Archive for November, 2009

‘Tis the season to be spicy!

Monday, November 30th, 2009

It’s here, it’s here!  The holiday season is here!

This holiday season will be the biggest in our company’s history.  We’ve introduced several new items, as well as expanded our distribution across the entire U.S. of A.  We work hard all year long producing quality products  to make sure we’ve got everything in the stores for you, come the holiday season.  We’ve purchased nearly 350,000 chickens, 40,000 whole turkeys, and 40,000 pounds of duck.  Yeah, that’s a lot of bird!  To top it all off, we still hand process each and every fine fowl to ensure that you get the delicious foods you’ve come to enjoy.

turduchen

Turduchen or turducken? Both taste GREAT!

It’s an exciting time for turduchen, too!  The turduchens (which you may know as “tur-duc-hen” or “turducken” – whatever floats your boat!) are being introduced to all new customers in the Northeast area based on our participation in the Fancy Food Show in New York City.  We know; those Yankees won’t know what hit ‘em!  In an effort to share Tony Chachere’s with dinner tables across the country, we’ve also worked with The Kroger Co. to put our product in their stores.  This, combined with our new website rollout, makes getting your hands on a Turduchen even easier.

Our new feature-packed website has been a great asset to the company.  Along with the new Online Store, we have recipes, photos, videos, stories, history, and of course, this blog that’s overflowing with information!

We’ve also taken this opportunity to make the ordering process easier on our wonderful customers.  You can now select ground or 3-Day shipping, bringing costs down for our customers considerably.  Our products are shipped in insulated chests with dry ice, meaning you can rest assured that your package will arrive frozen and ready for cooking.  Now, our fans across the United States can enjoy our items every day of the year, but especially during the holiday season.

Cornbread stuffed with seafood might be heaven.

Cornbread stuffed with seafood is heaven.

Don’t forget the crowd favorites during the holidays!  Everyone loves our new Crawfish Cornbread.  This side dish is just another example of creative Creole cooking, and will no doubt spark conversation around the dinner table. For those throughout the north that don’t get into the traditional seafood side of Louisiana cooking, we’ve added three new boneless stuffed chickens to our lineup.  The creamed spinach, broccoli & cheese, and pork sausage & potato-stuffed chickens are seasoned with our own Tony Chachere’s Creole spices and have just the kick your looking for.   Look for them in stores in your area, or pick some up online.

Another exciting and fast growing line that we’re proud of is the Fresh Caught Gulf Shrimp.  We’ve added two new headless shell-on sizes (perfect for boiling, hint hint) and a peeled and de-veined option (great for pasta, nudge nudge).  The new sizes are individually frozen for convenience and come in one-pound bags.  Pick up a few sizes and check out Tony Chachere’s Recipes section for some new ideas!

Phew!  We’re tuckered out from telling you about everything we have to offer this holiday season.  We think we’ll have ourselves a sneak peak bite before the holidays hit.  In the meantime, from the entire Tony Chachere’s team, we hope you’ll think of us this holiday season.  Here’s wishing a very spicy holidays to you and yours!

Thanksgiving Luncheon

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Everyone loves to be rewarded for hard work, and the Tony Chachere’s employees are no different. The difference is that our employers, the Chachere family, loves giving rewards as much as we love getting them!

YUUMMMMMYYYY!!!!

YUUMMMMMYYYY!!!!

Each November, the Thursday before Thanksgiving, is the Tony Chachere’s Thanksgiving feast. All are invited, employees and Chachere family alike. This year was no different. We all got to enjoy the great tastes of ham, fried turkey, roast, cornbread dressing, greenbean casserole (thanks Cindy!) and the list goes on and on, but before we dive into the feast, the awards are presented.

Blog 037

A peek at our awards

There are awards for everything from Department of the Year to Most Dependable.  We are all anxious to see who gets which award and always happy for all of the award winners.  I have to say, it is really great to work for a company who will take the time to show it’s employees how much they are appreciated!

Here are a few of our pictures, to see all of the pictures click here.

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The Spread

The Spread

Todd digging into the petit pois

Todd digging into the petit pois

Petite Pois in a Roux, that’s Peas to You!

Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Hey, that's me cooking for our company Thanksgiving Feast!

Hey, that's me cooking for our company Thanksgiving Feast!

If you happen to have picky eaters who just love to say what they will not eat before they taste a dish (Oh, can I tell  you how this is my pet peeve!…that just did not happen in my home growing up, but I digress) this recipe will turn those non-peas eaters to scoop these up by the spoon full.  The roots of this recipe goes back to a much simpler time.

