We Sell Louisiana Gifts!

Looking for the perfect gift? Look no further! NolaCajun sells lots of gift items including cookbooks, gift baskets, coasters, aprons, trivets, shirts, and more!

Our gift baskets make perfect gifts for family and friends who favor that New Orleans flavor! We offer a variety of gift baskets including:

Hot Sauce Gift Basket
Muffuletta Gift Basket
Sweet Tooth Gift Basket
Breakfast Gift Basket
Lagniappe Gift Basket
Tabasco Gift Basket
Everything Pickled Gift Basket
Coffee Gift Basket

Our lagniappe gift basket allows you to customize your very own gift basket! All you have to do is let us know what you would like in your own special basket and we will create it for you! Choose from our inventory of over 1000 New Orleans and Cajun food products.

We also offer a great selection of local cookbooks too! Find your favorite recipes from restaurants such as Arnaud’s, Commander’s Palace, Broussard’s, Galatoire’s, Brennan’s, and more!  These cookbooks are sure to please anyone that loves New Orleans and Cajun foods.

It’s Mardi Gras Time!

It’s that time of year here in New Orleans! It’s Carnival Time and the first parade rolled on  Saturday, February 15^th! This year, Mardi Gras falls on March 4^th, which is a little late compared to last year (February 12). That’s okay because that means king cake season lasts longer!

Speaking of king cakes, NolaCajun offers delicious, fresh baked king cakes that are delivered straight to your door. Our king cakes are made from gourmet Danish pastry dough which are then iced and decorated in the Mardi Gras colors (purple, green, and gold). We offer The Traditional King Cake and Filled King Cake. Our filled king cake comes in a variety of 14 different flavors to choose from:

Apple
Apple Cream Cheese
Bavarian Cheese
Blueberry
Blueberry Cream Cheese
Caramel
Cherry
Chocolate
Cream Cheese
Lemon
Praline
Pineapple
Strawberry
Strawberry Cream Cheese

            For our New Orleans Saints fans, you can purchase our Saints King Cake that is decorated with the Saints black and gold colors. You can also get the Saints King Cake traditional or filled. What a great way to show your team spirit this Mardi Gras season!

We also have Baby King Cakes! These mini king cakes are perfect for a school class or an office Mardi Gras party. They are approximately 5 inches in diameter and feed one person. You get 18 mini cakes for $50.00 which is less than $3.00 a piece!

If you are looking for the perfect Mardi Gras shirt, come take a look at our Mardi Gras Heart and Crown shirt. This shirt is available in purple or white! Perfect for the parade route!

Here at NolaCajun, we cannot wait for the parades to start! And for those that cannot be here in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, we offer these king cakes to you to share a little piece of New Orleans with you this Mardi Gras season!

Staying Warm This Winter

Sleet and snow and ice. Oh my!  It has been a cold week here in New Orleans. The locals are staying warm in their homes and what better way to keep warm than a nice hot bowl of gumbo! Here at NolaCajun.com, we offer a variety of different rouxs to help get your gumbo started.

A roux is a mixture of even parts of fat and flour. The traditional French roux uses butter while the Cajun roux uses oil. Our best selling roux, Kary’s Roux, is a traditional dark Cajun roux made from flour and oil, cooked slowly until it is the perfect color. We also sell Kary’s Gumbo Mix; just add your favorite Cajun meats or seafood for an authentic Louisiana gumbo!

Savoie’s Roux, Ragin Cajun Roux, and Richard’s Cajun Roux are some of the other traditional rouxs we sell. If you are looking for some dry roux, we also carry Bailey’s Cajun Creole Roux Mix, and Tony Chachere’s Roux.

