#candc Creole

[i-fly-xwings-blog]

Creole Food~

After a long day of walking around and eating in New Orleans, the group made its way to French man street, the street with all the music. Jazz used to be mainly located on Bourbon street but it became a tourist trap and got to kitschy, so the jazz made its way over to French man street. I was really excited to get to hear all the different and wonderful jazz music coming from each of the restaurants and bars that lined the street. Each musician I heard sounded great and I could not wait until we got to the Maison where our creole meal was planned that night. I did some research and learned the during Hurricane Katrina, French man street was left in a pretty decent shape. I also learned that after the natural disaster, the street was officially given the role as a city arts and entertainment district. After walking the street some more, we finally came across our restaurant. We were guided upstairs by our kind host and we sat down and waited for the meal that we were about to eat.

There was a small but delicious looking assortment of creole food laid out across a table. The food included a chicken and gator sausage gumbo, rice for the gumbo, salad, roasted seasonal veggies, and a build your own roast beef po boy station. I got the roast beef po boy with pickles on it and I also got some of the delicious smelling gumbo. I firstly tried the gumbo and it was as good as it smelled. I did not actually know that the sausage was gator sausage until I was eating it, but once I found out it did not bother me. I then tried the po boy. The po boy was good but it tasted like you’d expect a roast beef sandwich to taste.

When I researched creole food I learned a little about the culture and how it came to be in New Orleans. The first thing I found out is that there is actually a large difference between Cajun and creole foods. I came into New Orleans believing that they were about the same but I was quite wrong. Every website I found on it stated that creole was basically city food, and Cajun was country food. I was glad to find out about this so I could change the misconceptions I had about Cajun and creole food.

The second day in New Orleans ended on a good note, with good food, really good drinks (I had sprite with pineapple juice), and relaxing. I really enjoyed the chance to learn more about food and culture.

[tallboislim9000-blog]

Creole Cuisine

Creole Cuisine

Nothing is better than eating a horrible, murderous and delicious alligator in a dimly lit bar in a raunchy and rambunctious city. At least nothing I have experienced. Regardless of how you feel about alligators existing, they apparently produce a greasy and flavorful meat that enriches a gumbo more than any shrimp could ever dream of doing. If you have a gator in your pool just toothing up the place beyond repair or reason, it may be time to change Chompers’ name to Gumbo.

Alligator Gumbo over rice. It's a magical thing. A soup poured over cooked rice becomes a hearty and substantial feeling meal. I'll start with the rice. It was grainy as you would expect, with a sort of oblong shape and a generally clean white color. The texture was perfect. The rice just barely stuck together to scoop, so you just know that if the Spirit moved you to make an alligator rice ball you could do it no problem. The alligator was terrific. They are much more fun in your mouth than on your ankle trying to thrash you into the swamp (I'm guessing). It's a lot like deer, at least as far as my experience tells me. A little bit oily, very flavorful and spicy beyond the gravy it was cooking in. It has a certain personality that I would name Brad. Brads are usually hot headed but become tender later in life. Not as in emotional supportive and available, more like the beer belly sense. The rice and the gator gumbo came perfectly together, the thick slices of gator sausage sticking out like poker chips on a table, your stomach eager to cash in. Tasty as all heckfire. The spicing was right on point, delivering a nearly heatless kick that had you coming back for more. Apparently bayou water is a fantastic broth, and you could tell this puppy had been soaking it up for years waiting to convert into Creole action.

Po’ Boy. This guy was tasty for sure, but I'm gonna go ahead and say it: this was just a roast beef sandwich. It was nearly identical to what you might order at a chain Jimmy John's anywhere in America. I'm not bashing it, I ate every single bite, but there was nothing special about the one I experienced. The bun? Just a white bun. The beef? Just warm roast beef. They always make a great sandwich. That's invariable. But heavens above, I was left feeling betrayed by the city who blessed me with alligator not three minutes earlier. The only thing to console me through this life changing experience was a tall, nearly freezing glass of lifestyle statement approved ginger ale. It was smooth and mellow while still having that characteristic and character building spice that ginger ale does. This blog is not about that though. It's apparently about airing grievances about a sandwich.

