Since the Swamp Chef arrived on the scene, he is getting to know the kinfolk, including his nephew Chef Zak.
We all meet up at Mom's in Gonzales, Louisiana as often as possible. Zak lived here for a few years in high school and a bit more after.
He worked restaurant kitchens to make ends meet and picked up some kickass cooking skillz, just watch the video below to see what I mean!
It's always a fun time when Chef Zakmakes an appearance here in the 99 Cent Chef's food blog, especially when he brings his big dog Marshal along for the ride.
So check out what happens when my brother from another Daddy, the Swamp Chef, runs into his nephew, Chef Zak, on a walk in my Mom's neighborhood.
Chef Zak Meets The Swamp Chef - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 1 minute 41 seconds
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Please note, Justin Wilsonis a boiled crawfish and was not eaten alive!
I owe it all to Mom, 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 and fishing 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. And you could always cast a line into the warm Gulf waters for bountiful fishing.
Big Daddy & Big Mama
The following recipe comes from her parent's kitchen, Shrimp and Rice. It uses locally caught shrimp, cheap canned tomato paste and rice. We always had creamy pinto beans, and flour tortillas to scoop up all the deliciousness. Our family seldom had steak as it was too expensive, but we had all the Gulf seafood we could eat. Looking back I didn't realize how good we had it !
Mom's Shrimp & Rice - VIDEO
Mom had movie star looks (like a young Elizabeth Taylor) and smarts, and a scholarship to college if she wanted it, but had no encouragement 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.
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 CajunJambalaya more than any other recipe - it's simply delicious.
Cherry Pie - Recipe Video
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 herTex-Mex Enchiladas to Cajun Country, and my Louisiana friend Marvin ate them up!
Me, Marvin & Dennis
During a recent Louisiana visit, I had him over when I filmed Mom makingTex-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 gets smoking (wink, nudge.)
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.
Gumbo - Recipe Video
Click here to read all about making Mom's homemade Gumbo, from roux to rice!
My Mom'sCajun Potato Saladis 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 itCajun Potato Salad - well, I guess you'll have to watch the video below to see who wins that argument!
Mom's Cajun Potato Salad - Recipe Video
I satiate my sweet tooth during visits with Mom. And the best of her pastry delights areMini-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.
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.
Mom has lived half her life in Gonzales, Louisiana. One of my visits 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.
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 Chefout of the bayou!
Cherry Pie - Recipe Video
Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely ladies, and especially to my Mom - I love you!
How do you take the Swamp Chef out of the swamp? Just set out a big slice of Mom's Homemade Cherry Pie!
This is one of my Mom's favorite pies and it's a 2 crust pie, so if you like flakey crust then this pie is for you.
Mom makes her pie crust from scratch, but if you like, you can use premade flour dough crust from your local grocery store -- if they stock any.
As for the cherry pie filling, it's from a can that you can get from Dollar Tree of 99c only Stores. Dang, this recipe is cheap! Mom uses one 20 ounce can of cherry pie filling, but it's easy and cheap enough to add another can for an extra juicy pie filling. I've also seen 15-ounce cans, so then you will need 2 cans of cherry pie filling.
Click on any photo to see larger.
You will learn how Mom creates a lattice-style top crust, and it's easy to do really. You will have a bit of dusty flour to clean up, but the extra pie crust work is worth it.
Nothing beats Mom's Homemade Cherry Pie. And it's so good even a bunch of my Cajun family show up. Just hang out to the end of the video to see how quick a Cherry Pie vanishes!
Mom's Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe - Video
Play it here, the video runs 9 minutes 50 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients
1 can cherry pie filling - 20 ounce can. Okay to add more filling with another can - hey, why not, it's cheap enough.
9-inch pie pan - glass or metal pan.
2 cups flour - for 2 pie crusts. Mom uses all-purpose flour.
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup shortening - okay to substitute shortening with real butter, or even margarine.
6 tablespoons ice water - just regular water with ice cubes to keep it cold.
Extra flour - have it on hand as you will sprinkle flour on rolling pin and rolling surface, so the dough doesn't stick to everything. Adding extra flour is fine as it will absorb into pie crust as you work with it.
2-4 tablespoons milk - brush on top of assembled pie crust.
