To be fair, oysters pair quite well with a number of alcoholic beverages. Champagne, riesling, stout. However, this was a dinner fit for a birthday boy, and given that the birthday boy wanted some nice Cajun food, we went for a nice Cajun beer with his appetizer.

Dixie beer has long been my favorite of beers. It’s one of those I’ve always had to search out, as only liquor stores with a large selection seem to carry the beer outside of New Orleans. During Katrina the brewery was damaged, and for a couple of years thereafter, there was no Dixie to be had. They eventually got up and running again, but not utilizing the original brewery. I’ll take what I can get after a two year dry spell, and it still holds the spot as my favorite beer, even if it comes from a different location.

For the oysters – well, we’re not on the Gulf here, so we went with a Pacific variety, Kumamoto oysters. They’re one of our favorites, with a briny, salty flavor that tastes as if they’ve just been plucked from the sea. Add a bit of horseradish and cocktail sauce, and you’re good to go!

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Appetizers, Drink Time by Courtney

Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen was the cookbook I learned to cook from. Don’t get me wrong – I learned how to cook from my family, but this was one of the first cookbooks I ever used, which explains why I don’t think taking two hours to make dinner is a bad thing. The recipes in this book are delicious; I’ve never had a bad meal from Chef Paul. However, the first time I made the Cajun Shepherd’s Pie from this book, it took four hours. That wasn’t because I was in middle school, just honing my knife skills. It still takes me quite a bit of time (it might have been because I had an aversion to vegetables, and I minced the heck out of the ones that went into the meal). But as anyone who has ever had a slice of this pie can attest, it is completely and totally worth it. (more…)

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Cookbook Review by Courtney