Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Next up on our photography workshop (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com) was a cooking class. I didn’t know what to expect as we waited in the store part of the School of Cooking. I did see some interesting books, spices and goods.
We went into the class, in which were round tables with place settings. Things were looking up when they brought us a beer. Our instructor was Harriete, a little lady loaded with personality and local knowledge. She first made corn and crab bisque and gave served us a bowl which was excellent. Although I had heard the term, roux, I didn’t really know what it was. This one was butter and flour and took maybe 15 minutes to make. She emphasized staying with it, stirring or it would burn and you would have to start over. She used Joe’s Stuff seasoning, claw crab meat, chopped green onion, corn and parsley.
Next up was Chicken Étouffée. I had already seen that Étouffées were a common thing. One might have a fish covered with crawfish Étouffée. I learned that an Étouffée is dish of shellfish simmered in sauce made from a roux, usually served over rice. Rice, Harriette told us, was brought by Africans to the area, and it grew well here. She made here dark roux with butter, flour Joe’s Stuff seasoning with onions, celery, green pepper and garlic. It was another excellent dish.
In another pot she heated chicken stock, added it to the roux gradually, cooked 10 minutes, added chicken for 30 minutes adding green onions and parsley and served over rice.
Then she was on to making pralines, a signature desert in New Orleans. I learned it is pronounced “prahlines”, like you are having your throat examined by a doctor.
Harriette was a treat. You just wanted to give her a big hug!
We went back to the hotel for some quiet time, well actually to upload our images and edit them before venturing out to dinner. We walked most places, which is always interesting. The more I walked the streets, the more interesting it became – the people, the street art, the ever-present music and the shops.
We couldn’t get into Superior Seafood, so we went to Carmo where our Cemetery guide, Taylor, used to work. It was quite good.