1 tablespoon sugar - sprinkle on top of pie after it is assembled. Mix and sugar will make a light glaze on the pie as it bakes.
Directions
For the cherry pie filling, all you do is open the can!
The pie crust starts with 2 cups of flour in a large bowl.
Scoop in the shortening, butter or margarine -- or a combination of. Mom uses shortening only.
If you use margarine or butter make sure they are cold. Mom doesn't refrigerate her shortening, because room temperature shortening is still semi-solid. Butter or margarine will be too mushy at room temperature.
Mix shortening into flour and break apart large clumps. You want small pea-size flour balls or crumbs. This will take a few minutes of mixing and chopping to get there. Mom used a pasty blender, but you can use a fork to mix flour and shortening.
Now you will press and form a pie crust dough ball by adding 6 tablespoons of icy water. Mix in a couple tablespoons at a time then press dough together. Okay to sprinkle on a little dusty flour to make handling easy.
Once the water is added and the dough mixed well you should have enough dough to form 2 balls. Divide the dough in half and form the 2 balls to use as a bottom and top crust.
Now dust your flat working surface with flour and add one dough ball. Also, add flour to your rolling pin, so pie crust doesn't stick and split apart as you work with the dough.
To make the pie crust round, you roll out the dough ball in all directions. That is, start top to bottom for a couple of rolls, the switch left to right and roll out a couple more times. Keep repeating this, adjusting the direction of rolling a little at a time to form a circle of dough
.
You want to make a 9 inch round of pie crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Once you start rolling out the dough it warms up and becomes softer to handle - after a couple of minutes, you can even press out the dough with your fingers.
The end result will be a thin layer of dough about an 1/8 of an inch thick. Don't worry about it being too thin, as the dough will thicken during baking. It just needs to be thick enough to be able to handle without breaking apart. Sometimes you will have a thin crust and sometimes a thick crust...it's all good and tasty.
Of course, it doesn't have to be a perfect circle, as I mentioned earlier, as you work the dough until it becomes soft like play dough, and when to cover the pie pan you can still reshape and push the dough around to fit the pan. Mom used a knife to peel off pie dough from work surface.
You can also fix any tears or holes with extra dough strips that you will be making in the next step.
Once the bottom pie pan is fitted with the pie crust move on the second ball of pie dough.
Add flour if need to the rolling surface and roll out the dough ball. This time the pie crust does not have to be round, as you will be slicing it up for the pie crust topping.
Roll out the dough, square, or semi-round. You just need the dough to be 9 inches long in one direction. Again sprinkle on flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to the rolling surface.
Now slice the dough with a knife into strips, about a 1/2 inch wide, or so. It doesn't have to be exact every time.
Now time to bring it all together. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Add a 20 ounce can of cherry pie filling. Okay to add another half or full can for a thicker cherry pie.
Now add lattice top crust. Lay down one crust strip at a time. Start in the middle and work to outer edges of pie pan, shortening or pinching off extra pie crust strip ends, to fit the top of the pie.
Now repeat, but this time lay pie topping strips in the opposite direction until the top of the pie looks like a grid. You can space out the strips as wide or close as you like.
If you have leftover dough strips it's okay to add them to the outer crust edge so the crust is extra thick and crunchy, yum!
You can make the pie perfect or keep it rustic. Don't worry how it looks really, hey it will taste just fine.
Of course if you like a solid top crust then just lay the whole rolled out dough over the filling and press the top edges to seal the pie. But do make sure to make a few air hole slits into the top crust or the cherry filling may overflow too easily.
You can google "pie crust designs" and pick out the one you like. Click here for some designs that are complex, but with a couple of simple ones, too.
When the pie crust is assembled it's time to bake it at 425 degrees for half an hour. Check on the baking pie during the last 10 minutes. Once the pie crust edges are brown the pie is ready. Baking time will vary by five minutes or so, according to how hot your oven operates.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Allow pie to cool down and the cherry filling will return to a pudding-like texture. Of course, you can serve the pie hot or cold, and with ice cream or whipped cream topping - Mom's Homemade Cherry Pie is so good the Swamp Chef eats it all by itself ! No pie topping for the Swamp Chef needed.
The Louisiana recipe comes courtesy of my nephew, Cajun Chef Matt. When I visit Mom in Louisiana it's always fun to hang out with my family, where we always get busy in the kitchen.
