A Word on Frozen Crab Meat

A snotty uptown socialite commented on ChowHound New Orleans that she wouldn't eat frozen crab meat if it were given to her. She probably isn't even from New Orleans or Louisiana.  She certainly did not grow up eating seafood.  Crab fishermen themselves stock their freezers with frozen hand-picked crabmeat. Then again, I don't think this lady has ever met a crab fisherman.

Look at this beautiful hand-picked (previously frozen) crab meat!

You could freeze it, throw it in the bayou, fish it back out, take it on a four-wheeler ride and it would still be one of the best tasting things you've ever had.

When I say local I don't mean some market in Kenner. I mean that I know the fisherman who pull the seafood out of the water!

The Nunez Non-Omelet Omelet

What do commercial fishing families eat besides seafood?  Well, one the Nunez favorites is what we call an egg omelet, but which is actually more of an egg scramble.  One of my favorite memories at my Maw Maw Marion and Paw Paw Butty's house in Reggio, La was joining my cousins in making a huge mess in the kitchen to assemble this concoction.  Maw Maw Marion always had hot dogs, potatoes, onions, american cheese, and eggs and we combined all of this to make a very delicious "omelet."  I actually remember when my Nanny explained to us that our dish was not an omelet. We were devastated.

In any case, it is still one of the tastiest breakfast dishes I make. I have, however, upgraded from hot dogs and american cheese, but otherwise, the dish is true to its original form.

This is how most meals start in my kitchen.

Start with equal parts of very thinly chopped potatoes, onions, and bell peppers and saute them in olive oil until the potatoes are soft. (I guess the olive oil is also an upgrade, since we used to fry our potatoes in large amounts of vegetable oil and drain them on a paper towels) Don't forget the Tony's!

I used Andouille sausage (left-over from my butter beans) to add to the mixture. You can use the breakfast meat of your choice . . . or experiment with the original recipe and use hot dogs!

Saute with sausage for about a minute then add two eggs and add your choice of cheese. I used a shredded mexican blend.

Very quickly scramble and turn fire off to avoid dry eggs, serve and enjoy!

Times-Picayune Article

Thanks to Barry Lemoine for writing the following article, which ran in the St. Bernard section of the Times-Picayune last Thursday!

"She left her law firm in the Windy Cindy to head back to the Crescent City, and now this St. Bernard native can be found each Saturday in Arabi, promoting and selling Louisiana seafood at the St. Bernard Seafood and Farmer’s Market on Aycock Street.  It’s been quite a journey for Mindy Nunez, the daughter of a third generation commercial fisherman.
Nunez, a 2001 graduate from Hannan High School, said it wasn’t until she enrolled at Louisiana Tech University that she began to appreciate her Islenos  roots.
“ My journey to North Louisiana ignited my awareness of the incredible resource St. Bernard has in its commercial fishing industry. I was only 5 hours from home, yet my access to fresh seafood was nearly cut-off. “
But while she missed her daily diet of seafood, she continued on her educational and professional track. After graduating from law school the University of North Carolina in 2008, Nunez followed her dream - practicing law in a big city, but she began to long for the taste of home.
“ Every time I went back to Chicago after a visit home I checked (at the airport) an entire ice chest of frozen fresh seafood .  I was starting to miss Louisiana seafood more and more.”
In addition to the food and her family, Nunez also missed the lifestyle of St. Bernard.
“There's no place like home, I guess. The pace of life in South Louisiana is so much more relaxed than any other city, especially Chicago. I began to truly realize the value of fresh seafood and since my dad was a commercial fisherman for most of my life and now operates a dock in Ycloskey, I realized that I had an intimate connection and access to St. Bernard's greatest resource, fresh seafood! “
Nunez said that she also wanted to do something that she was passionate about rather than doing something that was expected.
“I got tired of letting my law degree drag me around the county to advocate for something that didn't matter to me and I decided to use it to be an advocate for something I care about, selling and promoting Louisiana seafood, particularly St. Bernard seafood.“
So, now she spends much of her time and money, building her business – a challenge to be sure, but one that she welcomes.
“I went from a yearly salary, suits and briefcases, and a window office in the Sears Tower to driving a pickup in shorts and a t-shirt in the hot Louisiana sun hoping to sell enough seafood to cover my start-up expenses.  Some people think I'm crazy, but I think big rewards require taking big chances.”  
To learn more about Mindy and her Islenos roots, logon to islenosseafood.com or follow her on her blog at shrimpappeal.com"

Corn and Crab Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb white crab meat
1 chopped sweet onion
2 cups of chopped green onions
1 can of diced tomatoes and chiles
1 can of whole corn
1 can of cream corn
1 pint of half and half
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 head of chopped garlic
1 cup of broth
3/4 cup of white wine
1/2 stick of butter
olive oil
1 tbsp of liquid crab boil
creole seasoning to taste

Instructions:
1.  Saute onions in olive oil until soft.

