Buttermilk Pie

OK, it’s time for some dessert! Actually, it’s always time for some dessert!

This recipe is pretty close to the one served up at The Cabin Restaurant about 50 miles west of New Orleans. It goes especially well with that special blend of chicory and coffee from the Cafe Du Monde, which can be purchased in gourmet food stores or online.

Here it is!

Ingredients
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C).
2.Beat eggs until frothy; add butter, sugar and flour. Beat until smooth.
3.Stir in buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice and nutmeg; pour into pie shell.
4.Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until center is firm.

Top this with some seasonal berries and mmm!!! ’nuff said!

To enhance your delightful and delectable dessert experience, put the CD The Marsalis Family – A Jazz Celebration on the old virtual 21st century turntable. Featuring all of the Marsalis family musicians under the leadership of Papa Ellis, this is the essence of good jazz and authentic but contemporary N’awlins music.

Then… after a long nap, grab your axe and workout with Jamey Aebersold’s Volume 100 featuring all of your Dixieland standards.

The Jazz Guy
Stanton’s Sheet Music

Mother’s Restaurant

The first stop for New Orleans travelers in-the-know and for locals looking to put a good feed on is Mother’s Restaurant. The line for this fine eatery many times extends beyond their threshold allowing the aromas of crawfish etouffee and cornbread to waft out across the corner of Poydras and Tchoupitoulas.

Here’s their incredible recipe for Seafood Gumbo.

4 – Lbs okra — fresh or frozen
6 – Cups onions – medium diced
2 – Cups rendered ham fat o oil
1 – Cup bell pepper — medium diced
1 – Cup celery — medium diced
1 – Tbsp tomato puree
2 – Tsp salt
1/4 – Tsp thyme
1 – Pinch cayenne
1/4 – Tsp white pepper
1/4 – Tsp black pepper
1/4 – Cup garlic — minced
1 – Ea bay leaf
4 – qts crab stock
1/2 – Cup brown roux
2 – Cups oyster and oyster water
2 – Lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 – Cups lump crabmeat
2 – Cups claw crabmeat
1 – Cup green onion chopped

In large roasting pan, mix together okra, 2 cups onion and 1/2 cup rendered ham fat. Place in 350 degree oven until the slime is cooked out of the okra, approximately 1 hour. Stir frequently to keep okra from sticking and burning. When slime is cooked out remove okra from oven and set aside.

In a large stock pot heat 1/2 cup ham fat on high heat and saute’ 2 cups onion, 2 cups bell pepper and 1 cup celery until caramelized, approximately 5 minutes. Add tomato puree simmer for about 5 minutes. Add salt, thyme, cayenne, white and black pepper and garlic. Cook until you smell the garlic, approximately 1 minute. Add cooked okra, add hot crab stock, bring to boil and reduce to a simmer, let simmer for about hour to an hour and a half. Whisk in cold roux and bring back to a simmer let simmer for a few minutes, add Oysters and shrimp cook until shrimp are tender add crab meat bring back to a simmer, remove and cool.

To accompany this jazz festival for your palette, put some Dr. John on the Victrola and kick back with a sweet tea.

Once you’ve had a long nap, you’ll want to check out the three volumes of  Dr John Teaches New Orleans Piano. Who knows… maybe you’ll be able to land a gig playing in the French Quarter!

- The Stanton’s Jazz Guy

Second Annual JEN Conference

The excitement is building! Wednesday, January 5 is the start of the Second Annual JEN Conference in New Orleans. The event promises to be chock full of great clinics, great performances and, in general,  great jazz camaraderie.

The famed Roosevelt Hotel is home base for the conference and is smack dab in the historic French Quarter. Needless to say, there will be incredible music happening in the Roosevelt’s multiple venues as well as the innumerable jazz hot spots in the city.

