Family food traditions from Louisiana

This August, I traveled to New Orleans to attend the International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC.)  After attending IFBC in Seattle, I was excited to engage in another conference, this time in "the City that Care Forgot."  As a food enthusiast, the incredible food culture within Louisiana is reason enough to make it a destination.  If you're a serious eater, you have an obligation to go here.  However, serious eating aside, I also had a not-so-hidden agenda to travel here to discover the state where my grandparents were born.  My mom was equally intrigued to explore and made the journey with me. Many of the dishes I grew up eating have their roots in Louisiana.  While few of my Southern California peers grew up eating red beans and rice with tabasco, in New Orleans I found myself getting acquainted with an entire population for whom this is a staple.  It was a somewhat surreal experience: my stomach allowed me to feel so connected to a place while still being such a stranger to it.  We were in Louisiana for almost two weeks (mostly in New Orleans, with a short stay in Lafayette.)  Upon our return, we attended a family reunion, which was the perfect way to celebrate our roots, and extend our vacation!  Before I post more about my trip to IFBC & throughout Louisiana, I thought it would be fitting to post some pictures of the food culture at our family picnic.  When it comes to my curiosity about the Crescent City and the Pelican State, family is where it all began...

Like every great family reunion, this one started out with a Bloody Marty!  It's like a Bloody Mary, but with a whole lot more 'kick', not to mention garnishes that will knock your socks off (including shrimp slathered in chimichurri.)  Are you thirsty yet?

It's a beautiful day for a Bloody Marty!  Here's one pictured above with some Zapp's Cajun Crawtators potato chips (a brand made in Gramercy, Louisiana, but conveniently sold here at home at Cost Plus World Market)

Breakfast of champions!

Above, olive, onion, artichoke heart, and pickled asparagus garnish.  Below, Marty, the creator of the Bloody Marty!

 While the Bloody Marty kicked things off, the gumbo making was an all-day process.  The pictures below might explain why there are very few vegetarians in my family...

Gumbo ingredients: andouille sausage, ham, chicken, shrimp, and more!

Chef Randy takes a break from his gumbo to showcase a shrimp for the camera!

Next came the crawfish boil!

Some people dressed up especially for the occasion...

Each family had their own tent with even more food-- in this family, we like to make sure no one goes hungry!  

My mom, representing our family at the tent.

Pre-picnic, Mom worked tirelessly to cook up these homemade pralines for everyone to enjoy!

Mom's pralines!

Don't forget the Tabasco!  

Inspired by our visit to New Orleans, we ordered muffulettas from local Gardena sandwich shop Giuliano's.  My family has been nibbling on their Giulio & Torpedo sandwiches ever since I can remember.  

Though muffulettas are not officially on the menu, Frank at Giuliano's let us make a special request for them!  Muffulettas are meaty Italian sandwiches dressed with olive salad: a mixture of olives, olive oil, cauliflower, celery, carrots, parsley, oregano, garlic, sweet peppers, and spices.  The Giuliano's version of olive salad is a blended version that you can spread on the bread like a condiment.  You can also opt to order the more traditional version online at CajunGrocer.com-- this version has more of a salsa or relish consistency.

Here's Dad hanging out at the tent with some Zapp's crawtator chips!

My Aunt Susan, my grandfather Russ, and I made my grandpa's famous fish stew recipe.  We stirred and cooked  under the strict supervision and direction of my grandpa.  This stew starts with a roux (the fat and flour base used for making gumbos) and ends with delicious results.  While traditionally this is served over rice, it's also great over pasta because of the tomato content in the sauce.  Chili paste and black pepper give this stew a nice kick-- which is just how we like it!  This is easily on my top 5 of favorite family dishes.

Here's a few pre-picnic photos of us making the fish stew, a meeting I have deemed "Fish Stew School."  If my grandpa had a cooking school, I would pay to go to it. He is a mean cook, that grandpa of mine!  Sometimes, I think he missed his calling as a Food Network personality.

This time, we used wild Alaskan cod and shrimp for the stew.  You can use other white fish too.

Above, we're just starting to stir the roux.  Below, that's me in Fish Stew School!

A lot of family members put love and care into cooking traditional food for the picnic.  Below, cousin Julie made Aunt Cora's mini-pies from an old family recipe.  Cousin Debbie made tasty boudin (sausage), which was quite impressive!  It was also such a blessing because we never had the chance to try boudin during our visit to Lafayette due to time constraints.

Aunt Cora's pie: this one has blackberry filling

 Great Aunt Joyce and I at the picnic

 Family and food-- that's what it's all about. Thanks to everyone who made this a memorable and delicious day!