Cooking New Orleans Style

I went to a cooking class today to learn New Orleans style menus.  The class was taught by Leslie Breen in her home.  Some of you might know her as the original creator and owner of Eucalyptus restaurant here in Cuenca — one of the oldest high end restaurants in town.  Though she is no longer affiliated with that restaurant, having sold it, her skills from such an establishment were very visible throughout the class.  Click here to contact her for future classes.

When we started the class, I must admit that I had some reservations. She was in the kitchen doing the work, while we sat at the counter and watched.  She started out by handing us a recipe sheet for “Bread Pudding With Lemon Sauce.”  Though it sounded good, I was wondering if we were going to get a full class today…

I needn’t have worried.  As she completed that dish, she handed us the next recipe, which she completed, then handed us the next… and the next… and the next…  At the end we had learned to cook five dishes — far more than in any other cooking class I have attended where the students help prep the food.  We were taught:

  • Bread Pudding With Lemon Sauce
  • Shrimp Romolade
  • Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
  • Paneed Chicken and Fettuccine
  • Potato Salad With Green Onion Dressing

Each was delicious, and each was also presented well.  Leslie now does catering for parties, and I am seriously thinking of maybe hiring her for our next big party and bypassing the kitchen for myself… 🙂

cooking_new_orleans_people

I don’t think it would be fair to Leslie to just post her recipes here.  Over the next few months, I will try them at home, make my own modifications (because what cook doesn’t?), and publish them as blog entries when I am happy with my results.  For now, contact Leslie either for her classes or for catering.  She will make you glad you did!

Unfortunately, I missed her class earlier on the cuts of meat in Ecuador and how to map them to what we are used to in the States.  I definitely want to take that class if it comes around again.

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