I’m always amazed at how sharp and intuitive kids are these days. There’s no better place to see this play out than in a kitchen. Add to that observation a growing number of young people who are interesting in cooking, and you have a picture of what my kid’s cooking class was like this week. They made a fantastic one-skillet wonder of raw pasta, lots of cheeses, sausage and marinara sauce that magically all cooked together in no time! The big surprise was how tasty the actual pasta was! How can it not? The pasta is actually cooked in all of those tasty sausage juices, red sauce and garlic instead of being boiled separately in a pot of water. (Salt can only add so much flavor to pasta!) The kids in my cooking class told me they love pasta and wanted an easy way to cook it without a lot of pots and pans. This recipe was perfect for them, and I guarantee it’s going to be perfect for you and your family! Buon Appetito!
fresh or dried oregano
Spicy Cajun Shrimp
Spicy Cajun Shrimp
Everything I learned about the history of Cajun and Creole food, I learned from Paul Prudhomme, the Louisiana-born celebrity chef who popularized both types of Southern cuisine. I learned that Cajun food is the food of country folk who settled in the bayou lands of Southern Louisiana and kept largely to themselves. Creole food, on the other hand, is city food, specifically from New Orleans, and was greatly influenced by the many different cultures like French, Spanish, Italian, Haitian, French Canadian, Native American and African that helped to shape that city. My very favorite shrimp dish came from Prudhomme, and that made him, in my eyes, the King of Cajun cooking. This Spicy Cajun Shrimp is simply divine. I remember making it for my father, and his reaction was always the same. He would bow his head, clasp his hands in front of the bowl and just say, “Honey, this is liquid gold!” Don’t be put off by the amount of ingredients. I can only tell you that this dish is worth every bite. Perhaps the phrase that best describes Paul Prudhomme’s Spicy Cajun Shrimp has to be Ça c’est bon — That’s good! Enjoy a big bowl of Cajun comfort food this week!