If you're interested in trying to recreate my deliciously enjoyable alligator experience,try this recipe! Make sure to avoid the teeth whole procuring the meat though.

[avidrecordcollector-blog]

Creole with some jazz

After a long day of eating my first beignet, walking around the French quarter, taking a ferry ride, and learning about the history of New Orleans, I was eager to try Creole. In my research, I found it interesting how Creole and Cajun are intermingled although they have different historical roots and are also different ingredient wise as well. From the readings I looked into, Creole tends to be considered “city” food, while Cajun is more of a “country” food. Creole is considered true New Orleans food since it has became its only style of flavors and way of cooking that makes it specific to Louisiana. It’s also a cuisine that if you want it to be authentic, one will find that in the private homes of individuals.

The walk to the Creole restaurant was a few miles, filled with people with beads, homeless individuals, and the sound of jazz music. The bar and grill itself was interesting. There was a band at the entrance, playing a really rad song, next to the bar. Our seating, which was upstairs, gave us a full overview of the establishment. As we sat down, we were given drinks and told to try whatever we wanted from the self serve buffet. The buffet had salad, gumbo, rice with roasted vegetables (bell peppers and asparagus), and ingredients to make our own poor boys.

I tried the gumbo first since all the meals previously it had been one of my favorite dishes. It was extremely hot from being in the pot, but it was also spicy and had a strange flavor to it that I couldn’t put a word to. The meat that was in it was alligator sausage, which wasn’t too awful, just tasted a little different. The broth of the gumbo was strong and seasoned well and I think that may have been why it didn’t sit well on my taste buds. The rice with the veggies was my favorite part of the meal. I loved the way the flavors mixed together and that the rice seemed to soak all that up. The other item was the poor boy. I’m not actually sure why they call them poor boys, but I learned that there is a difference between a po boy and a poor boy. 

When we were walking around Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, my group stopped to talk to some locals, who were asking about our class. One of the locals, stated that if we wanted authentic poor boys, we needed to look for shops that advertised “poor boys” and not “po boys”. I also had noticed walking around New Orleans that Poor Boys and Daiquiris were big items apparently. So, as I tried my poor boy that was loaded with mayonnaise, beef, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and mustard I was curious to know what the huge deal was. The flavors blended together to form a really great sandwich, but it wasn’t something I could see eating a whole lot. However, it was definitely worth trying. I think the best part of the Creole experience was being about to eat all the food while listening to jazz play in the background

https://www.thedailybeast.com/secrets-of-creole-and-cajun-food!

[theyeatwhatblog]

Creole at Mother’s

https://www.neworleans.com/restaurants/where-to-eat/cajun-or-creole/

[kamyraaa16-blog]

The term Creole was first used in the 16th century to identify the descendents of the spanish, french, or portuguese settlers that was living in the West Indies and the Latin America. Creoles come from the Portuguese word crioulo, which means a slave that is born in their master’s house. Creole has different meanings in different countries,for example in the West Indies it is for any European settlers. Some of the people in Africa counts themselves as Creole, but in Louisiana it identifies the french population of Spanish or French descendents. They were frowned up intermarriage with Anglo-Americans because they did not want to learn english and they were resentful and contemptuous to the Protestants. When you have a Creole mean, it mostly for celebration and not so much of a meal to get rid of your hunger pain. File ( which is a ground powder of the sassafras leaf) is their main ingredient to their gumbo ( which is also amazing). Gumbo is a soup or stew (there is not an official definition of gumbo because it is either one or the other), but it starts off with an highly seasoned roux ( a blend of fat and flour that is cooked) scallions, and herbs. Creole people are very festive and they love to dance and they enjoy a lot of music. Every week they would have 2 public balls when the French was in charge, and the people just loved it so even when the Spanish took over the continued with having the public balls two times a week. The balls and dances that were on Saturday nights were universal institution in the Creole country. The language of Creole was French and Louisiana Creole. Louisiana Creole was the dominant language that the African American in the Louisiana would use. In their household the men would be the head of the family, while the women would take care of the children and make sure thing are going well at home. They would take in widowed cousins and children that did not have parents to take care of them. For the women that were not married they would live in many households, they were used to help out with the cleaning of the house and with the children if it was necessary. For marriage wise, they had to marry a person that was in the same class as them. If one of their relatives didn’t come to the wedding it meant that they didn’t approve of the marriage. Roman Catholicism is the religion that mostly common in Creole. Chess is the game that they play the most.

