The name, sometimes erroneously spelled "coush-coush," sterms from the Hindi term for "pleasant." 2 cups corn mealScald meal, and salt when cool. Add baking powder and eggs. Have iron skillet piping hot, put lard in it, pour meal mixture in and allow to cook 5 minutes, scraping lightly from the bottom with a spatula. Reduce heat and place another skillet on top and steam 10 minutes longer. A treat when served with bacon or hash for breakfast.
 1/2 tbsp gelatinPeel and cream avocados; add salt, Worcestershire sauce, and onion juice. Soak gelatin in cold water. Add boiling water. When cool, pour this into cream and mayonnaise that has been well-mixed. Combine this with the avocado and turn into a mould. Chill and serve with tomatoes, lettuce hearts, or greens.
Stephen Joseph 1 small wedge Roquefort cheeseAmalgamate everything for a marvelous spread. Good on anything except vanilla ice cream.
If you're tired of instant rice with "instant" taste, this is the way out! 2 cups riceWash the rice well and put it to boil in the cold water. Stir frequently until liquid becomes starchy. Remove the rice, put it in a colander, and pour cold water through it. Then set the colander over a pot of cold water, cover, and set the whole thing over the fire. After the water comes to a boil, the rice will be thoroughly steamed with the grains separated. If you prefer, the rice may be run in the oven a moment before serving to be dryer.
2 lbs seasoned sausage meatMarinade the sausage meat with the garlic, pepper, and sage — let it stay in the refrigerator with the seasoning at least overnight. Mould into little balls, dredge in flour, and fry in deep fat or cooking oil. Remove the sausage onto a warm platter and make a roux by stirring into the grease 1 tsp of flour with the chopped onion and parsley. Serve with hominy to make one of those good old-fashioned Southern light lunches or a special Sunday breakfast.
3 lbs ground chuckMix half the spices with the meat and form into balls. Roll them in flour and brown in frying pan. Partially cook the vegetables; add to frying pan. Make a brown sauce or add beef bouillon. Add thyme to taste preference and then the remaining spices. Cook until vegetables are tender and the sauce thick.
1-1/3 cups long-grain riceCook rice according to package directions. Lightly grease a 1-1/2-qt baking dish and spread half the cooked rice in an even layer on the bottom. Cover rice with half of the grated cheese. Sauté onion in butter until lightly brown, then spread this over cheese layer and cover with remaining rice. Beat egg yolks slightly. Combine yolks, tomato soup, water, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Mix well and pour carefully over layers of rice and cheese. Bake in moderate over (350ƒ) for 30 minutes or until firm. Beat egg whites until stiff, fold in remaining cheese. Remove baking dish from oven, spoon cheese mixture into rice mixture in a circle around the edge, leaving center uncovered. Return to oven and continue baking until lightly browned — about 10 minutes. Serves 4-6.
thick bread slicesCut the crusts from the bread and spread with butter. Beat the eggs and add enough grated cheese to make a thick paste; sprinkle liberally with cayenne. Spread the paste thickly on the bread and put a slice of bacon on top. Run into the oven under the fire until golden brown, serve piping hot.
Helen Darensbourg 4 cups stock or consomme (chicken or beef)Cook the stock, chestnut paste, onion and celery salt for 10 minutes. Rub through a sieve, add cream and combine with other ingredients. Season to taste.
6 green peppersAfter removing stems, wrap peppers in a thin cloth and steam until the skin can be peeled off and they can be opened, veined, and seeded. Heat the lard in a saucepan and put into it half the onions to brown a little, then half the tomatoes, and a clove of garlic. When these have fried a bit, they are removed and the saucepan set aside, while the contents are well mixed with the potatoes and cheese, adding salt and pepper. The green peppers are stuffed with this mixture. Next, they are dusted lightly with flour and rolled in the beaten egg, then put back in the saucepan with the rest of the tomatoes, onions, and the other clove of garlic to fry. Cook gently for an hour before serving and add thick sour cream atop each portion.
K O Eckland 3 lbs ground chuck or lean beefBrown meat and add 6 tbsp chileAdd beans as desired. Simmer for at least 2-3 hours.
