Mardi Gras Murder_A Cajun Country Mystery
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Sauté two large onions and one bell pepper in the same pot. Some people add celery—that’s the holy trinity of Cajun cooking, onions, bell pepper, and celery—but I don’t because I have family members who don’t like it.
Add a quart of water and stir often. You’ll have to add more water as you go. It depends on how thick you want your gumbo. I add oysters at this time, about a dozen large ones and their juice, after I make sure the juice doesn’t have any shells in it. You can add okra too, but make sure you fry or bake it first so it’s not slimy.
Add Creole seasoning to taste, and more water until it’s about four inches above your ingredients. Cook on a low fire for about 45 minutes.
Add small crabs and cook about half an hour more. We use the small crabs we catch in the bayous for our gumbo, about six of them. You can add the whole crab or the meat of it. It’s mostly just for flavor. Make sure lots of liquid still remains at this point, then add a about a pound of shelled, deveined shrimp. You can also add a pound of crawfish tails if you like.
Cook a little longer, making sure there’s plenty of liquid. I cook for about an hour, simmering and stirring. I want it to have some substance.
Ellen’s Cajun Country Potato Salad
One thing I love about Cajun Country is that I learn something new every time I visit. Last year, when I was in Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Book Festival, a friend introduced me to the delicious gumbo served in the state capitol cafeteria—which could also be ordered with a side of potato salad to add to the gumbo, much as you’d add a cup of rice. I’d never had potato salad in my gumbo before, and I loved it.
I’ve created a potato salad recipe that complements a bowl of gumbo. Add it to your gumbo with rice or instead of rice. Or serve it with burgers at your next cookout. However you use it, laissez les bon temps rouler!
Ingredients
3 lb Yukon Gold (or red) potatoes, cooked, chilled, and cut into chunks. Whether you peel the potatoes or not is up to you. I generally don’t, especially with the Golds. I also cut them up before I cook them, because the smaller pieces cook quicker.
3 hardboiled eggs, diced
1 cup low-fat (or regular) mayonnaise
¼ cup minced stuffed green olives
¼ cup minced green pepper
¼ cup minced celery
¼ cup sweet relish
2 tbsp. minced scallions
1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Creole mustard—or a stone ground mustard if you can’t find Creole
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp. minced dill pickle
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. juice from the jar of green olives
½ tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp. black pepper
Paprika for garnish.
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients except for the potatoes and diced eggs. When the other ingredients are all well blended, gently fold in the potatoes and diced eggs. Gently is the operative word here, in case the potatoes are a bit overcooked. You don’t want your potato salad turning into mashed potato salad!
A Bonus Recipe: Gaynell’s Potato Salad
Says Gaynell: “Some people do put potato salad in their gumbo. I don’t. I always have mine on the side.”
Here’s her recipe:
Boil about 6 medium potatoes until they’re tender and boil about 8 eggs. (I like plenty of eggs in my potato salad.)
Drain and place the potatoes in a large bowl. When they’ve cooled, cut them into small chunks.
Peel the eggs, cut them up, and place them in a separate bowl. Add 1 cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup mustard, ½ cup sweet relish, salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning to taste. (I use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.)
Add this mixture to the potatoes, mixing everything together well.
Note: Recipes for Holiday Brandy Pain Perdu, Jambalaya, and Shrimp Remoulade can be find in “A Cajun Christmas Killing.”
Also available by Ellen Byron
CAJUN COUNTRY MYSTERIES
A Cajun Christmas Killing
Body on the Bayou
Plantation Shudders
Author Biography
TK
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reaction to the recipes contained in this book.
Copyright © 2018 by Ellen Byron.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-68331-705-0
ISBN (ePub): 978-1-68331-706-7
ISBN (ePDF): 978-1-68331-707-4
Cover illustration by Stephen Gardner
Book design by Jennifer Canzone
Printed in the United States.
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First Edition: August 2018
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