Here is a great recipe for Sausage & Chicken Gumbo using Bailey’s Cajun Creole Roux Mix:

SAUSAGE & CHICKEN GUMBO

1 – 3 pound chicken, cut up
1 pound andouille or smoked sausage(cut into 1/4 inch slices)
1/4 cup oil
1 pack Bailey’s Roux Mix
1 pack of Bailey’s Spices
2 – 14 ounce cans of chicken broth
1 pack of Bailey’s seasonings
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 dozen raw oysters (optional)
1 – 8 quart pot

In an 8-quart pot, fry cut up chicken pieces, Bailey’s andouille or smoked sausage and Bailey’s seasonings in oil for about 15 minutes.  Add 3 quarts water and bring to a boil, then add Bailey’s spices to taste.  In a separate bowl, mix Bailey’s Roux Mix with water from boiling pot (approx. 10 ounces) until it is soft and smooth.  After Roux is mixed, add to the boiling water in 8-quart pot.  Add 2 cans of chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce and cook uncovered over medium heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  If desired, oysters should be added in the last 15 minutes of cooking. Skim excess oil prior to serving.  Optional: add 1 tablespoon file’.  Serve over rice.
Serves 16 – 8 ounce servings

Do you have any interesting recipes of New Orleans and/or Cajun cuisine?  If you would like to send us the recipe with a picture of the finished product, we would love to feature it on our blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest!  This goes for all of our products…we are always looking for great ideas from our loyal customers!

Jambalaya Girl Plans a Mardi Gras Style Super Bowl Party

NolaCajun is so excited to welcome a guest blogger today!  We would love for you to meet our friend Jambalaya Girl!

Jambalaya Girl is the owner of Cook Me Somethin’ Mister, a new brand of New Orleans food items, made in New Orleans. The first in the line is a Jambalaya Rice Mix that was created from Jambalaya Girl’s Dad’s recipe. She will be cooking her signature dish at the Super Bowl this Sunday for the NFL VIP Tailgate – a role she earned by cooking her rice mix for a taste test among over 200 other restaurants and caterers. Read her story here: http://www.nola.com/superbowl/index.ssf/2013/01/super_bowl_2013_reverberating.html. 

We are very excited to carry her products on NolaCajun.com.

It’s Carnival Time and almost Super Bowl Sunday in New Orleans. Celebrate with us and learn how to throw your own Mardi Gras themed Super Bowl party at home! Here are the recipe and party tips from New Orleans’ own Jambalaya Girl of Cook Me Somethin’ Mister.

Fried Jambalaya “Footballs”

Recipe Makes 30 “footballs”

Rice Ball Mixture:

1 bag Cook Me Somethin’ Mister Jambalaya Rice Mix (8oz Lil’ Party Size)

1 lb. Ground Pork Sausage (breakfast sausage)

1 pkg Cream Cheese (8oz)

½ cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated

¾ cups Italian Bread Crumbs

2 Eggs

1 tsp Hot Sauce

Breading:

4 cups Italian Bread Crumbs or Panko

2 Eggs

1 tbsp Water

Topping:

1 pkg Cream Cheese (8oz)

¼ cup Creole Mustard

1 tsp Hot Sauce

1 tbsp Ketchup

1. Cook jambalaya rice and sausage as directed on package. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate.

2. In a bowl, combine chilled rice mix, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, whisked eggs and hot sauce. Mix thoroughly. Form 1 ½ in. diameter balls, and elongate for “football” shape.

3. To bread, whisk eggs and water in small bowl. Roll jambalaya balls in egg wash then roll in bread crumbs.

4. Deep fry at 350 F for 30-60 seconds or until browned on all sides. Let stand to drain and cool.

5. To make topping, mix all topping ingredients in bowl. To decorate, use icing piper filled with cream cheese mixture and decorate top of jambalaya balls like football stitches.

6. Shout “Yum Yum, Come Get You Some!” and serve.

Make your own Shoe Box Float

Display your Fried Jambalaya Footballs atop your own shoe box Mardi Gras float. Decorating a shoe box to look like a float rolling down St. Charles Ave is a tradition among elementary school students in New Orleans. It’s a cute and easy way to tie in a Mardi Gras tradition at home. And your Fried Jambalaya Footballs will be ready for kickoff!

Why a Turducken?

