Why Trinity & Roux?

In 2007 I moved from Boerne, Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana. More specifically, Kenner. When I moved I had some experience cooking. My parents, never ones to coddle, had made sure I could at least sustain myself on boxed meals. But, I guess I have some natural inclination to cooking, because I quickly left boxes and started following - and altering - recipes. This has been both a positive and a negative in my life. Sometimes, I make something great, but I can never repeat it again. That's not quite wonderful. But other times, I'm comforted by the idea that I can't possibly make that mistake again.

After living on my own for a few years, my repertoire of meals I could cook successfully had grown and my husband had a list of recipes I could cook anytime and he would gladly eat. But, every fairy tale has it's evil step-mother. My cooking fairy tale took the terrible turn of living with my in-laws for two years. I was never comfortable cooking there for many reasons, and we ate out more meals than I could have ever counted. But, a new apartment (this story's fairy godmother) came along and with it, eventually, inspiration to cook again. And that is where you join the story.

I realized how out of practice in the kitchen I was. I was watching 8-13 year olds on Master Chef Junior do things I couldn't imagine doing in the kitchen, and I knew I needed to cook again. Suddenly, I had to return to the kitchen and stretch my legs. And so, I decided I needed a challenge. I wanted to be the next Julie & Julia. Ok, maybe not that extreme, large numbers of readers need not apply (although they are warmly welcomed). But, I needed MY Julia Child.

Enter Chef John Folse and The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine. My father-in-law had been gifted this cookbook and I had made gumbo from it. And read it. And loved it. So, it went on a wish list and we received this wonderful cookbook in the form of a wedding gift. But, my cooking from the book was limited. In some ways, the book scares me. It has sauces, and broths, and seafood you have to peel before you cook it. All skills I lack.

But, now I see this cookbook as a challenge. I'm not going full out Julie and Julia on this. There is a recipe for Cochon de Lait which requires a 50 pound pig, wire mesh, a meat saw, and a fire. This just isn't reasonable for me to attempt. I was going to say "in the near future" but decided it may never be reasonable for me to attempt this. So, barring any extremes (cost, amount of food prepared, tools unavailable to me) I'm going to attempt all of the recipes at my discretion.

Since this blog is going to focus on this challenge, and this challenge focuses on cajun and creole cooking, the title comes from two important parts of cooking cajun and creole food. The "trinity" is all important to cooking. It's onion, bell pepper, and celery. It is in so many foods in this area and one of the first ingredients listed in many cook's recipes. Roux is right of passage to cooking the local foods. 1 part fat to 1 part flour and cooked until it reaches the perfect color for your dish, roux is as important as the trinity. Both are paramount to any Louisiana cook's skills. I at least have these two down and that makes it a perfect title for the home of my challenge.