Doing it Louisiana Style

Louisiana Chef John Besh has conquered the culinary world within these last few years, winning national championship cookoffs and narrowly missing the title of Iron Chef. And now, after years of going unnoticed...

The first ever Grammy for Cajun/Zydeco music was awarded earlier this afternoon and congratulations are in order for Terrance Simien and Zydeco Experience. And that chick from Los Angeles who got a nomination...sorry to you and your adopted cousin's brother (or whatever) from Lawtell. (No E there, cher.) And to Roddy, PLB, Racines, Ramblers, and Geno...can't wait to see y'all at the 'Moon.

Food and Music. What more can you ask for? Being that I don't have a musical bone in my body, and have only just recently learned how to dance, I am going to mind my own business in the kitchen. Nothing makes me happier than cooking for others. Both sides of my family are cooks...gourmet on Mom's side and all Cajun from Daddy's family. Growing up on the farm, my Dad always had home cooked meals--my grandmother would be in the kitchen cooking lunch while the men were working the farm, and after the noon meal she'd tidy the kitchen and start to work on the evening vittles. With four men working outdoors all day, Dad had never heard of LeftOvers until he got married. Growing up in Texas, Mom had never really experienced Cajun Cooking until she was in high school and met my father. When they got married, she spent a week with my Dad's mom, learning how to cook all the meals that he was raised on. South Texans had Tex-Mex, but a new genre was formed in that kitchen 30 years ago. We've come to call it "TeJun." Texas + Cajun.

Someone asked me a few days ago if I ate at any Cajun restaurants while I was on vacation to Colorado a few months ago. Quite honestly, if I venture past a 100 mile radius from my house, it's not Cajun any more. Sorry, but adding Cayanne pepper to your dish most certainly does NOT make it Cajun. I am totally in support of all my friends who have spread their wings beyond our homeland and continue the tradition of Cajun Cooking for all their new friends and neighbors--Canajuns you call yourselves? You know what I'm talking about. I myself often travel with freeze packed meats when visiting friends. Free room and board in exchange for Rice and Gravy or Gumbo. Keep me there long enough and I'll have your Hawaiian DJs playing Cajun Music in the bars. Yep. Been there. Done that.