Louisiana Kitchen Stories

The Laplace Blog

Cajun technique guides, ingredient spotlights, equipment reviews, and stories from the Louisiana kitchen.

Technique

A perfect dark roux is the soul of Cajun cooking -- a deeply nutty, almost smoky base that takes 40 minutes of constant attention ...

March 18, 2025 By Antoine Broussard

Ingredients

Louisiana crawfish season runs roughly from late January through June, with peak season in March and April. We explain how to buy ...

February 28, 2025 By Celeste Thibodaux

Technique

Every Cajun and Creole dish starts with the same three ingredients: onion, celery, and green bell pepper -- the Holy Trinity. We b...

February 10, 2025 By Antoine Broussard

Baking

Authentic New Orleans beignets have a specific texture -- light and airy inside, almost hollow, with a thin, slightly crisp shell....

January 22, 2025 By Marguerite Fontenot

Ingredients

Grocery store "andouille" is often just kielbasa with a different label. Real Louisiana andouille is coarsely ground, heavily smok...

January 8, 2025 By Celeste Thibodaux

Baking

Louisiana pralines are not the smooth French-style praline. They are grainy, crumbly, intensely sweet discs of caramelized sugar a...

December 15, 2024 By Marguerite Fontenot

Ingredients

File powder -- ground dried sassafras leaves -- is added to gumbo off the heat after cooking is complete. Add it too early and it ...

November 30, 2024 By Antoine Broussard

Equipment

A well-seasoned cast iron skillet is the single most important tool in a Cajun kitchen. We walk through seasoning from scratch, cl...

November 12, 2024 By Isabelle Trahan

Ingredients

Yes, the difference is enormous. Stone-ground grits retain the germ of the corn kernel and have a complex, almost sweet corn flavo...

October 28, 2024 By Celeste Thibodaux