I must confess that, like many of you, I always start the year off with a goal of eating lighter, but living in Acadiana–ground zero for the most amazing food culture in America–it is a daunting task. So today I am offering a compromise of sorts: These Cajun-Spiced Lettuce Cups deliver on the spicy Cajun…
Kale Caesar with Grilled Shrimp
For the past few years, fresh kale has been on a run showing up on restaurant menus all over America. Even here at my Acadiana Table, I’ve tossed it into soups, braised it in stews and served it pan sautéed as a side dish. So, this weekend I stumbled on a neat trick while making…
Blackened Brussels & Kale Salad
Ever since renowned Cajun Chef Paul Prudhomme blackened his first redfish in the 1980s, you would think that all South Louisiana folks burn just about everything they cook. Not so. But just go to any wanna-be Cajun restaurant outside of Louisiana and you’ll see a menu full of these overdone dishes. Enough already. Or well,…
Quinoa Salad with Louisiana Shrimp
I am a Whole Foods Market fanatic. Always have been. Many years ago, I trekked all the way to Houston just to walk the aisles of this foodie fantasyland. Then later, Whole Foods moved closer with the opening of the New Orleans market, and then even closer in Baton Rouge. My wife Roxanne teases that I…
Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad
Sunday nights are welcome. Rox and I stay incredibly busy most all week long, and now and then we enjoy just kicking our feet up and relaxing on a Sunday evening. It is those kinds of evenings that I stumble upon dishes and recipes like this simple Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad that otherwise would not…
Orzo, Shrimp and Kale Salad
Lately, I’ve seen orzo showing up on the Acadiana table of folks who didn’t even know it existed a few years ago. Cajun and Creole home cooks are a stubborn bunch who hold to Cajun recipe tradition more so than most cultures. But in my Orzo, Shrimp and Kale Salad recipe, this ingredient has made the…
Louisiana Seafood Salad with Creole Citrus Vinaigrette
It doesn’t get any fresher than this: Gulf shrimp and lump crabmeat combine with a zesty Creole dressing in this light Louisiana Seafood Salad with fresh coastal flavors. And it’s easy with this simple recipe. With the summer vacation season here, most of Acadiana has already packed up and headed east to white sand beaches–Gulf…
Blood Orange Salad
Blood orange. I just like the sound of it. A citrus so ripe, rich and juicy it bleeds flavor. It drips intense, acidic plasma that drains the life out of the fruit. Ok, so I’m dramatizing a bit. But, just a bit. These are orgasmic oranges with a bright and biting taste that begs for…