Chocolate Caramels

 

Ingredients

• Half a pound of chocolate
• Three pounds of dark brown sugar 
• One-eighth pound of butter
• Half a cup of milk
• Season with vanilla, or grated lemon or orange-peel

Directions

1. Place the ingredients into a saucepan.
2. If using the grated peel to season, add after the mixture is removed from the stovetop.
3. Bring the ingredients to a rapid boil while stirring constantly.
4. When the mixture becomes hard upon making contact with water, it is ready to be removed from the stovetop.
5. Stir the mixture for a few minutes before pouring it into buttered dishes.
6. Cut the chocolate caramels into small squares before they are completely cooled.
7. For harder caramels, do not stir the mixture as it would make it "sugary."

Source — La Cuisine Creole
Prepared by Christian Hunter
Louisiana Anthology
March 22, 2022

One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• One pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Two tablespoons butter
• Two cloves garlic
• Half pound penne pasta
• One and a half cups chicken broth
• One cup milk
• Three ounces cream cheese
• One third cup basil pesto
• One fourth cup grated parmesan
• Freshly cracked pepper
• One pinch of crushed red pepper
• Optional: Three cups fresh spinach

Directions

1. Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch pieces. Add the butter to a deep skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside.
2. While the chicken is cooking, mince the garlic. Add the garlic to the skillet with the chicken and continue to sauté for one minute more.
3. Add the uncooked pasta and chicken broth to the skillet with the chicken and garlic. Stir to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil.
4. Once the broth comes to a full boil, give the pasta a quick stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the pasta simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and most of the broth has been absorbed. Stir the pasta briefly every two minutes as it simmers, replacing the lid quickly each time.
5. Once the pasta is tender and most of the broth absorbed, add the milk, cream cheese (cut into chunks), and pesto. Stir and cook over medium heat until the cream cheese has fully melted into the sauce. Finally, add the grated Parmesan and stir until combined.
6. If using, add the fresh spinach. Stir until the spinach has wilted, then remove the pasta from the heat. Top the pasta with freshly cracked pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper, then serve.

- Justin Rigby

Source — Budget Bytes
Prepared by Beth - Budget Bytes
Louisiana Anthology
March 26, 2022

Boston Brown Bread

Ingredients

• One and a half pints of cornmeal
• half a pint of wheat flour
• one cup of sweet milk
• one cup of sour milk, with a teaspoonful of soda in it
• three tablespoonfuls of molasses
• one tablespoonful of yeast
• one pinch of salt

Directions

1. Put it in a warm place to rise.
2. let it bake steadily for four hours.
3. warm by steaming it when wanted to use.

 

Source — La Cuisine Creole
Prepared by R. Brad McKelvin
Louisiana Anthology
March 22, 2022

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

• 1 lb. dry red beans
• 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 14 oz. Andouille sausage 
• 1 yellow onion 
• 1 green bell pepper 
• 3 ribs celery
• 4 gloves garlic
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika 
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 
  1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
  
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 6 cups water 
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley 
• 1 tbsp. salt or to taste
• 1.5 cups long grain white rice (uncooked)
• 3 green onions

Directions

1. Place the dry red beans in a bowl covering the beans completely with water and placing them in the fridge the night before you plan to cook them.
2. Slice the sausage into nice round slices.
3. Add cooking oil and sausage to a large pot and begin cooking them over a medium heat until the sausage is browned. 
4. Remove the sausage from the pot once browned and place in a clean bowl and place in fridge.
5. Dice the onion, bell pepper and celery, along with mincing the garlic. 
6. Add all diced and minced items into the oil from the sausage and begin to brown the items down still on a medium heat.
7. Stir frequently.
8. Add the smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, black pepper, and bay leaves to the pot.
9. Stir and cook down for a couple of minutes.
10. Drain and rinse the beans that have been soaking and add them to the pot along with the six cups of water and stir.
11. Place the lid on the pot, turn the heat up to a medium-high, and bring the water to a boil.
12. Turn the heat down to a medium-low heat once the water begins to boil and let the pot boil for one hour.
13. Stir Occasionally replacing the lid after each time.
14. Smash the beans with the back of the spoon after a hour of cooking and the beans have become tender. Continue to do so with the pot simmering for about 30 minutes. This allows the beans to thicken.
15. Cook the rice while the beans simmer for there last 30 minutes. 
16. Add the rice to 3 cups of water to a sauce pot and place the lid on top. 
17. Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn the heat down to low and let the rice simmer for 15 minutes. 
18. Turn heat off once the 15 minutes is over and let the rice rest for 5 minutes without removing the lid. 
19. Add the sausage to back to the pot once the beans have thickened along with the 1/4 cup of chopped parsley. 
20. Salt the beans to taste starting with the 1 tsp of salt gradually adding more if necessary. 
21. Serve the red beans with a scoop of rice topped with sliced green onions. 

Source —Budget Byte$
Prepared by Dylan Bergeron
Louisiana Anthology
March 22, 2022

Lemon Ice-cream

Ingredients

• 6 Lemons
• 3 qt. milk
• 1 1/2 pints sugar

Directions

1. Juice the six lemons and leave the juice and peels aside for now.
2. Place the lemon peels in a separate dish and pour the milk over the lemon peels.
3. Let the mixture stand for 1 hour.
4. Strain the milk from the lemon peels and collect the liquid. 
5. Add the sugar to the mixture and mix well.
6. Place the mixture into the freezer.
7. Stir in the lemon juice once the liquid is nearly frozen. 

Source — New Orleans Cook Book
Prepared by Dylan Bergeron
Louisiana Anthology
March 22, 2022

Apple Pudding

Ingredients

• Apples
• 1 tbsp. Butter 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sweet milk
• 1 cup flour 
• 1 tsp. Dixie yeast power

Directions

1. Grab a baking dish and butter the dish well to avoid the dish from sticking.
2. Slice the apples to your desired liking. 
3. Place the apples in the baking dish.
4. Mix the batter in a separate bowl by adding the butter, sugar, egg, sweet milk, flour, and Dixie yeast powder. 
5. Add the batter to the baking dish on top of the sliced apples. 
6. Bake in a moderate oven until brown.
7. Serve with cream and sugar or a liquid sauce. 

Source —New Orleans Cook Book

Prepared by Dylan Bergeron
Louisiana Anthology
March 22, 2022

Fruit Cake #1

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Butter
• 1 lb. Sugar
• 1 lb. flour
• 1 lb. raisins
• 1/2 lb. citron 
• 1 lb. or more of nuts
• 8 eggs
• 1 lb. fruits of your choice

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar together and mix well.
2. Separate the eight egg yolks from the egg whites.
3. Beat the egg yolks and whites in separate bowls.
4. Add the beaten egg yolks to the cream.
5. Add half of the flour along with half of the egg whites. 
6. Mix well. 
7. Add most of the remainder of the flour saving a little for the fruit mixture.
8. Add the rest of the egg whites.
9. Put the fruit and the remainder of the flour into the mixture and mix well.
10. Place in cake pan and bake slowly until done. 

Source —New Orleans Cook Book 

Prepared by Dylan Bergeron
Louisiana Anthology
March 22, 2022