"Cajun" news and stories

New Orleans is America's original foodie mecca. In the 1700s, there was already a 400 vendor farmers' market in the center of town (on the site of the current French Market). By the 1800s, cookbooks were being published here long before the rest of America, like the local newspaper's anthology recently reprinted as 'The Times-Picayune's Creole Cook-book'. "Our cuisine is 25% French, 25% Spanish and 50% African – the French and Spanish influenced the food, but it was the Africans who largely cooked it," explains Tom Fitzmorris, author of "Hungry Town: A Culinary History of New Orleans", "It's a creole cuisine in every sense of the word." (Creole is derived from the Spanish criollo or 'native')

Several different factors influenced the eclectic tastes of New Orleans. Firstly, it was a port city throbbing with newcomers from across the world. "People don't realize that in the 18th and 19th centuries, we had more immigrants coming through our port than they did in New York," food guru Poppy Tooker explains. Those new arrivals couldn't scatter into self-defined ethnic enclaves as they did in Chicago or San Francisco either. "Look at our geography, wedged between [Lake] Pontchartrain and the Mississippi river, there's not a lot of room to expand," notes Kelly Hamilton, who leads food tours around the city. Settlers clubbed together to cook and so produced hybrids of the foods they'd eaten back home.

Read our "only in New Orleans" list after the jump...

The city of Eunice, La., will again host a crawfish étouffée cook-off this weekend, marking 25 consecutive years of failing to agree upon a single definition for the classic Cajun dish.

All comers are welcome to compete in the wildly popular event, whether they swear by – or swear at – butter, margarine, tomatoes, cream of mushroom soup, paprika, roux or pre-chopped onions. The liberal guidelines make for a diverse array of étouffées that annually lure eaters from across the South.

"We don't care what the judges think," Robin McGee, executive director of the Eunice Chamber of Commerce, says of the disparate preparation techniques. "We're too busy saying ours is the best."

'Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link's Louisiana.'
By Donald Link with Paula Disabrowe
Photographs by Chris Granger
Clarkson Potter 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Although Donald Link's restaurants, Cochon and Herbsaint, are located in New Orleans, these recipes are not the food of that city. Far from the touristy restaurants, his food comes from a place off the highways and byways that run along Louisiana's bayous. The book lives up to its title-serving Cajun food at its simple and rustic best. This collection is filled with family recipes that have been honed and perfected with the skill of chef but without losing site of how people cook at home.

In creating this book Link said he set out to "preserve a way of life and give people an idea of how it really is." He's repairing the misconceptions of Cajun food that came with the blackened craze that swept the country in the '80s, and his recipes demonstrate and explain the wide variations between Cajun and Creole.

Along with the recipes, he shares insight into Cajun traditions and the country cooking that can usually be made in just one pot and never requires any fancy kitchen gadgets. There are plenty of recipes that make wonderful week-night meals, such as the Post-K Meatloaf that separates the flavor base of brown sugar and a generous portion of bacon from the actual meatloaf. But the real magic happens in those recipes that call for hours at the stove-perfect for this time of year when the warmth of a simmering pot keeps away the chill.

A pair of Cajun seasoning companies whose names allude to domestic rough-housing are now preparing to scuffle in court.

The makers of "Slap Ya Mama" last week sued the entrepreneur behind "Punch Ya Daddy," claiming the upstart brand infringes upon their trademark. William Stagg, attorney for the plaintiff, says it's not what's in the cartons of Kirby Falcon's proprietary South Louisiana spice blend that concerns his client: It's the name and logo emblazoned on their labels.

"We don't really know what the recipe is, but we believe the packaging and image my customer has created for Slap Ya Mama is unique," Stagg says. "We believe this brand is calculated to capture our market."

Falcon's attorney did not return calls seeking comment.

According to a June story in Houma Today, Falcon developed his seasoning mix in 2007 while working the grill at his strip-mall lunch counter. He found a name for his product after his 4-year-old son yelped, "I'm going to punch ya, daddy." Punch Ya Daddy is now sold in more than 100 stores across Louisiana.

Photo: Amazon.com

'New Orleans Classic Gumbos & Soups'
Recipes from Favorite Restaurants
Text and Photographs by Kit Wohl
Pelican Publishing -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

The best Creole-Cajun dishes are oft found in Louisiana: gumbos bursting with fresh seafood, sausages and chicken slopped together with rice, soups with an intense depth of flavor -- all representing comfort food at its best. "New Orleans Classic Gumbos and Soups" showcases some of the best recipes from eateries around the region and brings them to home cooks in a non-intimidating approach.

Recipes like Tulane Chicken Andouille Gumbo and Red Bean and Sausage soup will keep you coming back to this book for the ultimate weekend dinners. Be sure to buy the freshest ingredients possible, especially seafood: It plays a key role in the outcome of dishes, and makes the extra effort well worth it.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.