-Funding for "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana" was provided by... -Today on "Cookin' Louisiana", it's a salute to milk, the official state beverage.

So how about a BLT cheesecake and then some hearty andouille leek and potato soup?

And finally, think about this -- eggnog bread pudding.

But before we moo-ve on, I'd better get to churning.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I tell you what, once they see you, they think I'm going to do a desert, but yeah are they going to be wrong for that, huh?

Guys, welcome to my "Cooking Louisiana" Kitchen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this tasty tour of our state's best flavors and dishes.

Now, you know what we're going to do this time?

We're going to give a nod to the state beverage of Louisiana.

Can you guess what it is?

Come on.

No, it's not a Hurricane.

It's a tribute to the state's dairy industry.

Now, this happened in the early 1980s -- milk was adapted as official drink of the state.

So today, we're going to moo-ve on to dishes starring milk.

And, you know what we're going to kick it off with?

A BLT cheesecake -- a savory, not sweet, version of a popular dessert, because I know you thought I was going dessert.

We're going savory.

So first up, our crust.

What I have here... breadcrumbs.

Now, I like seasoned breadcrumbs.

We're going to pop in a little Parmesan cheese.

And what I have here is some melted butter.

OK?

I'm having a flashback because a lot of times when I do desserts, I do the same thing with broken up sandwich cookies as a crust.

Now I'm just getting this all mixed together.

I want everything to be moist because we can press it down into our pan.

Now, notice, this is a springform pan and I've taken two pieces of foil and wrapped it around the bottom, OK?

Because we're going to put this in a water bath, and we'll talk about that in just a little bit.

But here, let's go ahead.

Look how easy this is.

Now, spread it out with the fork a little bit.

And you know what's nice?

We can just take the bottom and spread it out, press it down in there, and it just spreads out evenly.

But see how that works?

It presses it nice and flat.

There we go.

How does that look?

Now, I have the oven 325 degrees.

I'm going to put this in the oven just for about 10 or 12 minutes, OK?

I just want this to bake just a little bit to get firmed up.

Then we can work on our filling.

For our filling, [singsong] we're using cream cheese [normally] and I have a little heavy cream.

So let's get this starting to be mixed.

Now, I've had to set out to get room temperature, and it just takes a little bit to get it going.

Guys, we just want to get this nice, smooth, and creamy.

So we're going to go a little salt.

We're going to go with a little bit of our Creole seasoning.

Because remember, when you're dealing with something that doesn't have a lot of flavor to it -- at least, it's not a seasoned flavor, OK?

Little white pepper.

Now, let's go ahead and blend this, that way, this gets mixed in really well.

I don't know if you all have ever thought about having a savory cheesecake.

It's one of those things where -- it is absolutely delicious if you haven't tried it.

Now, some of the other things we're going to put in here -- what I have here, I have some bacon that I've just cooked and crumbled, hence the BLT.

We're going to put in a little bit of dried tomatoes.

Gruyere cheese.

A little bit of green onion.

I have a spoon and I'm not going to use my mixer just yet, alright?

I want to get this folded in real nice.

You see how it's creamed out.

We could probably put our eggs in and just mix it by hand, but I'll probably use a mixer.

But then let me show you.

Let's get an egg in... See?

And if you don't have a mixer, just kind of work it.

Just make sure that egg gets spread out all the way through.

OK, so here, let's go ahead and do this.

Let's get another egg in.

I'm going to go ahead, get our mixer back.

See?

Just on low.

Let's go ahead and get our crust out of the oven.

See?

And that's how we want it.

It's there.

So this is going to cool so we can put our filling in, so let's finish getting our eggs mixed in.

OK, I think that's great.

Alright.

So our crust is cooled.

Now we can just take our filling and go right into the crust.

Yes.

Ohh.

You're going to like this so much.

Now, I decided to do this with bacon, but, you know, shrimp, crawfish -- oh, I've done it with a number of different things.

We can turn our water off.

I'm just going to spread this around, just a little bit.

What's going to happen as it bakes, its going to cook naturally from the outside in.

