for bbq shrimp?
Posted on 8/10/16 at 1:18 pm to Gris Gris
I usually "wing it"... Butter, Garlic, Pepper, Worchestershire, Lemon...
Posted on 8/10/16 at 1:19 pm to dpd901
Posted on 8/10/16 at 1:29 pm to hungryone
Bayou grillades are more of a poboy fare than a smothered dish.
Thin pieces grilled pretty crispy. They're the best.
Thin pieces grilled pretty crispy. They're the best.
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