Category Archives: Easy Cook

Beer Can Chicken

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Don’t drink all the beer, save one can for the chicken. When a friend bragged that the best chicken she ever cooked was “Beer Can Chicken,” I was a little sceptical. She seemed just a little too enthusiastic. The concept is simple enough. Season a chicken with lots of Cajun spices, impale the whole chicken on a partially filled can of beer and roast it in the oven. Actually, successfully roasting a chicken is not always easy to accomplish. The goal is tender and juicy meat, yet cooked thoughout. It is so easy to overcook the chicken and end up with dry, tough pieces. How did my friend’s recipe turn out? My taste-tester husband devoured this chicken before I had a chance to snap all my photos. It was a success; and I now strongly recommend this novel method of roasting a chicken, too.

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Easy Cook: Cornmeal Marmalade Muffins with Glaze

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Here’s another old-fashioned Southern recipe, “Cornmeal Marmalade Muffins.” Sometimes “easy is better” and this recipe fits into that category. A friend gave me a jar of homemade satsuma (orange) marmalade for Christmas and this is the perfect recipe for using some of the marmalade. The muffins are a quick “one bowl” recipe — it takes less than 5 minutes to mix and pop the muffins into the oven. The flavor “punch” comes from both orange marmalade and cornmeal which are mixed into the batter. These muffins don’t have added sugar (other than the marmalade); they are not too sweet — that’s a good thing! If you pefer, add a powdered sugar icing for a sweet twist when serving. These very tasty cornmeal muffins are great for breakfast, brunch or just a snack.

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Easy Air Fryer: And We have a Baked Potato

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I finally have a great use for my air fryer — baking a potato. I happen to love baked potatoes — they make an easy meal for just one person when everyone else is out of town. However, baking a potato proprely is not as easy as it seems. A great baked potato should have a salty, flavorful yet chewable outer skin and a moist, steamy inside. But, why heat up the oven and entire kitchen to bake just one or two potatoes? After many tries, I finally have a recipe for one “perfect” baked potato in my air fryer. And, I’m loading my baked potato up with vegetables and cheese — for a healthy meal!

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Za’atar Roasted Sweet Potato Fries in the Air Fryer

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My daughter-in-law gave me a package of a Za’atar-seasoning blend which was intended for use as an olive oil dipping sauce. She loves Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine and had an extra packet to share. How thoughtful, and now I have a new cooking adventure! Rather than making a dipping sauce for pita bread, I used the Za’atar spice blend to flavor sweet potato wedges. The za’atar gave a totally different flavor profile to the sweet potatoes and it was a nice change from Cajun-type spices — which are typically “hot” and require a strong palate to eat. The “Za’atar Roasted Sweet Potato Fries” were delicious. Best of all, I successfully roasted the small batch of sweet potato wedges in my air fryer — yeah, go air fryer. This three-ingredient sweet potato recipe is so simple!

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Easy Cook: Persimmon Custard

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Today I’m making egg custard with an autumn twist. I have several persimmons remaining on my backyard tree and decided to add one to the custard which I am cooking. It gives the custard a unique “kick” for an interesting change. Custard is probably one of the most revered and beloved “comfort foods” around. I am sure that this custard will quickly disappear when my husband figures out that it is in the refrigerator — he absolutely loves custard. While rummaging around for custard recipes, I found several variations. This recipe is cooked on the stove — rather than a baked — which saves alot of preparation time. Although custard recipes traditionally do not contain cornstarch, this ingredient helps the custard thicken since it is not baked in the oven. I really like this recipe. It is fast and relatively easy to prepare. The custard is creamy and smooth without an “eggy” taste.

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Zydeco Green Beans

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Louisiana Zydeco musician, Clifton Chenier, sang, ‘”Eh, maman, Eh, maman, Les haricots sont pas salés,” Translated, the Creole French phrase means, “Hey mom, Hey mom, The snap beans don’t have salt.” Today I’m cooking green beans — les haricots verts — but, yes, I am adding a little salt. I love green beans — especially fresh green beans which are picked from a garden in early summer. I have tried various ways to dress up the green beans for the holidays. My favorite recipe idea combines sesame and garlic mixed into the green beans. Plus, I added a few red pepper flakes! Can’t help it. This is Louisiana. It is a very tasty and simple recipe.

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Sweet Potato Spice Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping

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It seems like I always purchase one too many sweet potatoes for the recipe that I’m making. I hate to waste food. Here’s a coffee cake recipe which uses just one sweet potato. I have been sharing Louisiana cuisine and beyond on my blog since my blog began. “Sweet Potato Spice Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping” is one of the first recipe ideas which I posted and it is still one of my favorite recipes. Today I made the coffee cake again using my last sweet potato. This coffee cake is full of pumpkin pie-type spices. The batter it includes both brown sugar and molasses. Add a crumb topping with aromatic pecans and the result is an absolutely delicious coffee cake. Watch out — it is hard to resist a second piece.

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Black Walnut Cluster Kisses for the Holidays

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The holiday season is a great time to bake cookies. Do you know of anyone who can object to receiving a plate of homemade cookies? I love to bake during the holiday’s, but don’t need to eat many of the rich cookies and desserts. So, let’s bake cookies and give them away (well, most of them)! This season I am making a tried and true cookie recipe, “Black Walnut Clusters,” and I am adding a Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each cookie for an extra “pop” of chocolate and a festive appearance. This cookie recipe is a favorite with the flavors of chocolate and black walnuts in a rich vanilla cookie. It is simple and quick to mix up.

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Blueberry Cornbread

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It is a pleasant problem to have too many blueberries. My backyard blueberry bushes are producing about 2 cups of ripe blueberries a day. In addition to sharing with neighbors, I’m scrambling to find ways to use all the blueberries. I love homemade cornbread and recently ran across a recipe for “Blueberry Cornbread.” I guess this shows that you can add just about anything to cornbread. I love “Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins” with pickled jalapeno bits and my “Hushpuppies” with green onions and Cajun spices. Why not make a sweet cornbread recipe with fresh blueberries? Yum!

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Easy Crawfish and Corn Bisque & Shrimp Variation

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Here’s a delicious and easy recipe for Louisiana crawfish — “Crawfish and Corn Bisque.” Crawfish season in Louisiana has arrived and it is time to cook up some crawfish recipes. Our local Rouse’s Supermarket serves a very tasty version of “Crawfish and Corn Bisque” on their soup and salad bar. Surprised to find crawfish soup at a grocery store? The Rouse folks are from New Orleans and they do know how to cook. I like to occasionally stop by and pick up a quick noon meal at Rouse’s lunch counter; this time they were serving the soup. I have been contemplating making the bisque myself and decided to concoct make my own recipe by combining ideas from several Louisiana chefs and sources.

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