Monday, January 4, 2010

Giveaway Winner + Creole Smothered Cabbage

It is with great pleasure, that I announce the winner of my Cajun cookbook giveaway! "Talk About Good II", compiled by the Junior League of Lafayette, is chocked full of authentic Cajun recipes, and is guaranteed to add some spice to your life. And the winner is Carol@The Writer's Porch !! Carol is a true Southern Belle and has a fabulous blog about family life on her farm in Mississippi. Congratulations, cher, I just know that you'll love it! Please send me your snail mail and I will get this treasure in the mail to you. Bon Appetit! 

New Year's Jambalaya

As promised, here is the photo of the New Year's Jambalaya recipe. I added a seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper, just to kick the heat up a notch. This was a powerfully good jambalaya. Oh, cest bon, cher! To see the recipe, click here. The great thing about jambalaya is that you can add or subtract different ingredients to make it your own. It would also be good with some sliced baby bella mushrooms, or shrimp in place of the sausage, etc. Oh cest bon, cher! Enjoy!

 Creole Smothered Cabbage
 

 I also wanted to share my favorite cabbage recipe with ya'll. It is out of this world and I have even had some non cabbage lovers tell me this. Creole Smothered Cabbage was passed down to me from my dear mother. The Cajuns follow the tradition that eating black-eyed peas and cabbage on New Year's Day will ensure good luck and good health in the coming year!

4 bacon slices, chopped
1 large cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup each, onions, mixed bell peppers, and celery
2 tbs.'s white vinegar
Salt to taste
2 tsp.'s Creole seasoning
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Cook the bacon in a large heavy pot, till crisp. Remove, crumble, and set aside. Saute the trinity in the bacon drippings for 10 minutes, stirring often and adding a small amount of water to prevent sticking. Add cabbage, mix well with the vegetable mixture. Add vinegar, seasonings, and crumled bacon and mix well, until cabbage is coated. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often. Add a little water, if needed. Cest bon, cher!

21 comments:

Kat said...

Creole smothered cabbage sounds great; I just happened to have a head in the fridge!
Congrats to Carol. I love her blog too and with her being under the weather, this might just cheer her up!!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Good thing for Carol... I have the first volume, and it indeed is terrific...

I may just be bastardising that cabbage recipe soon

judi/Gmj said...

Congrats to Carol!
The cabbage sounds great, sorta the way I make it, I haven't added the peppers before but will try it that way. Thanks for sharing, judi

Elizabeth Bradley said...

Yay, good for Carol, she'll put that book to good use.

Rosaria Williams said...

Oh, lucky CArol! I'll glean over at both of your blogs for tasteful dishes to come.

Unknown said...

I could marry cabbage I love it so much. Once I get settled, I definitely one to try this. Yummy.

Thanks for all your love and support through everything...it mean a lot to me.

Vagabonde said...

That is funny Marguerite that you would have a cabbage recipe which is about the same one I did for New Year’s day with the hoppin john. Mine is a bit different – I cooked the thick sliced bacon then kept only 2 tabs of dripping and cooked the chopped onion and about 3 chopped cloves of garlic. I then placed about 1 to 2 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary on it for a couple of minutes then removed it all from the pan. I added a Tbs of olive oil to the frying pan and placed the small cabbage, chopped in quarters then 1 inch cubes in the frying pan and turned it around to coat it, turn down the heat and added about 1/3 cup chicken broth, covered it and let it cook for about 10 minutes to keep it crunchy, when it was almost done I added the cooked onion, garlic, rosemary and some Tabasco. You see it is pretty close to your mother’s recipe, but I guess not Cajun style, just French style. C’est bon ça Marguerite c’est très bon!

Sugar Creek Beads said...

The cabbage recipe sounds wonderful and I am looking forward to trying it out. My Granny used to fry up chopped cabbage and give it a kick with creole seasoning and we all loved it. Congrats to Carol, another Mississippi girl. I'm from Hattiesburg and like checking in on her blog. It's a visit to home for me. Jeanne

Marguerite said...

Kat- Thanks, cher! I also like to add a tsp. of Creole or yellow mustard for a little extra tang. I hope it will cheer her up, too.

