12/17/2023
**Only 4 spots left for this one!**
Our January Supper Club event is one that I could just squeal with excitement about ~ My very own Louisiana Johnny will be heading up a Cajun Cooking Class and 5 Course Feast!
Sunday January 28th at Sweetwater Kitchen
If you've never experienced authentic Cajun cooking before, this is a once in a lifetime chance. And, if you know... You Know!
This intimate behind-the-scenes evening will take place inside Iona's kitchen, with limited spaces available.
The tradition of Cajun cooking goes back generations. It is a method that has been passed down over decades through family lineages. More than just recipes ~ it is a culture of cooking.
A culture of gathering, connecting, and preparing food that absorbs the energy of community and nourishes both the body and the soul.
Most Cajun dishes involve an hours-long process of simmering, stirring, and saturating flavors.
Our January Supper Club event will be an extended gathering, where my very own Louisiana Johnny will guide us through the rich and rewarding process of traditional Cajun home cooking and fellowship, culminating in a 5 course feast!
Cajun Cooking Class Supper Club Featured Dishes:
🦀 Crabmeat Au Gratin ~ Cream and cheese au gratin with crabmeat, baked to a thick dip consistency and seasoned with cajun spices
🦞 Crawfish Corn Maque Choux ~ Fresh cut sweet corn simmered down in a butter cream sauce with fresh tomatoes, the holy trinity and crawfish tails, stirred and simmered, to a creamed corn consistency and served with fresh green onions and parsley
🦐 Shrimp Etouffee ~ Tomato and cream based sauce with the holy trinity, fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, and shrimp, simmered down and served over rice and paired with Maque Choux
🐓 Chicken and Sausage Gumbo ~ Roux based type of soup with the holy trinity onion bell pepper celery cooked down to a rich consistency with the addition of chicken and home-smoked pork sausage and spices. Served, according to tradition, with a scoop of cold potato salad and rice
🌽 Cornbread Couche Couche ~ Simple and delicious, a tasty traditional dessert
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*Get to Know the Chef*
For me, cooking started when I was big enough to stand at the pot and hold a spoon.
As a young boy I got encouragement and experience at the men’s gatherings, where men would get together and play cards, make music, and talk. And cook.
As a young boy I got to go to these gatherings and stir the pot, then as I got older I was allowed to chop vegetables, and eventually progress to joining in on cooking the meal.
We had regular get togethers at grandma and grandpa’s house ~ I was the firstborn grandson, and my grandpa pretty much raised me. Grandpa was a cook in the army and offshore on the gulf. He just loved to cook. And fish and hunt and cook off the land. He taught me respect, how to use it, nourish all of it, leave it like you found it.
On Summer Sunday’s at grandpas the men would gather at the outdoor kitchen, cook, and talk, and play music. Most of the time the women and children would be off to the side. Once the meal was ready everybody would integrate, the children and women would eat, then the men would come in and join them. Everything centered around the food, the cooking process.
As I grew older I held on to that. Cooking was a way to stay connected. So I make the same meals that my grandpa and great-grandpa made.
I make them the same way today. All traditional Cajun cooking ~ what people make at home from what they have. The way they’ve been doing for 100s of years. Basic simple ingredients put together in a way that just makes you feel good.
Food and cooking is more about connection and community. Doing it alone is not that much fun. But doing it with people, for people, together ~ that’s what makes it meaningful.
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Sweetwater Supper Club is all about building community, supporting local farmers, featuring different chefs who bring us new flavors and creative combinations, and savoring the exquisite delight of food and fellowship!
We would love to have you join us ~ and please tell your friends!
