(bright music) - [Promoter] "Sara's Weeknight Meals" is made possible by Sunsweet, Mutti Tomatoes of Parma, Le Gruyere AOP from Switzerland, and by... - Cooking is the first kind of love you know.

It was starting when I was child with my grandmother doing fresh pasta, and now I transmit it to all the guests, it's something made specially for them.

- [Promoter] Oceania Cruises, proud sponsor of "Sara's Weeknight Meals."

(bright music) - [Sara] It's no secret.

Some of the best food in the country comes from the south, and I'm all in.

I start in Arkansas where a local farm becomes a winter bird sanctuary.

- [Reese] See the eagle's nest?

- I thought they were endangered.

- [Reese] Well, they're making a comeback.

- [Sara] And then join a farm family to make their favorite fried catfish and rice puppies.

Rice puppies?

- It's kind of like a hush puppy, but made with rice.

- So good!

- Well, you know, you made it.

- I'm a chef.

- Back home- This is the best jambalaya I've ever had.

We're learning how to make a killer jambalaya, from the real deal.

New Orleans native, Chef Airis Johnson, shares her kitchen secrets from The Big Easy.

- It's called the Holy Trinity, onions, celery, and green peppers.

The father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost And then we always have a special guest star which is the Pope, garlic.

- Oh dear.

Put some south in your mouth today on "Sara's Weeknight Meals."

(soft blues music) Arkansas has its share of unique restaurants and hotspots, and the friendly people are always happy to tell you where to find them, or you can just do it the time honored way and count the cars in the parking lot.

- We had several good barbecue places here in Blytheville.

- We have tips, which is our best seller bestseller.

You got to try them.

If you in Blytheville, you gotta come to Yanks.

- If you had Penn's barbecue, it's real good.

- A little south of Blytheville in Marianna is another gem.

Jones Barbecue has been here for more than a century.

Started by pit master Jane Jones's grandfather's uncle.

His succulent sauce and top secret slaw have earned him a James Beard Award as an American classic.

Here's why.

- Hello, I'm James H. Jones from Jones█ Bar-B-Q in Marianna, Arkansas.

(soft rock music) Well, we only use hickory wood, and that's a 12 hour process.

The slower you cook, the better off it is.

The sandwiches is $3 each, with slaw or without slaw.

(bag crinkling) Well, it's been in the family over 150 years, and I've been working with 'em ever since I was 14 year old.

Daddy had us promise, all the boys, if either one of 'em give it up, he'll come back from the grave and do something to it.

So, we gonna sit on that.

(soft rock music) (light airy music) - [Sara] Here in Humphrey, Arkansas, it's all about farming and foul.

After the rice harvest, the fields are flooded and ducks and geese come down from the north in masses.

(light airy music) Eric Vaughn is a local farmer and a conservationist.

- [Eric] These are all dabbling ducks out here today.

- Dabbling ducks?

- A dabbling duck is a shallow water feeding duck.

- Oh.

- As opposed to a diving duck, which you'll find in coastal regions, normally.

- Who knew, diving and dabbling.

- Yeah.

- Wow.

Party.

(Eric laughs) So why do they come here?

Why here?

- Well, they're feeding on the grain that's left over after harvest.

They're feeding on weed seeds.

They're feeding on invertebrate in the water.

- [Sara] What invertebrate.

- Bugs.

Small bugs.

- Oh, bugs!

Okay, all right.

- Yep, yeah.

See- - So, they're sort of doing you a service besides, you know, helping themselves to dinner.

- Absolutely.

- Wonderful.

- Absolutely.

- Now, how do we get them to come to us?

- Well, traditionally we use duck calls.

- Is that what you've got there?

- Yeah, yeah, there's a few here.

- [Sara] Those look like party favors.

- Right, right.

- Okay.

- So, my kids love them, right?

- Okay.

- So you can make a "hut" - "Hut".

(duck call hutting) - Wow.

- And you can string that together the... (duck call hutting) - I-I don't see them.

- Maybe you, (laughing) - Have, you have to do a little more than that.

- Well, maybe you should try.

- All right, let me see.

Let me see.

Okay, so hut hut?

- [Eric] Hut.

(duck call hutting) - I've heard worse.

(Sara groans) (Eric laughs) - Oh, no, that didn't sound, that didn't sound very Daffy-esque.

You did much better.

(laughing) (bright upbeat music) Now, watch out.

A predator is making a comeback and it's nesting nearby.

Wildlife biologist, Reese Butler, showed me.

- [Reese] So, you look over here in this big Cypress Street, you'll see the Eagle's nest.

- Wow.

That's a mansion.

That's huge.

- It is.

Yeah.

- Why are, why are they here?

- Well, in this lake, there's lots of fish for them to feed on.

Or even the ducks, you know?

- [Sara] The ducks.

I thought they were endangered.

- Well, they're making a comeback.

- So this is, this is a good thing.

- It's a great thing.

- Clean water is essential for birds and farms, and Eric wants to keep it that way.

- [Eric] Water conservation is our number one goal.

- [Sara] Makes sense, rice is grown in water - [Eric] Absolutely.

- [Sara] So, about how many inches?

- In the growing season, we'll have about two inches of water across.

- (surprised) That's all?

- Yes, ma'am.

- [Sara] Wow.

So you, you work to try to prevent erosion too.

- That's a big benefit of flooding these fields during the winter.

Is it decreases erosion.

It increases natural fertility.

- Right.

- And it improves water quality.

- Oh, all good.

Now do you, do you fish in these waters too?

- No, ma'am, it's not deep enough to fish, but we do have some back at the house.

(bright upbeat music) - [Sara] So, what are we making?

- We are making rice puppies.

- Rice puppies.