Thanksgiving is a little less than a month away.  Before you know it, you will be walking down the aisles of your local grocery in search of a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving.  Why go through the hassle?  NolaCajun can ship a large variety of Thanksgiving birds to your door.  You can select between three sizes of Turduckens depending on the number of people you are serving.  We also carry Turporkens which is the same product as the Turducken but we substitute pork for the duck.  If that isn’t variety enough for you, we offer nine different stuffings for our Turducken products.  You can choose from the following:

• Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya
• Crawfish Etouffee
• Crawfish Jambalaya
• Shrimp Etouffee
• Jalapeno Cornbread
• Cajun Sausage & Cornbread
• Traditional Cornbread
• Dirty Rice
• Wild Rice Pecan

So what is a Turducken and why should I change from my traditional turkey?  A Turducken is a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck that is stuffed in a deboned turkey.  The three meats are combined and stuffed with your choice of stuffing.  So what you are getting is three types of meats plus stuffing all in one product.  Each Turducken comes with easy to follow cooking and thawing instructions.  Additionally, we have a YouTube video that will guide you through the easy-to-follow process as well.

We deliver Turduckens up until the day before Thanksgiving but there is no need to wait until Thanksgiving approaches.  We provide a comment section for our customers to request a date for their Turducken to be delivered.  We do the rest to make sure your family has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Share your recipes with us! We would love to feature it on our blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest! This goes for all of our products! We are always looking for great ideas from our loyal customers!

Ode to Hubig’s Pies

This is it.  The last one for quite some time…

I woke up yesterday morning to what many New Orleanians would consider unbelievably horrible news.  The Hubig’s Pie bakery had burnt to the ground in a five alarm fire.  It began at 4:30am in the fryer room of the bakery.  Luckily, no one was hurt in the blaze.  Four trucks made it out of the bakery for their deliveries before the fire started.  The firefighters were able to contain the fire and saved the surrounding buildings and homes, but the bakery was lost.

When I received news of the fire, I rushed out in search of any remaining pies at our local grocery stores.  They can easily be frozen and if I could stock up, my family’s cravings could be satisfied for the next few months.  Much to my dismay, there were none to be found, I was too late.  In many cases, they had sold out within an hour of the stores’ opening.

When I returned home, I remembered I had bought one at the beginning of the week and had yet to eat it.  So off came the wrapper.  Good bye sweet, flaky crust.  Good bye lemony filling.  Good bye Simon, the cute little baker man…

 

The owners, unsure of how long it will take to rebuild, promise they will reopen.  They must reopen.  Closed for four months after Hurricane Katrina, they are no stranger to adversity.  But the 90 year old bakery will persevere and we will be here waiting.

***We will let our customers know when we are able to offer Hubig’s Pies on our website again.  In the meantime, please help our friends at Hubig’s by purchasing t-shirts from their online store. ***

Home-Made Creole Jambalaya Recipe

Looking to spice things up in your kitchen this summer? This week, try your hand at our family’s jambalaya recipe or do a quick fix with the dinner mixes we offer on our website!

NolaCajun Home-Made Creole Jambalaya Recipe

 

1 yellow onion

1 bell pepper

1 cup celery

6 cloves of garlic

1 link andouille sausage

1 link smoked sausage

4 oz. tasso ham

4 chicken thighs

4 cups chicken broth

Creole seasoning

Dash of Crystal Worcestershire Sauce

2 cups uncooked Zatarain’s Parboiled Rice

Fun Cajun Land Fact:

In New Orleans, we have what is known as the Holy Trinity. In any Creole dish, there are almost always three requirements: onions, bell peppers, and celery. In our world, this ensures that whatever you have decided to cook that day, it will develop with robust flavors and make a bold statement…granted you don’t burn anything.

In a large skillet, slice and cook all sausage until browned. Add cubed chicken thighs and brown together until fully cooked. Next, add all chopped vegetables and seasoning and let cook together until vegetables are transparent and soft. Combine rice in the skillet with a spatula, but be sure not to over work the rice as it may turn mushy once cooked. Add broth and simmer for 20- 25 mins. Taste test as many times as possible to ensure premium flavor & a happy palate and enjoy with family and friends!

If your running low on time and need a quick fix, try our Cajun Jambalaya dinner mixes! All you need is your meat and the box does the rest of the magic for you.

