Mother's Red Beans
2 lbs. Red beans
1 lb. Smoked sausage
1 lb. Ham, grade A
1/4 lb. Ham fat, rendered
1 Ham bone
1/2 lb. Onions, diced
1/4 lb. Green onions, diced
1/3 lb. Bell pepper, diced
3 oz. Garlic, minced
2 Bay leaves
1/2 tsp. Thyme
1/3 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Black pepper
2 qt. Chicken stock
2 qt. Debris Gravy
Render ham fat in skillet. Remove cracklins from the remaining fat. Sauté sausage and grade A ham. Add onions, bell pepper and green until tender. Add garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves. Add red beans and stir into vegetables. Add stock and debris gravy. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until red beans are tender and become creamy.
Mother's Seafood Gumbo
1-1/2 gal. Crab stock (see recipe)
6 lbs. Cleaned okra (fresh or quick frozen)
12 oz. Fat (ham fat, vegetable oil or brown fat)
6 oz. All-purpose flour
2 lbs. Lump crabmeat
1 gal. Oysters, retain oyster water and wash oysters
4 lbs. Shrimp, peeled and de-veined
Crab Stock
1 lb. Onions, finely diced
1/2 lb. Bell pepper, finely diced
3 oz. Garlic, ground
4 gal. Water
6 lbs. Clean gumbo crabs
4 Bay leaves
1 oz. Whole black peppercorns
1/2 lb. Onions, dice large
4 Sprigs of parsley
1/4 tsp. Thyme, dry
8 oz. Brandy
1/5 Dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Place crabs in roasting pan, then place on top stove. Cook until crabs turn orange. Flame with brandy – please be careful. Add crabs to water in large stock pot, bring to boil. Reduce flame. Add vegetables, white wine and seasoning, simmer for 4 hours. Strain stock through cheesecloth, reduce to 2/3 volume. It’s important that ALL particles are strained out. Stock should be dark, but clear.
Roux
Add 6 oz. All-purpose flour to 6 oz. of hot fat. Cook until brown, add onions, bell pepper, and garlic to roux. Cook until chocolate brown.
Gumbo
Place cooked okra in pot with crab stock, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce flame, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add roux, bring back to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes. Add shrimp, oysters and crabmeat. Simmer until shrimp and oysters are cooked. Adjust consistency by adding more stock if too thick, or more roux if too thin, adjusting salt and pepper to taste.
Jerry's Jambalaya
First Place Winner
1985 La Fete Jambalaya Cook-off
2 oz. Butter
1 cup Onions, diced
3/4 cup Rice
2 cups Chicken stock
3 Bays leaves, whole
8 oz. Smoked sausage, sliced
8 oz. Chicken, diced in large chunks
1/2 cup Celery, diced
1-1/2 tbs. Garlic, finely minced
1 tsp. Thyme, fresh, chopped
1 tsp. Basil, fresh, chopped
1 tsp. Oregano, fresh, chopped
1/4 tsp. White pepper
1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1-1/2 tbs. Flour
6 oz. Creole tomato sauce (see recipe)
1/2 cup Green onion tops, chopped
In a medium saucepan (use the type of pan that will also go into the oven), melt butter, add one half cup of onions and sauté until onions are clear. Add rice, 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then remove from stove and place in a 450 degree oven for five to seven minutes. Remove from the oven and hold. Rice should be approximately half cooked.
In a heavy pot, render fat out of the sausage. Remove sausage, Sauté chicken in the same pot and remove. Sauté the rest of the onions with celery, green peppers, garlic and seasonings (thyme, basil, oregano, white pepper, cayenne pepper) in remaining fat. Dust with flour (sprinkle about 1-1/2 tsp. On top of vegetables to thicken and flavor) and cook for five minutes. Add remaining chicken stock, cook two minutes, and add sausage and chicken, pre-cooked rice, creole tomato sauce, green onions and 2 bay leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes or less or until done, but not too dry. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves six.
