It’s time to “pass a good time!”
Welcome to the Big Easy!
Get your beads ready and let’s have some fun!
Chef Joey will take us through each dish of this New Orleans inspired menu which is near and dear to his heart as it’s where he grew up! He will take you through it step-by-step. We welcome words of encouragement or heckling of Chef Joey…or others!
Download all the information you’ll need for the class including the pre-class prep list (roughly 40 mins prep) and the recipes. It is ideal that you print the recipes out. Pre-prep is key as we have an amazing menu but it does depend on how much is done before hand. We’ve shared a couple of “lagniappes” at the bottom of this page if you want to add to your experience.
Jump on the zoom call anytime after 5:45pm and we’ll pour our cocktails and get cookin’ shortly after 6:00pm.
ZOOM LINK: Meeting ID: 890 2999 9816. Passcode: 979616
Ann kwit!
Jambalaya Skewers with Creole Sauce
Creole (kree-yol) - French-Spanish term was used to identify white, rich French dependents born in Louisiana. As Creoles mixed with New-World-born slaves, free people of colour, and mix-heritage descendants, the term gradually came to encompass people of colour in New Orleans. The word became synonymous with the city’s culture, architecture, local accents, and most importantly, cuisine.
Crab Cakes
The “holy trinity” in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine is the base for several dishes in the regional cuisines of Louisiana and consists of onions, bell peppers and celery. “You don’t make nothin’ in New Orleans without the holy trinity", says Chef Joey. The preparation of Cajun/Creole dishes such as crawfish étouffée, jambalaya and crab cakes all start from this base.
Chili Chocolate Mousse
The French influence can be seen in a few key elements of Cajun cuisine. Cajun food, over generations, became a heavily spiced and very flavor-rich cuisine. Paprika, parsley, garlic, thyme, pepper, gumbo file (powdered sassafrass), salt, and cayenne are the dominant spices in Cajun dishes. While many people mistakenly identify Cajun as just being spicy, the flavor is, first and foremost, richly seasoned and very savory.
Wine Pairing
Bernedette Bagshaw from Pacific Wine and Spirits has 15 years in the wine and spirits Industry. WSET 3 and Whisky Brand Ambassador. She has provided a wine pairing for you to enjoy with your meal.
“I love to match wine and food together, individually each item may be delicious but a great food and wine pairing creates an experience that can be magical. She has reviewed the tasty treats you are about to cook and has made a wine pairing to serve with it,” says Bagshaw.
Wine Selection:
Pierre Sparr Pinot Grigio
Aromas of fruit, apricots, peach. In the mouth as well softly and minerally with a delicate sweetness-acid-relation, a fancy minerality and a firm racy body (just like Chef Joey)!
Vina Real Crianza
This wine shows shades of medium to deep shiny cherry colour with a purple background. On the nose, intense aromas of ripe fruits (blackberries, blackcurrants) stand out, complemented with subtle hints of oak. Structure and roundness dominate the palate with a good integration of fruitiness and oakiness. The aftertaste is marked by very well balanced tannins and persistent spicy, toasty and balsamic aromas. A long stay in the bottle is the finished touch to this Rioja Alavesa wine's character.
Dessert Pairing
Taylor Fladgate 10 yr Tawny
An exceptionally fine old tawny blend, aged for 10 years in oak casks. Elegant and smooth, combining delicate wood notes and rich mellow fruit, it is bottled for immediate drinking. A superb dessert wine, particularly with dishes made with chocolate, coffee or almonds, Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny may also be served at the end of the meal in the same way as Vintage Port.
Your lagniappe
Pronounced as a French word, lagniappe (lan-yap) is a Cajun-French inspired noun that means “a little extra.” We won’t be covering this in class but you can make these the night before to add to your meal. We wanted you to have a little sumpin’ sumpin’ extra.