Have you tried our recipes or have any new and interesting ones of your own? Share your recipes with us! We would love to feature it on our blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest! This goes for all of our products! We are always looking for great ideas from our loyal customers!

Running of the Bulls

July 14^th, 2012 marks the annual Running of the Bulls, a city wide event where New Orleanians and guests do their best to give the Spaniards a run for their money! The streets of the French Quarter are overrun with patrons dressed in traditional white shirts and shorts tied together with red sashes as they are chased by beautiful “bulls”, the Big Easy Rollergirl’s, New Orleans female roller derby team.

 

 Beginning at 8 a.m. sharp, the “bulls” chase runners and swing plastic Whiffle ball bats at those who dare not to keep up during the mile long run as they storm down Decatur and hopefully arrive safe and sound at whatever bar is closest to the finish line! With a call time set that early on a Saturday morning, a strong cup of CDM coffee might do the body good, but if you’re ready to run with the best of them I recommend a tall Bloody Mary bright and early to prepare your body for hours of day-drinking ahead of you. There are only five rules for this Spanish inspired Cajun run:

• Run at your own risk
• Do not touch the Bulls
• If you go down, stay down
• Do not stand still
• Children under ten (10) use sidewalk.

After the run, if you have survived the spanks and spills, the Big Easy nominee for Best Latin Band, Vivaz!, will be performing tradition Latin music to seduce your hips and tempt your lips for an ice cold beverage. After the festivities, we recommend you spend the remainder of your day in the Quarter socializing with other fellow survivors, trading stories of gallant bravery and defeat! Grab a muffuletta from Central Grocery for lunch or at the infinite number of delicious Creole restaurants and perhaps consider switching from that stout adult beverage to a more family friendly & local favorite like Abita Root Beer to wash the day down! Registration is FREE, just be sure you can afford to let loose and enjoy the beautiful chaos that is New Orleans!

WHAT: 6th Annual Running of the Bulls in New Orleans
WHERE: The Sugar Mill • 1021 Convention Center Boulevard
WHEN: Saturday, July 14th
7:15 am Procession of San Fermin
8:00 AM SHARP El Encierro (bull run) begins

http://www.nolabulls.com/index.asp?id=10

Summer Solstice New Orleans Style

New Orleanian’s will find any reason to throw a party and Summer Solstice is no exception! Tonight, June 20^th at precisely 7:09 pm marks the first official day of summer and what better way to celebrate than with your friends, family, and a refreshing beverage to take the sting out of the heat!

The rest of the country is finally catching on to Summer Solstice parties, but to pull off your get-together it in true southern style try these delicious daiquiri and mixed beverage recipes that will be sure to impress!

Solace Strawberry Daiquiri:

A new twist on a local favorite!

3 oz. Pat O’Brien’s Strawberry Daiquiri Mix

2 packets Crystal Light Cherry Pomegranate Flavor

1.5 oz Rum

1 cup ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix well. Pour into a chilled glass and garnish with a fresh strawberry!

 

Magnetic Margaritas:

Jose’ wont be the only one coming back for more!

3 oz. Pat O’Brien’s Margarita Mix

2 packets Crystal Light Raspberry Ice Flavor

1/2 oz. Triple Sec

1.5 oz. Tequila

1 cup of ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix well. Adjust to taste. Pour into salt-rimmed chilled glass and garnish with fresh limes!

Add an additional kick with just a splash of St. Germain liquor to the top & stir in

 

Boastful Bloody Bull:

For those who have a few too many of the Magnetic Margaritas, heal your hang-over with our twist on a classic, mouthwatering Bloody Mary. A perfect blend of spice and flavor like only the Creole’s know how!

2 oz. Tabasco Bloody Mary Mix

1.5 oz canned condensed beef bouillon

1.5 oz Vodka

Freshly ground black pepper

4 Cajun Chef Spicy Green Beans

Combine Tabasco Mix, bouillon, vodka, and pepper and mix well. Pour over ice in a tall glass and garnish with spicy green beans.

Do you use our drink mixes in any new and interesting ways?  Share your recipes with us!  We would love to feature it on our blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest!  This goes for all of our products!  We are always looking for great ideas from our loyal customers!

