Importing another favorite tradition to our adopted city of Paris: Jazzfesting in Place. Homemade Gumbo, Red Beans & Rice, Pralines and Sazerac, plus tuning into the fest live.
story
Jazzfesting from Afar
We have been doing various versions of our own virtual festing since 2011, whenever we couldn’t make it down for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest. This year, as we wrapped up school spring break, we had a craving for gumbo and pralines, and decided to have a last minute gathering of anyone who was in town and wanted to come by for the fun!
music
Tuning into the Fest
It is never a bad time to be listening live to New Orleans’ favorite radio station WWOZ from wherever you are in the world, but for this, it is required. This link should be a permalink to their festing in place info but just google it if it breaks.
This year we were also able to watch live. via the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival YouTube channel.
Et voilà the 2023 cubes for May 7, 2023, the day we jazzfested from Paris. Cubes are the at-a-glance schedule of the fest, showing all the stages on one page per day.
recipe
Parisian Punchbowl Sazerac
A hit from our “Dans Les Roux” event, we had to make it again, but I had to adjust it for what we had available here in Paris. I couldn’t find Herbsaint nor other Absinthes (but then it clicked that actually Herbsaint was developed from the pastis and absinthe that J. Marion Legendre tasted when stationed in Paris and wanted to bring back to New Orleans. So, we simply used some Richard pastis, instead.
Secondly, though I had my Angostura bitters at the ready, somehow the Peychaud’s bitters didn’t make it in the suitcase. But I did have Woodford Reserve spiced cherry bitters, and knowing that Peychaud’s is known for its candied cherry and spicy clove flavors, I knew that would work just fine. Delish.
And there you have it, laissez les bons temps rouler!
Parisian Punchbowl Sazerac
Ingredients
- 1 ice block suited to serving container
- 4 oz simple syrup
- 20 oz Woodford Reserve Rye
- 2 tbsp Ricard Pastis
- 10 dashes Angostura bitters
- 30 dashes Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters
- 10 lemon peel strips or orange/clementine, or both
Instructions
Prepare Ahead
- Make Ice Block – To keep your cocktail cold without watering down the drink, make a block of ice at least 8-10 hours ahead so that it freezes solid. Think about the size of your punch bowl or serving pitcher and make the ice so that it fits within it: a leftovers container or a simple bowl if you will serve from a punch bowl, or something long and skinny if the destination of the coctail is a pitcher (or like us, an oversized mason jar).
- Simple Syrup – If you don't have it on hand, make some simple syrup and leave it to cool.
Mix the Batch Cocktail
- In a large pitcher (preferably a ball glass canister), pour in the Rye, simple syrup and Pastis. Add the bitters. Stir and taste per your liking. Put in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Make the lemon peels and keep aside in a serving bowl, covered in the fridge until ready to serve.
Serve
- Put the ice in the desired serving vessel. Stir or gently shake the cocktail mix and pour over the ice. Place the serving cups, citrus peels and additional ice cubes nearby.
- For each cocktail, put one citrus rind in the glass and pour over the drink. It might be wise to note to guests that this is a deceivingly strong drink. Some may want to water down with ice cubes. But the beauty of the punch-bowl style is that your guests can enjoy it at their own speed/taste.
recipe
Louis Armstrong’s Red Beans & Rice
A family favorite any time of year. It’s definitely better to make in advance as much as possible, and it’s delightful with a fried egg for brunch, if you are lucky enough to have any leftovers!
In Paris, my local butcher didn’t have any ham hocks for me. He recommended epaule (shoulders), which worked, but that was more meat that I think we needed. For pork shoulder, instead of boiling it like the hocks, I browned it well on all sides, and then kept it aside, using the same pan to start cooking the beans. After about 20 mins of stewing the cooked beans with the other ingredients, I added the pieces of pork and let it continue to cook over low heat for the remaining time.
Satchmo’s Red Beans and Rice
Equipment
- large heavy-bottomed pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry kidney beans
- 4 ham hocks 715g jarret du porc, avec les os
- 2 cups onions, finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper, finely diced ~1 cup
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 2 dried red peppers, seeds removed
- 1/2 lb salt pork (or pork belly) ~225g poitrine du pork, fumée
- 1 small can of tomato sauce
- ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
Serving
- hot, cooked long grain white rice
- Crystal hot sauce our optional addition
- chopped green onions our optional addition
Instructions
- Wash beans and soak overnight in cold water, covered. Louis likes to say this step is required to "take the whistle out of them."
- Put the ham hocks in a large pot, add water until covered, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 90 minutes, adding water as needed to keep them covered.
- Meanwhile, chop the onions, pepper, garlic and salt pork.
- When the ham hocks are ready, pour off both the cooking water of the ham hocks and the the soaking water of the beans, and combine the ham hocks and beans in one large pot. Add salt pork and fresh water until the the pork and beans are covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for 90 minutes.
- Add the onions, green pepper, garlic and dried peppers, tomato and ½ tsp of salt to start. Bring to a boil on high, reduce to a simmer, and cook 90 mins more (3 hrs if you are Louis), adding water to keep mixture covered in liquid and never dry.
- Taste and adjust salt. You might be tempted to add other spices, but try to refrain and do it Satchmo’s way.
