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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Mississippi Taco

I think I’ve beaten down my cold, so when Diana emailed me last night about a cooking class today, I said, sign me up!   I had an appointment for an oil change and tire rotation for the toad this morning at 10:30, but it was on the way to the 12:00 cooking class in Gulfport.  By the time we finished with the car, it was obvious that we were going to be late for the class.  We got a phone call asking when we thought we’d arrive.  They didn’t want to start without us.  Wow!  How cool is that?

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If any of you have ever watched Emeril Live, you will have an idea of how this class operated.  Just like on Emeril, we ladies were seated around the cooking area so we could all see what was going on, and provided with a recipe so we could follow along as the chef prepared the meal.  It was quite intimate with only twelve of us participating.

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Chef Julian Brunt was very open to any questions.  The Mississippi Taco was his own creation.  That cast iron frying pan that he used was handed down from his grandmother to his mother to him to use in his cooking.  You just can’t beat a well seasoned cast iron pan for frying.

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Chef Brunt began by sautéing some diced Bay St. Louis Italian sausage in the frying pan.  After it was cooked, he removed the sausage and added red onion and garlic to the pan, which after about ten minutes was added to the sausage.  Then it was time to fry the shrimp in the same pan.  The shrimp had been marinated over night in the Valentine hot sauce.  (this made my taste buds cringe, but it turned out great)  He admonished us that shrimp only needs to cook a very short time in a hot pan to reach perfection.  Absolutely no more than three minutes!  The secret seems to be to use small amounts of shrimp at a time.66 MS Sandhill Crane NWR 201226Next, he stepped over to a second deep pan of hot oil and quickly fried up separate handfuls of Julienned sweet potatoes.  Then it was time to assemble the tacos.  He also had a bowl of cole slaw that he had prepared ahead of time.  First down on the tortilla was a scoop of the sausage and onions, then the shrimp, then the cole slaw, and finally the sweet potato crisps.

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                                           Here’s the final product.  Just roll it up and bite into it. 

_MG_6409I’m thinking Diana was pleasantly surprised with this culinary masterpiece.  Open-mouthed smile  I’ve always really enjoyed cooking and trying new recipes, but my culinary ambition has fallen by the wayside since I’ve been on the road.  This was a real invigorating shot in the arm for me today.  Diana and I even chipped in and bought Chef Brunt’s cookbook to share.  This is certainly the best way to learn about regional cooking.  I’ll be signing up for the class on crab cakes in April for sure.

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We were so inspired by today’s class that we stopped at Desporte & Son’s Seafood Market to purchase some Gulf shrimp.  I got the peeled headless shrimp, and Diana got the large head on shrimp.  Her shrimp turned out to be much larger than mine, so next time I’ll buy the large head on shrimp, and she’ll teach me how to behead them.  Disappointed smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

20 comments:

  1. I like my shrimp peeled, beheaded, and deveined!

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  2. What a neat experience. I have never attended a cooking class...I probably should; it sure wouldn't hurt! ~wheresweaver

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  3. Oh dear, I don't know if I could "behead" anything. Well a head of cabbage when I shred it I guess.

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  4. You are lucky to be where you can get fresh shrimp. I buy mine down at the gulf - it's the best! I don't bother at grocery stores as it's already treated by then & I can taste that. Yuk.
    What great pics, looks like a fun time & wow, it's really something that they waited! Glad you are feeling better too.

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  5. I don't miss making complicated recipes. If I am really craving something, I figure I could go to a restaurant. I make a lot of different combinations of things in my electric rice cooker.

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  6. Boy, that sounds good! Not sure I'll find all those ingredients here, but I'll figure out some reasonable substitutes!

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  7. That must be fun and the food sure looks good enough to eat:) I cannot help wondering about a Mississippi Taco, I guess that must be like a Norwegian Pizza?

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  8. I love to cook, especially unique recipes. I have a boat load of Penzey's Spices ready to go to the motorhome. Would love to be at the crab cakes class.

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  9. Ehh, not so sure about that one! Interesting to say the least. I did try a fish taco once but generally I like my tacos the old fashioned way - beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and green onions on a corn tortilla. But I guess every region has its own delights. Enjoy!

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  10. great way to spend the afternoon..learning to cook a new recipe and then getting to sample it!!

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  11. Oh Yum Judy. Something I can wrap my head around lol. I love your blog and read it faithfully everyday but, this one just has me so interested.

    I just don't eat or cook antyhing that has a face on it, so I would go for the headless shrimp.

    Take Care
    Brenda

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  12. A cooking class, fun! Right up my alley! We've avoided buying headed shrimp down here, too.

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  13. That looked like so much fun! I've always wanted to do a cooking class. And a large kitchen is the one thing I miss in my rv...but I make do with all the gizmos and gadjets I have. thanks for sharing...your posts are always fun to read.

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  14. I've actually rediscovered my love of cooking since we started RVing. Since i don't have to worry about cooking for kids anymore I can get a little more creative. I love watching cooking shows on TV whenever I can find them(since we don't have satellite TV I'm at the mercy of the public airwaves). I would love to take some cooing classes, never thought to look around for one where we are, what a great idea!

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  15. Bet the crab cakes will be good too. I do not clean shrimp. I leave that to Leonard because as a 100% Cajun he surely could do it better than me. (That's my excuse and I sticking to it).

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  16. Hmm, We may have to reverse course and sample some of those crab cakes...

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  17. You had me with the tacos until the sweet potatoes entered the pic...but I could use regular! That class on crab cakes has got to be a must!! As for beheading the shrimp..maybe a mini-guillotine from the Barbie/Ken Sado-Masochistic Store would suffice??:-))

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  18. Nice break from routine, huh? That final product looks delicious; bet it was. Valentines is one I've never heard of, but if you say the taco was good and not too spicy WITH the sauce, I'll take your word for it. Wonder if they have that brand here in Daphne...?

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  19. butterbean carpenterFebruary 29, 2012 at 3:35 PM

    Howdy Judy & Emma,
    Hey, Hey, Way to go girl, you're agonna learn to eat GOOD FOOD , YET!! I know that up in Chicago, where they bust all the beef in the head with a maul, y'all can't believe any food is good unless it can be eaten with horseradish.
    Seafood is edible and (I'll get shot for this) better for you than a straight beef diet.. Sweet potatoes are a way lot better for you than white potatoes,
    ANY way they're fixed!! That has got to be the best taco I ever heard of and IF I ever get to the coast again, I'M AGONNA GET ME TWO OR THREE!!

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  20. Wow, that looked good, now I have to try it, or something similar.

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