Lagniappe: Get some, give some

        

    Lagniappe – We know what “lagniappe” means around here, in the Cajun Capital of Texas. It’s “a little something extra.”

This promising phrase was my Dictionary.com word of the day recently and I love that the definition noted this is a “Chiefly Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas” phrase. It is defined as a “small gift given with a purchase to a customer, by way of compliment or for good measure; bonus:

·         a gratuity or tip.

·         an unexpected or indirect benefit.

 

I’ll take my lagniappe in food, thank you. But you never know when or where you’ll get some, so I’ll always be open to receiving extra blessings and treasures. And I try to give plenty of it, too.

Here’s more from the definition: “A lagniappe is a little something extra a customer receives with a purchase. It could be a brownie slipped into the takeout bag or a handwritten thank-you note. In Louisiana, giving a lagniappe is a cherished tradition that shows how small gestures can make a big impression.”

This word also means “cook book” around here. Everybody had one of those local books and I see them at estate sales even now. The following bits are from a little book of cards, bound together with rings and memories:

“Lagniappe at The Tower Club: A Collection of Menus and Recipes 1989-90” from The Junior League of Beaumont, Inc.

               My mother would often be a guest at these luncheons and enjoyed every bite and conversation. I flipped through her copy and this is some of what stood out:

October’s Menu: Chinese Nachos, Glazed Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Thai Spring Rolls, Snow Pea Salad, Monkey Bread and Grand Marnier Cake.

The Chinese Nachos are friend wantons served with a sauce made from plum jelly, mango chutney, red wine vinegar, dry mustard, Tabasco and chopped green onions.

Here’s the breakdown for Snow Pea Salad: Fresh pea pods, water chestnuts, cherry tomatoes, scallions, ben sprouts and red cabbage. Toss with vinaigrette.

January’s menu headlines with Pesto Topper and Spinach Elegante. What make the spinach so elegante? It’s a stick of butter and cream of mushroom soup.

 

                  Lagniappe: Tip on The Schooner - Jalapeno Refresher at The Schooner – Dishes I like at The Schooner could make me thirsty. Think that delicious fried seafood. I notice all the colorful adult beverages on other tables and now I know what some of those red ones could be. One of their spring cocktails is called Watermelon Jalapeno Gulf Refresher. They were willing to share a recipe that includes tequila, agave, a pinch of sea salt and one thin jalapeno slice. The Schooner has been in business since 1947. I trust them on this combo.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves to get – and give- a little something extra. Share your lagniappe with her via panews@panews.com

Italy: And now, cookies?

 

Italy: And now cookies?

Of all the reasons I’ve dreamed of traveling to Italy – scenery, history, art, pasta, wine – cookies were not topping my list.

Domenica Marchetti discovered that myriad cookies reflect the many cities and villages of this country. Good luck trying them all, but boy, would I like to give it a go. Her book is “Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region.”

There are more variates, with their own regional shapes and fillings, than could fill a grocer’s aisle. But these bites of delicious history are made in traditional bakeries and home kitchens.

I’m simply going to leave you with verbs, shapes, creatures and ingredients reflected in beautiful photographs:

Cookie verbs: Dunked, filled, dipped, spiced, rolled, rippled, candied….

Cookie shapes: Knots, kisses, rings, pockets, waffles, twists, ribbons, giant meringues…

Cookie creatures: Little snakes, snails, birds, dolls…

Cookie ingredients: Honey, almonds, wine…..

 

Wine and Whine - What the punt is going on in this book? "A Wine Lover's Guide to Parenting: The Fine Art of Wine and Whine Management" offers some lessons, and artwork of some frazzled parents and spirited children. Danielle Frank's release looks a bit like a children's book, but I'd call it more of a nod to the challenges parents face. 

 

"Don't let your child leave a bitter taste in your mouth" is Lesson 5. Acidic bite, aftertaste and astringent are words that could apply to both wine and how some kids can get a rude attitude. Skip to Lesson 9. Here it goes on to look at life through rose colored wine glasses. I've never seen anything like this one. Wine-loving grown ups are likely to learn a few new words out of this read. 