That's why we're doing it in what they call a bain marie, or a water bath, because it's going to keep the sides from burning.

So let's get in our hot water.

This is also the reason why I put the foil around the sides of our pan -- to protect it, OK?

Now remember, our oven is set at 325 degrees, so let's get this in.

And be careful with the water when it's in the pan.

Now, if you want, set the pan in the oven, then pour your water if you don't feel comfortable carrying your pan.

Always be safe.

You're going to be so tasty.

325 degrees, 45 to 55 minutes and we will have wonderful, oh, savory cheesecake.

Yes.

Now, our cheesecake has come out of the oven, and, of course, you have to let it cool, OK?

If you want, you can let it cool overnight if you're not going to serve it till the next day.

If you need to, you could take a knife or an offset spatula, run it around the sides, but pop it open.

We're going to take our plate.

I'm just going to set it right on the plate, just like this.

Remember I saved some bacon?

You can put a little bacon around the top.

We can put some bacon around the plate if we want.

Let's just keep it on the top.

A little bit of green onion.

You know, just to give it a little color.

A little parsley.

So there you have our savory BLT cheesecake.

Guess what I'm in the moo-d for now?

How about some rich and creamy andouille leek and potato soup?

Now for our salute to milk, we're on the moo-ve.

We're Tangipahoa Parish, where we're going to visit with Stuart LeBlanc at the LeBlanc Family Dairy Farm.

-We're milking about 210 now.

They'll be lined up, ready to go to the barn at 1 o'clock to be milked.

These are Holstein Jerseys and we got several Holstein-Jersey crosses.

-Jersey, since they're brown, is that where the chocolate milk comes from?

-No.

That's the -- That's the old myth, there.

-That's the old myth?

-That's the old myth, yeah.

-Now, let's make some andouille an-doo-uille -- kind of get the "moo" reference here?

Alright, guys, little butter.

We'll get some butter in.

Now, remember, andouille, unlike most sausages that are ground, andouille is a coarsely-chopped ham that's made into a sausage and smoked.

So we have a little butter in the pan.

Let's get in our andouille -- that's cubed.

We just want these edges to brown.

So I'm going to stop stirring this now and let it sit.

But, you know, hey, you know what makes a homemade soup really good?

How about some homemade croutons, OK?

In my bowl, I have some bread that I've broken up and what I have here, I have a little garlic powder.

I have a little dried parsley.

Now, if you want to put a little spice on them, of course, you could do a little Creole seasoning and a little veggie oil.

Now, watch how simple this is.

So all we're going to do is give this a toss.

So here we go.

We're just going to put this on a pan.

It's nice and flavored and seasoned.

And see, I want to get all of this out that got stuck there on the bottom.

And usually when it's baking, I like to go ahead and move it around a little bit.

I have our oven set at 400 degrees now.

I have it heating up at 400 degrees, but I'm going to do this at 300.

I'm going to turn it down.

So let's get these in the oven.

So let's get our andouille out.

Now, I'm just going to take my spoon and kind of tilt it on this side of the pan, just to get -- leave some of that butter down in there.

But you can see some of the edges -- see how they're browned off in there?

And, of course, if you're worried about some of it sticking to the bottom of the pan, that's alright, because we're going to be able to get that up.

OK, so let's get in some leeks.

Now, with the leeks, this is like a super, super mild onion.

And what's going to happen, it's going to give off a little bit of moisture, and that little bit of moisture are going to help get those little goodies up off the bottom of the pan.

So let's get a little thyme.

Let's put in a little garlic.

A little bit of salt.

A little bit of our Creole seasoning.

I'm going to season this again in just a bit.

Ohh, the smell, the smell, the smell.

Now, let's get in our potatoes.

Now, I cut the potatoes fairly small, and if you notice, my potatoes still have the skin on them.

So let's get in a little stock.

I'll turn our fire back up.

And yes, I just put in just a little bit, just to get up off the bottom of the pan what the leeks didn't get up off the bottom.

Ahh, yes.

Now, let's go ahead and get the rest of our stock in.

Oh, you look so good.

And remember, we'll adjust our seasoning.

