Saturday Happenings: Baton Rouge Blues Fest

This weekend, Stephen and I went downtown with some friends to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous weather, hear some local musicians, check out some local art, and sample local food. 

I've already said the weather was gorgeous, but seriously. Perfection. High in the low 80s with a nice breeze--perfect chance to break out the shorts and show off my ghostly-white legs! Stephen and I even bought our first piece of art together.

There were also lots of delicious eats to be had. Several local food trucks showed up, including Curbside burgers and my favorite, Taco de Paco! I had the shredded pork tacos with Thai slaw and sriracha, served with a side of chips and spicy salsa. 

                                                                                                   

                                               

I tried to get Stephen a burger topped with praline bacon from Curbside, but by the time we were hungry for dinner, they were (gasp!) out of meat! Instead, he settle for a link of crawfish boudin and a link of alligator sausage. He wasn't a fan of either (since they weren't fully cooked), and my friend and I actually ate most of the crawfish boudin. 

Because Stephen wasn't thrilled with either of his choices, he and my friend went to buy something else to eat. They both came back with more sausage... Now, I should say that I don't eat sausage. At all. Ever. Any kind. 

For whatever reason, I decided to be brave and try what I thought was alligator sausage. It wasn't until the next day that I found out it was actually pork sausage (which, rest assured, had I known, would have never entered my mouth). I'll let you watch the clip below to see my reaction to trying the sausage. 

Don't worry. I'll even wait while you finish laughing.

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Done yet?

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Ok. After the festival ended around 8PM, we found ourselves at a nearby bar, The Roux House. We sat outside for awhile while we waited for the 80s cover band, Werewolf, to take the stage.

There may or may not have been a few shots involved. Okay, there were... Skittles shots! My friends are notorious for buying shots once the drinking has gotten underway, and it would have been rude not to accept them. Obviously. 

Chef Creations: Sweet Potato Boats, never heard of them but they were delicious!

We decided to try recreating a recipe Stephen saw on Instagram from someone he follows. We saw a great looking dish which combined meat, sweet potato, and salsa. We made them in two different formats to see how they would work out.

Since Stephen had just made some boudin balls and remoulade sauce, he decided to scoop out some of the sweet potato, break apart a boudin ball, and top it with remoulade sauce. I decided to try ground buffalo spread over a sweet potato, and covered with salsa. Both were delicious, I just think Stephen added too much remoulade sauce and might need to back down the amount next time not to overpower it.

Sweet Potato Boat with Buffalo & Salsa

Makes 2 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

155 Calories, 2g Fat, 35mg Cholesterol, 433mg Sodium, 601mg Potassium, 23g Carbs, 5g Fiber, 

8g Sugars, 14g Protein, 325% Vitamin A, 28% Vitamin C, 4% Calcium, 12% Iron

Ingredients:
1 large Sweet Potato
3 oz. Ground Buffalo
2 Tbsp. Salsa

Steps:

1. Cut a large sweet potato in half.

2. Bake the two halves in the oven to soften the potato.

3. Remove from oven and scoop out some of the middle.

4. Heat up 6 oz. of ground buffalo. Cover each half with 3 oz. of ground buffalo.

5. Top each half of boudin with one tablespoon of salsa.

Sweet Potato Boat with Boudin & Remoulade Sauce

Makes 2 servings

Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving):

214 Calories, 15g Fat, 14mg Cholesterol, 145mg Sodium, 318mg Potassium, 15g Carbs, 3g Fiber,

5g Sugars, 7g Protein, 245% Vitamin A, 32% Vitamin C, 4% Calcium, 4% Iron

Ingredients:
1 large Sweet Potato
2 2 oz. Boudin Ball
1 Tbsp. Remoulade Sauce

Steps:

1. Cut a large sweet potato in half.

2. Bake the two halves in the oven to soften the potato.

3. Remove from oven and scoop out some of the middle.

4. Heat up two boudin balls. Break apart two boudin balls and spread across each half.

5. Top each half of boudin with one tablespoon of remoulade sauce.

Chef Masterpiece: Remoulade Sauce made from scratch

A few weeks ago I promised to share my recipe for making my special Remoulade Sauce and today I have the step by step process to help you create this great sauce. This sauce is not only great for boudin balls, but also for alligator, some fried fish, and it also serves as a great salad dressing.

