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You Say Potato Salad, I Say Rice by Mary Beth Romig J ust as the culinary debate with regard to gumbo continues — seafood vs. meat vs. poultry, lighter roux vs. darker roux, tomato vs. no tomato—another debate has surfaced: gumbo served with rice or potato salad, or possibly both? Chef Johnny Blancher of Ye Olde College Inn serves his award-winning turkey and andouille sausage gumbo with rice. Potato salad either as a side or a base is not even in consideration.The restaurant and neighboring legendary bowling alley/music space, Rock ‘N Bowl, owned by the Blancher family, serves his mother’s recipe. Deborah Couvillon Blancher hails from Vermillion Parish in the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun Country, where it is said the tradition of serving potato salad with gumbo was born. “It was always and only rice for my family, but then again we were rice farmers,” says Deborah. “In fact, we had some form of a rice dish with every meal, boiled rice, dirty rice, jambalaya, rice and gravy. Maybe if we grew potatoes it would have been different. But then as an adult, I heard one of my aunts say she served her gumbo with dirty rice. And that is the beauty of gumbo in general. Everyone has a preference and can serve it how they like it, and that is just great.” If you’re dining at Prejean’s restaurant in Lafayette and you order gumbo, the wait staff will likely ask, “Would you like potato salad with that?” There it is common for diners not only to ask for a side of potato salad, but to stir the salad directly into the gumbo. Their recipe calls for not only mayonnaise, but a bit of mustard as well, and hard-boiled eggs — another source of debate. Prejean’s serves the potato salad cold; hence, when adding it to the gumbo, it adds a cooling creaminess.

Brew Up A Pot of gumbo by Kit Wohl

B eer is a noble addition to stock, along with wine or water in a recipe. Food is all about flavor, so a reduction of a compatible liquid is an enhancer. It has versatility based on the type, lager, ale, stout, popular brands or home brew. Lower in alcohol and lighter in flavor, it has ingredients that can give the recipe a boost. Just like white and red wine, light and dark beers have distinct flavors and aromas, and you need to consider the right type with the right dish. Unless you have a really good reason, avoid the novelty flavored beers for cooking unless, of course, it is for your pleasure as you cook. This range of flavor makes beer extremely fun to play with in the kitchen. As with wine, a poor beer will not improve your recipe either. It you wouldn’t drink it, don’t use it in a recipe. Family gumbo was the first time I saw beer used as part of the stock, and it made perfect sense. Like wine or spirits in cooking, the alcohol cooks off, leaving the subtle benefits of the beer’s flavor profile.

Stews and soups are recipes that beer can enhance. It can also be used as a braising liquid in pot roasts. Unfortunately, using it in a slow cooker doesn’t allow the alcohol to burn off, leaving a bitter taste. Beer can chicken is a popular excuse to use the barbecue grill.The first half of the beer is for the cook, and then the chicken is inverted with the cavity shoved down over the open end of the can, which acts as the stand. The grill is covered, which heats the beer, and the resulting steam helps cook the chicken. Try cooking with beer by adding half a can of a light lager to a skillet of pre-browned Italian sausage. Add onion and sliced apples. When the apples are tender and the onion is translucent, incorporate the rest of the beer, cover the skillet and allow it to simmer another few minutes until the sausage is cooked through and the liquid has been reduced to a nice sauce. There’s not a lot that can go wrong, so feel free to experiment. If a recipe asks for wine or another spirit, consider beer. There is just not enough alcohol in beer to flambé, so Beer Bananas Foster just isn’t going to happen.

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MY ROUSES EVERYDAY NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2016