The Mayfair Witches Kitchen

New Orleans is famous not only for its French Quarter and the Cafe Dumonde, but also for its unique recipes, prompting comedian Jeff Foxworthy to joke that people from Louisiana are "rednecks with HOT SAUCE on 'em!"

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings Prep Time: 15 Min Cook Time: 1 H & 30 M Total Time: 1 H & 45 M

1/4 pound bacon, chopped

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup diced ham, optional

1 pound dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and picked through

2 quarts room temperature chicken stock, water or a combination

2 pounds meaty smoked pork hocks

2 jalapenos, ribs and seeds removed and chopped, or to taste, optional

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning, or to taste, optional

2 small bay leaves

Additional stock or water, as needed

In a tall stockpot cook the bacon until done but not crisp; add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the rendered bacon fat and cook just until tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.

Add ham and cook until lightly browned.

Add black-eyed peas, cook and stir for 2 minutes, then begin to add the stock or water slowly, stirring in a little at a time; bring to a boil.

Add pork hocks, jalapenos, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and bay leaves.

Reduce to a medium simmer and partially cover, cooking for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until peas are tender and creamy. Add additional chicken stock or water only if necessary to slightly thin out.

Remove pork hocks and pull any meat off the bone; return to peas. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve over hot cooked rice. Add a side of some Southern Skillet Cornbread. If serving for New Years, don't forget to eat your cabbage or greens too!

Author: Deep South Dish

New Years Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas - Deep South Dish

New Year's Black-Eyed Peas - The Curry Mommy

Crawfish Etouffee Recipe Two

Ingredients:

1/2 cup roux*

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

1 small can diced rotel tomatoes

2 cups water

3 lbs of cleaned crawfish meat

1 tsp. each salt, pepper, garlic powder

dash of cayenne

1 cup finely chopped green onion tops for garnish

Preparation:

Make a roux by browning "slowly" in a small iron skillet ...1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup flour until it is dark brown. Do not rush this. Add chopped white onions and bell pepper. Next add rotel tomatoes, water and seasoning. Stir very well over medium high heat. Cover and reduce to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add crawfish tail meat.... and raise heat to a slow boil. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. Take off the heat , Cover and let set while you cook a pot of white rice. (About 3 cups of raw rice, 6 cups water, salt, and butter )Serve over the 'cooked' white rice and garnish each bowl with green onion. This is so good with garlic bread and potato salad or cole slaw. I like to offer hush puppies also. A lemon pie makes a good desert with this dish. Ohhhh yiyi!

Oven Temp: N/A

Created By: Mawmaw, Annie Ledet

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup diced green bell peppers

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 (14-ounces) can tomatoes

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon white sugar

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp

Green onions, for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat crock pot on high.

In fry pan, heat olive oil. Add peppers, onions and celery. Cook until softened. Add chili powder and saute until caramelized. Remove from heat and pour into crock pot. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, hot sauce, Worcestershire, white sugar, salt and pepper.

Cook for 3 hours. Add shrimp and cook for about 3 minutes. Serve over rice. Top with chopped green onions.

Shrimp Jambalaya

Ingredients:

3 to 4 pounds chicken pieces

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped, optional

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups long-grain rice, uncooked

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

3 cups water

8 ounces shrimp, canned and drained small shrimp or coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cooked medium shrimp

Preparation:

Brown chicken pieces in hot vegetable oil over medium heat. Remove chicken from oil. Drain off all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil. Cook bell pepper, onion, garlic, and rice over low heat, stirring often, until tender. Add seasonings, water, and chicken. Bring mixture to a boil; cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove cover and fluff rice. Stir in shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes longer, until heated through.

Jambalaya recipe. Serves 6.

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1 lb. red beans

1/2 lb. sausage, or more to your taste

1 onion (chopped)

2 sections garlic (finely chopped)

2 tablespoons celery

1 tablespoon parsley

1 lg. bay leaf

salt to taste

pepper to taste

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper , or to taste

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 teaspoons cumin

Preparation:

Put beans in pot of water and rinse. Remove bad beans that float to top. Drain water off and put beans in deep pot with 8-9 cups water. Bring to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let set for 2 hours. Put back on heat at moderate to slow boil.

Meanwhile, saute in extra-light virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, parsley, and celery. Add sausage to saute. Then add entire sauteed mixture to beans. Add bay leaf and spices to entire mixture. Boil gently (simmer), stirring occasionally, for 2-3 hours, until tender and squishy. If mixture becomes too thick, add microwave-hot water to thin.

Cook white rice according to directions on box.

Serve hot bean mixture over rice.

Fried Green Tomatoes With Milk Gravy

*This recipe is from the book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. It is probably not native to New Orleans, but obviously still popular in the South, so I included it here.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 tbs Bacon grease

4 Tomatoes: green, firm, sliced into 1 cm pieces (discard ends)

2 Eggs, beaten

2 cups breadcrumbs

Flour

Milk

Salt

Pepper

Preparation:

1. Heat your bacon grease in a heavy frying pan. Dip tomatoes in eggs, then in bread crumbs. Slowly fry them in the bacon grease until golden brown on both sides. Put your tomatoes on a plate.

2. For each tablespoon of grease left in the pan, stir in one tablespoon of flour and blend well; then stir in one cup warm milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper till you like it.

3. Pour over the tomatoes and serve hot

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe on Amazon.com

Special: In the Kitchen With Harry Hamlin

Actor Harry Hamlin (Cortland Mayfair, Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches) hosts a new cooking show on AMC

In the Kitchen With Harry Hamlin

Besides acting, Harry Hamlin enjoys cooking! He and his niece are cohosting a new cooking show on AMC, straight from Hamlin's kitchen. So, the Parlor would love to give his new show a shout out from the Mayfair Witches Kitchen (and it reminds me that I do have more to add to this page!)

Harry Hamlin is known for Clash of the Titans (1981), a brief but memorable role in Maxie (1985), and the series L.A. Law, which he appeared in from 1986 to 1991. When I was in my teens, I actually saw him first in a movie on Showtime called Deceptions (1990). I had not seen the TV series or other films Hamlin was in when I first saw him in this movie.

Deceptions (1990)

Oh my goodness.

In my defense, this is what happens when parents go to Louisville for a convention and leave Grandma in charge of the kitchen and their teenage daughter in charge of the remote control.

I have watched In the Kitchen With Harry Hamlin, and I have to say I like how he approaches his show. His niece, Renee Guilbault, really stands out here for her passion for cooking. It seems to have really helped her turn her life around, which is something I admire very much. I have never been a fan of cooking shows, myself, but really only because I just never really watched any very much. This one, though, is done in such an organic, down-to-earth way that makes it fun to watch--and makes me hungry!