A punt, by the way, is the indentation found in the base of a wine bottle. Better wines have a deeper punt.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who remembers walls of actual cookbooks mothers collected, before the internet age. Reach her via panews@panews.com

Joy begets joy at Providence parade

Song of Solomon 2:12

 Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

 

This column is opening with Song of Solomon, as quoted on spring luncheon table cards. Women dressed in floral patterns bloomed at a “Parade of Tables” at Texas Artists Museum. The “parade” was the women circling auction baskets to support Ladies of Providence. This 18^th annual parade raised funds for local charities.

          Naturally, I noticed the foodie finds, including baskets themed around cookies, tea and even butter. A Debbie’s Delights collection was a hot topic, as were some creations dedicated to feeding the birds.

          Riverside Grill, Texas Road House, McAllister’s Deli and Jason’s Deli played roles in the luncheon, and I loved hearing how some attendees were enjoying the museum as a venue. A couple said they’d never visited before. Local art on the wall is a perk when groups rent TAM for events.

          Mary Peterson, senior pastor of Providence Church, asked attendees to “know that God is good” as she began the luncheon prayer.

          “Celebrating is something that God wants us to do,” she said.

          Celebration begets celebration, joy begets joy and laughter begets laughter was the message sent to reverberate in one’s soul.

          It’s a good time any group gathers for the benefit of others. This room full of women from Providence Church of Southeast Texas and their guests represented those who created and assembled the baskets and those who bit on them to benefit others. Peterson asked that celebrations be an ongoing way of life.

“May we be the people who notice God’s goodness, and celebrate,” Peterson said.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves hearing about clubs, churches, social groups, etc. work to support all that’s good about this area. Reach her via panews@panews.com

Stick with your seasonings. Poot does.

 

     Culinary Thrill Seeking fans, I know you hear me on this week’s topic, sticking to your seasonings. We’ve all got our favorites, and I grew up with Tony Chachere’s. I’m sentimental about anything TexJoy, made locally in Beaumont. Slap Ya Mama is big now in restaurants.

     I have a question for y’all! Where does Old Bay Seasoning fit in the Cajun Capital? I consider it a very Baltimore thing, and just researched a German immigrant developed it! I was in college when I discovered this tin. As a waitress at Bennigan’s, it was in some popular recipes. So, I’m asking if readers down here on the Gulf have incorporated it into their seafood boils, because I sure am seeing it out there.

     This, leads me to Poot, a fellow I met this week at the Cajun Heritage Festival, in the Big Doobie’s trailer. I love those little brown bags of cracklings that have just the right amount of grease spotting through. You know that’s good, and it was.

     Before social media, we didn’t always take photos of our food, but times have changed. I asked Poot if he’d mind using his scoop to move around the cracklings in a tub to show motion in a video. Poot declined, as that would tend to make his spices come off the product.

     Wel, we can’t have that. The flavor needs to stick. I respect that in a cook. Keep it up.

 

Here’s another stick-with-what works tidbit.

     I went to a covered dish and asked where can I set my corn and bean salad. A woman who had just said that the Facebook algorithm said we should be friends exclaimed that she, too, and brought a corn and bean salad. I used garbanzos and I recall she went with black beans and added avocado. The salads looked completely different.

     The next day I saw a Texas Monthly feature that corn and bean salad is a classic dish for us in the Lone Star State. Called it.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie all about the spices. Tell her your favorites via panews@panews.com

Ramen, why can't I quit you?

 

Ramen, why can’t I quit you?

It was years since I had any  in my house. It seems those dry blocks of curly noodles have risen in price since my college days. They’re still pretty cheap.

But now there are new options. They include some with oils and sauces and pictures of the Saja Boys, that cute boy band from “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” My friend has shared some with me and they are easy and fun. They could introduce young folk to cooking.

Back in the day I’d love to jazz them up by adding broccoli and topping them with nuts. It’s more satisfying and marginally more healthy that way. Ingredient label readers may get a shock by studying packaged ramen. I’ll be homemade is better for you.

Pro tip: I try to season with just half the packet of the basic brands. Less sodium, I hope.

