My herbs are in full bloom and I get so excited to go outside and gather fresh herbs when I am cooking!  My favorites are my Genovese Basil.  Perfect for Salads, Sauces and Appetizers:

My favorite is Pesto a la Genovese to stir into hot cooked spaghetti or drizzle it over my Summer Caprese Salad.  And it goes without saying it is an essential ingredient is my Classic Marinara Sauce or Red Gravy.

My version of a Caprese Salad

Line a platter with your choice of lettuce..I like either Romaine or soft Butter Lettuce.  Alternate slices of Creole Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Fresh Basil Leaves and scatter a handful of Kalamata Olives and Drizzle with Pesto Genovese.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.  Serve immediately.

Eggplant Spaghetti….Just make your regular Marinara Sauce (page 86) and after you saute the onions and garlic, just add 1 Medium eggplant with the skin, cut up into 1″cubes, that you have generously salted and allowed to drain in a colander for 40 minutes.  Dry the cubes well and add to the onions and garlic and saute for 5 more minutes and add all remaining ingredients.  Simmer on Med. low heat for one hour! Boil Spaghetti in salted water for 8 minutes or “al dente”, Remove 1/2 of the Eggplant Sauce from the pot. Add the cooked pasta to the remaining sauce in the pot and cook on low for two minutes more.  Serve immediately and top each portion with more sauce.  Pass the freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese and the Garlic Bread!!

Springtime Basil!

Bay Leaves, two different kinds…so fragrant… that goes in EVERYTHING New Orleans Style!   Like Gumbos, Soups, Stews, Red Beans and Jambalaya….

Continue reading →

BABY ROMAINE WEDGE SALAD W BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

Ever wonder what happened to that steak house salad that we all loved to eat??  I think it was over shadowed by the ever popular Caesar Salad and although some restaurants may offer them, it just doesn’t compare to how they used to taste.

Well here is a recipe that I taught in a recent class that got rave reviews.  The secret is to use a good quality blue cheese and lots of it!  Definitely start with a block of blue cheese instead of one that is already pre-crumbled.  When choosing a cheese, make sure it is well “veined” with deep blue color for that strong taste that seems to be missing these days!

I know that the classic wedge salad calls for iceberg lettuce and I don’t have a problem with that, but to bring it up to a more sophisticated version I love to use Baby Romaine lettuce.   Add some crumbled, crispy bacon and grape tomatoes and you have an awesome starter to any meal!!

HEARTS OF BABY ROMAINE WITH BLUE CHEESE AND BACON
CHIQUI COLLIER
Serves 8
• 8 strips good-quality smoked bacon
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4 baby romaine lettuces Or two firm heads of Iceberg Lettuce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Blue Cheese Dressing, recipe follows
Cook bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels. When cooled, crumble and set aside.
Cut the baby romaine hearts in half lengthwise; rinse in cold water and drain on paper towels cut side down for 15 minutes. Wrap in a kitchen towel and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Divide the wedges among 8 chilled salad plates. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon about 1/4 cup of Blue Cheese Dressing over each salad and top with several halved grape tomatoes, crumbled bacon, a few grinds of black pepper and some chopped fresh parsley. Pass the remaining dressing if desired.
Chiqui’s Blue Cheese Dressing:
2 cups Hellmann’s mayonnaise or homemade mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
*1/2 cup Buttermilk or more as needed
2 cups hand crumbled blue cheese (about 6-8 ounces) or more if desired
1 French shallot, finely minced
2 tablespoons Regina red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh Garlic
1 teaspoon Dried Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Tony’s Seasoning
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Lemon-pepper to taste
Place all ingredients except blue cheese in a bowl and whisk together to blend. If you desire a more pourable sauce, add more buttermilk to reach desired consistency. Gently stir in crumbled blue cheese. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed glass container for up to 5 days.
Yield: 3 1/2 cups **To make your own buttermilk, add one tablespoon vinegar to each cup of whole milk. Let stand 10 minutes before using.

Hope you will give this a try real soon and that you love it as much as I do!

……..until next time, Bon Appetit,

Chiqui

ummmmm cold, silky, creamy, buttery, satisfying chocolate!!

Being a true southern gal, I can honestly say that I love crunchy Pecan Pie.  But I equally adore Chocolate Cream Pie.  Rich homemade chocolate filling and a generous amount of fresh {real} whipped cream can truly cool you off on a hot, sunny day!  As wonderful as these two pies are, there is something so satisfying about my Mama’s classic cheesecake; add a handful of sliced Louisiana strawberries if they are in season if you want to dress it up.

And surely, if you are going to make one of these wonderful pies from scratch, by all means, Sugah, make a crispy, flakey real pie crust!!

ALL AMERICAN PIE CRUST

Makes enough pastry for one 9-inch deep-dish double-crust pie or two 9-inch deep-dish pie shells
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and put in freezer for 15 minutes
• 1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening cut into pieces freeze like the butter
• 1/2 cup cold iced water

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse several times to mix. Remove the lid and scatter the frozen butter pieces over the dry ingredients. Pulse the machine 5 or 6 times to cut in the butter.
Remove the lid and fluff the mixture with a fork, lifting it up from the bottom of the bowl. Scatter the frozen shortening pieces over the flour and pulse the machine 6 or 7 times. Remove the lid and fluff the mixture again.
Drizzle half of the water over the flour mixture and pulse the machine 5 or 6 times. Remove the lid, fluff the pastry, and sprinkle on the rest of the water. Pulse the machine 5 or 6 times more, until the pastry starts to form clumps.
Overall, it will look like coarse crumbs. Dump the contents of the processor bowl into a large mixing bowl.
Test the pastry by squeezing some of it between your fingertips. If it seems a little dry and not quite packable, drizzle a teaspoon or so of cold water over the pastry and work it in with your fingertips. Using your hands, pack the pastry into 2 balls, as you would pack a snowball. Make one ball slightly larger than the other; this will be your bottom crust. Knead each ball once or twice, and then flatten the balls into 3/4-inch-thick disks on a floured work surface. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling. Or you can freeze it to use for later.  About 10 minutes before rolling, remove the pastry to from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface.  Proceed as directed in your recipe. Continue reading →

Crawfish Shortcakes w a Warm Remoulade Sauce

ANOTHER AWESOME CRAWFISH DISH THAT CAN SERVE AS AN APPETIZER IF MADE SMALL OR AS A MAIN COURSE IF MADE BIGGER.

