Done By Desires

Done by Desires! What's behind the name? Every time I step foot in a kitchen, I cook with the intent of people taking a great delight or a desire in my style of cooking. With much confidence in my cooking, when I am done, the quest I so desire is done! Hence came forth the name Done! by Desires because your desire is my pleasure.To appreciate food, you have to know what it is all about. As a southern girl growing up in Louisiana, I learned to start cooking at the age of 5. I still have the burn marks from the boiling water that scalded the heck out of my 5-year-old skin. I still remember the hog head my grandpa threw up on the counter to turn into the best hog head cheese ever. Oh! Let me not forget about Granny frying up the best chicken in Crisco in the black skillet, or my mama Dorothy who had the best Chayote, or what we called militon, dressing in the south. Oh, but my mom's peach cobbler with the perfect crust and the right amount of sweet buttery peach liquor. Do you see where I'm going with this? These are all fine memories; the beginnings of my food journey. My dishes come from experiences. You can't have a good dish if you do not have a story behind it. Of course, all of the recipes in this book have a little story about them. Let's start with the Gumbeaux! It took me some years to really get the perfect pot of gumbo. My first pot of gumbo was made with my uncle. He taught me about the roux. The darker the roux, the deeper the flavor. You would preferably want a dark roux, like the color of dark chocolate. It takes practice to make a roux this color without burning it, and a lot of patience! Here in Louisiana, we have a lot of Cajun in us. That's why I put the -eaux (pronounced like the letter O) on gumbeaux. Ever eaten leftover grits the next morning? Once they cool, you can cut them with a knife and fry them in bacon grease in the skillet for a new meal. The Fried Grit Cakes recipe is deep fried grits with a good spice. It can be eaten alone or as the base to the Creole Mustard Shrimp Sauce or the shrimp sauce from the Shrimp & Grits recipe. As I get into my signature recipe for the Crawfish Boil Soup, you must understand that crawfish, or what some of us folks may call mudbugs, are to Louisiana what gravy is to rice. And we love our crawfish boils with all the fixins, Sha (Darling). The Crawfish Boil Soup gives you the taste of everything found at the crawfish boil, but in one big pot. Good eating is the desire of one's heart, and that is the purpose of this cookbook. There are multiple drinks in this book that are signature drinks made to heighten the flavors of the dishes they are paired with. My drinks are just as southern as my soul. This cookbook is for those who share my Louisiana heritage, ones who like a gourmet twist on a classic dish, and for the ones who find a joy in entertaining guests and would like to show off a little in the kitchen. My desire has always been to see happy plates after I have been in the kitchen. And then, I'm Done!