You know what I did yesterday?
Spent time in therapy.
Not the kind where you go and lie on a couch and pay someone $100 an hour to listen to you ramble on about your childhood.
But this kind …
I baked. For three hours, I baked.
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Magic Cookie Bars
Chocolatey Chocolate-Chip Cookies
Something about baking makes me feel fulfilled (when I don’t screw it up). Must be something about the creating part of it and the finished project being a masterpiece of yumminess.
I actually wanted to make one more cookie … a wedding cookie with chocolate chips, but can you believe I ran out of butter? No butter. So, I had to stop.
All this to say, Christy from Southern Plate (a cooking blog I follow because of the good, practical, down-home, delicious recipes she provides) asked me … Mama Belle … to do a guest post. So, here I am, thinking … “What in the heck am I gonna cook?” Well, a Cajun dish, of course.
So, in my quest for a really good Cajun recipe to share, I’d like to take requests. Is there some sort of Southern or Cajun dish that you would like a good recipe for? Most of the Cajun recipes I love include crawfish, but I’m not sure how easily some of you Northerners can get that. So, what else? Etoufee’? Shrimp? Crab? Fish? Jambalaya? Gumbo? (I don’t make great gumbo, so say NO to that one.) Bisque? Okra? Sweet potatoes? Pralines? I could go on and on. The possibilities are endless.
I’m going to have to admit… I’ve never even heard of some of those things. But now that I’ve read your post I’m going to spend the first day of my fall break baking!
You can send those pumpkin bars right over to me! :>)
I ate my first crawfish last week. Sorry to say I was not impressed. So we northerners can get our hands on them IF we want too. I think most of us are a bit scared to try. My summary of eating a crawfish was, if I was served them at someone’s house or I was in a foreign country I could eat them and not puke, but I don’t think I would ever choose to eat them myself. Of course if I had YOUR recipe maybe everything would be completely different, but I don’t think I will buy them just to check out your recipe. Sorry!
I was gonna request the gumbo but Oh well, I’ll pass. Anyway, you’re right about crawfish. I can’t even get crawfish in SC and I we are Southern through and through. That is the one major thing I miss about living in LA. A good Crawfish boil.
Isn’t baking therapy the best kind? I do the same thing when I’m stressed – Magic Cookie Bars are my favorite!!!
One of my favorite cajun dishes is Tasso Sauce Picante. Oh my. Slap ya Mama good, and I don’t even know what that means. It’s so simple and so, so delicious. I may have to make it soon…
Also, this makes you almost famous. I’m just proud to know you.
Ooh, those all look so yummy!
Thanks for the link to the Southern Plate blog, can’t wait to check it out.
I would love to see a sweet potato recipe, since it’s about the only thing out of all of what you mentioned that I can get up here. My goodness, when I go back home to Texas in the spring it’s all I’m going to do is eat… LOL
Hi I am a northerner who happens to LOVE crawfish and LOVE shrimp Etoufee! I have been reading your blog LOVE it too! I am full of love today.. anyway I live up here in Iowa not far from Sarah(Life in the Parsonage). We have a winter home in Texas, winter here is too harsh. Thing I love the most about the south is the food!
Thanks for sharing your life with us. You are an inspiration to me!
Tara Dewey, Waverly IA
Hi I am a northerner who happens to LOVE crawfish and LOVE shrimp Etoufee! I have been reading your blog LOVE it too! I am full of love today.. anyway I live up here in Iowa not far from Sarah(Life in the Parsonage). We have a winter home in Texas, winter here is too harsh. Thing I love the most about the south is the food!
Thanks for sharing your life with us. You are an inspiration to me!
Tara Dewey, Waverly IA
Why Jambalaya, des tartes D'ecreuvisse, & file gombo of course! *S* How bout a good bread pudding recipe? We went tot his Cajun restaurant in SC and they the most wonderful bread pudding and I hate bread pudding. It was laced with some kind of alcohol and oh.my.word was it ever the best thing! I've never had anythign Cajun that I liked. It alwyas ends up tasting like somethign from a box even when someone makes it from scratch. I don't know what they're using. Must be the wrong seasoning or maybe I just don't like Cajun food – could that be?? I can't wait to see what recipe you give 'cause I'll try it.
I vote for bisque. What kind do you make? The only kind I’ve ever had was lobster bisque and it was sooo good. Look at you, all famous with your guest blog post! Can’t wait to see what you do.
This Northern gal is clueless about a lot of those dishes! (Do any of those recipes include cheese or beer?;0) I say go for something REALLY southern so I can learn a thing or two!
Jambalaya sounds good.
It would be therapy for me to sit and eat some of those sweet treats you baked. Looks yummy.
Ok, Belle,
By the comments today, I’m thinkin’ we need to start a Cajun Cooking Blog. These people don’t know what they’re a missin’ You made me drool. Not kiddin’
God Bless.
Anyone can get crawfish now. The Vietnamese ship them over by boatloads.
The question is would they be brave enough to try the crawfish?
You could always do something like pralines or something like that. That’s very southern. 🙂
my favorites are chicken & sausage gumbo, crawfish etoufee and boiled crawfish. but, since you have disqualiifed them all, I have an awesome recipe for a three layer chocolate cake with chocolate ganache icing and praline poured on top. It is the best thing you've ever seen or eaten. Also, Doug's grandma's recipe for Sweet Potato Crunch. very popular.
K I know nothing about Cajun dishes…so when we meet I am requesting that okay?
OH and THANKS for the gift card…I received it in the mail yesterday! I am SO disappointed about the perfume bottle but maybe you can give it to someone less fortunate then I? lol!
Your handwriting is beautiful though! 🙂
Holly,
Yum. I want both of those recipes.
Shelle,
I found the top to the perfume. I will be sending it, but I think I deleted your email with your address in it. Can you email me again?
Those all look SO yummy.
I may as well glue them all to my butt because that’s where they’d go if I ate them all.
(don’t you just love my positive outlook. Just got back from shopping and trying on clothes.)
OK first, I need those pumpkin bars. Have your people call my people and they will get them for me. The ones you baked. I need to sample!! As for a receipe…Etoufee or Bisque is always a good one to go with. I have family up north and when I first made Etoufee, they were like what is that and how do you say it!
Ooh – something like sweet potatoes and greens…that sounds goooood!
Oh YUM! The pumpkin bars look great. Shoot, all of it looks great! My kind of therapy.
I am so excited and on pins and needles!!!!
~plays jeopardy music~
What will she make?
hehe