1 8-oz can oystersUse fresh oysters and clams, if available. However, this is an essential all-season recipe when they may not be available. Combine oysters and clams and their liquor with remaining ingredients, season to taste. Heat slowly until piping hot. Serves 4.
K O Eckland "This recipe was given to me by one of the seaplane pilots who fly from Lafayette out to the platforms in the Gulf and back. A rough. hardy lot who enjoy flying, ladies, and good Creole food — not necessarlly in that order. " large, ripe bananasRoll biscuit dough thin. Peel bananas and cut off very ends slantwise; follow that slant in cutting each banana in two. Roll each one in sugar, then cover with dough, as in a jacket. Bake in a moderate oven and serve as a vegetable or dessert.
Marge Kimzey 2 eggs beatenMix all ingredients and pour into baking dish. Cook at 325 until firm (30 to 45 minutes.)
1 doz crabsBoil the crabs with the spices and condiments. Pick off the meat and season to taste. Slice eggs and tomatoes, pour a little French dressing over them and set aside. Later, put the sliced eggs and tomatoes around the crab meat, add a bit more French dressing.
1 medium can of golden bantam cornAdd the water to the corn, put in onion, set in double boiler to cook for one hour. Make a thin cream sauce with the milk, flour and butter. Run the corn through a sieve, add the cream sauce and Tabasco, then the salt. Return to double boiler to sit until serving. Add a spoonful of whipped cream to each bowl.
1 doz medium mild onionsMince the onions fine and fry in butter until pale yeHow, add water, season to taste, and boil for one-half hour. Meanwhile, prepare in a tureen the egg yolks well-beaten. Add the soup slowly, a little at a time, beating until eggs are well mixed in the soup. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp grated cheese on each bowl at service. Serve with toasted French bread. This soup is a clear, straw-colored liquid, like thin cream, with no suspicion of onion about it.
6 crepesBeat the egg yolk well and add to it the powdered sugar to make a paste that resembles mayonnaise or even thicker. Stir the milk into the flour with melted butter and add the eggs beaten together. Mix all this and beat again. Put a generous spoonful of the mixture just off the center of each crêpe, folding over the sides and ends like a pocketbook. Run these crêpes in a hot oven until brown. They puff up like an omelette soufflé and literally melt in the mouth. To serve this Suzette-style, sprinkle them with a little powdered sugar, pour Curaçao over them, light, and let the alcohol burn a few minutes.
2 cups flourMix together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the milk slowly to form a thick paste, then add the well-beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. Add flavoring, such as lemon peel or orange peel. The crêpes should be paper-thin. Fry them until they are almost crisp, but still soft enough to roll. Sauce: Cream the butter and add sugar, grated rind of orange or lemon with some of the juice drop by drop, stirring so that the sauce does not curdle. (A little Curaçao goes well here...) Spread a spoonful of this sauce over each pancake before it is folded or rolled to be served.
K O Eckland 1 Van de Camp's French rollSet wiener to boil in water with garlic salt added. Spread mayo lightly on both halves of the roll. Place slices face up in toaster oven and remove as they just begin to tan — DO NOT toast! Put cheese on the bottom half, then return it to toaster oven and let it start to melt, but DO NOT grill it! Slice wiener lengthwise and place halves face down on cheese, so as to make a little valley in the center to hold sauerkraut. Brush top half of roll lightly with mustard, then the same with marmalade. Warm saurekraut in microwave, then add it over the wieners. Serves 1. The whole idea here is to go easy with the condiments and marmalade. Each bite will be a little different in the flavor nuances, and you can always adjust amounts later to suit your individual taste.
Mel Tormé 1 tsp lemon juiceMelt the butter, add mushrooms and pepper, and cook slowly until softened a little. Add flour and salt and mix, then the milk, slowly stirring until creamy. Add sliced eggs and stir easily until hot. Put lemon juice in as it is being taken from the stove.
2 oz Roquefort cheeseSlice eggs lengthwise, remove yolks and work them together with cheese, onions, celery, and parsley. Refill the egg cases with the mixture and press the halves together. Dip eggs into the beaten raw egg to which water has been added. Roll in bread crumbs and fry in deep fat until light brown in color. Serve at once with a tomato sauce, and garnish with a pepper ring, stuffed olives, and parsley sprigs.