- Serve with piping hot long grain white rice, maybe some Crystal hot sauce, and definitely some Satchmo on the speakers.
Notes
I included this video on the portrait for our —, but it is too good not to include again.
recipe
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
It was fun to make gumbo in Paris and discuss with French friends how French cooking techniques melded with those from other parts of the world, along with new ingredients and evolved into the cuisines we know of as Cajun and Creole. There are entire books written on this topic, of course, but even us amateurs can observe the connections …. and enjoy the results, of course.
We again used Chris Wells‘ recipe featured in the WWOZ cookbook That Sounds Good!, as we did for our “Dans les Roux” event (almost exactly a year ago!) on May 7, 2022.
To adapt for France, I had to find different sausages, but otherwise we followed the recipe. New Orleans has their beloved Andouille Sausage, but attention! it is not the same as the Andouille or Andouillette we find here in France. For starters, the New Orleans version is smoked. Beyond that, I need to spend some time researching the evolution to the version that we need to make a true gumbo.
In the meantime, I used saucisse fumée d’Alsace which along with some Espelette and black pepper, gave a nice approximation. I bought it at La Grand Épicerie, Paris.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
Roux + Gumbo
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 16 oz andouille sausage, cut into 1/4" rounds 5 links saucisse d'Alsace was 537g
- 2 cups cooked chicken, in bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups onions, finely diced ~230g
- ~1 cup celery, finely diced ~150g
- 1 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup butter ~230g
- 1 cup flour ~230g
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp thyme (or herbs de provence)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- salt
- 3 cups frozen, cut okra we would do 4
- 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Serving
- cooked long grain rice
- fresh parsley to garnish
- green onions, chopped optional
- Crystal hot sauce
Instructions
Prep
- Wash and chop all of the vegetables, and prep the remaining ingredients (particularly the stock and browned sausages) to have at the ready.
Roux + Gumbo
- As with any roux, prepare yourself to be stuck at the stove for at least 45 minutes. Put some good New Orleans tunes on (our "Dans Les Roux" playlist is here), and get a glass of whatever beverage is going to put you in the best mood for dancing while stirring (and stirring, and stirring). Depending on the time of day, this chef is probably doing red wine or Grady’s New Orleans style iced coffee (with milk and maple syrup, of course).
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pan to medium. When hot, add the butter. When the bubbling subsides, add the flour and stir vigorously with a flat-head wooden spatula until well combined. Continue stirring until it is at least the color of peanut butter, noting that it will continue to cook a bit darker in the next step (also see note below).
- When your nice brown color is reached, add the diced vegetables and garlic, continuing to stir until the vegetables begin to melt into the roux (about 20 minutes). Then add the salt, spices, herbs and sausages, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add 5 cups of the broth (to start), bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for one hour, then add the chicken and okra, and simmer gently for 15 more minutes. Add broth whenever it is getting too thick or sticking to the bottom of the pan. The longer you wait to eat it, the better it will taste! But we don't blame you if you want to dive right in.
Serve
- Put a rounded scoop of hot, cooked white rice in the center of a bowl or deep dish, and spoon the gumbo around it. Garnish with chopped parsley, and pass some Crystal hot sauce.
recipe
Pralines in Paris
Aside from not needing any extra reason for making these ridiculously good treats, it was extra fun one to share in Paris because it highlights another evolution of a French tradition in New Orleans. In France, Pralines refer to the pink candied nut, a specialty of Lyon. It is often found in brioche or the famous Tarte à la Praline. That said, the word praliné refers to the candying of nuts generally. One can praliné and kind of nut or combination there o, on a stovetop, with sugar, stirring rapidly until there is a perfect combo of caramelized sugar and toasted nuts. Process your praliné-d nuts into a paste and blend it with vanilla pastry creme and you have the filling for my favorite Paris-Brest.
Also, Oui, c’est vrai that two of the ingredients needed here are not easily accessible in France: brown sugar and vanilla extract. If you are in Paris, you can head over to The Real McCoy, but if not, unfortunately I cant guide you further. We have not yet experimented with cassonade nor other versions of vanillla.
Pralines
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup raw pecans, in small pieces ~260g ?
- 1 rounded cup packed, light brown sugar dark works, too.
- 2/3 cup heavy cream ~155ml
- 2 tbsp salted butter ~27g
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Prep
- Break any whole pecan pieces into 3-4 pieces before measuring.
- Prepare about 12×24" of parchment paper on a heat-safe surface (I do it direct on my marble counter) and keep aside.
- Put all the ingredients EXCEPT vanilla into a large microwave-safe bowl (it tends to bubble up a bit!).
Cook
- (Note: be mindful of your microwave and it's strength! These times are for our current microwave which isn't the strongest.)
- Microwave on high, for 12-15 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes. It will bubble a lot!
- When the mixture starts to become thicker and darker, almost a bit cake-y, and you are afraid you have overcooked it, it's good. Add the vanilla and stir. Let stand 1 minute.
- Working quickly with 2 spoons, spoon a heaping tablespoon worth onto the parchment paper. Allow to cool fully before plating or storing.
- Stored in an air-tight container they probably last a while but I wouldn't know. We devour (and share!) them the very same day. 🙂
