Back to New Orleans

Hey everybody, we just came back from New Orleans. It was great!!! When we got there it was already dinner time so we went to Couchon, which means pig in French. The first thing I noticed was the smell of the food and it was amazing. For appetizers we had rabbit liver and fried alligator!! It was actually good!! For my main course I had rabbit and dumplings, and my side was macaroni and cheese. It all was fantastic!!! Everyone else had different types of pig. I tried them all, and they were awesome!!! Our server was Ms. Angelina and she was very nice.

For lunch the next day, we went to Luke's - a Chef John Besh restaurant. We didn't have any appetisers so for my main dish I had 6 big fried shrimp served on a wooden cutting board with ranch dressing. It tasted really good!!! For my side I had some great french fries wrapped in a menu and placed in a bucket. My sister had 3 mini burgers which I tasted, and were delicious. We also had some grillades (pieces of veal and gravy) and grits they were very tasty. Our server was Mr. Chris he was awesome!



               Till next time,
                  jrfoodcritic

Frog Legs Provencale & Ellie's Grilled Summer Salad

Hey everybody. Last night we cooked Frog Provencale... and Ellie's Grilled Summer Salad (which was great)!!! It was a very easy dish! The reason I love being Cajun is the FOOD!!! Me and my dad cooked it, except for Ellie's Grilled Summer Salad (she did that) as shown below in the pictures!!! The recipe is also below!!! ENJOY!

Recipe from Chef John Folse's cookbook -  Hooks, Lies & Alibis. Provencale is a style of cooking in Southern France.

        Till Next Time,

            jrfoodcritic

6-8 servings

20-24 frog legs
1/4 pound butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
granulated garlic to taste
1/2 cup sliced or minced garlic
1/2 cup minced or diced onion
1/4 cup of red bell pepper
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup chardonnay
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
3 cups of shellfish or seafood stock
5 sprigs of fresh thyme

In a 12 inch saute pan, heat olive oil and butter. Season frog legs with salt, pepper and granulated garlic.Saute frog legs 4-5 minutes turning often. Set frog legs aside and keep warm. Add garlic, bell pepper and onion. Saute 2-3 minutes until soft. Sprinkle flour and mix well. Deglaze with chardonnay and add tomatoes. Add stock and bring to rolling boil. Reduce to simmer and let it reduce to preferred consistency. Add fresh thyme sprigs.Return frog legs to skillet, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve over rice or pasta.

Ellie's Grilled Summer Salad

Romaine lettuce sliced in half
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
diced red and yellow bell pepper and tomatoes
lite champagne dressing
shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Brush olive oil on lettuce halves. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat grill to medium high. Place lettuce on grill sliced halves down. Grill just enough to get markings on lettuce. Place on plate and sprinkle cheese. Garnish with bell pepper and tomatoes.

Italian Veal Skewers

Serves 4-6

4 veal cutlets (scallopini)
8 thin slices of prosciutto
Sage leaves
Italian Parsley
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
Olive oil
4 skewers (soaked for at least 30 minutes)
 
Lightly salt and pepper. Place sage, chopped parsley and prosciutto on each piece and roll jelly roll style. Skewer each piece and cut 4 to skewer. Heat oil and butter in sauté pan. Saute skewers for 10 minutes turning frequently. Garnish with chopped parsley.

We served this with pasta and a simple tomato sauce. Enjoy!

Video with Chef John Folse

Hey everybody, I hope you saw me on TV yesterday with Chef John Folse and Chef Amanda on WAFB. If you didn't here it is! We went to TJ Rib's to celerbrate. Thanks Mr. Kevin! I had 2 platers of awesome chicken wings. I thought they were delicious! Our waitress was the best! She was so nice -her name was Ms.courtney. Till Next Time! jr food critic

Cooking with Chef John Folse

Hey Everybody,

Tomorrow July 14, 2011 I will be cooking with Chef John Folse and Chef Amanda. It will air during the 5 o'clock news on WAFB Channel 9 in Baton Rouge. Here are some pictures. I hope you enjoy. I will be cooking Veal Skewers!!! They are delicious. You can check out the recipe at www.wafb.com tomorrow. Please watch if you can!


Till next time,
jr food critic

 

Hi everybody hope your having a good summer!!! Yesterday we went to Mugshots! It was great!!! For appetizers we had mild buffalo wings! A little messy but they were awesome!  I just had a plain old cheeseburger which was good. I thought their french fries were great!!! The guys who came up with the idea for Mugshots got some of their ideas in Hawaii and put those on the menu including two new Hawaiian words I learned "Ono Pupas" which means "great appetizers". We also really liked the buns the burgers were on they were a little sweet and soft like the Hawaiian rolls you might see in the store.

               Till next time!!!
                  jrfoodcritic!

More Louisiana Seafood!

Hi everybody, This past week we cooked a crawfish bisque and some mahi mahi tacos. They were both great. We shared the crawfish bisque with family and friends and they really enjoyed it. I helped with the roux and stuffed the heads. We got ideas from chef John Folse's cook book "Hooks, Lies & Alibis".

The mahi mahi tacos were awesome. They were finished with a citrus vinaigrette slaw and lemon wedges to squeeze on top. Here is the recipe and some pictures!!!!!

Mahi Mahi Tacos
serves 6

2lbs of fresh mahi mahi
soy sauce
salt, pepper, cumin, and Tony's
canola oil
Tbsp of butter
1 bag of coleslaw

vinaigrette
1Tbsp lime juice
1Tbsp orange juice
1Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup canola oil

tortillas
guacamole
pico de gallo

About 1 hour before cooking, brush fish with soy sauce and refrigerate. Mix vinaigrette together by whisking ingredients together and drizzling in canola oil slowly. Toss together with a bag of slaw and set aside.

Heat oil in saute pan. Take fish out and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and Tony's. Put butter in pan then sear fish on both sides and put on side to rest. My dad also sauteed onions.

Heat tortillas, break fish apart and serve with slaw, guacamole and pico de gallo. Enjoy!