               Someone in the house got sick a while back and that’s how the ramen got back into the house. Instead of cans of chicken noodle soup, this became the comfort food of choice. Now there is a small wall of noodle blocks on a back shelf.

               A few decades after my initial love affair with ramen noodles, I’m sharing a new list of add-ins. If you have more drop me a note to share with readers.

 

Ramen Noodle Extras:

Make your little package of basic ramen noodles go the extra mile with some of these ideas to add in or make a variation:

·       Black beans. Open a can and rinse some off to drop in your soup.

·       Shredded cabbage

·       Crack in an egg and stir.

·       Canned chicken

·       Use fish sauce instead of the included packet

·       Serve the noodles strained and with your favorite cheese melted onto the top.

·       Green onions, white onions, purple onions

·       Strain them and serve over lettuce or salad of your choice.

·       Sliced Brussel sprouts

·       Top soup or noodles with bean sprouts.

·       Hot chili oil at any stage of serving

Broth beats "The Pollening"

 

Gumbo and Asian-inspired broths are my healing meals when Southeast Texas turns dusty from pollen. Use some flavor when opening up those sinuses!

I was dealing with our pollen, then I went off and got into some other Texas allergy zones that hit hard. Here are some products that I came across just in time to flavor some broths and boost my energy:

Big Tree Farms soy and gluten free products include organic lime & ginger marinade and sauce as “two happy bedfellows for Bali Delicious cooking. Organic Original Coco Aminos upgrade veggies, tofu, etc. The Organic Less Sodium Coco Aminos use coconut flower nectar and Balinese sea salt to hit the sauce. These are new go-tos to make a meal fancy with just a few shakes.Bigtreefarms.com

Organic Vanilla Coconut Sugar is another Big Tree Farms delight that is unrefined and low glycemic, certified fair trade. I put some in a broth and will soon try these flavorful crystals over yogurt. Use it for baking and beverages and impressing guests.

Let me know what goes in your feel-better broths. Here are some ideas:

·       Rice

·       Egg: crack one whole or let it drizzle in like a stream

·       Green onions

·       Carrots, sliced super thin, in case you don’t have the energy to chew.

 

Share your garden:

I love when neighborhood ap users announce they’ve dug up something in their garden and have plenty to share. I’d texted people I was in for the night on a recent Sunday. But when monkey grass shout-out popped up, I was on the streets headed toward a grass grab. It’s always good to share!

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who travels the world through her kitchen. Share your tips via panews@panews.com

Movie Night: Spaghetti and Spaghetti Western

We love pairing movie nights to dinner themes. I may even dress the part. My husband brought home “A Fistful of Dollars” from an estate sale and that $1 purchase inspired a good time.

            We researched the background of this Clint Eastwood film, including the term Spaghetti Western, so there you go. Spaghetti became the menu. Though my husband may have preferred a red sauce, we didn’t have any. Just like our pioneer ancestors, we “made do.” An olive oil and fresh-from-the-garden herb sauce was no sacrifice at all.

Fun Fact: Clint Eastwood still has the iconic poncho from this movie and says it has never been washed.

 

Find Your Rind: Cooking with Pork Rinds – Nothing says “road trip” like a bag of pork skins. Prep ahead with Southern Recipe, who brings us “small batch” flavors including a hot honey. I took my time with this bag and it’s been “crunch time” for more than a week. Still good. This stuff is so crunchy, I ate some in a hallway so I wouldn’t be heard crunching and make anyone else jealous.

But, have you ever tried cooking with your pork rinds? This thoughtful company goes there.

The Pineapple and Ancho Chile flavor come with a recipe for Elote Street Corn. Coat your corn with these sprinkles.

With Sweet BBQ you can make Savory Pub Mix and Spicy Dill chicharrones become a tipping for Fried Green Tomatoes.

Need to work in your veggies? Make Loaded Mashed Potatoes from the recipe on the Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper bag.

Thanks for the tips, guys. We’re ready to crunch.www.southernrecipesmallbatch.com

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves to match the food to the mood. Reach her via panews@panews.com