Marguerite's Shrimp Salad + More Festival Fun - Day 2 !

Here's one of my favorite salads to have for lunch or whenever I'm in the mood for a light dinner. The combination of the succulent boiled shrimp and spicy dressing is out of this world and is guaranteed to please. It is equally delicious, made with any left over crawfish from your crawfish boil. So easy to make and perfect for warmer weather, too. Enjoy!

Marguerite's Shrimp Salad

1 lb. medium, cooked shrimp (I use boiled, recipe below)
1 lemon, cut in half
1 tbs. Cajun seasoning
2 large hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup each, onion and celery, diced
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 tbs. chopped dill pickle, optional
1 tbs. chopped parsley
1/2 cup light mayo
1 tbs. Creole or Dijon mustard
1 tbs. ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Few shakes of Tabasco

In large bowl, squeeze lemon juice on shrimp and season with Cajun seasoning. Add eggs, onions, and celery, and mix well. In separate bowl, mix garlic, dill pickle, parsley, mayo, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco and mix well. Add to shrimp mixture and toss to coat evenly. Chill until ready to serve. Serve on a bed of Romaine lettuce with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocados. And maybe a nice glass of white wine, too. Bon appetit!

For my Boiled Shrimp recipe, click here.

 ******

More Festival Fun - Day 2!

We passed a great time at day two of Festival International and the weather was gorgeous, sunny and 80 degrees, with a light breeze and low humidity.! A little cool front blew in the night before,  making it feel more like California than Louisiana. The festival angels were with us, as they usually are at this festival. We started out at the official Opening Ceremonies at Scene International. Special thanks went out to the 1500 + volunteers that make this festival happen.

Then, one of my dear, old friends came on the stage and blew everyone's mind with his unique brand of slide guitar magic. The one and only Sonny Landreth was getting down! Geaux Sonny! The huge crowd really went wild for this show and Sonny and his talented band were rockin'! I took five videos of this show and will be posting them all on my You Tube channel, so you can catch them here next week. I am posting one of the shorter ones below. Fab!

 The Sonny Landreth Band

After this fabulous performance, I was famished and we headed over to the Norbert's Restaurant  booth, where I decided to sample the crawfish etouffee, topped with fried catfish! Oh, cest bon, cher!

Then I got a text message from friends wanting us to meet them at the New Orleans Original Daquiri's booth, for a Festival Punch, before heading to the next concert, at Scene Malibu. Yum!

And as the sun was setting over Lafayette, we arrived just in time to see Rootz Underground, a fantastic Reggae band from Jamaica, take the stage.The huge, rowdy crowd was raring to go!

It was so crowded that I could barely wiggle my way in far enough to take this clip, but I managed to take a short one,  just before my camera batteries went out! It seemed more like they blew up! LOL

Rootz Underground

Oh the life of a Cajun is oh, so fun!

Stay tuned, the best is yet to come! To be continued.....

Hope ya'll have a fun and fabulous weekend!
Merci for coming by!

MORE Festival Fun ! - Day 2

It was another fabulous evening at Festival International de Louisiane! A gorgeous Spring evening with a lovely breeze and lots of great music and food. We started out at the Pavilion de Cuisine with some delicious Crawfish Nachos and Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya. Cest bon and out of this world, cher! After enjoying this delicious treat, my companions and I headed over to Scene Popeyes to catch the opening ceremonies. The French Immersion students were carrying flags, (see top photo), representing all of the countries that have participated in Festival International. (click to enlarge to view cuisine and drink menu)

The French Immersion program serves to preserve the Cajun French language and culture. The National Anthem was sung by a former student, and the more than 1500 volunteers who made this year's festival possible were recognized. For a complete schedule click here.

Next up was the amazing group, Grupo Fantasia , out of Austin, Texas, whose goal is to advance the Latin music sound. Well , they sure reached their goal in Lafayette, and they were fantastic! This exciting, funky, 10 member band "really had it going on" and they totally mesmerized the crowd with their hypnotic beats and cohesive style.! One of the best things about this festival is getting to experience all different kinds of music from all over the world. Here's a little clip that I took. Enjoy !

