Cajun spice mix

For ➊ jar
2 ts salt
2 ts garlic powder
2½ ts paprika
1 ts ground black pepper
1 ts onion powder
1 ts cayenne pepper
1¼ ts dried oregano
1¼ ts dried thyme
½ ts red pepper flakes (optional)

Stir together salt, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes until evenly blended.
Store in an airtight container.

Blackened redfish

For ➍
4 redfish fillets (1.5 -20cm thick)
300 g unsalted melted butter
1 tbs sweet paprika
2½ ts salt
1 ts onion powder
1 ts garlic powder
1 ts ground cayenne pepper
¾ ts ground white pepper
¾ ts ground black pepper
½ ts dried thyme leaves
½ ts dried oregano leaves

Heat a cast iron skillet over very high heat at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pour 2 tbs of melted butter in each of 4 small dishes; set aside and keep warm. Reserve the remaining butter in its skillet. Heat the serving plates in the oven at 120°C.
Thoroughly combine the spices in a small bowl. Dip each fillet in the reserved melted butter so that both sides are well coated; then sprinkle seasoning mix generously and evenly on both sides of the fillets, patting by hand.
Place in the hot skillet and pour 1 ts melted butter on top of each fillet (be careful as the butter may flame up). Cook, uncovered over the same high heat until the underside looks charred, about 2 m (the time will vary according to the fillet’s thickness and the heat of the skillet). Turn the fish over and again pour 1 ts butter on top; cook until fish is done, about 2 m more. Repeat with remaining fillets. Serve each fillet while piping hot.
To serve, place fillet and a ramekin of butter on each heated serving plate.

Absinthe frappé

For ➊ drink
½ ts sugar
shaved ice
1 jigger (3 tbs/ 5 cl) absinthe
3 tbs carbonated water

Put sugar in the bottom of a tall glass, fill up with finely shaved ice, let the sugar dissolve.
Pour in the absinthe, stir with a spoon.
Add carbonated water, drop by drop, stirring all the time until the frappé turns cloudy and thick frost forms on the glass.

New Orleans' 'absinthe frappé is really an absinthe julep. Similar are French absinthe frappés except for the carbonated water. There are several variations:

• a 1874 recipe by Cayetano Ferrer, barman in het Old Absinthe House in New Orleans, use 2 tbs absinthe, 1 tbs (-) anisette or syrup, 2 tbs (+) carbonated water, 6 fresh mint leaves, shaved ice.
• a 1933 classic: fill large glass with shaved ice, add 1 ts Benedictine, 2 tbs absinthe, 4 tbs of water. Cover glass with a shaker and shake until frosted. Strain into small glass and serve.
• a non New Orleans modern take, closer to a cocktail: pour 3 tbs absinthe, 2 tbs heavy cream, 1.5 tbs lime juice, 1.5 tbs simple syrup into a cocktail shaker, add cracked ice and shake hard for 20 s. Pour it all into a highball glass. Serve with a straw.

Read other julep recipes: mint julep or Bob Dylan's mint julep.

Chicken Po' boy

For ➋
2 small baguettes or ciabatta (or 1, cut in 2)
1 skinned chicken breast
cornmeal or flour
groundnut oil
mayonnaise
shredded (iceberg) lettuce
½ lemon

Split the bread lengthwise, put together and warm in a hot oven.

Slice the chicken into 6. Roll in cornmeal or flour. Fry the pieces in hot oil till crisp, 4-5 m.

Take the bread from the oven. Spread mayonnaise on all sides. Put lettuce on bottom halves. Add chicken pieces. Squeeze some lemon juice on them. Put the top halves on and press down.

Serve warm.

This is a lighter version of the New Orleans classic po' boy. Made with French bread, they can be filled with fried oysters, shrimp, fish, soft-shelled crabs, crayfish, roast beef and gravy, roast pork, meatballs, smoked sausage and more, dressed with a range of condiments (usually mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes) or undressed. It goes back to the oyster loaves from the 19th century, when buns would be scooped, heated and filled with grilled oysters. The name 'po' boy' (from poor boy) seems to have derived from the cheap sandwiches with trimmings the Martin Brothers offered at their Coffee Stand (photograph) to the unpaid streetcar strikers in 1929.
The po' boy is one of the many American submarine sandwiches, loafs of bread loaded with ingredients.
Try another classic American sandwich. Try another Louisiana dish.

Cajun crayfish etouffee

For ➍
100 g butter**
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded & finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 stalks of celery, finely chopped
bunch of green spring onions, finely chopped
½ ts salt and ½ ts garlic powder, mixed
1 tbs dried parsley
½ ts chili powder
½ ts pepper
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
500 g crayfish, cleaned*
25 g flour, sifted
20 cl chicken broth (keep an extra 20 cl for adjusting the quantity)

In a large skillet, melt butter and sauté vegetables on low heat, except green onions. Add seasonings and stir well.
Add crayfish* and sauté for 1 m.
Add flour and mix well, and cook 3 more m.**
Add chicken broth. Mix well and simmer 15 m. Add green onions 3 m before conclusion.
Serve over hot (basmati) rice.*** A side-dish of sautéed greens is a good accompaniment, as is a cold beer.

*You can use prawns, firm fish. Or chicken filets, cut in chunks.
**In the traditional recipe, a white roux is made this way. Then add to the vegetables and crayfish*. Diminish amount of butter for braiséing with 25 g.
***Sauté 4 tbs of finely chopped shallot in 2 tbs olive oil, then add the water, bring to the boil. Add rice and cook.

Crayfish étouffée is a classic Cajun dish from Louisiana, mixing French cuisine, black slaves' traditions and local wisdom.