Stephen's Homemade Remoulade Sauce

Nutritional Facts per serving (Serving size 1 Tablespoon):
43.6 calories, 3.2g Fat, 3.2g Cholesterol, 250.2g Sodium, 1.8g Potassium, 2.4g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 
0.1g Sugars, 0g Protein, 1.1% Vitamin A, 0.6% Vitamin C, 0% Calcium, 0.1% Iron

Ingredients: 

1 Tbsp of finely minced bell pepper

1/4 cup of finely diced onion

1/2 cup Ketchup

2 Tsp  Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Capers, strained and diced
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp Mayonnaise
3 Tbsp Horseradish

1/2 Tsp Cajun Seasoning
2 Tsp Hot Sauce
                  

Chef Masterpiece: Boudin Balls like no other, just try them and say differently!

Ok, now I'm not talking about those lame Boudin Balls you get at a restaurant or from the frozen section at a specialty meat store, but the real stuff....... the homemade ones, from scratch.

I love being in the kitchen and Jesse could tell you all about that. And one of my favor dishes to make, and most time intensive, is Stephen's Homemade Boudin Balls. When all the flavors hit your taste palette, it is like nothing you've enjoyed as much. The great thing about Boudin Balls is being a Cajun dish with all the added flavor of spices.

Stephen's Homemade Boudin Balls

Nutritional Facts Below are Per 1 Boudin Ball

Calories: 82, Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 19g, Sodium: 111g, Potassium: 16g, Carbs: 5g, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugars: 0.3g, Protein: 5g, Vitamin A: 2.9%, Vitamin C: 7%, Calcium: 0.9%, Iron: 2.9%

Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb.  Pork Shoulder

1 Large Yellow Onion

1 Large Green Bell Pepper

1 Jalapeño

1 Red Hot Chili Pepper

3 Green Onions (Tops only)

4 Cloves Garlic

1 tsp Dried Thyme

1 tsp Dried Oregano

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

4 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning

2 cups White Long Grain Rice

1 1/2 cup Fish Fry

3 tsp Tabasco

Instructions:

1) Cut the pork shoulder into 1 inch cubes. Also, dice the onion, bell pepper, red hot chili pepper, and jalapeño.

2) Put the above ingredients into a pot and fill with enough water to cover ingredients completely. Add 3 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning and 3 tsp Tabasco into pot and mix into water. Bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling for 5 minutes, turn down the heat to a simmer and let it cook uncovered for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

3) After cooking, drain the liquid from the pot, but keep about 8 oz of the liquid for use when breading.

4) Place cooked ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is combined into a soft consistent state.

5) Place mixture in a bowl. Add the Green onion tops, dried oregano, dried thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper, and the remaining 1 Tbsp cajun seasoning. Mix together using some of the liquid to keep the mixture moist and consistent.

6) Roll the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on aluminum foil.

7) After rolling all the balls, heat up the oil in a fryer or oil in a skillet to 350 degrees. Roll each boudin ball in the fish fry and then place into the heated oil.

8) Let the boudin ball brown in the oil for roughly 5-6 minutes and then remove. Repeat until all the boudin balls have been cooked.

Best if served with Stephen's Homemade Remoulade Sauce, but just as tasty served plain.

If you have some free time to have a little fun in the kitchen and enjoy a great Cajun dish loved by basically all South Louisianan's, then try out this recipe. I promise the time it takes to make this recipe is worth it with the end results.

Check back and I'll walk you through and place some pictures of Stephen's Homemade Remoulade Sauce to serve with either Boudin Balls or Blackened/Fried Alligator. Yes, I have a ton of healthy Cajun recipes to share with y'all.