Now I know you're asking me, "Hey, hey, hey, I thought you were talking about milk today."

Well, guess what?

I am.

Don't worry.

We're going to make this with a little heavy cream, but it's not going to be as much heavy cream as you think because we don't need that much, OK?

Because our soup is still going to be creamy, but part of that creaminess is going to come from the fact that we're going to cream up these potatoes.

While we're waiting on our potatoes to cook, let's go ahead and check out our croutons.

Now, we just want to move them around a little bit.

You can hear them.

Hear that?

[ Bread crunching ] I'm trying to resist doing something so bad, but -- but I think I have to.

I think I have to.

Take a little extra olive oil.

Alright.

I just like that little bit of extra oil.

Little bit of extra spice on them.

And I tell you what, they're just about ready, so I'll just toss these back in the oven.

It's almost to the point where I can turn these off.

Let's get them back in because they're almost ready.

Now, let's check our potatoes.

Take one -- I just put it on the side of the pan.

Oh, look -- look how easy that cut.

It just -- I don't know if I could do another one.

You can see it.

It just cuts right through.

So they are ready.

Now, I'm going to turn the fire down just a little bit.

An immersion blender -- a stick blender.

We're going to puree this.

Some folks like to do it totally smooth, some folks like to leave little chunks in it -- it totally depends on your mood.

Now, you remember earlier I mentioned how this was going to thicken up, even though we weren't going to use a lot of cream because of the potatoes?

Can you see the texture we're getting now?

Oh, this is great.

This is perfect.

This is right where we want it.

Let's get our andouille back in.

Yes.

See, I didn't want to puree it with that andouille in.

That's why I took the andouille out.

Heavy cream, yes.

OK, come on, come on.

I want all of it.

And of course, right before serving, you can make any type of adjustments.

Give it a little taste, see if you need to adjust it.

I'll tell you what, I think it tastes pretty good.

So let's get cleaned up and let's get ready to plate this.

Think about this soup on a cool winter's evening.

Oh, yes.

Think about this soup on a hot summer day.

I'll tell you what, I like soup any time of the year.

Cool, hot, it doesn't matter, I see you, little andouille, come on up here.

Come on up, get up on top up there.

There you go.

Right there on the top.

Right in the front.

Now, let's take a couple of our croutons that we made.

We can take the little -- big ones, we can take little ones, we can sprinkle them around.

A little fresh parsley, just to give you a little color.

A little touch of green onion -- it always freshens things up.

It gives a garnish, but it gives them a nice fresh, herbal taste.

Whoo, ma chère.

That andouille sausage really adds a terrific, smoky flavor in this potato soup.

Now, next up, we're going to milk it for all it's worth with a bread pudding that starts with homemade eggnog.

[ Hisses ] Yummy, yum, yum.

-I got two boys, Charlie and Sawyer, and they are extremely helpful on the farm.

This a family farm.

There ain't no two ways about that.

-Do you know where baby cows go to eat lunch?

-Where is that?

-At the "calf"-eteria.

[ Laughter, mooing ] Bread pudding.

That's right.

We're going to make an eggnog bread pudding.

First up, I want to melt some butter right here.

I have a little butter here that we'll get to melting.

I also have a little butter for our sauce that I'll just turn on real low, get this started to melt.

Now, a lot of folks know me and they know that I am not the raisin fan.

I love raisins.

I eat them in cereal.

I eat them by themselves.

But Grandmother made so much bread pudding with raisins that I tend not to put them in, but I'm going to do it today.

Here I have some golden raisins.

What I'm going to do with these -- I'm going to put them in our butter.

They'll absorb a little butter and get nice and fluffed up with a buttery flavor inside.

So let's get our raisins in.

Let's go ahead and take care of the bread pudding.

One of the things I like about bread pudding is having bread dry.

You know, most of Louisiana, we get our French bread in paper.

In paper, it dries.

In plastic, it'll mold and turn green.

But because it's dry, it can absorb, and that's why I wanted to do this eggnog, because this bread being so dry, it can absorb it.

Now this is homemade eggnog.

This brings back so many Christmas memories.

