Cajun shrimp & guacamole

For ➍
4 tbs butter
1 tbs Cajun seasoning*
500 g medium (or extra-large) shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 avocados
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup thinly sliced scallions
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbs (or more to your liking) fresh lemon juice
coarse salt & freshly ground pepper

Melt half the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high. Add ½ tbs of the Cajun seasoning to the butter. Stir it all in. Let it bloom and fall in love. Add half the shrimp and sear on one side for 2 m. Flip and sear another m or so. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
Add the remaining butter and Cajun seasoning. Bloom for a second, then add the remaining shrimp. Set shrimp aside.
Half each avocado and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh into a big bowl. Add the red bell peppers, scallion, onions, lemon zest and juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash it all together with your fork, until it’s smooth, but still good and chunky.
Taste it. Add salt and pepper and more lemon juice to your liking.

Mint julep

For ➊ drink
10 cl good Bourbon whiskey*
5 cl (4 tbs) white mint syrup**
6 tbs crushed ice
fresh mint sprig to garnish

Put a deep glass*** in the freezer for 30 m or more. When frosted, take them out by the edges with a towel.
Fill with crushed ice. Pour in mint syrup*, then bourbon.
Serve with a fresh sprig of mint and a short straw, peeping just above the rim.

*Or Tennessee sour mash.
**Avoid syrups that are too sweet, or that contain artificial colouring or flavours.
Or make your own fresh mint syrup.
Or use another method: see Bob Dylan's finest mint julep.
***Silver goblets may be used to great effect.

Mint juleps were developed in the 18th century in the Eastern American states like Virginia, but have now become a traditional Southern drink, due to the bourbon or sour mash used to make it. Mint juleps show up in popular culture, with several songs about it, including the great One Mint Julep by the Clovers, also a big hit for Ray Charles about the disastrous combination of just 1 mint julep & just 1 bad woman.
The julep uses a similar mixing method as the mojito. The word 'julep' is derived from Arabic 'julab' and Persian 'gulab', meaning 'rosewater'.
Read more on mint drinks: quick mint cider.

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.

Southern buttermilk chicken

For ➍
8 chicken legs fillets*
30 cl buttermilk**
3 + 2 tbs vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
1 tbs crushed peppercorns
1 tbs sea salt
1 ts ground cumin
1 tbs maple syrup***

Put the meat in a container or a sealable bag. Mix buttermilk, 3 tbs of oil, garlic cloves, peppercorns, salt, cumin and maple syrup****. Add to the chicken, cover or close and put in the refrigerator for 1 night.(Out of the fridge: 2 h)
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line a tin with foil. Shake the excess marinade of the meat and arrange in the tin or put on a rack in the tin****. Drizzle over 2 tbs of oil. (Roll chicken in flour or breadcrumbs if wanted. Be sure the coating is dry enough, let it rest a few m).
Put in the oven for 30 m.
Serve with a green salad and hot toasted bread.

*Use drumsticks instead.
**Use yogurt (or mix 1 tbs lemon juice through milk).
***Use ½ tbs of honey.
****Put a handful of tarragon sprigs on the rack. You might add them to to the chicken before putting it in the marinade.

This is a simple version of a classic US Southern dish. Add chopped pecans for a more authentic version.

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.

Southern spinach salad with vinaigrette

For ➍
250 g fresh (baby) spinach

apple cider vinegar vinaigrette
crumbled cooked bacon, for garnish*

Wash spinach and let dry.

Refrigerate spinach and dressing separately until serving time.

Pour dressing over spinach just before serving and toss.

If desired, sprinkle with crumbled bacon*.

*Optional. Replaces the honey roasted pecan nuts as topping in the vinaigrette.

Bourbon sour

For ➊ drink
6 cl Bourbon whiskey*
juice of 1 lemon**
2 ts fine sugar
(egg white)***

Place all of the ingredients and half a tumbler of ice into a cocktail shaker.
Shake.
Pour into a tumbler glass.
Garnish with a cherry.

*Use a rye whiskey instead, or even a European whisky.
**Use lime juice instead to achieve a more complex taste.
***Sometimes added to have quicker froth on top. Avoid it and shake the cocktail more vigourisly.

The whiskey sour had its (revival) high day in the early and mid 60's. It belongs to one of the old families of original American cocktails, appearing in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 drinks book alongside other cocktail ancestors, the juleps, slings, sangarees, cobblers and smashes. The whiskey sour has survived the ages, due to its simple nature in making, not to mention its humble ingredients, and great effect in drinking.
It's part of the great international conspiracy of sour cocktails, spreading from whiskey (or Bourbon) sour to the daiquiri, the pisco sour, the margarita, the sidecar, the aviation, the amaretto sour and the cosmo, all based on the simple formula: two parts spirits, juice of half a lemon, and just enough sugar, or a sweet liquor to drink it smoothly.
A notable variant is the Ward 8, which often is based either on Bourbon or rye whiskey, with both lemon and orange juices, and grenadine syrup as the sweetener. The egg white sometimes employed in other whiskey sours is generally not included in this variation.
While it can be made with all good American rye whiskeys, or even European whiskies, it works smoothly with Bourbon. The name derives from Bourbon County, a frontier district at the Virginia/Kentucky border, where distilleries were established in the late 19th century.
The picture shows über virile Western movies' actor Hugh O'Brian in a 1964 ad for Heublein Whiskey Sour. Minus the lemon...

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.