How was this discovery made?We all remember this image. Jesus walking with the disciples through a crowd when someone touches his robe. Jesus stops and tells the woman who touched his robe that she has been healed by her faith. Bless this story, however, there is one element people overlook. Let us examine the photo more carefully.
If you notice on the zoomed in photo, and I don't know why historians never caught this, He dropped a page from his robe. What was on that page? Lets look closer to find out!
It's a little blurry but I thought that's what it said.
She got the healing she was looking for and a ancestor of mine found Jesus's Etouffee receipt. Of course this is just an antidote but for what? All I am trying to express is that when I say I have the best crawfish etouffee receipt to me, it was a gift from God. I don't want to come across as a pompous arrogant English/ Acadian type. I feel as though I discovered it, I don't feel as if I made it up. I have created the perfect accident Then with out hesitation I made record of it. I don't want you to think my boasting is all in vain. Who am I?
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What is an Etouffee?
Etouffee is a classic Cajun receipt invented in the 1920’s. as the legend goes it was invented in a hotel by a Mrs. Hebert and her daughters. I am a in the family line of the “Hotel” so it only makes since that I feel a kin to this dish, but I digress. This was a dish enjoyed in the back woods of Acadia, the swamps, but now it was taking center stage. Later on, after some changes, the dish made its grand debuted at the RendexVous Café. Now days it a pretty common dish served up by Creole and Cajun chefs alike, but there are still some rules. What is in an Etouffee? Etouffee is a dish covered in savory swamp flavors. Literally the word Etouffee means “smothered” or “Stuffed”, be careful when telling someone you want to “etouffee them”, because in cooking it means something slightly different. SMOTHER: To cook slowly, over a low heat, in a covered pan using little liquid. Or, Smothered: The process of "cooking down" food is where the volume is reduced to a smaller portion. Both are definitions are pretty clear. You take the ingredients in the pan; put them on low heat and you simmer them down to a mixable concoction. What you use to mix them is where the debate lies. Does an Etouffee use oil or butter? The Roux part 1: While most will just throw a stick of butter in the pan, and sweat some onions in it, some might argue that does not constitute a roux. There is a large group of “puritans” that believe the only way to make an authentic etouffee is with a traditional roux. While I agree with them, sometimes I have used the stick of butter method. I see benefits both ways but for show and tell, I will always brew up a roux. Here are some receipts that do not believe in honoring the tradition; Nicky’s Crawfish Etouffee Crawfish Etouffee IV Crawfish Etouffee (Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse) There are some that claim to be traditional, but are not. Easy Crawfish Etouffee (food.com) NOLA Cusine But here are some that do follow the tradition; Taste of Home; it’s a butter roux but at least they are trying: Raised on Roux The Rogue Gormet The roux part 2; Many will go the easy route and I’m sure their receipts are still very tasty, but the etouffee culture may not be so understanding. Cooking with a Roux is, for some, a way of life. One can get a stick of butter, melting in a pan, right the first time. This is the easy way and it cheats the chef of the true etouffee experience. It’s not hard to cook an Roux, but it does take a little more effort than just melting butter. There really is a traditionalist vs. modern, roux vs. butter, no one argues for margarine, debate going on. When starting out it’s easy to sympathize with butter, however although butter can be applied after the roux, a true etouffee needs three things, and the first thing is an old fashion roux. Etouffee; crawfish or shrimp or seafood? I have made all three of these, but if you want true etouffee results you either need to cook it with the crawfish fat (the juice) or actually use crawfish. The original dish was a “CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE!” not something else. Anything else is just a deviation of the original dish. There is one exception; if the chef acknowledges that to those that he or she serves the dish to. For example; Chef: (to customer) “Thanks for ordering the catfish etouffee, it’s not crawfish but it’s delicious.” At least they are admitting they know the difference. The Holy Trinity; The Father, Son and Holy Sprit. The Holy Trinity in cooking; In Cajun cooking they call the 3 ingredients that show up most often the holy trinity. These are the onion, the bell pepper, and celery. The Holy Trinity in Etouffee; The roux, the holy trinity and the crawfish. Now that that is established you can add whatever else you would like, just don’t overdo-it on the cayenne. Here is a great resource for the vegan option. Very creative. I am going to try my favorite recipe with it and see how it goes.
http://madveganinthekitchen.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/vegan-etouffee/ The Traditional Etouffee (A slide show) |