If you've never made homemade eggnog, it's nice and simple, OK?

But if you don't want to make eggnog, just use your favorite brand from the supermarket.

That'll work.

Look down in our bowl.

You see how our bread has absorbed most of this eggnog?

Remember, there was some eggnog in the bottom, but now it's been absorbed, OK?

Let's turn off our fire right quick.

I'm going to give this a little shake.

Alright.

Let's just set that right there.

OK, and those raisins will plump up.

In here now, let's get a little sugar.

Yes, it's going to be sweet.

Now, I saved a little bit of sugar because we're going to take the allspice, mix it into the sugar.

That way it won't kick up as it goes in.

It's a quick way, simple way to get it mixed in.

We're going to get our eggs in.

We have four eggs going in.

Mix our eggs in really good.

And, of course, a little bit of milk.

Little milk.

And, you know, I look for the texture of oatmeal.

That's what I look for.

Now, if you accidentally put in a little too much milk, that's OK, because we can always add a little more bread to it.

It's a completely different taste now before we put our butter in, so let's go ahead and get our butter and our raisins in.

Ohhh.

Alright, everybody in, everybody in.

Yes.

See, just let this just sit.

All of that goodness goes in there.

OK. Now I've prepared my pan, just with a little all-purpose spray.

And now let's get our bread pudding into our pan.

This is just custardy goodness.

You notice that kind of full.

Let's put this on a sheet pan.

The oven preheating 350 degrees.

This takes anywhere from an hour, 1 hour 15 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on how liquidy it is.

We want this to get nice and firm, but it's not going to totally dry out.

So let's get this into our oven.

Now, remember, 350 degrees, it's going to souffle a little bit, but when you take it out and it cools, it's going to settle, so don't get upset, it's fine.

It's going to taste fantastic.

And remember, anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how loose it is, because we want that quiver.

So let's take care of this sauce right quick.

Now, we melted our butter.

This is powdered sugar -- icing sugar.

Let's pop it right on the top.

I have a couple of egg yolks.

Now, I'm not going to mix it in because the pan's hot, the butter's hot.

Dump your egg yolks right on top of your sugar, and now as we whisk this together, we'll have enough heat from the pan and from the butter to cook the egg yolks, but not scramble the egg yolks.

Now, basically what I have here, I have a little bourbon, so we'll get a little bourbon in.

We'll just get this worked in.

So I'm going to get cleaned up and I can't wait to show you how I'm going to serve this.

This bread pudding smells absolutely fantastic, so let's dish it up.

Now, I like an ice cream scoop.

Get in there -- if you like that corner with a good edge.

Oh, here, let's get a little more to put on top of here.

Oh, look at that.

Look at that.

Now, of course, our sauce.

You want a lot or a little sauce?

OK, in between.

Let's just take our sauce and drizzle right over the top.

As you can see with this delicious eggnog-laced bread pudding, as the old saying goes, our state drink definitely does a dish and my body good.

Thank you so much for joining me on this culinary road trip.

Now, you better to keep that party rolling, bringing the big flavors of Louisiana to your home.

So I'll see you next time for more "Cookin' Louisiana".

♪ -The companion cookbook to "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana" is available for $28 plus shipping and handling.

You can also order an hour-long DVD of favorite dishes from the series for $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Both the book and favorites DVD are available for $43.95 plus shipping and handling.

To order these items, call 1-866-360-4928 or order online at wyes.org.

-Oh, how are you?

I am so glad you're here.

Thank you for joining me on "Cookin' Louisiana".

No.

Yes.

Of course.

You're going to come out pretty.

I know you are.

I know you don't want to, but you are.

The people want to see you all purdy.

Tender biscuit topped with scratch-made sausage gravy.

♪ Now today, I'm gonna make a cheesecake.

♪ I'm sorry.

Here we can saudée -- saudée.

[ Laughs ] Have you ever sautéed -- saudéed your vegetables?

It's much better than sautéeing.

You should all try the saudée.

♪ ♪ If I cook it, they will come.

♪ -For more information about "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana," visit wyes.org.

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