Do you have a favorite Cajun food? Did you 'grow up' with it, or did you 'acquire' the taste?

Question

I tasted something once that
was so delicious, it had a
haunting flavor.
It was soooo good!

Since then the restaurant
closed, and I have forgotten
the name of the dish.
It was served on rice,
and had shrimp and sausage in it.

It was the spices that were so great!
A comfortable warm cozy sort of taste.

Answer 1

It's called gumbo. It's fairly easy to make. The main spice in gumbo is bay leaves and file' (feel a). It has a brown roux, okra, onions and celery. It can be made with any seafood. I make mine with shrimp, oysters and crab meat.
Or you could have had shrimp creole, which is also served over rice. It has more of a tomato base along with the bay leaves.
Yes, I grew up with it. Along the Gulf Coast, it's pretty easy to find but some restuarants put fish in their gumbo, I don't care for the fishy taste.

Answer 2

It could had been Etouffee, jambalaya,gumbo's and of just those 3 dishes include shrimp and sausage in them. I grew up with the food,I dont believe anyone 'acquires' the taste of cajun food.Its a food that if you have never tasted before but tried just once it is so haunting as you describe it ,unbelievable good that you would never forget the taste and would want more or at least learn to cook it.
http://www.greatcajuncooking.com/recipes/

Answer 3

The dish you were served was most likely, Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo. It is usually made with cut okra, and roux as a base. it is a staple Cajun dish.
It is one of my favorites, but I think I eat far more jambalaya, although I did not grow up with it in my diet. ( The gumbo was).
I have recipes for both.

p.s. The spices are common; chopped onion, both green and white ( or yellow), celery, garlic, Cajun seasoning ( or salt and pepper) to taste. But these have to be cooked in particular sequence and manner.

Answer 4

Cajun Tamale Pie 1 pound ground cajun sausage One 16 oz can stewed tomatoes One 16 oz can blackeye peas with jalapenos 1 med size onion, chopped 1 tsp salt 1 pkg cornbread mix 1 cup grated jack cheese Brown sausage, add tomatoes blackeye peas, onion and salt. Mix well and pour into oiled baking dish. Mix cornbread according to directions on package, then pour cornbread mixture over ground meat and bake about 30 minutes or until cornbread is done in 350F oven. Melt cheese on top.

Answer 5

Sounds like gumbo to me. My grandfather used to make excellent gumbo and I don't have the recipe. Lots of gumbo comes out wrong because people don't get the roux dark enough. I know I never manage to get the roux right when I try to cook gumbo. I just saw that WHole Foods now sells pre-made roux that looks the right color. I may try using that.

Answer 6

My first 5 years of my life, I lived in the south, just a couple hours away from New Orleans, so I was growing up with it. I absolutely adore super spicy crawfish from New Orleans, California can't get that good with crawfish. Well I also like jamblaya, i think that's the dish you're talking about.

Answer 7

Shrimp and Grits. Good eating. Trust me. Everytime I go to New Orleans I have shrimp and grits on Bourbon Street. Didn't get a chance to go last year for obvious reasons but come November,I will be there for the Bayou Classic.

Answer 8

I love gumbo!! It is delicious. I tasted it for the first time when I was 11 and I have loved it since.

Answer 9

I have family and friends who are Cajun. They are some of the BEST cooks in the world in my opinion.

Make me want some gumbo!

Answer 10

My favorite is Jambalaya - hot & spicy and served on a bed of seasoned rice. It's always been a favorite dish of mine.