Creole Tomato Sauce
The following recipe is a basic tomato sauce that is difficult to make in small quantities. You can make the whole amount and freeze the remainder for other uses, such as on pasta dishes.
3 lbs. Ripe creole tomatoes
1/4 cup Olive oil
3/4 cup French shallots, diced
6 a Medium cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. Thyme, fresh
1 tsp. Oregano, fresh
2 tsp. White pepper
1/4 cup Red wine
1 tsp. Sugar
Boil whole tomatoes for one minute, then remove skins, cut in half, remove seeds and dice – should have about seven cups. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan, add shallots and cook for two minutes. Add garlic, thyme, oregano, basil and white pepper. Sauté shallots until clear. Add diced tomatoes, bring mixture to a boil, add red wine and sugar, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until tomatoes begin to break up. Salt and pepper to taste and purée in a blender of food processor.
Yields 5 cups.
Mother's Bread Pudding
1 1/2 Stale French bread
2 Cups Cream
12 Eggs
8 Cups Whole milk
6 Cups of Sugar
4 Cups Fruit cocktail, in syrup
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg, ground
4 tbs. Cinnamon, ground
1/2 Cup of Vanilla Extract
3/4 lb. Unsalted Butter
In a large mixing bowl break bread into small pieces. In a saucepan simmer milk, cream and butter until butter is melted. Add milk and mix until bread absorbs mikl. In a bowl whip eggs until combined. Add eggs, fruit cocktail, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vinilla extract to bread and mix until all combined and there is no dry or hard pieces of bread. Pour into a 12x10x2 1/2 inch pan. Put into a 350 degree oven, bake until top is brown and middle is done. ( About 1 1/2 hours give or take a little depending on your oven)
Bread Pudding Sauce
1/2 lb. Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1 pinch of Nutmeg
2 oz. Brandy
Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer allowing butter to separate. Remove from heat. Pour either on top of bread pudding in pan or spoon onto each piece of bread pudding when served.
Buttered Brandy Sauce
1 cup Butter, clarified
1/8 tsp. Cinnamon, ground
1 pinch Nutmeg, ground
2 tbs. Dark brown sugar
1 oz. Brandy
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Raise to a boil, then hold warm in a double boiler or a pot set into another pot of hot water. |
We speak a little differently here at Mother’s, we speak “baby, darling and sweetheart”, so here’s a dictionary to help you with our menu. You might want to print it out before you arrive, ’cause we don’t like lollygaggers hanging up the line.
Black Ham:
the crisp, caramelized crust from the world’s best baked ham.
Creolized:
The blending of traditional French recipes and ingredients with those of Africa, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Caribbean that produced the unique flavors that New Orleans home cooking is known for.
Debris:
the roast beef that falls into the gravy while baking in the oven.
Dressed:
a po’ boy with added toppings. At Mother’s this means fresh shredded cabbage, pickles, mayo, Creole and yellow mustard.
Etouffee:
(et-too-fay) literally means “smothered,” in French. Vegetables and spices are cooked down in rich seafood stock, providing the softest of beds for tender shrimp or crawfish to drown in.
Ferdi Special:
a po’ boy packed with baked ham, roast beef, debris and gravy, served dressed.
File:
(fee-lay) a thickener for gumbo made from ground sassafras root.
Gumbo:
a dark, savory broth of tomatoes and roux simmered for a long time and containing either seafood or meat and thickened with either filé or okra. This is a typical Cajun dish creolized at Mother’s.
Jambalaya:
rice cooked with chicken, homemade andouille (an-doo-wee) sausage, vegetables, herbs and seasonings. Jerry’s Jambalaya has been creolized.
Paneed:
Meat or chicken that has been lightly breaded and pan-fried.
Roux:
The traditional roux is made with flour and butter. Our roux is made with flour and rendered pork fat from Mother’s ham.
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