It makes sense that in the month that included both Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras, I read Commander's Kitchen, and I fell in love. Hard.
Here's how it all went down:reviewing the cookbook
At the end of January, I started looking for a cookbook to embrace for the coming month, but after searching the local library branches for a decent selection, I eventually just threw up my hands, and asked my mom if she had any ideas, instead. She directed me towards the cabinet, and told me to grab the "teal one": Commander's Kitchen.As soon as I picked it off the shelf, a few loose leaf pages slipped out of the cover, onto the floor - a printed recipe for "Louisiana Pecan-Crusted Fish," typed out on Commander's Palace letterhead - and when I went to put them back in their place, I noticed that the front endpages were all scrawled over with Sharpie, courtesy of the manager, captain, and two chefs on staff. "Here's to good food!" one signer wrote.
"Mom, what is this?" I asked her.
"The product of one of the greatest restaurants in the world," she replied.
As it turns out, what had started as an act of desperation - there was no way I was celebrating the month of Mardi Gras (a perennial big deal in my family) without Gumbo, Etouffee, or Jambalaya alongside my Zapp's chips and King's Cake on the table - had turned into the ultimate discovery. Not only had I found a focus for my monthly challenge... but a real conduit for some kitchen magic.
What I found in its pages was a full who's-who of the Brennan family tree, instruction on kitchen organization and staffing, details on housekeeping and hosting, and profiles on some of the kitchen's most prolific chefs. Imbued with not only welcoming homeyness and southern hospitality, but an old school flair and charm, reading every recipe - and those intercessions in between, "lagniappes", that gave additional cultural content - felt like gaining entrance into a new way of thinking.
Commander's Kitchens' philosophy - cook only using fresh, local ingredients, and revitalize old favorites by playing by new rules - may feel a little more expected in the culinary sphere now, but it was achieved at Commander's Palace by Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse before every major city had it's own go-to "farm to table" restaurant. Utilizing local star seafood and produce to breathe new life into classic dishes was a fresh take, and the recipes still feel an exciting and new because of it.Whereas last month, I tackled about 5 recipes, this month, it was 10... and I couldn't stop making them! I returned my mom's cookbook with the addition of approximately 20 page flags of things I still want to try later on.
You can bet that this cookbook will be one I'll find plenty of space for in my future culinary endeavors. Unfortunately for me, the month has ended, and it's on to a new cookbook... for now.
the recipes
Due to the extraordinary amount of inspiration I took from this remarkable cookbook, I was very deliberate when it came to actually figuring out how to work all of these recipes into my schedule... including entire themed dinners, about once a week. I still didn't tackle all the ones I wanted to try!Here's house I fared with some of the ones I did attempt:
Cauliflower-Brie Soup
Truly a revelation, and the first clue I got to how different and remarkable this cookbook was going to be. Shockingly light, with an easy mouthfeel and a rich flavor; the perfect accompaniment to a light dinner or lunch, as it doesn't require all that much by way of ingredients or time. Think of it like a Broccoli-Cheddar Soup, but way fancier!
Tangy Shrimp Dip
At first, I was just excited than an appetizer that feels a little more high-end required so few ingredients. However, after realizing that I had barely come up for air after beginning to snack, I recognized that there more to this dish than what I had originally thought. While it certainly won't win over any true seafood haters, most complaints over its fishy contents disappear sometime around the fifth or sixth Ritz cracker. Will definitely use this as a party recipe in the future.
Chicken Etouffee with Rice
Truly, hands-down, one of my favorite - if not THE favorite - recipe out of the whole month. And my brother's, too! It really doesn't take that many ingredients, just time... time to sear, time to build a roux, time to braise with vegetables and stock until it's practically falling off the bone and into your rice. Thick and hearty, with a vegetable percentage that will surprise you once they've all cooked down melded together into a glorious sauce. Very happy to have added this one to the repertoire!
Remoulade Sauce (with Shrimp Boil)
Okay, so the shrimp boil was Zatarain's, but the sauce was definitely from scratch... and it was all the better because of it! Whereas everything else on the list so far would be a five out of five stars, this one gets docked a point just because it would be unseemly for me to eat a entire bowl of condiments all on its own. But while it didn't attain that degree of accolades, it did a marvelous job making all seafood it touched exponentially better, from boiled shrimp to crab cakes!
Maque Choux
Why anyone would ever want to serve boring old corn with butter is absolutely beyond me... not when you can do what you do here, which is saute it in bacon fat, add in some peppers and onion, and top it with the actual bacon mixed in, too. Oh, and green onions, to top! Truly, the best way to work in your recommended daily servings of veggies.
This particular recipe gained rave reviews from Mom, Dad, and my brother. In a lot of ways, they tasted like your average stuffed pepper recipe, but with the inclusion of extra peppers, jalapeno, and Cajun spices. However, perhaps it was because they were served at the same meal as the Maque Choux and the Boiled Shrimp with Remoulade Sauce, these were far from the most interesting or enchanting thing on my plate that night... as I was too busy shoveling shrimp in my mouth.
Gumbo Ya-Ya
Again, maybe this is comparison busy being the thief of joy over here. But this Gumbo - though highly anticipated - didn't steal the show for me. It was our main course for Mardi Gras, but it was not the star. (Then again, the day I made it, I had been in Seattle at 7 am, only got back to Tacoma by 2 pm, and was also busy whipping up a homemade King's Cake and Crab Cakes at the same time as I was making it.) While I really loved the depth of flavor - thanks to cooking the roux to a "milk chocolate" color before adding any veggies - it allows the chicken to get a little too broken-down for my textural preferences. So stir lightly!
Crab Cakes with Corn and Jalapeno
Okay, so I did have to doctor them a little... as it turns out, this "binder-less" crab cake really benefited from the addition of a cup or so of panko breadcrumbs! What resulted was a crispy, delicious, fishy crab cake, on that really made the grade when paired with the Remoulade sauce. Dad even did away with the ring mold entirely, and just ended up cooking a serving free-form in a small stove top pan!
the outcome
Last month, with Tosi and Milk Bar Life, I spent a lot of time emphasizing a cookbook's ability to translate a personality; this month, Commander's Kitchen, from Ti Adelaide Martin and Jamie Shannon, translated a place... and it's a place I really want to be!Between pouring Dark & Stormys for random Wednesday dinner, to spending hours braising down veggies and stock into deep and flavorful sauces, and even investing a later Monday night picking crab out of its shell for use the next evening, cooking from Commander's Kitchen made even the most sedate of weeknights feel like a special occasion. Due to its focus on local ingredients and fresh cooking, not much was all that expensive, and when it came down to it, even the pieces that cost the most were well worth the price... and still less costly than if we had gone out to eat!
Ti Adelaide Martin and Jamie Shannon brought not only the spirit of New Orleans into my kitchen, but they made it an easy and happy exploration, too. I'm so glad I took a chance on this cookbook.
What do you think of February's choice? What foods do you think of when you consider New Orleans' culinary legacy? Let me know, in the comments below!
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