If you are like most people when you decide on dinner you do very basic preparation, cook a burger, cook a chicken, cook a steak, or cook lasagna etc. I know I do.

Instead of learning to just cook some Cajun dishes. What about how to season anything you make tonight with a bit of Cajun infusion. What about pretending you have an imaginary Cajun in your kitchen to cook with you?

How about having a group over and listen to some Cajun music and cook cajun together.

In this article we will feature;
History
Basics of Cajun Cooking
A Cajun Style Seafood Boil Party
Making Common Dishes Cajun
      Jazz up your Roast Chicken
      Turn your Soup or Stew into Gumbo

Cajun cooking does not have to rip your lips off to be Cajun.

In fact it doesn’t even need to be HOT
the heat, you can adjust in Cajun cooking.

It was the bold and earthy flavors of all types that excited me about learning the Cajun style many years ago. It is not just a technique but an attitude toward food and life that makes their food exciting! As Paul Prudhomme, a famous Cajun Chef would say, "ummm this tastes so good it makes your toes curl."

There are so many other techniques the Cajun’s use besides peppers to develop flavor, and in the words of another famous Louisiana chef …"Kick it up a ...yeah you know what I was going to say.

I mean they round out flavors using what they call the trinity of vegetables, dark roux’s and seasoning meats such as a bit of andoullie, (a smoked sausage) or Tasso ( a dry well smoked ham) or both to deepen the flavor of something like a chicken or seafood soup. They told me that other types of smoked sausage and good smoked ham work well also.

I don’t see anything wrong with blending Cajun techniques with yours. According to a famous Cajun chef John Folse, their cuisine did not just develop by itself. Many cultures influenced it.

The Spanish people that came to Louisiana, .
Made Paella,this later influenced a dish by the Cajun’s called Jambalaya

The French brought Bouillabaisse,
This influenced the origin of Seafood Gumbo.

The Native American Indians,
brought ground Sassafras leaves …that became
File Gumbo, corn that made their famous Corn Maque choux and bay leaves.

The Germans
brought their knowledge of making sausage and helped in the development of great sausages like andoullie

The Africans,
brought many things from their continent one of which was the “kin- okra plant.” Now okra is a main part of Cajun and Creole cuisine. Also beans and rice some say were brought over from Africa.

The Hatians
Did wonderful braised dishes and their traditional rice and peas influenced the dish Red Beans and Rice

Cajun’s learned to develop rich flavors with humble ingredients because that is all they had to cook with. They were not rich, so they learned to take things that were cast away like chicken giblets and make wonderful dishes like dirty rice.

Next let's check out

The Basics of Cajun Cooking  Go here

If you want to get into the mood for this project and listen to some Free Cajun Music from Louisiana's KBON go to their website and click it on it's free.
http://www.kbon.com
Most of the talk is in French

Recipe, Links,Articles

Listen to Free Cajun Music
from Louisiana's KBON go to their website and click it on it's free.
http://www.kbon.com

Gumbo is a Mystery
This article talks about some of the unique elements of gumbo that are different than other types of soups and stews
Susans Daily Tips

Cajun Vs. Creole
So you have heard the term Cajun and Creole. This article tells you the difference, so you can talk to someone from Louisiana and not not get corrected.

Donated by Richard Holbert.