Louisiana Vacation

It's all about food and family when I visit  Gonzales, Louisiana.

I stay with Mom and on Friday's she usually gets the Fried Fish Plate from Cajun Catch.

Cajun Catch is a local seafood market with a to-go counter serving daily lunch specials. They stop taking lunch orders by 3pm so don't wait too late.

Click on any photo to see larger.

And I wash down to-go meals with a local brew called Dixie. It was hard to find until recently, I guess there is a reboot going on at their headquarters. At least they have not messed with the flavor.

My brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef, likes it too!

Even Mom's kitty, Howie, has a use for Dixie Beer.

Louisiana is usually cloudy with frequent rainy days during winter. It rained one day only when I visited Gonzales and it only grew cold the last couple of days of my vacation.

I like to start the day with a cup of a local brand of java called Community Coffee. 

And if I'm lucky Mom does a bit of baking when I visit, including homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Cajun country has a great sausage culture that is unique to the South. Along with typical smoked sausages there are Hot Links and a rough ground Andouille sausage that's used for Gumbo and Étouffée.

Louisiana Sausage slide show.

Other local delicacies.

Butter Beans

My L.A. girlfriend, Linda, flew in from Philadelphia where she was visiting her own relatives, to spend a few days with my Cajun family and celebrate my Mom's 85th birthday. 

We picked up Linda at Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport then drove to the French Quarter for a quick chicory-flavored Cafe au Lait and sugar powder-covered puffy Beignets at Cafe du Monde.

 Dale & my sister Denise

Linda

 Linda + Cheap$kate

I made a video about Cafe du Monde a few years ago. My video is a fun behind the scenes look at an order of Coffee and Beignets -- I give prices at end of video, but that has changed.

For Mom's birthday she wanted to hit the L'auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge right on the Mississippi River. She plays the penny and nickle slots.

Everybody got in on the action, especially with comped Bloody Mary's flowing.

We made it out of there with the shirts on our backs, too.

On the way back to Gonzales we stopped for a quick bite at St. Gabriel Grocery & Deli in Iberville Parish on River Road. This roadhouse dates back to the 1820's and serves tasty Sausage Po-Boys and Shrimp & Corn Soup. 

Locals Foodstuffs

And a whole lotta other stuff...

I always try to find Southern-style Boiled Peanuts and they had them here -- extra spicy too!

But the dining highlight of my vacay is usually a visit to the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at Country Kitchen in Gonzales -- all for about 11 bucks! My girlfriend Linda was blown away at the flavors and variety of veggies. Below is just a small sample as the menu changes daily, and Fried Chicken was at the top of the menu that day.

 Mac & Cheese, Jambalaya

Yellow Crookneck Squash

It's always a fun and literal filling time when I visit my Mom in Cajun country. And it was especially great to have my girlfriend Linda to show around...and boy did we finish the trip in high style with a Cajun Happy Hour. Just click on the play button to watch the video below!

Happy Birthday Mom ! - Mom's Favorite Recipes

Mom turnes 85 years young today.

And I owe it all to her, at least where I get my cooking chops (and any good sense I have.) Just check out our cooking videos below to see what I mean.

She grew up in Texas on the Gulf Coast, in a small shrimping town called Port O'Connor. There, I learned to love seafood.

Her father was a shrimp boat captain. So, while we couldn't afford steak, we had all the fresh caught seafood Big Daddy would skim off the top of the catch. Shrimp season was short, but crab and oyster season soon followed.

Big Daddy & Big Mama

Mom had movie star looks (like a young Elizabeth Taylor) and smarts, and a scholarship to college if she wanted it, but had no extra help from her parents.

So after high school graduation, she was soon married and I arrived on the scene, followed by my brother and sister.

Billy, Berry and Brenda

My Dad was in the military so we moved around. Mom and us kids eventually settled back in Port O'Connor, after a divorce. Dad was quite a character and the life of the party, but he was also a little too profligate in the alcohol consumption department.

Billy Doyle Robinson

Mom went back to work as a waitress, so I learned how to literally pinch pennies when she poured handfuls of customer tips on the kitchen table for us kids to separate and count.

Mom got back on her feet and found love again with this shuffleboard-playing fellow below, Ken.

Click on any photo to see larger.

After a couple years, Mom remarried and a final sister, Denise, was born (catch up with my youngest sister Denise's Eggplant Recipe, video here.)

