Cajun Recipes for my anniversary?

Traditional Cajun recipes would include Turduckins (duck breast stuffed in a chicken stuffed in a turkey) & stuffed chickens. (Both are traditional French recipes long forgotten but rediscovered here in creole & cajun country)

With either, you would first de-bone the bird or ask your local butcher to do it for you(except for the wings), season the interior, then stuff with your choice of dressing. I like to stuff my birds with crayfish etoufee, Jambalaya(my favorite), dirty rice, Boudin, or something more "american" say Broccoli & Cheese rice casserole. Then I like to cook my bird in a clay pot.(I know that you can get your hands on a clay pot for sure in Italy!) Take root vegetables (potatoes, onions, shallots, carrots' parsnips) & some mushrooms & place them on the bottom of the clay pot. Add a good full bodied red wine like Cabernet, merlot, sangiovese, granache or pinot noir (not chianti!) to the bottom to give a good flavor & add moisture. Place chicken on top of vegetables. Add fresh rosemary, garlic, sage & thyme then season appropriately with sea salt & fresh ground pepper. Cook at 375 for about 1 hour (get a meat thermometer)

DON'T FORGET TO SEASON THE INSIDE OF THE BIRD BEFORE STUFFING!!!!

Remove the bird onto a large cutting board & let cool for 10 minutes. Then with an extremely sharp knife slice the bird from side to side. This should create "Roulades" which should look like a meat circle filled with the stuffing. Season to taste & enjoy a true masterpiece!

For dessert make a white chocolate bread pudding complemented with a whiskey sauce.(recipe on the internet for bread pudding. Just add white chocolate!)

Or go for Bananas Foster

I am a manager at a Cajun Specialty Meat market & we sell about 1000 stuffed chickens every month. For more cooking instructions & ideas go to stuffedfoodstores.com

Because I think that you are in italy here are some leads on some prepackaged products that you can order; Zatatrains Jambalaya(the best), Tony Chaches creole seasonings. Paul Prudhommes seasonings (incredible)

Good Luck & happy anniversary.

Cajun Onion Bloomers Recipe courtesy Paula Deen Show: Paula's Home Cooking Episode: Ball Game Peanut oil, for frying 4 large onions Beer Batter, recipe follows Cajun seasoning, optional Ranch dressing, optional Fill a large cast iron Dutch oven with enough peanut oil to completely cover an onion by 1-inch. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F over medium heat. Slice top tip of onions off, but do not disturb the root end and gently peel off outer skin. With a paring knife, starting 1/2- inch from the bottom of the onion, slice down to top of onion and continue at 1/4-inch intervals until onion is sliced all the way around (like a mum flower). Gently shake each onion to open the "petals" more. Gently pick up onion and spoon batter onto onion ensuring every part is coated, then gently allow to drain slightly. Carefully place onion root side down into the pan of hot oil and allow it to cook until light brown in color, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove onion with a slotted spoon and use a knife to pull apart petals that are stuck together. Place onion back into the oil but this time top side down. When the onion turns golden brown, about 5 minutes, remove it with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining onions. Shake onions with Cajun seasoning and serve with ranch dressing as a dipping sauce. Beer Batter 2 1/2 cups beer 2 cups all-purpose flour Pinch Cajun seasoning Pinch salt Whisk together beer, flour and seasonings; let sit on the counter for several hours.

Cajun chicken nuggetts: Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces, have an egg wash bowl, and a flour mix bowl with flour and Tony's Tachere's seasoning. Dip chicken into egg wash and than flour and around again if you like heavy batter. Fry in vegetable oil. After all cicken is fried, pour out grease and strain the grease with a fine strainer, you will be left with the drippings, add to a skillett with milk, and make a gravy constantly stirring, at this point add a little more flour and cajun seasoning to get the right spicy flavor and thickness. Cook whit rice and serve in a bowl with white rice and chicken nuggetes and the gravy poured over.

Another good one is BBQ Shrimp: Get 4 pounds of shrimp with head on, set aside. In a large cast iron skillet, add a sticke of butter, fresh cloves of garlic sliced, a lemon sliced and tossed in, Chef Paul Purdones seafood magic about a tablespoon, a dash of cayenne, 1/2 cup of wisthershire, and a whole can of beer. Bring to a boil, addshrimp, tun off heat and put lid on for one minute than stir add lid one more minute. Serve over yellow rice with extra sauce so you can dip fresh hot french bread in bowl.

http://www.cajun-recipes.com/

It's a family website.

8 to 10 medium potatoes

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1 pound process American cheese, cubed

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 pound cooked bacon, sliced

3/4 cup ripe olives, sliced

Chopped parsley

Season to taste

Paprika

Peel the potatoes; place in a sauce pan and cover with water. Cook until tender but firm; drain and cube. In a bowl, mix potatoes with onions, cheese and mayonnaise. Transfer to an ungreased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with bacon and olives. Crumble bacon and slice olives. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley and paprika.

Serves 8-10

Yum!

The easiest thing to make that would be mighty tasty would be a seafood boil up

Ingredients:

At least a gallon of water in a big pot

4 ears of corn chopped into thirds

1 pound new potatoes

1 pound smoked sausage

2 pounds shrimp, crawfish, or crab

Seasoning:

Salt to taste

A bag of Zatarain’s crabboil or ½ cup Old Bay Seasoning

Holy Trinity (diced green peppers, onions and celery)

Juice of one lemon

Instructions:

1. Add seasonings to water and boil.

2. Add potatoes to pot and cook for 15 minutes.

3. Add sausage to pot and cook for 5 minutes more

4. Add corn to pot and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add seafood to pot and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Let sit for 3 minutes, pour off excess water, and serve in bowls with crusty French bread or cornbread on the side.

For drinks, beer really goes best but you could make hurricanes. For dessert have bananas foster, beignets, bread pudding, or pralines.

Other good options would be crawfish etouffee, dirty rice, boudin, jambalaya, gumbo (really a top choice), red beans and rice, oysters bienville, or even just really spicy deep fried seafood.

Here are a bunch of cajun recipes that are authentic and relatively easy to make - http://www.gourmet-living.com/category.html?catego...

look up how to make Gumbo, Jambalaya, Boudin, and Beignets.

Figure it out.