Either way this is a wonderful recipe to make this crawfish season for something a little different!

Savory Herb Biscuits  (12-14 large)
Chiqui Collier

3 cups White Lily Self-rising Flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh Rosemary leaves, chopped (optional)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon seafood magic or your favorite Creole seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (you may need a little more)

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and whisk together to blend well. Make a well in the center and add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and fold into the flour mixture. Add the remaining cream a little at a time until you achieve a moist but firm biscuit dough….just until the dough holds together. Continue reading →

Crawfish season is upon us here in south Louisiana and we are so blessed to be able to purchase precooked and peeled crawfish tails.  This makes preparing a quick meal so easy and delicious!

The recipe for this pasta dish came together the other night when my son Ben decided to cook our dinner.  He just looked in the fridge, the pantry and the freezer and came up with this delicious dinner in less than 30 minutes. Continue reading →

ITALIAN MOCHA MARBLE CHEESECAKE   RECIPE PAGE 196 IN MY COOKBOOK “COORKEY N’ORLEANS STYLE.”

This cheesecake was made with a half recipe of the ingredients.  The full recipe will serve 16 guests.  This was for 9 guests and we had extra to send home with some of the guests.

This cheesecake is light, airy and not overly sweet.  The reason for the lightness is the use of Ricotta cheese and not cream cheese and the fact that whipped heavy cream is folded into the batter before baking.  I used chocolate cream filled cookies similar to Oreos and scraped out the filling to use for the crust.  Sometimes you can find plain dark, chocolate cookie wafers and sometimes they are not available, so these worked really well!

I have also used unsweetened cocoa in the filling instead of chocolate milk powder with great success.  In the recipe it calls for three containers of ricotta cheese.  Try to use whole milk ricotta and each container should be 16 ounces.

This is a great dessert for any special holiday or gathering.  I promise you will get lots of compliments and requests for the recipe!!

…until next time, Bon Appetit,

Chiqui

A RAINBOW ICE CREAM CAKE????

A LIGHT AS AIR LEMON OLIVE OIL CAKE??????

MY FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CAKE???

MY SUPER MOIST CARROT CAKE??

OH, LET’S JUST MAKE THEM ALL!!

RAINBOW CAKE  RECIPE PAGE 186-187 IN THE COOKBOOK.

So good and so “cool”.  Everyone will love it.  Three layers of chocolate cake and strawberry and pistachio ice cream…..or you could use mint chocolate chip, too! Continue reading →

The Late, Great Austin Leslie’s Cornbread Muffins!!

Continue reading →

Wow, so much has happened since my last post I can hardly believe it…….time is really flying by…..so what have I been so busy with????  Two new grandbabies, of course.  Being a grandmother is the most joyful part of my life these days and babies are just the best!!

Meet Vincent, 1 year old on the left and Giselle, 8 months! Grandbabies # 10 and # 11!!

Oyster, Leek and Artichoke Bisque

The official “Holidays” have ended but not so if you are from New Orleans…We are getting ready for Mardi Gras and Saint’s Football Playoffs!!..But since I didn’t post anything for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I decided to include this fabulous soup.  Of course, everybody knows that Louisiana oysters are the BEST in the world and we  have had an awesome Oyster season.  This soup starred as the appetizer for my Christmas Dinner and everyone declared it the best they had ever eaten!  I’ll take that!

Oyster, Leek and Artichoke Soup
Chiqui Collier

1 Qt. Oysters, drained and liquid reserved

1 stick unsalted butter
8 oz. Baby Bellas or White Mushrooms, sliced
2 Large leeks, thinly sliced (white part only), well rinsed
2 Large Cloves Garlic, finely minced
6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme (leaves only)
4 heaping tablespoons of all purpose flour
2 Bay Leaves
Seafood Magic to taste (I use about a teaspoon)
Lemon-pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons of Lea & Perrins
1 quart fresh Chicken Stock
2 Cups Heavy Cream or Half and Half
1 Cup Dry White Wine
2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

Melt the stick of butter in a 5qt. Pot. Saute’ mushrooms and leeks for 2 minutes until softened. Add garlic and fresh thyme. Cook 2 minutes more. Sprinkle flour evenly on softened vegetables. Season with Seafood Magic and lemon-pepper. Stir in the reserved oyster water, Bay Leaves. Lea & Perrins, artichoke hearts, white wine and chicken stock. Simmer 20 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer until heated thoroughly. Taste and correct seasoning. (Check for salt). If mixture is too thick, thin out with more cream or chicken stock if desired.

When ready to serve: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Saute oysters just until the edges curl (about 2 minutes). Place an even amount of oysters in each soup bowl. Pour hot soup over each bowl and garnish with a thin slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley OR you can chop all the oysters before adding to the soup.

Serves 8 – 10 as a soup course

Love to serve this with toasted slices of French Bread.

……until next time, Bon Appetit

Chiqui