Peach Cannoli's

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Teaspoon Sugar
Dash of Salt
1/4 cup Butter milk
1/2 Cup Marsala Wine
1 Egg
Vegetable Oil For Frying

Filling
2 1/2 Cups Full Fat Ricotta Cheese
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Chopped Roasted Pecans
1/2 Cup Peaches copped fine
1 Vanilla bean scraped of seeds

To make the shells:
Mix together the flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Begin to add the Butter milk then the wine, adding enough so that you have formed a fairly firm dough.
Knead for a few minutes until smooth. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for about one hour.
Half the dough, and roll thinly to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 4 squares. Place a metal tube diagonally across each square, and wrap the dough around the tube. Seal the edges with a little beaten egg.
Heat the oil in a large pan until it reaches a temperature of 375 degrees F. Drop one or two tubes into the hot oil at one time, and cook until golden. Remove from the pan, cool, and gently slide the cannoli shell from the tube.
Continue to make the rest of the shells in this manner.
To make the filling:
First let the ricotta sit in a strainer over a small bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to remove excess whey.
Mix the ricotta with the rest of the ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Fill each cannoli shell carefully, and sprinkle with a little extra powdered sugar if desired. Serve with a scoop of Ice Cream.

Smokey Duck Gumbo

3 smoked ducks

8 quarts water

2 large onions quartered

4 stalks celery quartered

3 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic diced

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Boil ducks in a large pot along with all ingredients above. Simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours until flavor is achieved. Remove ducks and de-bone. Chill the stock and reserve.

1 1/4cups flour

1 cup oil

2 cups sliced Andouille Sausage

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped green pepper

5 cloves garlic minced

1 bunch chopped parsley

4 quarts duck stock

1/2 cup favorite red wine

Salt, black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon red pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons Tabasco

In a large heavy pot make a dark roux with oil and flour . Add all vegetables and cook for 10 minutes until tender. Add stock, wine and seasonings then simmer for 30 minutes.

Add duck and sausage, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low for 1 hour. Taste for seasoning and simmer for 30 more minutes.

Serve over rice and sprinkle with Chives. I also serve a side of fried orka and crusty bread.

Shrimp Bascom (Cooking With Purpose Style)

Seasoning mix:

2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound medium-sized shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 cup apple juice or good wine

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with liquid

1 cup clam juice

2 tablespoons butter

3 cups cooked white rice or grits

2 small green onions, thinly sliced

4 teaspoons, Crème Fraiche

To prepare the seasoning mix: Combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard, salt, thyme, cayenne and pepper. Set aside.

Add half the spice mixture to the shrimp, toss well and refrinderate.

Heat a large Iron skillet (10-12 inches) over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix. Cook and stir 5 minutes.

Stir in the apple juice or wine and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the tomatoes and clam juice. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Puree about half of the sauce in a food processor or blender. Pour back into the pan. Add the shrimp and simmer about 4-5 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the rice or grits and garnish with green onions and Crème Fraiche

My touch to this recipe is that I take some of the spice mix or some Prudhomme's   blacking magic and toss well with 12 large shrimp that have been shelled and deveined with the tail on. I toss these well in a very hot skillet until done, about two minutes. I add three shrimp to each dish along with a pat of butter and Crème Fraiche. This idea is mine. : )

Cajun Ribeye’s

4 beef rib eye steaks (6-ounces) cut 1-inch thick

 3 Tbsp. Cajun spice mix

 1 Tbsp. olive oil

 2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped fine

 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped fine

 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped fine

 1 tsp. garlic, minced

 1 cup Burgundy wine


1-2 tablespoons Butter

 salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 300 deg.

Rub steaks on both sides with Cajun spice mix, adding salt and pepper to taste.

In a Dutch oven, preheated over high heat, quickly brown the steaks 2 minutes on each side. Remove steaks to platter.

Reduce heat to medium and add oil. Sauté the herbs and garlic in oil until fragrant and slightly brown.

Reduce heat to low and add Burgundy. When wine starts to bubble, return steaks to skillet. Remove from heat, Cover and place in a 300 deg. oven for 5 minutes. Turn your stove eye to medium high.

Remove steaks to platter and keep warm in the cooling oven. Place the Dutch oven uncovered on the eye and boil liquid until reduced by half. Add desired amount of butter into the sauce, stirring slow not to break. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

Chilled Watermelon Soup

6 pounds yellow or red seedless watermelon, diced (9 cups)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup lightly sweet white wine (such as Riesling) or 3/4 cup water mixed with 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

8 teaspoons crumbled feta

1/4 cup sparkling wine (or sparkling water)

Combine 1 cup of the watermelon with mint and sugar in a bowl. Set aside. Blend remaining 8 cups watermelon, lemon juice, wine, and ginger in a blender until smooth. Chill for 1 hour. Strain soup; divide among 8 bowls. Top each with 1/8 cup reserved watermelon and 1 teaspoon feta .

Mushroom sauce

This is a great sauce to pour over grilled fish, steamed, grilled or lightly saluted veggies, asparagus, cauliflower, or just over mashed potatoes.

2 cups fresh mushrooms sliced

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup milk

1 Tbsp. white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, cook and stir mushrooms and onion in butter over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, pinch of salt and pepper. Blend in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, mustard and wine. Taste for seasoning. I have just posted the basic starter. You can add our adjust spices to your liking, or add crumbled Bacon and chives for Potatoes.