3 slices bread, 2 to 3 days oldPreheat oven to 400. Trim crusts from bread, if desired, and cut diagonally to make 6 triangles. In a bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Add cream, salt, and nutmeg. Soak bread a few pieces at a time in mixture until they are thoroughly soggy. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet, then fry bread on both sides until golden brown in color. Remove bread and drain on paper towel to remove excess oil. Then place them on a baking sheet and allow to puff up in the hot oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with mapie syrup, applesauce, or currant jelly.
1-1/4 lbs top round of beef (2" thick)Cover the steak with flour, salt and pepper on both sides. Brown this in a skillet and cover with chopped onions and tomatoes that have been stewed down thick, seasoned with minced parsley, green pepper, and a little brown sugar. Pour hot water enough to cover and cook for two hours over a low fire.
prepared gritsCut sausage in 1/2-inch pieces and brown. Remove sausage, and add flour to the skillet and brown. Add water and return the sausage. Do not add salt or pepper to this. Cover and cook over low fire for 15 to 20 minutes. In the meantime, cut cold grits into 1/4" slices. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Dip slices of grits into egg mixture, then brown in lightly-buttered skillet over low fire, about 10 minutes. Serve this with sausages and pan gravy.
Stephen Joseph 1 pkg lasagna noodlesPrepare the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Grate the cheeses separately. Brown the meat and drain grease. Stir in tomato sauce, onion, spices and condiments. Then, in a deep baking dish, Dutch oven or casserole, begin layering as follows: meat sauce, noodles, cheddar cheese, meat sauce, noodles, jack cheese. Keep layers thin and repeat sequence if space is available. Bake covered for 40 minutes in a preheated oven (350ƒ).
This dish is known as "Gumbo Z'herbes," so named by black slaves who served it to their Creole masters long ago, and probably originated in the Congo jungles. It was no doubt modfied by Choctaw and Cherokee Indians in the south, using their instinctive knowledge of medicinal or "pot" herbs. Certainly many of the ingredients for this delectable concoction were obtained from the squaws who squatted with their baskets of produce at the entrance of the French market in New Orleans. most any fresh and tender greens (spinach, mustard greens, carrotWash greens thoroughly in cold, lightly salted water. Drain and strip them of stems and midribs. Put them in a large pot with enough water to barely cover them loosely packed. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Pour off water and save it. Remove greens to a wooden bowl and put the water back in the pot. Chop greens very finely, adding the herbs, savories, and salt. Chop everything once more together. Replace in simmering pot liquor, adding butter or oil, and cook slowly for about 2 hours. If desired, one may add part or the whole of a chicken, diced ham, bacon, diced fresh pork browned in butter, or fried shrimp.
Marge Kimzey 1 cup dried black-eyed peasWash peas and pick out any bad ones, add water, and let soak overnight. Then drain, saving the water. Measure 3 cups of this water and add to peas along with ham hock, onion and salt. Cover and simmer for a little over an hour, or until peas are tender and most of liquid is gone. Pick off meat from ham hock and discard bone. Add meat along with the peppers. Cook the rice according to package directions, add butter, and mix in with the peas. Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes and serve hot, preferably with fresh cornbread. Serves 6 to 8.
Allegedly so named since bits of these sizzlers were supposedly tossed to puppies during mealtimes to quiet their barking. 1 cup yellow cornmealCombine cornmeal, condiments, and baking powder. Beat the milk and egg together, and stir this into cornmeal mixture. Mix in onion and oil or bacon drippings. Drop the mixture by the teaspoonful into hot deep fat or oil and fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Keep warm in oven. Makes about 24 hush puppies. Great served with stew, soup, chowder, or fried fish. Or puppiess.
1 lb riceWash the rice and soak in cold water for two hours. Cut up the cold roast chicken (or turkey remnants) and a slice of ham: fry in a tablespoon of lard. Dry and fry raw rice after it has soaked to become slightly straw-colored. Now stir into the meat slowly, adding a pint of hot water at the same time. Add spices, cover pot, and set to cook slowly.
2 links smoked sausageCut the smoked sausages in half pieces and fry in hot lard. Add chopped onions and tomato juice. Wash rice and let it fry, stirring often. Cover liberally with with hot water and cook on a slow fire. Before serving, add chopped garlic and parsley.   |
