Recipe: Oyster Scallop

Today is Fat Tuesday the end of Mardi Gras and the day before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins. Lent is the 40 days of prayer and decrease prior to Easter, the observed day to remember the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ for our salvation.

I grew up with seafood on the table, especially as a child living in South Louisiana. I rode in a day-time Mardi Gras float throwing out beads and other trinkets and candy. The guys would go shrimping or we'd meet the boat at the dock for fresh Gulf of Mexico crab. Momma's boiled shrimp and crab are fond memories, except when she had me peel the shrimp. Her gumbo is still a staple at Christmas!

This recipe was not part of my childhood, but found its way to my table as a married woman. I have not made it very often and I don't even know why. It's light and creamy and can be a side or the entreé for any old day or for today! The simple ingredients can be found at your local grocer. In fact, you probably have the majority of the recipe in your cupboard, right now! Quickly go check!

Oyster Scallop

1 (15 ozs.) can Cream-Style Corn
1 (15 ozs.) can Whole Kernel Corn, drained
1 (12 ozs.) can Evaporated Milk -OR- 12 ozs. Milk
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped (from a jar on the pickle aisle)
5 large Eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
1 pint Shucked Oysters, drained & chopped
1 box Ritz Crackers, coarsely crushed (use as many as it takes)
*wait to add salt after it cooks, because the oysters and crackers are salty*

• Preheat oven to 325*F.
• Combine both cans of corn (remember to drain the whole kernel corn), milk, red pepper, eggs (slightly beaten) and pepper.
• Stir in chopped oysters.
• Pam or grease 2 loaf pans -OR- a 2 quart baking dish.
•  Cover the bottom with a generous amount of crushed crackers.
• Spoon a good layer of the oyster and corn mixture over the crackers. 
• Add another layer of crackers and another layer of the oyster and corn mixture and top with a layer of crackers.
• Bake on a cookie sheet -just in case- for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the center is set. During baking the scallop will rise up high! As it starts to cool, it will sink back down.

Now, throw on some Cajun Mardi Gras music and enjoy your creation with some buttery garlic french bread! Mmmm!

The Dessert Menu:

King Cake is the traditional Mardi Gras dessert. It's a pastry (sometimes a layered cake) shaped in a circle usually with a preferred filling of cinnamon & pecans or sweetened cream cheese, bavarian custard or fruit and elaborately decorated in the colors of Mardi Gras, green, purple and gold. A tiny, toy baby is tucked inside -after baking- so that the person who finds Baby Jesus is the King of that Mardi Gras celebration and brings the King Cake, next year. There is much symbolism in this dessert as it used to remember the 3 kings looking for the Christ Child. Circular for the path the kings took so Herod could not find Jesus. And, of course, the Baby Jesus is found by the seeker.

2-on-Tuesday: Red Beans & Rice

(Yes, I know the rice is vibrant green. I dyed it during
the cooking process for St. Patrick's Day!)

Why would I ever order red beans and rice at a restaurant when it can be easily made at home for a great deal less? Well, I would never and nor should you.

Growing up in Louisiana, a pot of red beans is to the local as a pot of pinto beans is to...um... well, uh...to somebody else...elsewhere. My plant-based journey has me altering favorite recipes for healthier nutrition for my heart and waistline. When Terry and I met, he was a basic Tex-Mex and meat-and-potatoes Oklahoman. However, with some reservation his palate was introduced to Southern fare and Cajun cooking. And, he loved it!

Then, what do I do? I go change everything! Vegetarian this, vegan that. New words like soy, seitan, quinoa, nooch are added. What? No meat?!

Here's my slightly changed version using Tofurky Polish Kielbasa. My grocer did not carry the Tofurky Andouille Sausage, which I would have preferred.

Red Beans & Rice

1 (1 lb) bag of dried Red Kidney Beans, rinsed
1 large Onion, diced
2-3 cloves Garlic, minced
Salt, to taste
1 package Tofurky Polish Kielbasa links, sliced or diced (I chose
**optional: Green Bell Pepper, diced
**optional: Louisiana Hot Sauce
Rice

• Rinse and drain the beans and add to a large pot.
• Cover beans with water.
• At this point, you can either bring to boil, turn off heat and let set all day to overnight, pour off water, cover with fresh water and cook accordingly -OR- you can bring to boil and proceed to the next step.
• Once you start cooking the beans, add onions and garlic and salt. Don't over salt.
• You'll need to keep tabs on the water level making sure the beans don't run dry and scorch. I like to keep adding water so there is enough seasoned "pot liquor" my serving of beans can be soaked into some cornbread!
• When the beans have cooked for almost 2 hours or are tender, add the Tofurky Polish Kielbasa (or Andouille) and cook until heated through.
• Serve over a helping of cooked rice or cornbread!
• It's at this point you would add a dash or two of spice.

