Celebrate Super Bowl Cajun style with New Orleans-themed recipes
BY NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON World Scene Writer
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
1/30/13 at 7:39 PM
When the New Orleans Saints were in the Super Bowl in 2010, Hebert's Specialty Meats Cajun restaurant and market had a line of customers out the door.
Everyone wanted to have a New Orleans-themed watch party for the big game.
So this year, with New Orleans setting the stage for the Super Bowl matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, the restaurant's owner Cajun Ed Richard is prepared.
"It kind of surprised me how many people we had when the Saints were in the Super Bowl. We had no idea we would be as busy as we were," Richard said. "But we were excited, and we are ready for the same thing this year."
The Super Bowl falls in the middle of the Mardi Gras festival season, so that's just another reason to host a watch party Cajun style.
Hebert's, 2101 E. 71st St., has everything you would need for any Cajun celebration - from the food to the decorations.
Richard has prepared foods that can be picked up for a Super Bowl party, such as a Gulf platter packed with seafood, boudin balls, Apalachicola oysters, a big bowl of gumbo or po boy sandwiches.
But he also has many ingredients such as beans, meats, seasonings and sauces if you want to try your hand at making your own Cajun food for the game. They even sell containers of prepared roux so you don't have to stress about your roux breaking while you make your gumbo.
Richard said that Cajun dishes like gumbo, red beans and rice, and etouffee were invented to feed a large number of people affordably, so they would be perfect for a Super Bowl party.
Hebert's has several kinds of sausage, a popular football staple.
"We probably make about 20 to 30 different kinds of sausage here," Richard said,
Richard's crawfish tamales are another specialty of Hebert's. The recipe is based on the dish that Richard's grandfather used to make at his restaurant and catering business in Lafayette, La.
When he passed away, no one in the family had the recipe, but Richard and his brother decided that they wanted to replicate it. They sought out suggestions from other family members, and his brother came to Oklahoma from Florida so they could spend a week working to re-create the tamales.
After a week and about four to five batches of tamales, they had the perfect recipe.
For something sweet to suit your Cajun watch party, most bakeries in Tulsa have king cakes to buy. At Hebert's, they also make king cakes for the Mardi Gras celebration, in blueberry and cream cheese, cinnamon and cream cheese, and Bavarian cream flavors.
If you want to get out of the house to watch the game but still get a taste of New Orleans, S & J Oyster Company, 308 E. First St., will be open Sunday, owner Bill Parkey said.
"We will have the TVs on, and we have a full bar," Parkey said. "People are more than welcome to come in and eat and drink and have a good time."
Here are some of Richard's favorite recipes that would be great crowd-pleasers at a Super Bowl fete.
RED BEANS AND RICE
1 pound red kidney beans
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno, chopped fine
1 small can tomato sauce
Ham hocks, leftover ham from a ham or smoked sausage
Salt, black and red pepper
1. Soak red beans overnight, rinse. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add the beans and the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for about 4 hours or until the beans are soft.
2. Remove 1 cup of the beans and mash with a fork until mushy. Return to the pot. Serve over rice with hot cornbread.
JAMBALAYA
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound andouille or smoked sausage, cut into 3/4-inch-thick rounds
1 (15-ounce) can of whole peeled tomatoes in juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)
4 cups water or chicken stock
2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 pound medium-size shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
1. In a large stockpot, heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
2. Sauté the onions, celery and bell pepper for five to seven minutes.
3. Add garlic, salt and sausage and continue to sauté until sausage is browned, about five minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, Worcestershire, Creole seasoning and cayenne. Stir to incorporate seasonings and break up tomatoes.
5. Add water and rice and stir. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, about 25 minutes.
6. Stir in the shrimp and cover to heat, approximately 5 minutes.
7. Adjust seasonings, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
- Emma Urban, New Orleans
CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO
1 large roasting chicken and extra breast
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 teaspoons parsley, chopped
2 pounds smoked sausage
1 cup roux (purchased or see recipe below)
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 teaspoons green onion, chopped
12 cups hot water
Filé powder, to taste
1. Saute onions, celery and garlic in a small amount of oil. Add hot water and bring to a boil. Add the roux, a small amount at a time, until it thickens. It takes about a cup. Cook about 30 minutes on a low fire.
2. In a separate pot, season the chicken with salt, black pepper and red pepper. Some cooks just brown the chicken in the oven on high temperature. After the roux has been cooking for about 30 minutes, add the browned chicken pieces. Bring to a boil, lower the fire and simmer until the chicken is tender. Season with filé to taste.
3. Cut the sausage into 1-inch pieces and microwave it in a small amount of water. This takes out some of the sausage fat. Drain and add the sausage to the gumbo. Let cook a while longer. Add the onion tops and parsley.
ROUX
Equal parts flour and butter (for example, 1 cup of each).
1. Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, then add flour.
2. Mix well and cook to desired color, stirring constantly to prevent burning. This may well take up to 20 minutes.
Celebrate Candlemas with free crepes at Hebert’s
Hebert's is closed Super Bowl Sunday, but stop by Saturday to take part in Cajun Ed's family Groundhog Day tradition.
Back in his hometown of Lafayette, La., Ed Richard's Grandma Richard (pronounced REE-shard) would mark the day every year by feeding her friends and neighbors homemade crepes.
"She lived in a little house right near downtown Lafayette in a house that was probably built in the '20s. She would cook crepes all day long, and people would come by and eat them," Richard said.
Richard said she handed out hundreds of these crepes - rolled with a little sugar in the middle - every year for as long as he could remember it. Grandma Richard was from France, and she brought this tradition with her.
It actually marks the Catholic holiday of Candlemas on Feb. 2. Candlemas commemorates the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of baby Jesus. In France, this holiday is called La Chandeleur, also known as Le Jour des Crêpes.
In France, it is traditional to hold a coin in your writing hand and a crepe pan in the other, and flip the crepe into the air. If you manage to catch the crepe in the pan, your family will be prosperous for the year.
Richard said the holiday was a good prelude to Mardi Gras festivities.
"Since she was near downtown, she was near the parade route. We always had a family float, and we would go over from her house to the parade," Richard said.
Last year, Richard decided to continue Grandma Richard's tradition of making crepes on Candlemas.
So this Saturday, he will be giving out crepes at his restaurant to anyone who comes to visit.
Read the recipe on the Taste blog.
Original Print Headline: Cajun Party
Nicole Marshall Middleton 918-581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Crawfish tamales and fried boudin balls are two Cajun food ideas for Super Bowl Sunday from Hebert's Specialty Meats in Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
Hebert's Specialty Meats has gumbo and other Cajun dishes for the Super Bowl. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
A shellfish seafood boil with corn and potatoes is easy to make for big crowds and would surely fit the bill for a Cajun-themed Super Bowl party. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
For a sweet finish for your Cajun-themed Super Bowl watch party, try a king cake. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
"It kind of surprised me how many people we had when the Saints were in the Super Bowl. We had no idea we would be as busy as we were. But we were excited, and we are ready for the same thing this year," said Ed Richard of Hebert's Specialty Meats. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
Stop by Hebert's on Saturday as Ed Richard continues his Grandma Richard's tradition of making crepes and giving them away on Candlemas. For a crepe recipe to make at home, go to tulsaworld.com/taste. CORY YOUNG / Tulsa World file
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