Life is good! It may be hot as Hades in the Deep South this time of year, but hey, it doesn’t stop us from enjoying seafood from our bountiful waterways. From the Gulf of Mexico and the adjoining bays, there are crabs (both hard-shell and soft-shell), shrimp, and a multitude of fish—speckled trout, redfish, red snapper and other deep-sea delights. Let’s begin with shrimp (available here on this website). You can make a glorious shrimp cocktail, an old south Louisiana classic. All you have to do is boil the shrimp, peel the shrimp, plop them in a cup of iceberg lettuce and drizzle with cocktail sauce—easy, easy. And, guest what, we not only have the shrimp, but we also have several great cocktail sauces. You don’t like cocktail sauce? Not to worry, we have remoulade sauce as well as a tart tartar sauce that are perfect condiments for shrimp as well as crabmeat and even fried fish! I must tell you that one of my favorite things to enjoy during the summer is a fried soft-shell crab. If you live anywhere in the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia area, see if you can get your hands on some and if you can, here’s a recipe that is spectacular.

Summer has unofficially arrived and I am so ready for it.  After teaching fulltime since January at Nicholls State University in the John Folse Culinary Institute, I (like the students) am looking forward to a few weeks of rest and relaxation.  And that to me is chilling out—taking a cruise on Bayou Teche in my party barge in the early evening, grilling something on the patio or enjoying fresh seafood, cooking with local ingredients found at our farmers’ markets, and lounging around the pool with a cold, refreshing beverage in hand.

To take along on the boat, I opt for bite-size crab cakes (check it out on our website) and bring along some Tabasco Spicy Mayonnaise to spread on them.  WOW!