Monday, July 9, 2012

Creole Tomato Garden Faves + Bayou Boogie

One of the best things about summer is eating fresh, homegrown tomatoes from the garden. This year I have been growing Creole tomatoes and cherry tomatoes in containers on my patio and preparing them in many different ways. They have done quite well since we have had regular rainfall, this summer. Here are two of my favorite recipes. The shrimp stuffed Creole tomatoes are out of this world, and the cornbread and tomato salad is fab and so easy to make.  Enjoy! Bon appetit!

Shrimp Stuffed Creole Tomatoes

4 medium tomatoes
1 lb. medium, cooked/boiled shrimp, chopped
1 lemon, cut in half
1 tsp. to 1 tbs. Cajun seasoning
1/2 cup each, onion and bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup Spanish olives, chopped, (optional)
1 tsp. crushed garlic
2 tbs.'s fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup light mayo
1 tbs. Creole or Dijon mustard
1 tbs. ketchup
Few shakes of Tabasco

Core tomatoes, scoop out centers, and chop and place in a large bowl. Chop onion, bell pepper, olives, and parsley, and add to the bowl. Add shrimp and squeeze lemon juice over shrimp-veggie  mixture, mix well, and season with Cajun seasoning.


 In separate bowl, mix garlic, mayo, mustard, ketchup,  and Tabasco and mix well. Add to shrimp mixture and toss to coat evenly.  Place shrimp mixture in tomatoes and chill until ready to serve.


 For my Spicy Boiled Shrimp recipe, click here.



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 Southern Cornbread and Tomato Salad

3 cups leftover cornbread, cubed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes, halved
or 2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 medium red onion, diced
1 green or red bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Creole mustard
1 tablespoon cane syrup
1 tbs. Cajun seasoning

Melt butter in heavy skillet and add cornbread.  Toss in butter and cook over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes. Toast in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until dry and hard, like croutons. These are also great in any kind of soup or salad.
 

Remove from oven and set aside until cool. Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard,  and cane syrup. Salt to taste. In a large bowl, toss cornbread with Cajun seasoning, tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, and parsley.  Drizzle with 1/3 to 1/2 of the dressing and serve the rest on the side.


For my Spicy Cajun Cornbread recipe, click here.

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I am sharing these at ~

Bayou Boogie

Here's a little clip of Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie, rockin' the crowd at Cajun Palms RV Resort in Henderson, Louisiana. Grab a cold one and let the good times roll, cher!


18 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

A lovely summer luncheon! I can also sneak a peek at the Bananas Foster cheesecake recipe to make this a very special day!

nanny said...

Yum!! I never knew there was creole tomatoes!! Are they hot and spicy? HA.....

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Sounds yummy. I'm so jealous. All our tomato plants are loaded with tomatoes, but none of them are ripe yet! We've NEVER had to wait this long before the plants started yielding. I reckon about a kazillion of 'em will turn red all on the same day. (I just hope we're at home the day it happens ...)

Pat Tillett said...

It all looks good, but those stuffed tomatoes would be so good right now to help cool off with! YUM!

Sarah K said...

Definitely trying the stuffed tomatoes, they look delicious!

Eddie Bluelights said...

I've plenty of tomatoes but sadly no shrimps!! - will have to make do with prawns!! LOL - errr, sorry! As for the Bayoo Boogie - I definitely recognize a lady dancer near the stage - or do I? LOL

Velva said...

There is absolutely nothing that beats homegrown tomatoes. These two dishes look delicious.

Velva

the wild magnolia said...

love the idea of homegrown tomatoes. we are RV traveling, so no homegrown. when we settle for the winter in Florida, I am going to grow tomatoes. it is warm enough even in winter.

lovely recipes. we were in louisiana, new orleans and st. martinville, for three weeks. it was so fun. in new iberia i had the best fried oysters, ever. at a diner, can't remember the name just now. we enjoyed the visit so much. found all kinds of zataran and Tony products we do not see in florida.

i love louisiana. we were in nachitoches nine days.

hidden art of homemaking said...

Marguerite, I am so glad to see this post with these recipes..with so many tomatoes I need all the help I can get with ideas to use them..both of these recipes look amazing....yum..
Mona

Big Dude said...

All I can say is we obviously stayed at the Cajun Palms at the wrong time last fall. Looks like a good time was happening in your video.

Susanna Powers said...

Hi Marguerite, I always look for Creole tomatoes, they taste the best and the texture is nice and firm. this recipe for the cornbread and tomato salad looks delicious. thanks, sp

Michelle B said...

I'm loving that Southern version of Italian bread salad...clever!

Pam said...

YUM! I want to try the Creole tomatoes. It sounds delicious! I'm going to the farmers' market tomorrow, hoping to find some good tomatoes, they come from Tennessee. Can't wait until the local ones are ready to pick! Thanks for the recipe and cool video too!

kitchen flavours said...

Love your homegrown tomatoes! Yum, look so delicious with the shrimps!

Linda Starr said...

Those tomato stuffed shrimp look wonderful and I have never had fired cornbread, even though my grandmother made the best cornbread, she cooked it in a cast iron frying pan. have a good one.

Cloudia said...

your food SO appeals to me, Cher!



Wishing YOU a sweet week
with Aloha, from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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GYPSYWOMAN said...

hey lady! well, it's lunchtime so i'm just dropping by to salivate over your gorgeous images and divine recipes! love me some shrimp stuffed tomatoes!!! and some hot water cornbread! ;)

Michelle B said...

Thank you for linking with See Ya In the Gumbo this week. I appreciate your support!