As I decided to share this recipe with you, I really started thinking, I know of no other family that prepares a dish like this and if you happen to have a similar family recipe, I would love to know.  Around 1950, when my mother was a little girl, every winter my grandfather would load up the family and head back to the swamp for 3 months to trap muskrat, nutria, raccoon and basically whatever else swam around that he could skin to earn money.

Everyone was expected to help skin the animals when Pop returned back to the camp.  My grandmother would always prepare a hearty lunch as this was hard work and the camp had absolutely no plumbing or heating.  Eating a filling and well rounded meal was essential to survival.  The original version of this recipe (which I still make) is served as a main course over hot rice.  It starts with a homemade roux and includes everything in this recipe minus the sugar, plus hard boiled eggs.  I’m going to share with you my adapted version which is a little sweeter and meant to be a side dish.

Petite Pois in a Roux

Here are your ingredients you will need to create my family favorite:

I present another simple board of ingredients

I present another simple board of ingredients

1 lb. fresh sausage, any variety

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 (15 oz.) cans petite pois (very young peas), my favorite brand is Dubon

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup Tony Chachere’s Instant Roux Mix

Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning to taste

In a skillet, brown sausage on both sides.  Remove from pan and drain. Chop sausage in chunky slices (it will not be cooked through).  In a large saucepan, heat oil. Brown onions.  Add remaining ingredients including sausage.  Slowly bring up to a slow simmer.  Keep heat at this level and cook until potatoes are tender and sausage has finished cooking through (approximately, 30 minutes).  *Please note, keep stirring to a minimum as to not break up peas or potatoes.

Here is a shot of the finished dish!

Savory and sweet, these peas are aimed to please!

Savory and sweet, these peas are aimed to please!

Being this is a holiday week, I would like to wish everyone a very blessed Thanksgiving.  I personally feel so fortunate to have this blog to share with you stories of my life growing up in Louisiana, specifically Bayou Lafourche.  My blog has brought back memories of my childhood and enlightened me to stories just as this one to my unique and special family.  I love all them so much and miss my grandparents (Reed and Mirza Plaisance) terribly.  So, if you make this recipe for your family, share with them the story of this humble meal.

Come back and visit again, because my husband and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our camp.  I have a fresh turkey on order from a local meat market in town.  My mom and I are going to open the back up and brine the beast.  Thanksgiving morning my hubby will start a fire.  Mr. Turkey will get injected and go into a Cajun Microwave to cook up.  Now, you know there is a blog coming of this event with photo evidence!  Have I told you lately I LOVE my life!  Talk to you next week!

Cindy Adams-Ardoin

Food Scientist

Tony Chachere’s

Sweet Potato Crunch, another Holiday Hit

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Hi everyone, I promised I would be back with some more holiday recipe ideas.  This recipe I developed a few years back with the addition of our marinade line.  I try to keep some useful and versatile recipe ideas for all our products.  This time around I kept looking at our Praline Honey Ham Marinade and thinking.  Then, like a bolt of lightening striking me off my feet the obvious was right in front of me….and of course, I was like….duh, Cindy!  Sweet goodness with a little crunch is never a bad idea.

If your holiday table is not complete without a sweet potato recipe, give this a try.  Or better yet, it is so good in place of any typical potato side dish.  I personally love it with grilled chicken or even steak.  It is a fun alternative and again, for all those kitchen challenged, I try to cater to you!  Please enjoy and let me know what you guys think.

Sweet Potato Crunch

Take a look at this board, nothing intimidating about these ingredients!

Everyday ingredients ready to be turned into something special

Everyday ingredients ready to be turned into something special

Potato Mixture Ingredients:

3lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

Crunch Topping Ingredients:

3 cups plain cereal flakes

1 cup chopped pecans

2 tsps. melted butter

1/2 cup Tony Chachere’s Praline Honey Ham Marinade

Preheat oven to 350. Boil sweet potatoes until just tender.  Drain and mash coarsely. In large bowl, mix all potato ingredients. Place in a casserole dish. In a separate bowl, mix all topping ingredients. Spread on top of potato mixture. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and broil to crisp the top being very careful not to burn.

You have to admit, your holiday or anyday table would be awesome with this yummy crunchy side dish.

Fresh out the oven and ready for your plate

Fresh out the oven and ready for your plate

Come back to my blog for a petite pois recipe adapted from one of my family favorites.  I look forward to talking to you guys real soon!

Cindy Adams-Ardoin

Food Scientist

Tony Chachere’s