Blackwater Blues

Down In The Bayou

              (Scroll down to "The Playlist" and hit play before reading... works better that way!)

Headed way back down into the swamp this week for some traditional cajun food. We are gonna venture into the world of Sauce Piquant... a traditional cajun sauce made with the "Holy Trinity". Today we thought we'd cook it down with a little Catfish.

Yep... a little Catfish Sauce Piquant with some Blackwater Blues and then wash it all down with a little "Swamp Water" Sangria. Oh Yeah!

As my ole friend Boudreaux would say- "What we gonna did rite chere is pass a good time!"

Come on Baybee... the Pots are on!

The Plate... 

Catfish Sauce Piquant

On a recent trip to Memphis our good friend John McDonald treated us to dinner at the Second Line. Chef Kelly English does a killer job with this traditional Cajun dish. And... what a cool place done up in traditional NOLA style.

Thought we would share the recipe with all of our good friends here at PnP. Enjoy...

What you need... 

3-4 lbs of catfish filets

Cajun Holy Trinity -1 onion, 1 bell pepper and 2 stalks of celery/diced

1/2 stick of butter

1 10oz can of Rotel tomatoes

2 heaping tbsp of roux

1 8oz can tomato sauce

Chicken Stock

Salt to taste

What you do...

Take a saucepan and saute' the onion, bell pepper and celery in butter until tender.

Add the Rotel tomatoes cook down for 5-10 more minutes. 

Now add the roux (equal parts oil and flour cooked down) and mix well.

Add the tomato sauce and enough stock to make the mix thinner, but not too runny.

Simmer for 35 minutes. 

After the mixture has cooked down add the catfish and cook for another few minutes 4-5.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over hot rice.

You can use this piquant sauce with chicken, sausage, shrimp, rabbit or any meat you like. 

C'est Ci Bon!

The Playlist... 

Blackwater Blues

Listen to this and you'll know what it's like for a cajun to have the blues. Just listen to Tab Benoit talk about missing home on "Down in the Swamp" or "When a Cajun Man gets the Blues".

Of course... like our good friend Marty Nickel says- it could all just be a "Cajun Dream". 

There's a lot of cool stuff here so don't rush into anything or do anything hasty or you might end up with "Alligator's Lament". 

             The "Playlist" runs on Spotify- Click on the link to listen to Blackwater Blues

The Bar... 

Swamp Water Sangria

What you need...  

750 ml bottle mead (honey wine) chilled

1 cup Apple Brandy, chilled

6 cups apple cider, chilled

Juice of 1 lemon

small bunch of fresh basil

2 tbsp sugar

green food coloring

light corn syrup

What you do...

Combine the basil and sugar in a large pitcher. 

Muddle with a wooden spoon.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir.

Add corn syrup and food color in a small shallow bowl.

Rim glass with the mixture. 

Pour in well chilled sangria.

We Gonna Pass A Good Time...

I Garontee!

Please... Day Drink Responsibly 

& 

Keep On Cookin'!