Destinations Diva

Our Cajun tradition is to make sure that nobody is hungry after our holiday meals.  This usually means too much leftovers!  Not a bad problem to have but we do get tired of them after the first day so I'm always thinking of ways to reinvent leftovers.  After Christmas this year, we had leftover baked ham, veggies from a veggie tray and some sliced pork roast with gravy.   One of my favorite comforting recipes for reusing leftover pork is lentil soup.  The flavors go so well together.  We're having a little cold snap here in south Louisiana so soup is ideal!  I use red lentils because their flavor and color is so much brighter. I used dried herbs because I was just using what I had in the house so no need for a special trip to the  grocery. Here's my lentil soup recipe: After the Holiday Lentil Soup 1 package red lentils 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or any oil you prefer) 1 onion, diced 2 sprigs celery, di...

So I'm a Cajun.  I grew up in a small town southwest Louisiana which is the rice growing capital of the United States.  Traditional Cajun cuisine has rice every with almost every meal (rice in scrambled eggs is a thing).  We eat rice with gravy, rice in our dressing (better known as dirty rice), rice with gumbo, and lots of rice casseroles. But, I'm trying to pare down the carbohydrates in my diet without losing flavor.  This means getting creative with my ingredients and making substitutions.  The most obvious is finding a substitution for white rice.  One of my family's favorite dishes is jambalaya.  Jambalaya is dish with meat or seafood with rice and, of course, the Trinity--onions, bell pepper and celery.   So, here's what I've come up with--Cauliflower Rice Jambalaya.  Here's what you need to get started.  I find prepping ingredients in advance makes everything easier.   As far as the caulifl...

Every once in a while, I come across an old recipe and I get really excited.  Growing up in the heart of Acadiana (Cajun Country), rice is served with every meal.  Thus, the popularity of automatic rice cookers.  Crawfish boils are also happen every weekend in the Spring.  The little mudbugs are so popular that you can buy packaged cleaned crawfish tails by the pound at most grocery stores.  This is the easiest recipe with the best results.  It's very similar to jambalaya so feel free to substitute smoked sausage, shrimp or chicken for the crawfish tails. Note:  It's because of this recipe, that I often add a can or 2 of mushrooms with the liquid to my jambalaya.  Try it sometime! Cajun Rice Cooker Crawfish Pilaf Serves 6 (or 4 hungry Cajuns) 1 cup raw long grain rice 1 stick butter, melted 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 bell pepper, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 can beef broth 1 small can sliced mushrooms with liqu...

I wasn't always a Marvel fan but after developing a healthy obsession with Universal Orlando and Thor (or should I say, Chris Evans), I'm quickly becoming one.  I am fascinated with the films based on Marvel characters and though I would not classify myself on the same level as some Marvel enthusiasts, I enjoy looking up each character and their comic book history on the interwebs.  It's a scientific fact that colors evoke strong psychological responses.  Did you ever notice that fast food restaurants almost always use the color red in a major way because it enhances appetite while blue can suppress appetite? As guests first view Marvel Super Hero Island at  Universal's Islands of Adventure , a rush of color hits you in the face with a superhuman force!  This "island" of villains and heroes is a feast for the eyes with a multitude of vivid colors.  Towering classic Marvel comic artwork is almost too much for a guest's mind to...

Some people may not know that I'm an artist as well as writer and cook.  I was just back home on a visit to Lafayette and while there, my brother showed me a few old window screens which he said may have come from an old house across the street from ULL's campus.   There happens to be two old houses which have windows this size on the corner of University and Johnston. Fun fact: our dad's office at USL (at that time) was right across the street from these houses about 35 years ago. So I wanted to do an art project with the old screens.  I love the rustic vintage quality and the peeling paint. The problem was that they were just a little too large.  No problem though because brother Dave cut the bottom off for me.   I love the old latches so I made sure they were on the outside. Then I got to work on brushing and scraping off the excessively chipping and peeling paint. This kind of job is bad for a manicure! ...

After the  extreme winter we've had in Louisiana this year, crawfish, our usual favorite seafood during the Lenten season is not too prevalent and the prices have sky-rocketed!  Have no fear, though because shrimp can be found virtually everywhere!  This recipe cuts down on the fat by cutting the amount of butter and substituting evaporated milk for the heavy cream.  Don't worry, the creaminess comes through the use of the silky "milk" of the freshly cut corn.  I like to boil the cut ears of corn in the soup base to get all of that starchy goodness! Cajun Shrimp Corn Bisque       Cajun cooking is the local cuisine of South Louisiana but it's rooted in elements from many influences.  When the Acadians settled in the marshes of south Louisiana, they married their French style of cooking with local ingredients--corn (m aise) from the native Americans and seafood from the surrounding bodies of water.  This classic r...

EASY CRAWFISH BISQUE Crawfish bisque was originally created because of an over abundance of crawfish at harvest time.  Many families have a tradition of using their first “boil” of crawfish for the bisque.  The crawfish tails were pealed for the bisque and the heads reserved.  A traditional bisque is garnished with stuffed crawfish “heads.” The heads are cleaned and stuffed with a crawfish stuffing.  To make this dish easier, we use packaged cleaned crawfish tails and make crawfish balls or “boulettes” instead of stuffed heads. Crawfish ball ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound cleaned crawfish tails 1/2 cup bread crumbs plus extra 1 finely chopped onion 1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped 1 rib celery, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning 2 eggs Bisque ingredients: 1/2 cup flour 1/3 cup vegetable oil 2 pounds cleaned crawfish tails 1 medium on...