Denise & Radish

We moved to neighboring Louisiana the year I enrolled in Junior High School. There she picked up a whole other way of cooking, Cajun-style.

My high school daze were spent in Gonzales, Louisiana, the self-professed Jambalaya Capital of the World. So you know this town is serious about chow. Click here to see a culinary video tour of some local Cajun cuisine at the weekend Flea Market, including: Crawfish Pie, Boudin Balls and, of course, Jambalaya.

And here's our first video we made together in my Los Angeles kitchen - and my late wife, Amy, even makes an appearance at the very end of the video. You'll get a kick out of Mom rockin' the cast iron kettle. I make her Cajun Jambalaya more than any other recipe - it's simply delicious.



Here is a link to her Jambalaya recipe with text and yummy photos.

Mom was always popular with my high school buddies...especially during lunch or dinner time. She brought her Tex-Mex Enchiladas to Cajun Country, and my Louisiana friend Marvin ate them up!

Me, Marvin & Dennis

During my last visit to Louisiana, I had him over when I filmed Mom making Tex-Mex Enchilidas. Marvin liked the Enchiladas so much, he had a flashback to our high school daze.

Make sure to watch my wacky recipe video to the end, that's when our flashback hijinx really get to smoking (wink, nudge.)



Mom takes a star turn with her next video recipe, her popular Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

It's a traditional Southern dish and its cheap, too. Just chicken, sausage and the Cajun veggie trinity of bell pepper, celery and onion. What gives Gumbo it's unique taste is a dark brown roux, which is flour cooked in oil until chocolate brown.

Just check out the video below - Mom will take you through the steps. And, as an added bonus, my oldest sister Brenda makes a nagging appearance a few minutes in.



Click here to read all about making Mom's homemade Gumbo, from roux to rice!

My Mom's Cajun Potato Salad is the perfect side to her Gumbo and Jambalaya. When she visited me in Los Angeles I got her to do it on camera. I couldn't help but give her a hard time about the recipe. I called it Cajun Mashed Potatoes and she called it Cajun Potato Salad - well, I guess you'll have to watch the video below to see who wins that argument!

I satiate my sweet tooth during visits with Mom. And the best of her pastry delights are Mini-Pecan Pies. If I couldn't make it for the Christmas holiday, then she would send a shoe-boxed size package with a dozen of these tasty pies.

In the video below, Mom attracts a kitchen-full of hungry relatives when these pies come hot out of the oven. And it's a miracle they were done right, because this Chef de Shutterbug was shoving a camera in her face (and a hot oven) during the whole procedure. We butted heads a few times, but fortunately, it all turned out fine.

I even came up with a way to dodge the high prices for pecans - so check out the video below to learn my budget secrets.

And click here to see Mom's Mini-Pecan Pies recipe with text and tasty photos.

Mom has lived half her life in Gonzales, Louisiana. My last vacation visit there fell on Christmas, and she pulled out all the stops with a huge holiday spread, that included Pumpkin Pie. I got her on video making it, and it turned out perfect, as you will see below.

The recipe is a traditional one made with simple ingredients. The pumpkin came from a can, but the crust was handmade with wheat flour.



All the easy-to-follow steps are written out here, and with delish photos, too.

Now, Mom is no angel -- hey, who is? Recently my brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef, with his Spanish moss and all.

When I asked Mom: "Who's the Swamp Chef's daddy?" Her reply was: "That's a very good question!" I guess Mom will spill the beans one day, until then, check out the video below for a dessert good enough to cajole the Swamp Chef out of the bayou!

Cherry Pie - Recipe Video

In Louisiana there are fast food drive-thru's serving slushy Daiquiris. I don't know how the heck they get away with it. Every time I go back to visit my Mom and Sis, I am reminded about this quirky Cajun roadside icy, thirst quenching, to-go cup.

Now, there are rules to this. Louisiana has an open container liquor law. So, when you get your Daiquiri, as both Mom and Sis reminded me several times: "Do not put the straw in!" That is a DUI violation if you are stopped. However parched you are, resist plunging the straw through the drink top -- until you get home. Fortunately, Mom's house was less than 5 minutes away.

Check out my last video below, and ride along with my sister Brenda and Mom for a cool beverage on a hot Louisiana summer day.

Happy Birthday Mom -- I love you !