[psychoticcrepe-blog]

Creole food

Many have mentioned that they can’t tell the difference between Cajun food and Creole food. This is because they are very similar, and they came from the same place. After this meal, I am still unsure what the difference would be, since both the Cajun meal and the Creole meal was very similar in taste and presentation. I will have to look at research to help expand what I ate and to help understand where the difference is.

              We ate at Maison in New Orleans for our experience of creole food. My research basically told me that creole food does not put any tomatoes in their food. But I still have not found out why they do not put tomatoes in their gumbo. Speaking of gumbo that was one of the dishes that was offered to us at the Masion. This was the third time I have had gumbo in two days, so I was getting tired of it. I ate it, but it wasn’t that spicy. I believe it had chicken in it, and it had rice as well. At the buffet, they also offered alligator jambalaya. I didn’t eat it because I have a fear of eating jambalaya. I had a lot of jambalaya growing up, so I am burned out on jambalaya. They offered us basic southern food such as potato salad and a regular salad. They food I was most excited for though was the Po’Boy. This time we could make our own Po’Boy. It had chicken, mayonnaise, mustard, and a variety of vegetables. There was a spicy sauce that reminded me of barbecue that I put on the chicken, and I found that this was my favorite Po’Boy. This may be because I could make it myself, and put on whatever I like, After all, New Orleans is known for its creativity in cooking, so I’m glad I got to make my own version of it.

              The experience of the restaurant was slightly different than Mother’s or Dooky Chases. For the first time, there was live jazz playing in the background. I enjoyed watching the players perform while others were talking. We had the freedom to eat and move around. It was more relaxed than the other meals. However, I did not like the buffet style. I felt like it took away from the experience of a family style meal. That is not to say that we didn’t really chat with each other. This style of cooking still allowed us to hang out with each other. It was fun to chat, but I was done. I think if I were to eat here again, I would want to come with a local who is more aware of what makes Creole cooking what it is. I would want to know more about the history, besides the fact that it is considered to be city food. I wanted to know more, and I felt that it was missing. The food was good, but I missed the culture aspect, and I wish that wasn’t the case.

[dkoberczky-blog]

Creole

1) How do the Louisiana Creoles tie Voodoo into Roman Catholicism? 2) What Caribbean spices are used in jambalaya? 3) What are the differences between Creole and Cajun heritages and culture?

https://www.interexchange.org/articles/career-training-usa/2016/02/22/louisiana-creole-culture/

[itssavagecabbage-blog]

An Unforgettable Forgettable Experience

By: Maggie Schoepke

While many of the experiences on the New Orleans trip of 2017 were memorable, there were some that also were not. My class’s visit to the Creole restaurant by the name of The Maison was one of them. Not only did the restaurant differ only slightly from our previous choices, but the food in which they served was primarily for meat eaters. Thus, our stay was more or less unimpressive for me.

The dinner started off buffet style, in which my classmates and I were offered po boys, alligator gumbo, potato salad, rice, and lettuce salad. For me, this more or less meant a large helping of potato salad and a tomato-lettuce sandwich. For this reason I feel as if I cannot speak much for Creole cuisine, so I must now look to my friends experiences in order for me to really examine the culture behind the food we ate at The Maison. According to my friend Jess, she found the po boy and the sauce to be quite tasty. This being said, she mentioned how there was not much of a difference between the Creole sandwich and the one that was served at Mother’s. Except for the meat, they did not really vary from one another at all. Jess commented how the Cajun po boy (at Mother’s) had more of a diverse selection of meats where as the Creole po boy (at The Maison) was made up of more simpler meats.