Jacques-Imo’s Restaurant Review

Good morning readers! We felt that it was about time to share another one of our favorite restaurants in New Orleans to give guidance to upcoming visitors and encourage locals to give a little jump-start to grassroots businesses. Jacques-Imo’s is located on the far end of Oak Street, a quaint Uptown road occupied by an old family pharmacy, eclectic coffee shops and wine bars, and a variety charming boutiques to browse on a slow day. At night however, the one place you want to be is in line, waiting for a table at one of the best Creole restaurants in New Orleans. If not for the lavishly painted swamp scene on the truck permanently parked outside the front door, Jacques-Imo’s might be easily overlooked by passerbys not lucky enough to have spent an evening inside the magical restaurant!

  Once inside the petite entrance, you are overtaken by the enormous mural spanning the entire length of the restaurant, framed paintings acting as a ceiling and the most sensational Cajun aroma filling every inch. Be sure to arrive at least thirty minutes before you would like to be seated, they dont take reservations for parties of five or more and there is always a line! While you wait, enjoy a beverage from the bar served in the famous Crabby Jacks plastic cups and prepare yourself for a little taste of heaven on Earth. The kitchen is located in the middle of the restaurant, so it is impossible to be seated without passing through where all the magic happens, sure to rev up your taste buds! Once seated, take a few minutes to take in your surrounding, theres something eclectic and surprising in every nook and cranny.

  Now its time for the food- from personal experience, I have never been to Jacques-Imo’s and not ordered the Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Cheesecake appetizer. The name may seem a bit off-putting but trust a local- it is INCREDIBLE! A generous slice is served with a Cajun tomato cream sauce drizzled on top, perfect for soaking with the never ending supply of garlic and green-onion butter cornbread! If alligator seems a bit ambitious for your taste, you cant go wrong with the Steamed Mussels in a tomato- basil broth or the Eggplant Jacques-Imo’s topped with an oyster dressing and wild mushroom sauce that would make your taste-buds sing!

Searching for an entrée on the menu can be a daunting task, but rest assure you can not go wrong. The portions are enough to share but I guarantee after your first bite, you will be hard pressed to let go of anything on your plate. This past Saturday, after examining the menu for the perfect dish, I finally decided on the Pan-fried Drum finished with a menieure brown sauce and topped off with candied pecans. The drum was cooked to perfection with just enough sauce to compliment to the fish but not overpowering its freshness while the pecans added that special sweetness pairing perfectly with the savory sauce! My friend who joined me was feeling especially adventurous that evening and the moment our waiter described the Godzilla Meets FGT special, he was done for. His dish consisted of an enormous soft shell crab served with hefty layers of fried green tomatoes and eggplant stacked underneath, finished with house-made remoulade sauce and a steak knife jostled through the top to keep all in their place. After getting over the impact of the grand presentation, he took his first bite and that is where any and all conversation ceased for the next ten minutes. It was almost impossible for him to focus on anything except the Creole masterpiece in front and relishing in all its glory! Understandable, neither one of us finished our meals which only meant the wonderful experience would live on for another day under the title of leftovers.

Leaving room for dessert at Jacques-Imo’s is a daunting task but one that must be conquered! His New Orleans-style bread pudding is one of a kind with the coconut sprinkled inside which adds a whole other level of flavor and goodness but if your running low on space in the stomach, I would recommend their Watermelon Mojito as delightful night-cap to end your Jacques-Imo’s Journey!

             

  Truly a local gem in New Orleans that might be hard to find for out-of-towners, but one meal in his kitchen will ensure a place in your heart, and stomach, forever. Great food, reasonable prices for the large portions, and a fantastic environment sure to make any night spent at Jacques-Imo’s an eventful one!

Jacque-Imo’s Cafe

8324 Oak St
New Orleans, LA 70118

(504) 861-0886

http://jacques-imos.com

If you have a favorite New Orleans or Louisiana restaurant that you would like us to feature or would like to submit a review, please feel free to reach out to us!  We are always happy to hear about our customer’s experiences down in Cajun country!