HOME COOK : New Orleans Exotica

If you have always wanted to visit Morocco but can’t afford it, consider a week in New Orleans.

New Orleans is as exotic as a foreign country, with tastes, smells and sounds that are as mysterious as voodoo. Cajun and Creole food are anything but shy; their aromas float right out of the air and introduce themselves. Walking through the French Quarter you are enveloped in the perfume of smoky sausages, bitter chicory, boiling seafood and frying beignets. The sound of jazz comes pouring out of the cafes like melted lava.

Exotic as it is, this city has an old-time character, wonderful regional dishes and all the hospitality that the South is famous for. No wonder everyone loves it.

I have another reason for loving New Orleans--Pralines. I recently set off on a mission to discover the best Pralines in the French Quarter; it was just about the best excuse I’ve ever come up with for eating a lot of sugar. Pralines were originally made with carmelized sugar and almonds. When pralines made the voyage from their native France to America, the almonds became pecans.

There are many variations of the Creole Praline: Some use buttermilk, others cream, cane syrup or molasses. Some pralines are grainy, others creamy. They are almost always about 2 1/2 inches round, rather thin and very sweet. Personally, I’ve discovered that I like them best when they are creamy, thick with pecans and made with both white and light-brown sugar.

After enjoying more Pralines than I can count, I decided that my favorites were the ones from the New Orleans School of Cooking and Louisiana General Store in the Jackson Brewery at 620 Decatur St. The owner is a charming man named Joe Cahn, who makes a fresh batch every hour.

Oysters, like Pralines, are served everywhere in New Orleans. They are eaten raw, or fried and made into the ethereal sandwich known as the oyster loaf. Back a century, oyster loafs were as popular as popcorn, and husbands going home in the wee hours of the morning after a night on the town would take a loaf home to the wife. It thus came to be known as the “peacemaker.”

An oyster loaf is usually eaten with Creole Remoulade sauce, although you might want to substitute Tartar Sauce. You might not be able to make it to New Orleans at the moment, but you can surely serve up an oyster loaf, some Pralines and some coffee with chicory--and sit back and dream.

OYSTER LOAVES

3 (4-inch) round buns

2 dozen freshly shucked oysters

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal (if coarse, put into food processor and process until fine as salt)

Salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1/3 cup shortening

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

1 cup remoulade sauce

1 cup Tartar Sauce

Lemon wedges

Split buns in half and take some of soft bread interior out, so buns can easily accommodate fried oysters. Set aside.

Combine cornmeal, salt and cayenne pepper to taste together and spread onto large piece of wax paper. Dredge each oyster in cornmeal mixture so it’s covered all over. Set aside.

Melt shortening in large skillet. When hot enough to sputter with few drops of cold water splashed into hot fat, it is ready to fry oysters. Fry oysters quickly on each side, until golden.

To serve, place 3 oysters on each bun. Spread half of bun with either Remoulade or Tartar Sauce. Add shredded lettuce then place bun halves together. Serve with lemon wedges. Makes 3 servings.

Each serving contains about:

1,118 calories; 1,608 mg sodium; 90 mg cholesterol; 66 grams fat; 112 grams carbohydrates; 20 grams protein; 1.25 grams fiber.

Remoulade Sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons hot, dark mustard or 2 teaspoons dry mustard, mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons dark mustard

2 tablespoons creamy horseradish

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, about

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots, optional

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, hot pepper sauce to taste, Worcestershire sauce and shallots. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Makes 1 cup.

Tartar Sauce

2/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons minced green onions

1/3 cup finely chopped old-fashioned dill pickles

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped capers

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine mayonnaise, green onions, pickles, capers and cayenne pepper. Stir until well mixed. Refrigerate until needed. Makes 1 cup.

PRALINES

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup light-brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Combine sugars, milk, vanilla, salt and butter in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to boil, stirring once or twice. Let boil about 6 or 7 minutes until syrup reaches soft-ball stage (238 to 240 degrees or test syrup in 1 cup of cold water; it should hold together in soft ball).

Remove pan from heat and stir mixture until it cools and thickens. This does not take long, and when slightly thickened, add pecans and drop by large spoonfuls onto large piece of wax paper to cool and become firm. Store in plastic food bag, or freeze until needed. Makes about 24 (2 1/2-inch round) pralines.

Each serving contains about:

154 calories; 59 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.13 gram fiber.