 |
| Sarah Ann Gonzales Begue, 1950 |
1888-1965
Sarah Ann Gonzales was born on 26 December 1888 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her Father, John Henry Gonzales, was Spanish and Irish and her mother, Anna Hattaway, was Danish and German. In 1907 she married John Louis Begue (1887-1951). His father, John Blaise Begue was French and Irish and his mother was German. So their family was representative of the melting pot that was New Orleans. Her cooking combined dishes from all those traditions.
Throughout most of my childhood we lived within walking distance of Grandma's house so I spent a lot of time there, much of it in the kitchen watching her cook. So I'm inviting you to join me at Grandma's house for dinner by sharing some of her recipes.
Red Beans and Rice
If it's Monday she would be cooking Red Beans and Rice. You can make it the way Grandma did by washing and soaking dried red beans over night or you can take a short cut by buying a big can of Blue Runner Creole Style Red Beans made in Gonzales, Louisiana.Here's the way Grandma made them.
Put one pound of red beans in cold water and boil for about 2 hours.
Chop 2 medium onions, 1 Bell pepper and 2 garlic cloves.
Melt 1 heaping tablespoon of shortening in a skillet and add a heaping tablespoon of flour.
Stir to make a dark brown roux. (Stir slowly over low heat, being careful not to burn.)
Add chopped onions, pepper and garlic and sir until tender.
Stir in some of the water from the beans until thickened and stir all into the beans.
Add chopped cooked ham or sausage.
Add Creole Seasoning (or salt, pepper, and red pepper) and a dash of Tabasco.
Cook about 20 minutes and serve over rice with French bread.
We had a rhyme we used to chant when we played jump rope:
I love you once, I love you twice, I love you better than Red Beans and Rice.
Seafood Gumbo
If it's Friday we'll be having Gumbo. There are many different recipes for gumbo. In fact I have one whole cookbook full of nothing but Gumbo recipes. This is the one I use most often because it tastes like Grandma's gumbo.2 pounds raw shrimp Bay leaves
2 quarts water Thyme
6 tablespoons bacon fat Parsley
6 tablespoons flour Salt and Pepper
2 large onions Red pepper (or Creole Seasoning)
1 Bell pepper Garlic - as much as you like
2 stalks celery (about 1 cup) Optional: 6 crabs cleaned and broken in half
2 8 oz. cans of Rotel tomatoes or 1 pound of crab meat
or plain chopped tomatoes Tabasco
Clean and peel shrimp. (Boil heads in 2 quarts of water with dash of lemon juice for stock.)
Melt bacon fat in skillet. Add flour and make a dark brown roux.
Add onions, pepper, and celery (known in New Orleans as the Holy Trinity) and saute.
Add 2 cups of stock or water. Put in a large soup pot.
Add the rest of the seasonings, garlic and Rotel tomatoes.
Add remaining stock and additional water to make about 12 cups.
Simmer on low for about 2 hours, stirring often to prevent sticking.
Add Tabasco and shrimp and cook about 30 minutes.
If you are using crabs, add to gumbo with shrimp. Add crab meat just before serving.
Serve over rice with French bread and a good French wine.
Pecan Pralines
If you have room for dessert you might like some of Grandma's pralines.
2 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 pound pecan halves
1 tablespoon of butter
Enough water to melt the sugar, about 4 tablespoons
Set the sugar, butter and water to boil and as it begins to boil stir in the pecans.
Let all boil until the mixture begins to bubble, stirring constantly until the sugar begins to thicken. (Soft ball stage - 238 degrees - but Grandma did it by instinct.)
Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper lined surface - or a marble slab if you have one.
If you want to cheat, you can make Microwave Pralines. They're not bad but they're
Here's to you, Grandma!
 |
| John Louis Begue Family, 1927 |
No comments:
Post a Comment