During the week, The Jazz Guy from Stanton’s Sheet Music will be tweeting directly from the conference. You’ll receive updates on clinic sessions, who is there and who is playing! Don’t be surprised if you get a tweet also from a great restaurant like Brennan‘s or The Court of Two Sisters or, dare we say… the Cafe Du Monde!

Follow us (StantonsMusic) at twitter.com or with your twitter account signin on your mobile device.

Good eats and musical sweets!

Mmmm... that's good eatin!

We need to give a shout out to all of the Louisiana  fisherman hurting right now down on the Gulf Coast. There is such a tradition of N’awlins food and music that simply must be preserved.

When I want an authentic taste of Crescent City cooking, I like to whip up a mess of Shrimp Creole. Although the recipe I make is a bit different, the following will do the trick.

Ingredients:
4 Large Fresh Tomatoes, peeled and seeded
3 lbs. shrimp, peeled, raw
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
½ cup oil
¾ cup flour
2 cups of shrimp stock
1 tsp. Thyme
2 bay leaves
1 bunch of green onions, sliced
Salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
2 cloves garlic

Preparation:
Make shrimp stock by boiling shrimp peels and head (if you have them) and all vegetable pairings for 10 minutes. Strain and reserve. Make a dark roux with the flour and oil. Add onions and cook until caramelized. Add celery and bell pepper. Add diced tomatoes. Cook together for 5 minutes. Add herbs and shrimp stock. Add garlic and simmer 10 minutes. Add shrimp and green onions. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook 5 to 8 minutes. Serve over rice.

Pair this with a nice Sauvignon Blanc and you’ll have the makings for a great slice of New Orleans cuisine.

Oh yeah… the most important part! THE APPROPRIATE LISTENING! One of NOLA’s favorite sons, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, made a great CD a few years ago called DEAR LOUIS. Payton offers a contemporary yet traditional approach to some of Satchmo’s classic tunes.

Bon Appetit!

The Stanton’s Sheet Music Jazz Guy

Mmmm, GOOD!

What goes better together than listening to your favorite jazz and cooking up some great food from New Orleans? I’m going to share with you a great bread pudding recipe from one of my favorite N’awlins restaurants, The Court of Two Sisters on Royal Street.

Suggested listening:
Louis Armstrong and His Hot 5 and Hot 7 1925-1928

Suggested sheet music:
West End Blues
Potato Head Blues
The Louis Armstrong Collection
Louis Armstrong Plays Standards

Also check out the Jazz Icons DVD, Louis Armstrong Live in ’59.

Now for the recipe…
Recipe for Courtyard Bread Pudding
3 cups milk
1 24” loaf of day-old French bread; cut into 1½ to 2” cubes (12 cups bread cubes)
2/3 cup raisins
¼ cup salted butter, melted
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
¾ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. salt

Scald the milk in a heavy 4 to 5-quart saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Then add the bread, raisins, and melted butter and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until thoroughly blended. Then add to the bread mixture and blend well.

Butter a 3 to 4-quart earthenware or china casserole thoroughly on all inner surfaces (or use a baking dish about 3 to 4 inches deep). Pour the mixture into it and stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the tip begins to brown and form a rough crust. Allow to cool to room temperature. Serve warm or chilled with Whiskey Sauce. Yields 8 or more servings.

Now for the kicker… (hint: add the Bourbon to your own taste)
Whiskey Sauce
1 ¼ lbs. butter
1 lb. sugar
9 egg yolks
½ cup half and half
4 tsp. corn starch mixed in ½ cup of cold water
2 ½ oz. Bourbon

Melt butter and dissolve sugar over double boiler. Add egg yolks and whip vigorously so that egg yolks do not curdle. To this mixture add half and half and corn starch mixture. Let cook over double boiler for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add whiskey. Serve
2 oz. per serving of bread pudding

All you jazzers out there should also plan to attend the 2nd Annual Jazz Education Network Conference to be held in New Orleans in January. Those of you in the know are hip to the fact that NOLA is beautiful that time of year!

Enjoy!
The Jazz Guy