This offers we vegetarians or mostly-plant-based eaters a good helping of protein balanced out with carbs. 

2-on-Tuesday Recipes: PECANS!

Pecans are the South's favorite tree nut. The pecan groves or orchards of the deep, Dirty South are gorgeous with neat rows of gnarly ancients standing guard. Occasionally you will see the breeze catch Spanish Moss hanging from branches looking like the eerie setting from an old movie.

I've never made a pecan pie. There's no need because at Christmas, my sister-in-law, Renae Allen-Elmore, makes a mean pie loaded with pecans! Sometimes, there's one for me with chocolate chunks added! 

Dane using
Pappau's gadget

My "Pappau," W. A. Chisholm, would go out toward Monroe, Louisiana, to either "shake and pick up" Paper Shell Pecans or, as he got older, purchase a brown paper sack full. A carpenter by trade, he constructed a nut cracker out of machine parts and would sit for hours cracking pecans. Pappau was a master artist when it came to skillfully pulling the meat out in one whole piece! My family still uses his little invention.

Spiced or Frosted Pecans

1 cup      Sugar
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp       Cinnamon
1/4 tsp   Salt
1 tsp       Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 cups Pecan Halves

• Combine first four ingredients in saucepan cooking over medium heat until candy thermometer reads 232 degrees OR until mixture spins a thread
• Remove from heat and add vanilla and pecans
• Stir until pecans are coated and mixture begins to seize (crystalize) or look creamy
• At this point, you decide to keep stirring or tumble the coated pecans onto a cookie sheet

If the weather is humid or rainy, you can slide the coated pecans on the cookie sheet into a 350 degree oven. Don't leave! You'll have to babysit the pecans so they don't scorch. Break pecan clumps up with a wooden spoon or fork.

Cajun or Creole Roasted Pecans

3 cups   Pecan Halves
1/4 cup Butter, melted
1 Tbsp   Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp       Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

• Stir together all ingredients and spill onto a large cookie sheet
• Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes
• Blot on paper towels or newspaper

These recipes are great for gift-giving in seasonal tins or Mason jars tied with ribbon or raffia. OR...be totally selfish and keep the batch at home to enjoy watching football or movies. To purchase or for more pecan recipes, click or copy this link, http://www.louisianapecanshelling.com/,  into your browser.

~"Sam"

2-on-Tuesday: Fried Catfish & Oysters

I loved summers at my grandparents' home in Bastrop, Louisiana, because the home was full of love and food! Nannie was a great cook and showed her love by preparing all of our favorites including multiple cakes and pies. Each summer, we'd shuck corn, shell peas and have a big fish fry with all the cousins running around barefoot catching fireflies. It was my job to sit on top of a folded quilt which insulated my "seat" to hold down the hand-cranked ice cream churn. When the adults let us have a small bonfire, we'd roast marshmallows and eat one or two, but torch the rest on the ends of sticks chasing each other in a game of hide-n-seek that, now, somewhat resembled a scene from Lord of the Flies. Oh, well. Such were my summers!

3 cups  Yellow Corn Meal
S&P or Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning, to taste
2 lbs      Catfish Filets or Nuggets
1 pint    Oysters, drained
Oil  *My family uses peanut oil, but you can use Canola

• Heat oil in deep pan. I prefer cast iron.
• Combine cornmeal and seasoning. Dip wet fingertip into mixture to check taste.
• Dredge/Coat catfish in cornmeal mixture & ease into hot oil
• Tip: Don't overcrowd. Oil will bubble over onto stove creating fire hazard & a mess!
• Tip: Fish is ready when it floats to the top & is gold brown!
• Drain on newspaper...that's what Pappaw did!
• Repeat for the oysters!

One simply cannot have fried fish without fried oysters! Serve with Cheese Grits & Turnip Greens! If you hunger for a Oyster Po'boy, load a soft hoagie bun with fried oysters, lettuce and Thousand Island Dressing!

~"Sam"