BOILED HERBED SHRIMPMakes 4 servings

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 lemons, halved
• 2 bay leaves
• Water
• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails left on
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Creole mustard
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 large green or red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

Put the wine, salt, cayenne, lemons, and bay leaves in a large pot. Add water to fill the pot about three-fourths full. Heat to boiling. Add the shrimp and cook over high heat for three to four minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered for one minute. Drain and cool.

In a large bowl, combine the parsley, garlic, green onions, mustard, and lemon juice. Mix well. Whisk in the oil and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Add the shrimp and the bell peppers. Toss to coat evenly. Serve at room temperature.

If you can stand some heat, I suggest you order our jalapeno peppers stuffed with crab or shrimp—oh heck, get them both. Cool down the heat and offer cold tartar sauce to spread on them. And the list goes on and on—bite-size Natchitoches meat pies, stuffed mushrooms and delicious seafood balls. Or, be a hit with your friends by serving up any of our stuffed breads—I am partial to the ones with crawfish.

And speaking of crawfish, I encourage you to try one of our new products—crawfish puree. It is packed with flavor and can be used to make dips, spreads, cornbread and casseroles. See the recipes on the website.

This next recipe is from my friend Eula Mae Dore who cooked for the McIlhenneys at Avery Island (where Tabasco is made) for years. She recently passed away and I make this delicious version of jambalaya often in her memory. This is from a book EULA MAE’S CAJUN KITCHEN, which I helped her to write.

EULA MAE’S CHICKEN &E HAM JAMBALAYA

Makes 6 to 8 servings

“It’s time for a little history lesson. Listen well. Some say that the word jambalaya came from the French word jambon for ham, the African ya meaning rice, and the Acadian phrase à la. And you must understand that there are brown jambalayas, made by caramelizing and browning the onions and meats, and red ones, made so by adding tomatoes. There are as many recipes for jambalaya as there are for gumbos in Louisiana. Personally, I like a bit of tomatoes in mine; I think it gives it a nice flavor. But, I’ll let you taste, and then you can make up your own mind,” Eula Mae said.

Jambalaya is also one of those popular Louisiana dishes that are very apropos for meals on the water. It’s a one-pot meal, but you can serve it with a nice green salad and French bread.

When you’re browning the chicken and ham, scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. That gives the jambalaya a good flavor.

• 1 fryer chicken, about 3 pounds, boned and skinned or 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless breasts and thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ pound cooked ham, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (1 pound) can whole tomatoes, chopped with their can liquid
• ½ cup chopped green onions (green part only)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 pounds medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco brand pepper sauce
• 2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed and drained

Sprinkle the chicken with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl.

Add the ham to the pot and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the ham to the chicken in the bowl.

Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic to the pot and cook, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits. Return the chicken and the ham to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken broth and reserved tomato juice, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Mash the cooked garlic against the sides of the pot and blend into the mixture. Add the tomatoes, green onions, parsley, shrimp and Tabasco and adjust seasoning to taste. Add the rice, cover the pot and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and fluffy and the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Serve warm.