Posts Tagged ‘Étouffée’

The New Southern Accent Cookbook! Twenty years in the making!

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 11.47.39 AMAlmost twenty years ago Southern Accent Restaurant owner Frances Wood and I went to New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana to gather recipes for a new cookbook. We ate, drank and listened to some of the best music ever made… but never wrote the book. Until now.

Two decades in the making the brand-spanking new Southern Accent Cookbook: Our Cajun, Creole & Soul Experience is about to make Cajun cooks very happy! Frances wrote the book with Southern’s co-owner Thessavan Maniceavasakan and I contributed a story from our trip about meeting the man who makes the best étouffée in Louisiana, Earl “Two Bit” Patin. He was an amazing character, a true Cajun and a great chef.

Here’s an excerpt:

“What would make a directionally challenged navigator and one adventurous foodie travel deep into the heart of Cajun country?

“Rumors of Southern Louisiana’s best étouffée, that’s what.

“Étouffée, in case you don’t already know, is one of life’s great pleasures. It can be either Cajun or creole, can be spicy or not and can be served with any manner of shellfish or seafood. What makes it special, an ambrosia for lucky taste buds, is the sauce.

“The word literally means smothered, and figuratively refers to “suffocating” whatever protein you like in a sauce that is as deep, thick and rich as the history of the bayou itself.

“With mouths watering Frances and I left Lafayette and set out for the home of Earl “Two-Bit” Patin, the mayor of Henderson, a tiny town—only 1.7 square miles—in St. Martin Parish. Many wrong turns later, courtesy of my inability to read a map, we arrive at the Valhalla of Étouffée, a modest home with a pick up truck parked out front next to a fire pit…”

To read the whole story and get some great Southern Accent recipes call 416 536 3211 to preorder the book and check out the restaurant HERE!