Considering the distinct levels of financial status between both Creole and Cajun cuisine, I cannot help but wonder if this has to do with the poverty in Cajun culture, and therefore the ever-changing use of anything that was available at the time. Since Creole culture is more higher end, I wonder if it has taken the liberty to be more modern and therefore simple in terms of ingredients and additives. In this way the meats used could be of “higher selection” or “finer quality” so-to-speak. While my research certainly does not contradict this information, I have learned for sure that Creole cuisine is taken just as seriously as the struggling atmosphere that once surrounded Cajun culture.

This seriousness showed itself in through the display and serving style of the restaurant itself. It is my belief that if my friends and I had not came as such a large group, dishes would be carried to us on sturdy platters, rather than served buffet style. Drinks would additionally be offered at the bar, making for a strange mix of both upscale and southern cuisine and culture. Part of this novelty is what I loved so much about New Orleans, despite my forgettable experience at The Maison. I liked the fact that many places had the luxury lay back, relax, and enjoy the finer things in life. At the same time the culture was so upbeat and lively with its spicy food and modern renditions of classical jazz. Though I was not particularly thrilled about my experience at The Maison, I do give it a thumbs up for accurately depicting the crazy and contradictory culture that has become such a big part of southern Louisiana.

http://african-americanstudies.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-brief-history-of-creole-cuisine-its.html

[paugie1997]

Creole Questions

Q1: What is the difference between Creole and Cajun?

Q2: Why are Po’ Boys so popular?

Q3: Why is Creole so similar to Cajun?

http://www.louisianatravel.com/articles/cajun-vs-creole-food-what-difference

[bjwhit]

Creole Food Review

 After a long day of eating and two historic establishments, touring the French Quarters as well as multiple cemeteries for tombstone tours, experiencing a ferry trip, and doing a lot of walking, it was time to visit Maison.

 Maison, having two locations, is a restaurant. The Maison location that Greenville College’s Cuisine and Culture class visited is located near the French Quarters on Frenchman Street not too far from the French market. This particular location is often recognized as the Dragon’s Den. The Dragon’s Den is a world famous event space, bar, and restaurant on the edge of Frenchman Street in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. The establishment has two floors consisting of a balcony that can be looked over from the second floor to view live music.

 Upon arrival, Greenville College’s Cuisine and Culture class could see live music being played through the window of the venue. As we are greeted, we are taken to the second floor where we have food placed out on tables similar to a buffet fashion. We are told that meal will consist of gumbo containing sausage, and po boy sandwiches.

 After a word of prayer, as usual, we are given the opportunity to help ourselves. Topping my bowl with white rice and sausage gumbo, and making my own chicken and alligator meat po boy sandwich allowed for a delicious experience. The rice and sausage gumbo had a great flavor and the chicken and alligator meat po boy sandwich was much better than I originally imagined. We were allowed to help ourselves as much as we could eat. Many students would visit the buffet for seconds, and for others, one time through was enough.

 After eating Greenville College’s Cuisine and Culture class sat and visited with a Greenville Alumni who is currently living and working in the New Orleans area. Many students got a chance to communicate with the alumni, and ask questions. Greenville College’s Cuisine and Culture class occupied the venue for roughly an hour and a half or two hours so that many could get a chance to communicate with the alumni and each other and simply enjoy the experience of visiting Maison while listening to live music. Plus for many students, a break was needed from all of the day’s walking.

 Aside from the lack of variety, I would say that the Maison’s Dragon’s Den location was a cool experience. The food was great but I would have liked to have more options to choose from.

[sarabrewer1-blog]

Creole questions

1. Where did the idea of gumbo come from? 2. Why were the creole people not excepted group of people in New Orleans ? 3. Where did the name creole come from? http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/anthropology-and-archaeology/people/creoles

[jdfreeman014-blog]

New Orleans Journal 4 (Creole Review)

 The Creole Cuisine tasted great and the trip to and from The Maison was both exciting and a little scary. More than the first day when we went to Preservation Hall, I got to see why it’s always safest to travel in groups when your touring New Orleans especially at night.

