A To E

LETTER B

• BLACKENING - you can vary it! but traditionally it's a cooking technique developed by New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme; a style of "quick cooking" food like searing... but because of the use of pepper and other dark spices (like cajun spice mixes) used as a coating in this technique you get the more "blackened" effect. Also, traditionally, use melted butter as the adhesive coating for the spices then grill or cook on a dry hot cast iron skillet... or whatever can take getting really hot!! but cook for a short time!... So while a good amount of heat is used here, don't make the mistake of burning your food! Now, there are questions about whether or not the searing process really "seals in the juices and flavors", but while that's debatable it does give you that nice "crusty" texture... which is especially flavorful in Blackening.
  

LETTER C

• CAJUN SPICE MIX - The New Orleans, Louisiana US regional food flavor base is what Cajun is all about... hmm hmm good! This spice mix is based on dried oregano, thyme and basil and usually has, ground pepper corns, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and salt, then you can add on variations. Some people add in a bayleaf, garlic powder, paprika, coriander and mustard seeds... even nutmeg. Pop it into a blender or food processor and boom! experiment... knock yourself out. Click here and look for the video at the bottom of the blog to see what Chef Tony of Cajun Red Rock Restaurant uses for his cajun spice mix. if you wanna see just some of the many other variations... click here.