New Orleans Cuisine in Indianapolis

Trout Amandine

It’s taken me a few years, a small fortune in gas and a lot of mileage on my car, but I’ve finally figured out where to get certain food items in Indianapolis.  I’ve also learned how to make dishes I love with substitute ingredients I can find here.  Today I took a ride up to the north side of town to Trader Joe’s with a big list, including olive oil, Feta and Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, saffron and of course, wine.  I like to use Sauvignon Blanc for cooking and Trader Joe’s sells Charles Shaw (formerly known as Two-Buck Chuck) Sauvignon Blanc for $2.99 a bottle.  I’m no wine connoisseur, but I know what I like, and I prefer their Sauvignon Blanc to any other inexpensive one I’ve ever tasted – and believe me, I’ve tasted quite a few.  It’s a long drive, so when I go, I buy large quantities of the things I like there.  Today I bought six bottles of olive oil and three cases of wine.  The cashier asked me when the party was starting!  Well, in our house it’s tonight; I’m celebrating the end of my first week at my new job and I feel really good about my decision.

Bean Blossom

I’m going to make “Trout” Amandine using frozen tilapia filets.  It’s one of my favorite fish dishes and tilapia is so versatile, I don’t think it will be half bad.  I’m going to garnish it with some of the most beautiful parsley I’ve ever seen; it’s just growing wild in our yard.  We picked some wax beans and burgundy beans from our garden a little while ago, which I’m going to cook until just tender and toss with a little olive oil, lemon juice and zest!, of course.  Our neighbors gave us the seeds for the burgundy beans, which are a variety of green beans, or snap beans as we always called them when I was growing up.  They’re a gorgeous shade of purple when you pick them, but turn green when cooked.  I have some potato crescents roasting in the oven, and I just made a simple vinaigrette for my salad of Romaine, thinly sliced celery, red onion and an adorable little cucumber we just picked.  I'll add a few Niçoise olives and some slices of perfectly ripe avocado and then it’s Bon Appétit!

Here’s my vinaigrette recipe:

1 small toe of garlic, minced.  Add a little salt and mash together with the flat of a knife until it forms a smooth paste

1 t of Dijon mustard

1 t of fresh chopped parsley

¼ C good red wine vinegar

½ C olive oil

Freshly ground pepper to taste.  You won’t need salt because you’ve already added salt to the garlic

Whisk together the vinegar, garlic/salt paste, pepper and Dijon mustard until it’s smooth.  Gradually add the olive oil, whisking all the time until it’s completely emulsified.  Add the chopped parsley and whisk again.  You could certainly add other fresh herbs you like, too.  Tarragon, chervil, or marjoram would all be good.  I think you'll find that with a good vinaigrette a very simple salad is quite satisifying"

BTW, Derek loved the "Trout" Amandine.  He said it was better than Galatoire's!  Sorry, Leon, my friend.