Dining In: C’est bon! – Simple Southern and Cajun-style dishes for entertaining

Even though we are from south Louisiana, we’re not Cajun. We grew up in New Orleans, and—when it came to Louisiana cooking—our family turned to Creole recipes, with elements of French, Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisine. Dishes like stuffed mirliton, smothered pork chops, grillades and grits and red beans and rice (the latter only on Mondays, of course) were staples of our family menu.

Traditional Creole cuisine is quite different from the more rustic, country-style cooking found west of Baton Rouge in Cajun country. True Cajun cooking generally starts with a roux of flour and some type of fat, like oil or lard. This dark roux is key to true Cajun cuisine, like deep, rich gumbos with many different types of meats or seafood.

For September, we decided to play with some Cajun recipes because they’re great for back-to-school get-togethers, tailgate parties and outdoor gatherings in (we hope) slightly more comfortable temperatures.

Tracey developed an authentic version of Crawfish Bisque and tweaked it to make it a bit less labor-intensive. Instead of stuffing the crawfish filling into the heads of the crawfish and then frying them before placing them into the bisque, as the purists do, Tracey made the stuffing into a “boulette” (French for “little ball”). The boulettes are made almost like a crawfish meatball, placed on a baking sheet and brushed with a little butter and baked until golden brown. The boulettes can be made in advance, which saves time, and the bisque can be simmering while you’re tending to other parts of the meal—though it does need to be watched while you are getting the roux to a deep rich brown.

To go along with the bisque, we made a Baton Rouge favorite: Sensation Salad. There have been many different versions of this classic, which was created in Baton Rouge at Bob and Jake’s restaurant on Government Street. That restaurant has been gone for years, but the garlicky, tangy Sensation Salad lives on. This version is similar to the original and also very simple to throw together.

Finally, what Louisiana dish is complete without a libation or two? To accompany this hearty bisque, Tracey made a Cajun-style Iced Tea Cocktail. This refreshing cocktail consists of black tea that is infused with fresh lemon, orange zest and whole cloves. It is sweetened with local honey and then spiked with a bit of bourbon or whiskey. This tea is equally refreshing without the alcohol.