I know you may not find Frog Legs in your local market or even to your taste, but you can substitute chicken or fish, and the creamy and spicy Remoulade Sauce is tasty on any salad, or as a dipping sauce, similar to Tarter Sauce, for your favorite fried fare.
Also, join the Swamp Chef in a bullfrog swamp hunt, but don't worry, it's all in good fun as no amphibians are harmed when the Swamp Chef goes hunting. -- the video hunting scene is more Muppets than Duck Dynasty.
So, my vegan viewers may want to bail after the Muppets-like opening scene, as real Frog Legs are on the menu! But be sure to return and watch the last minute of the recipe video to see a frog's revenge.
While Deep Fried Frog Legs are not for everybody, it's worth a try, at least once, especially when there is a rich Cajun Remoulade Sauce to go with it.
Matt's version of a Cajun Remoulade Sauce is made with a base of mayo, and the addition of lemon juice, ketchup, mustard, horseradish, chopped green onion and capers. If you like Thousand Island Dressing then you will like a Remoulade Sauce. I easily find all the ingredients at my local Dollar Tree and 99c only Stores!
And surprisingly, Fried Frog Legs are mild in taste, having the texture of chicken with a slight fish flavor. To get a crunchy crust, Chef Matt soaked the frog legs in buttermilk then dusted the legs with flour, simply seasoned with salt and pepper.
If you have a fave fish fry coating or fried chicken batter, then use it.
So check out my latest recipe video, Fried Frog Legs with Remoulade Sauce, featuring the Swamp Chef and Chef Matt. It's all in tasty good fun.
Deep Fried Frog Leg & Remoulade Sauce - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 9 minutes, 2 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients for Frog Legs
2 frog legs - okay to substitute chicken pieces or fave fish fillets.
1/2 cup flour - I sometimes use half flour and half cornmeal.
1 cup buttermilk - to soak and flavor frog legs. For Homemade Buttermilk, just use regular milk and add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, then mix well.
Salt and pepper to taste - okay to use favorite seasoned salt or spice mix. I like a bit of garlic and onion powder, too.
Ingredients for Remoulade Sauce
1/2cup mayo - light or regular mayonnaise.
1/4 onion - finely chopped.
1 tablespoon capers, chopped - a couple chopped green olives are a good substitute.
2 green onions - finely chopped.
1 tablespoon Creole Mustard - or any mustard. A good substitute is a whole grain mustard.
1 tablespoon horseradish - okay to use less to suit your taste.
1/4 teaspoon Louisiana Hot Sauce - okay to use any fave hot sauce -- or just leave it out.
1 tablespoon ketchup
Lemon juice - half a lemon or about2 tablespoons of juice.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
I really did not hunt and skin the Frog Legs in the video above, but got them at my local Louisiana grocery.
First, add buttermilk and Frog Legs to a bowl. Keep them in the refrigerator until ready for frying.
Chef Matt has a deep fryer, so he heated it up while making the Remoulade Sauce. Okay to use a regular frying pan with enough cooking vegetable oil to half-cover a Frog Leg, or about an inch deep of oil in a frying pan or pot.
.Click on any photo to see larger.
For Remoulade Sauce, mix the ingredients listed above in a bowl, including chopped onion, green onion and capers, plus ketchup, lemon juice, hot sauce, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.
Keep Remoulade Sauce in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Now time to fry the Frog Legs. Add flour, salt and pepper to a plate. Spread out seasoned flour and add soaking Frog Legs to plate of flour. You don't need to drain off all the buttermilk from frog legs as it will mix and make a thin batter for frying.
Cover Frog Legs with seasoned flour, on all sides. Pat and add more flour if necessary.
When cooking oil reaches 375 degrees in temperature add the flour-coated Frog Legs and deep fry them for about 4 to 5 minutes until cooked all the way through.
If you are using a frying pan heat vegetable oil over medium/high heat. Add about an inch deep of oil and heat. Cook Frog Legs about 4 minutes for each side, or until the flour crust is brown. Check doneness by slicing into thickest part of the cooked leg to check for firmness - it should be just like cooked chicken.
When Frog Legs are done cooking allow to cool for a minute or two as they will be very hot right out of oil.
Swamp Chef recommends dipping Frog Legs into Remoulade Sauce and enjoy!