We made our way back to the French district as it got late. I once again became nervous and started watching the whole group, certain people would get left behind and I or someone else would tell Deloy that we definitely needed to slow down. I moved myself to the back of the group and tried to keep an eye on everyone (I’m nervous like that). As we walked down one street, an old man on a bench “lashed” out at me but stopped short of doing what I thought was going to be a “bear-hug attack”. Soon another student who was by my side ran up to the front of the group because a strange man behind us was making airplane noises. Worst of all, one of my motel roommates almost got pickpocketed, we ran into the man as we walked back, which was one of the funniest things about that night.

Moving on the restaurant, The Maison was a fun experience; jazz bands that played at the front window, we rented out a higher area to eat, and I got to try out a mixture of pineapple juice and sprite. The food we ate was delicious and my favorite was the egg salad. It was well prepared and the spices gave it an extra nice kick.

Traveling back was almost as scary as before but now everyone as prepared and had their hands close to their pockets. We got to see a beautiful view of the river and a boat

[kamyraaa16-blog]

Creole Questions

1. when was Creole first used?

2.  do they have their own language?

3. what was their family life like? who was in charge?

http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Creoles.html

[themattcollective-blog]

1. why is creole food considered “city” food? 2.why does creole food involve sauce and cajun food does not?

3.does creole food come from the same region as cajun and if not, how did they come to be so synonymous?

http://www.saveur.com/cuisine/cajuncreole

[itssavagecabbage-blog]

Creole

Why is Creole cuisine often mistaken for Soul food?

How has being considered “an upper grade cuisine” influenced traditional Creole dishes?

How have Sicilian ideas been incorporated in Creole cuisine?

How does the level of spice differ from Soul or Cajun cuisine?

What is the difference between the terms “French Creole” and “Louisiana Creole”?

http://african-americanstudies.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-brief-history-of-creole-cuisine-its.html

[westcarrolsnake-blog]

CandCSoul

#CandC: Soul

             You know what really feeds the soul? Food. Some might say Jesus, and they wouldn’t be wrong, and if it was any other blog that had nothing to do with food maybe I would say Jesus. Many people have the wrong perception of what soul food is, and at one point I too had the wrong idea of what soul food was. When I was in New Orleans my idea of what soul food had changed from a very narrow point of view to a broadened panorama of the world cuisine. The owner of the establishment had a very good message for us about culture too that really enlightened all of us.

             I want to focus a lot on what the owner had said. Leah, the owner of the establishment, had turned 97 the day that we were visiting the restaurant and gave us an important lesson on the culture that had inspired the cuisine of Soul food. She began by giving us a small history lesson on the settlement of New Orleans. When New Orleans was settled, there were slaves, because it was the south, and because of the Louisiana purchase, there was a large mixture of Americans, Spanish, French, and Africans in New Orleans. The Africans had the largest impact on the food that was created because they were servants in the kitchens and cooked food that was similar to what they had in their homeland. A lot of things changed when Jazz came into the mix. Bourbon street became a hot spot for Jazz, Creol, and Cajun culture and dishes. Out of those cultures came the Soul culture and its cuisine along with it, which still stands super strong today. Leah represented the soul culture well. She told us to love another and to get rid of all the hatefulness in our hearts. When I think of soul I think of love and comfort and I think that is what Leah desired us to know.  

             The Soul cuisine was extremely delicious and very protein based. It had gumbo, I believed, which is a Cajun dish, it contained a whole fish, they had fried chicken, it had a sausage, and I believe it had Jambalaya, which is a Creole dish. The sausage was pretty good, but it was super spicy and through me off. I took a few bites of it but eventually the spicy taste did get the best of me. The Jambalaya was extremely delicious just like what we had at the Cajun restaurant. The green beans tasted good as well. They were surprisingly peppery and buttery at the same time and it was such a great mixture, it did not taste well to me at first but I saw potential and I took a second bite and it was magnificent. The Gumbo tasted just like the Cajun restaurant like the Jambalaya, and it exceeded my expectations. The best part of the whole dish was the fried whole fish, it was jam packed with flavor and the spices did not overtake the taste of the fish.

 https://stickerslapshop.com/blogs/news/76403011-the-real-history-of-soul-food-from-slavery-to-modern-cuisine