GOOD HURRICANE FOOD October 26, 2005 Susan Noble Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent

A few weeks ago, I went to Luling, Louisiana, to help with hurricane relief. The trip was a wonderful culinary experience. If hurricane work and good food don't seem to go together, keep reading.

The trip was arranged by Tim Little, Minister of Music and Senior Adults at my church, First Baptist in Lumberton. Tim served as Associate Pastor at First Baptist in Luling several years ago and is very familiar with the area.

Tim is also reputed to be an excellent cook, but that's really not the reason I signed up for the trip. For the record, I did go to work - not just to eat.

Several church members were in our work group, including another good cook, Phyllis Gibson. She helps Tim prepare a Creole-style dinner for our church seniors every year during Mardi Gras season.

So I must admit there were prospects of good eating on the trip. Maybe food did entice me a little. Our most interesting dish was Alligator in Sauce Piquante over rice. It was prepared for us by Oscar, Tim's best friend. It was honestly good.

According to my food dictionary, piquante sauce is a spicy brown sauce made with shallots, white wine, vinegar, gherkins, and various herbs. Apparently, in Louisiana, they do their own version of the sauce. Judging from Oscar's sauce and recipes I saw in local cookbooks, the Louisiana version contains tomatoes.

I can accept tomatoes, but serving a rice dish with potato salad did seem strange to me. Potato salad was served often with supper and lunch. I decided it is the state dish of Louisiana.

And, yes, alligator does taste like chicken. Texture-wise, I would compare it to scallops.

For the other nights of our stay, Tim and Phyllis cooked for us in the kitchen of the church where we stayed. I earned my supper by washing dishes.

One meal featured a terrific beef roast. The recipe was Tim's, but it was carefully executed by Phyllis with one tiny addition. Don't tell Tim, but Phyllis accidentally added a sample packet of Ranch dressing mix which happened to be in the box of onion soup mix. No one seemed to mind.

On our last night, Tim and Phyllis cooked their jambalaya. I was surprised that they used a boxed mix as the base, but I can't argue with success. Using a mix also shortened prep time. After a full day of working in the Belle Chase area, they were able to get the jambalaya on the table in a flash.

Upon returning home, I was so inspired by all this good eating I went into the kitchen and tried a new recipe. On another trip, I had enjoyed vodka sauce over pasta, so I decided to fiddle with this version from Cooking Light magazine. By now, I had been a whole week without pasta and the Italian in me really needed some.

Check out the following recipes for a taste of Creole country mixed with a little Italian. I found a Sauce Piquante recipe I was going to include, but it called for eight kitchen spoons of flour. I have no idea exactly what size spoon that means.

Jambalaya is a signature dish of Creole cookery. It combines cooked rice with a variety of ingredients including tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and almost any meat, poultry, or shellfish. Every cook has his/her own version as does Tim -- the red beans don't seem to be traditional.

Prepare mix as directed on package using chicken broth instead of water. As soon as you have the mixture cooking, mix in the sausage and let it cook the remaining time. Tim uses about 16 ounces of sausage to 1 (8-ounce) box of Zatarain's; proportions can be varied to your taste. Cooked chicken and shrimp can be added in addition to or in place of the sausage.

Generously season roast with salt and pepper. Place roast, fat side down, in 425° oven for 15 minutes to sear. Meanwhile, combine soup mixes, mushroom soup, and 2 soup cans of water in a bowl to make a sauce. Remove roast from oven after searing and pour sauce over it. Return roast to a 325° oven and cook 3-4 hours.

This sauce is traditionally served over a thick, tube-shaped pasta such as penne.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, prosciutto, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and next 5 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk.

Yields 5 (1-cup) servings; 121 calories.

The use of brand names in this column does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products or services named or criticism of similar ones not mentioned.

E-mail address: Susan_Noble@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 11/03/05