Louisiana Cookin'

HIGH SUMMER is a volatile time in the Bayou State. The seasonal joys of oversize crabs, spicy shrimp boils, and refreshing sno-balls are tempered by the heat and specter of intense weather. It’s part of the joie de vivre, I suppose, of living in Loui

We all recognize the fast-food signs that dot highway exits, but at the I-10 exit in Gonzales, there’s a new quick food stop that doesn’t sacrifice fresh ingredients for time. Big Bad Bites is the latest concept of Cory and Kaitlin Hebert, owners of

MARINATED CRAB CLAWS are one of the ultimate Louisiana summer starters. They’re easy to prepare, can be set up ahead of time, and, perhaps best of all, have a sense of simple luxury to them. This version is easy and adds a delightfully sweet and spic

TOMATOES AND FRESH HERBS are a summertime medley of flavors we all look forward to in the warmer months. Regarded as one of the South’s favorite garden vegetables, tomatoes add sweetness and acidity to a dish, enhancing its flavors. And because herbs

HERE IN THE BAYOU STATE, we do desserts and we do them well. Doberge cake is just one of the sweet treats we’re famous for these days, but it may also be one of the most beloved. In 1933, New Orleans pastry chef Beulah Levy Ledner invented the origin

NEXT TO CHRISTMAS MORNING, summer is the sweetest time in a boy’s life. Growing up on River Road in St. James, the possibilities were endless. With the June Rise, the bar pits were overfilled with water, trapping fish of all sizes in these 6- to 8-fo

Chef Jamie Harson Scratch Farm Kitchen 406 Garfield St.• Lafayette 337.296.2364 WHEN JAMIE HARSON started cooking breakfast under a tent at the local farmers’ market, she never anticipated one day owning a downtown Lafayette restaurant that drew line

MAKES 6 Hot beef sausage is a New Orleans treasure but can be difficult to find outside the city. You’ll love this spicy version. 6 large eggs¼ teaspoon kosher salt⅛ teaspoon ground black pepperNew Orleans-Style Hot Sausage (recipe follows)6 slices C

MAKES 6 SERVINGS The fried eggplant “pirogue” was made famous by Chef Paul Prudhomme. We loved it back then, and we love it now! 3 Japanese or small eggplantsVegetable oil, for frying1¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided1 tablespoon Creole seasoning1 cu

MAKES 6 (photo on page 46) Inspired by the French kouign amann (pronounced “kween ah-mahn”), these are as easy as they are satisfying. 1 cup chopped peeled fresh peaches¼ cup granulated sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract½ (17.3-ounce) package frozen puf

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS Enjoy the Cajun spiced corn you love at a crawfish boil without having to cook up all that other seafood. 12 cups water¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon crawfish, shrimp, and crab boil, divided1 lemon, quartered5 ears sweet corn, shucked an

Is there anything better than a piece of crispy, golden-brown fried chicken? Short answer: not likely. We all know that it plays a pivotal role in our region’s culinary story as well as the cuisine we serve today. Louisiana-born national chains—inclu

SUMMERTIME HAS ALWAYS felt nostalgic for me. I still remember the excitement of swimming in a cheap kiddy pool on a hot summer day. It was the simple things that mattered most. Growing up, my family didn’t have much. My dad was a grocery store manage

ON THE HOT AND HAZY DAYS in Louisiana high summer, icebox pies like this one are a joyful respite. They’re simple, full of flavor, and don’t require much time in the oven (we do love a crisp crust, so we had to give it a little time baking). Fresh Ke

IS THIS RECIPE a shrimp boil? No, it is not. Does this recipe taste like a shrimp boil? Yes! Packed with sweet, tender Louisiana shrimp and a bountiful host of mix-ins (including andouille, potatoes, mushrooms, and more), this indoor weeknight versio

MASON HEREFORD GREW UP in a region of rural Virginia with country-style convenience stores dotted along his family’s morning school runs. Over-the-counter eats like sausage biscuits and turkey-and-cheese sandwiches from those stores stood out to him

IF THERE’S HEAT AND HUMIDITY, there’s going to be okra. Fortunately for us Louisianans, okra thrives in our wet climate, making it a staple ingredient in Southern cooking. Whether fried, stewed, or thrown into a gumbo, there’s always a way to put thi

SUMMERTIME is for sweets, and if hummingbird cake isn’t making an appearance at your parties and potlucks this time of year, then you and your loved ones are surely missing out. Its fans serve up slice after slice for any occasion or celebration, but

THE CORPSE BRIDE is one of the first cocktails I did when I got here to the Southern Hotel as beverage director. I wasn’t particularly happy with the Champagne cocktails we were doing, and I wanted to create a riff on the old-school cocktail: the Cor

Chile-Lime Crab Claws 27 Creamy Pesto Shrimp 60 Fried Eggplant Sticks 74 Prosciutto-and-Cantaloupe Canapés 52 Tomato-Shrimp Shooters 33 Corpse Bride 94 Minty Melon Mojitos 71 Spicy Watermelon Margaritas 52 Asian Pear Crisp 51 Doberge Cake 37 Hummingb