Grupo Fantasia

After a 15 minute, cold beverage break, the next band up was the fabulous, Sonny Landreth Band! Sonny is one of the most gifted slide guitar players in the world, as well as an old friend of mine from the college days. Back then, I dated one of his best friends, a "then" jazz drummer, who is "now" a priest! (that's another post, entirely) Anyway, he just blew the crowd away with his spectacular guitar moves and "hotter than hot" band! Here's a little snippet of this talented Louisiana artist in action! Geaux Sonny!

Sonny Landreth Band

The crowd was much larger, last night, and with several hundred thousand festival goers expected for the weekend, it's all going to be a blast, cher!! Starting tonight, all six stages will be up and running. Imagine six stages of incredible international and local music, within a six block radius, and all of this wonderful music is free! But, be sure to buy a festival pin, to keep the festival free! (a $10. donation) See ya'll there! Oh, the life of a Cajun, is oh so good!! Have a wonderful, fun weekend, mon cher amis! Merci beaucoup for stopping by!

75 Years of Great Cajun Seafood + T.G.I.F !

There is a special anniversary coming up on Sunday. Don's Seafood and Steakhouse, in downtown Lafayette, is celebrating their 75th anniversary! It was a tradition in my family to go out to Sunday dinner, at our favorite restaurant in Lafayette. Every Sunday, after church, we would travel to Lafayette (20 miles) to eat a sinfully delicious dinner at Don's. My dear mother cooked 6 days a week and Sunday was her well deserved day off. We would always sit at the same table and the food was always divine! 

My darling daughter and I had lunch at Don's, only yesterday and this is an actual photo that she took of her Broiled Seafood Salad! "To die for", cher! I just love their stuffed shrimp and crabs , seafood gumbo, and the seafood platter is fabulous! But I ordered the Seafood Stuffed Eggplant and after one bite, I thought I was in heaven! Happy 75th Don's, we love you!

 
T.G.I.F.

It was a glorious cool day in Cajun Country and the T.G.I.F. block party, at Downtown Alive, was packed to the gills for an excellent and exciting performance by Sonny Landreth and his highly seasoned Southern Rock/Blues band. They were on a very high frequency and really rocked the high spirited crowd into oblivion! Sonny is an old friend of mine from the college days. That is another post entirely! It was a fantastic show and a everyone passed a good time!


After the concert the massive crowd headed over to different downtown restaurants and clubs, for a little refreshment. The Harley gang was parked in front of Stan's Downtown, as usual. There was such an excitement in the air that was so invigorating! It feels as if Fall is finally here and we are getting some nice weather.

Lots of Cajuns having fun and enjoying life! The music, the food, the dancing, everyone just having a blast! The weekend is going to be packed with fun with the 73rd Annual Rice Festival in Crowley,( go here for a complete schedule of events), and don't forget the Boudin Cook Off on Saturday, in downtown Lafayette. Hope you all have a blast over the weekend! Let the good times roll, cher! Cheers ya'll!

Live at Grant Street Dancehall

Medicine Show 12, an annual fundraiser for the Tommy Comeaux Music Endowment Fund, at U.L.L., was held at Grant Street Dancehall, in Lafayette, on Friday night. The house was "packed to the gills" with spirited fans of the talented groups that played for this event. The famed Beausoleil took the stage and the crowd went wild, dancing to the Cajun melodies that have earned this group many Grammy nominations. 

Then, a mystery guest was announced and none other than Joan Baez, the great folk artist of Woodstock, took the crowd by surprise and played a set that will long be remembered , including "The Night They Tore Old Dixie Down"! Then, the crowd screamed for more and she responded with the lovely "Sweet Chariot".
 

Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie followed and the crowd went into Zydeco overdrive and back into "nitty gritty" dance mode.

And finally, the grand finale', when famed slide guitarist, Sonny Landreth, took the stage and brought the house down, with his unique brand of rock, blues, slydeco music. An enjoyable evening was had by all and for such a good cause. Over a million dollars has been raised over the last 12 years, at this event. Let the good times roll ! What a blast!