2.  Add diced tomatoes and chiles, garlic, butter, wine, and liquid crab boil and cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.

3.  Add corn, crab meat and broth and cook for another 3 minutes on high heat.

4.  Reduce heat and slowly mix in half and half and parmesan cheese. Do not bring to a boil.

5. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

**Every time I make this soup, I consider adding chopped artichoke hearts, so feel free to add those to the recipe.

Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant

This recipe is for CMP and his notoriously Italian palate!

Ingredients:

4 eggplants

1 sweet onion

3 celery stalks

2 bell peppers

5 garlic cloves

1 lb peeled shrimp

½ cup of Italian breadcrumbs

Creole seasoning to taste

Olive oil

Instructions:

1.  Peel two eggplants and gut two eggplants keeping the skin intact for stuffing. 

NOTE:  I used various types of eggplants I picked up at a specialty produce booth at the farmer’s market. I used the longer thinner eggplants to gut and stuff.

2.  Chop eggplant meat into cubes and sauté in olive oil with chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and creole seasoning

3.  When eggplant begins to soften add garlic, shrimp, and breadcrumbs.

            NOTE:  I had pretty large shrimp, so I cut them in half.

4.  Cook until mixture is a mushy consistency.

5.  Use intact eggplant skins to create boats and stuff with mixture.

6.  Cover and bake eggplants until outer skin is soft.

I garnished with parmesan cheese and pepper jelly, which I thought only detracted from the dish. I was in an experimental mood and overly anxious to use everything I bought at the market.  

 

I also whipped up this okra and tomatoes side dish, but I could not tell you what I put in here. Maybe next time.

Crab Dip

I recently had a bunch of white crab meat orders, so here is my favorite crab dip recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb white crab meat
5 cloves chopped garlic
3 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of chopped green onions (sometimes I use a combo of sweet onions and green onions)
1/2 cup of white wine
1 pack of cream cheese
1/2 tsp of crab boil
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
creole seasoning to taste

Instructions:
1.  Sauté garlic and green onions in white wine, butter, and crab boil for 2 minutes.
2.  Add crab meat, cream cheese, parmesan cheese and creole seasoning and cook until uniform consistency.
3.  Serve hot with crackers or tortilla chips.

**CC might want to use this to stuff her mushrooms!

Corn Poblano Seafood Soup

Many of you know that I do not cook with recipes or measure ingredients, but I'm making a new effort to write things down as I cook! Here is what I came up with for Corn Poblano Seafood Soup:

Ingredients:
olive oil
2 cups of diced potatoes
1 1/2 cups of diced sweet onions
1 1/2 cups of diced green onions
3 diced poblano peppers
3 diced jalapeno peppers (obviously use your discretion with regard to your personal tolerance for spice)
2 cups of sweet corn
4 dashes of worcestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
5 chopped cloves of garlic
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 cup of broth
2 cups of milk
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
creole seasoning to taste
3 cups of either crab meat, diced shrimp, or both
1 cup of diced Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1.  Sautee potatoes, onions, green onions, poblano peppers, and jalapeno peppers with creole seasoning in olive oil until potatoes are soft.
2.  Add garlic, corn, broth, seafood, parsley, worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
3.  Reduce heat and cover.
4.  In a separate pan heat 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of parmesan cheese, do not bring to a boil.
5.  Slowly stir milk and cheese into the soup and cook on low heat for 25 minutes.
6. Garnish with diced Roma tomatoes and shredded parmesan cheese.

The St. Bernard Difference

St. Bernard, originally the Islenos settlement of La Conception, lies on the east side on the Mississippi River. This is significant for those of us who like to eat shrimp for this reason:  the 30 miles of inside water and marsh on the east side of the river create a habitat for shrimp different from that on the west side of the river. The inside waters affect the shrimp's diet; therefore, the shrimp harvested in St. Bernard do not have an iodine taste. Many people may not notice the difference, but three generations of commercial fishing families in St. Bernard will swear by it. Know where your shrimp are harvested. I only sell St. Bernard shrimp at www.islenosseafood.com.

My dad unloading shrimp off the boat in Ycloskey.

St. Bernard shrimping vessel.