Dave- I have all three and they are great! You crack me up! I will look forward to it, cher!

Judi- Merci beaucoup! Glad you like the recipe. The peppers add color and flavor. You're welcome!

Elizabeth- You're right, I know that she will. She is a marvelous cook. Thanks for coming by!

John said...

Marguerite; saw your comment on the 'greasy spoon' stand in my Reading shot. I think Cajun shrimps beat the burgers on offer, unless you happen to be real hungry.

Nancy said...

Congrats to the winner. I love all of my Junior League cookbooks. I'm sending my husband to check out your jumbalaya recipe and I love cabbage. Here is one of my favorite recipes for cabbage:

1 Head of cabbage
2 Large white onions
1 Pkg wide egg noddles
1 Cube of butter (more if needed)

Slice cabbage, thinly slice the onions and cook in the butter until soft. Add the cooked noodles, sald and pepper, and enjoy!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

I know you always check in, but try extra hard to day... i just posted a Creole artichoke/shrimp soup that came out FABULOUS!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Carol is such a lucky girl! This should perk her up since she's not feeling well.

Us Cajuns have to have our ham, cabbage and black eyed peas on New Year's fo' sure!

Debbie said...

Cabbage is one of those foods I hated as a kid and love now. Thanks for the recipes.

Eddie Bluelights said...

Congratulations to Carol.
And Cabbage - lots of lovely iron in it for our haemoglobin to give us plenty of energy for Cajun Dancing if and when I finally get round to learning it. LOL ~ Eddie

Marguerite said...

lakeviewer- Thanks, cher! I'm sure that Carol will give this cookbook a good workout. Merci for coming by!

Marlene- So good to hear from you! Your cabbage comment really made me chuckle. lol I love it, too. Good luck with settling in. You're very welcome, mon amis!

Vagabonde- I always cook smothered cabbage on New Year's, for good health in the coming year. Your recipe sounds really dee-lish and I love the rosemary and the olive oil with it and will give it a try. Merci beaucoup for the great recipe and for coming by, cher!

Jeanne- Great to see you! Thanks, glad you like it! Hattiesburg sure has a lot of good cooks! I love your recipes and Carol's.

Carol Murdock said...

Thank You Margerite! I will put it to good use WHEN I'm able to cook again! First I'm trying your cabbage recipe!xoxo

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Congrats to Carol!!! And I have just one more thing to say, "DARN!" ;-) LOL... ~Janine XO

P.S. Anything with bacon is divine!!! Looks wonderful, cher!!!

Marguerite said...

John- That's a no brainer, for sure. I have to force myself not to eat shrimp everyday, though. I am a true shrimp-a-holic. lol

Nancy- That is so cool that your hubby likes to make jambalaya. Enjoy! Your cabbage recipe looks so delicious! Merci beaucoup for sharing!

Dave- I checked out your Creole
shrimp/artichoke soup and it looks incredible! I'd love to have a big bowl, right now. Kudos, cher!

Katherine- So good to see you! Oh you are so right, cher! One year I did not eat black eyed peas on New Years and my luck was bad, all year! Happy New Year, mon amie!

Debbie- I didn't like cabbage either, as a child, but love it now, too. Thanks for stopping by and you're welcome!

The Chef In My Head said...

Just found your blog and love it! Any Cajun and/or Creole food is always good. Spent many summers with my parents visiting friends throughout the great state of Louisiana. I will be back to your blog again and again! - LeslieMichele

Marguerite said...

Eddie- Eat your cabbage, cher, for good health, in the coming year. Once you get your hip fixed, you will be able to learn to dance to the Cajun music! Merci for coming by!

Carol- Congrats, cher! You're very welcome, it's my pleasure. I know that you will! Glad you're feeling better! Definitely, try the cabbage!

Janine- lol- Better luck, next time, cher! Merci beaucoup, I'm glad you like it! Cheers, bon amie!

Leslie Michele- Bonjour and welcome to Cajun Country! So glad that you got to experience Louisiana, as a child. Merci beaucoup for your lovely comment and for stopping by! Come back soon!