Thread: What I learned today.
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Old December 13th, 2007, 05:59 PM posted to rec.outdoors.fishing.fly
Wolfgang
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Default What I learned today.

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...
wrote:

On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:53:30 -0600, Conan The Librarian
wrote:

wrote:


In article , Ken Fortenberry
writes

Paul Prudhomme is an American chef credited with making
Cajun cooking popular.

Um, not among Cajuns he ain't...they were eating it before he was
born...

Well, yeah ... and there was French cuisine before Julia Child came on
the scene, too.
No ****?

Yes, really. And yet she was still credited with making French cuisine
popular. (Just like Prudhomme was with Cajun food.)

There are no _recipes_ per se for much of Cajun or Creole cooking. Oh,
sure, there are "recipes" out there by the ton, but much of both styles
of cooking is simply cooking with what's available and adding cayenne,
thyme, garlic, a mirepoix-ish saute of onions, sweet/green/bell peppers,
and celery (no carrots ala French cooking), and Worchestershire to
individual taste. Very few Cajuns or Creoles make "standards" the same
way...which, I suppose, makes them, um, well, not standard, depending on
your POV.

So how would you suggest that a newcomer to Cajun food learn how to
cook it? I figure recipes might be a handy substitute for those of us
who don't have relatives who came over on the boats from Acadia.

Look at the general array of flavoring ingredients and techniques used
and go from there.

Hmmm ... do you think a cookbook might be a good place to look for that
sort of information?

There's nothing wrong with following a precise
recipe, but since most Cajun and Creole cooks really don't, there's no
reason that a person who is at least moderately familiar with food,
herbs and spices, and cooking should, either.

I dunno ... if someone asks about Cajun recipes I'd be inclined to
just give them Cajun recipes.


Chuck Vance (that's not really so hard, is it?)

Still, he DOES have a point. I mean, I have personally never dined in
single Canadian restaurant in the entire Milwaukee metropolitan area (or
even in all of Chicagoland, for that matter) in which the chef confessed to
using a recipe.

Wolfgang
who will leave the rather delicate question of whether they SHOULD have to
more refined palates.