Red Beans and Rice with Sausage

Ingredients

• Two pounds of red kidney beans
• Two pounds of sausage
• One large bell pepper
• One large onion
• Oil
• Rice
• Salt or Cajun seasoning of choice

Directions

1. Set the beans to soak in water for at least eight hours, ideally overnight. Afterward, drain the beans.
2. Dice the vegetables well and cut the sausage into coins.
3. Set the stove to medium. With a bit of oil, brown the sausage and render a bit of fat from them.
4. Pull out the sausage, leaving the oil.
5. Add the vegetables, and let them cook until the onions turn clear.
6. Add the beans and sausage to the pot, and add water until the beans are just covered.
7. Let the pot come to a boil. Once that happens, turn the heat down until the pot is at a moderate simmer. Make sure to add some salt and seasoning while the beans simmer.
8. Cook until the beans are soft and tender, around one to two hours. Add water as needed.
9. Prepare rice according to package instructions.
10. Serve the beans hot over rice.

Notes

• This recipe works on a general formula of one pound sausage to one pound beans. This means you can scale up for large gatherings or down for smaller households.
• As stated in step one, it is imperative to soak the beans, as it leads to a more evenly cooked bean. While it is possible to cook the beans without soaking, it is not recommended.
• In step 7, it is mentioned to season the beans with salt while simmering. Similar to pasta, it is important to add salt while the beans are cooking, as it will make seasoning later nigh impossible.
• This recipe allows for a multitude of different sausages to be used, e.g. andouille and kielbasa, or even something like deer sausage. Feel free to use whatever savory sausage is preferred or available. Ham would even work as a good alternative.
• The sausage does not have to be added in while the beans cook. For example, they can be served whole or cut in half lengthways when plating. The sausage can even be fully omitted, if you are looking to make the dish Lenten or vegan.
• If desired, chicken bouillon can be added with the water when cooking. Another option is to use chicken stock entirely as a replacement to the water.

Source — A Personal Recipe
Prepared by Ethan Clapp
Louisiana Anthology
September 30, 2023

"Pain Perdu," or Lost Bread

Ingredients

• One pint of fresh milk
• One cup of sugar
• Two eggs, beaten
• Flavorings of choice
• Loaf of bread
• Butter

Directions

1. Combine the milk, sugar, and eggs, as well as any seasonings and flavorings of choice.
2. Take six slices of bread from your loaf of bread, and soak each piece in the prepared milk and sugar custard.
3. Add butter to a pan and fry each piece of soaked bread one by one. Pile them up and serve hot.

Source — La Cuisine Creole
Prepared by Ethan Clapp
Louisiana Anthology
July 16, 2019

Orange Cakes

Ingredients

• Two quarts of flour
• Two tablespoons of butter
• One large cup of brown sugar
• Molasses
• Orange peel

Directions

1. Combine the flour, butter, and brown sugar.
2. Mix with just enough molasses to be able to roll the resultant dough thin.
3. Powder a great deal of orange peel, and dust the cake well with it.

Note that these cakes are made without eggs, so not only are they very nice, but very economical too.

Source — Creole Cookery Book
Prepared by Ethan Clapp
Louisiana Anthology
September 30, 2023

Clareville Biscuits

Ingredients

• Two pounds of sifted flour
• Half a pound of butter
• Half a pint of milk or cold water
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into a batter.
2. Grease a pan with a little bit of butter and add the batter to the greased pan.
3. Bake at a low temperature until the biscuits are a light brown.

Source — Creole Cookery Book
Prepared by Ethan Clapp
Louisiana Anthology
September 30, 2023

Splendid Fruit Cake

Ingredients

• One pound of washed and creamed butter
• One and one fourth pounds of white sifted sugar
• Twelve eggs
• One and one quarter pound of flour
• One pound of currants
• Two pounds of large raisins
• One pound of citron
• One whole nutmeg
• One glass of wine
• One glass of brandy

Directions

1. Wash and cream the butter.
2. Beat the egg white of 12 eggs to a stiff froth and mix with the creamed butter.
3. Carefully stir in the pound of sifted flour.
4. The day before, wash and dry the currants.
5. Pick and seed the raisins.
6. Slice the citrons.
7. Pour all the fruit into a large pan, and dredge well with a quarter pound of sifted flour.
8. Stir all well into the butter.
9. Add one grated nutmeg, a glass of wine, and a glass of brandy.
10. Bake carefully in a large cake pan for four hours

Source — La Cuisine Creole
Prepared by Catherine Weldon
Louisiana Anthology
September 26, 2023

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil
• One onion
• Kosher salt
• Two cloves garlic
• One and a half pounds of ground turkey meat
• A fourth of a cup of soy sauce
• One inch of ginger
• One tablespoon of sambal oelek
• One eight ounce can of water chestnuts

Directions

1. Dice onion, garlic, and water chestnuts.
2. Grate one inch of garlic.
3. Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat.
4. Mix turkey meat, soy sauce, sambal oelek, water chestnuts, ginger, onions, and garlic in large bowl.
5. Make four turkey patties and cook until firm.

Prepared by Miles Harris
Louisiana Anthology
September 26, 2023

Chicken and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• Four small pieces of chicken
• Six large tomatoes
• Two onions
• Three large green peppers
• Small bunch of sweet herbs
• Slice of salted pork
• Three cloves of garlic
• Two peppercorns
• One cup of white wine
• One cup of water
• One stick of butter
• Three quarters of a cup of rice

Directions

1. Cut chicken into pieces and remove large pieces of gristle.
2. Remove seeds and stem from pepper and cut into bite size pieces.
3. Dice the slice of salted pork.
4. Smash the garlic cloves.
5. Cut the onions in half.
6. Throw everything in a large pot and allow to cook until chicken is cooked.

Source —  The Unrivalled Cook-Book
Prepared by Miles Harris
Louisiana Anthology
September 26, 2023