I mean, I've heard of hush puppies.

They're made with cornmeal.

- As a matter of fact, 50% of the rice grown in the United States comes from Arkansas.

- That's wonderful.

- Something we're very proud of.

- You should be.

That's great.

Okay, so.

- So, one cup of white rice, two cups of water.

- [Sara] Just regular old tap water, huh?

- Absolutely.

(bright invigorating music) A 10 and a half ounce can of french onion soup.

- Oh, that- Now that's interesting.

Is this your idea?

- It is.

- Well, I have to say, because not everybody's gonna be able to buy it, or doesn't wanna use a can of onion soup.

What I think they could do is use beef broth and just some slow, thinly sliced sauteed onions til' they're really caramelized, and that probably would be a nice substitute.

- One teaspoon salt, half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

- It's gonna be spicy.

- It's gonna be a little spicy.

- [Sara] A-and your kids don't mind.

- They're okay with it, yeah.

And about a half a cup of a diced bell pepper.

- There we go, so, now what happens?

- So, we're gonna bring this to a boil.

- A-a, a ball?

You mean a boil?

I mean, for those who don't speak southern.

- Sorry.

A boil.

After we bring it to a boil, we'll add the lid and bring it to simmer for 35 minutes.

- So, do you just fry 'em naked or do you put something on 'em?

- No, we'll roll 'em into balls.

Roll 'em into the beaten egg and then roll 'em in breadcrumbs.

(bright electronic music) - All right, well we've got our whole thing set up.

I think we need to bring in some troops, don't you?

You think we can enlist the fam?

- I think I know where we can find some.

- Okay, those little guys have done this before?

- They have.

They're pretty fond of it.

(bright upbeat music) - [Kelly] Okay guys, come on!

- Eric's wife, Kelly, is helping the kids with their favorite cooking chore.

- So, you'll lead the troops, you're gonna get this taken care of?

- Oh yes, they love to help me in the kitchen.

They love to be hands-on, and to do anything they can to be involved.

- Well, this is sort of like edible Play-doh now, isn't it?

- Yes, it is.

- But, it's getting- helping to get you to get dinner on the table.

- That's right.

- All right!

- [Kelly] You can use your spoons, and we're just gonna roll these up into little balls.

I can tell you've done this before, Sam.

- [Sam] My hands are already so messy.

- I know it is kind of messy, but you guys like to get messy.

- [Sam] Exactly.

- Maxley, you've got a big one there on your plate.

- I told you I had a big one.

(Kelly laughs) - Oh my gosh, that is big.

- I have a big one too.

(bright music) - I think you're all doing a great job.

And they're gonna taste delicious with the fish that dad's gonna prepare.

- [Sara] All right, lemme see.

So w-what temp are we looking for?

- 350.

We'll fry the rice puppies there because that's the same temperature we fry the fish at.

- Oh, brilliant.

Oh, oh, here we go!

(Kelly chattering faintly) Wow, good job.

Good job.

- You guys wanna go cut some flowers for the table?

- Yes.

- Very nice.

They're mostly all the same size.

So, normally, I know you use a Fryolator, but not everybody has a Fryolator.

So, I'm gonna recommend that people at home who don't do this, which is a very deep casserole, no more than two inches of high heat oil and use a deep fat thermometer.

So, that's what we're gonna do.

- Great.

- Okay, so, what do you think?

How many should we cook at a time?

- Probably four or five is- - Yeah, 'cause we don't want it bubbling up.

(bright upbeat music) So, here we go.

What do you think, that's good?

- [Eric] I think that's plenty.

- Of course, when you're doing it, you don't ever want to drop it in from up here.

You just want to drop it in from down there, right?

- True.

- You make a great point, but an even safer way is to put it on the slotter.

- Oh, you know- - And lower it in there.

- Okay.

I should trust a guy who fries more than I do.

Go ahead.

That's brilliant.

(oil crackling) - So, we're using rice bran oil and rice bran oil is made from the outer layer of the grain, the top layer, like other oils do.

- And it's got a high smoke point.

- Absolutely.

A-and for that reason, it's popular in frying turkeys also.

- Now, how long do you think these take?

How long in the Fryolator?

- About three minutes at 350.

- Okay.

- Okay, so, they look like they're done.

- [Sara] Okay, that's the kind of color we're looking for.

- [Eric] Absolutely.

(bright music) - You know, my favorite flavor of food is fried, so you just made me very happy.

- Great, great.

- Okay, let's get some more in there.

(upbeat music) Now let's get ready to fry the fish.

You use a commercial fish fry mix, I understand.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Is that right?

Well, I'm gonna show you how to make one of your own, you know, from scratch.

- [Eric] Sounds great.

- And, so it's my, we're gonna do this first.

It's my Cajun or Creole spice mix.

So, we're gonna start with a tablespoon and a teaspoon of hot paprika.

- Okay.

- A tablespoon of garlic powder, (bright upbeat music) two teaspoons of salt, teaspoon and a half of onion powder.

(quietly) And here's the half.

And, you know what?

Let's just use the tablespoon and fill it up halfway, which is the same as the teaspoon and half.

Okay, so, there we have our oregano.

- [Eric] That may be a little much.

- Ah, that's fine.

It's not rocket science.

- Gotcha.

- [Sara] Half a tablespoon again of thyme, and we're making more than we need.

And then, your famous cayenne.

- Go ahead.

- There we go, there we go.

- Do the honors.

- Yeah.

(upbeat percussive music) And then a teaspoon of black pepper.

And then we just stir it up and we're good to go.

So, we need a cup of flour.

You want to add- - Sure.

- a cup of flour?

You just shake it into our pie plate.

I like to set up pie plates.

It's just a good way to go.

They're nice and wide.

Then a cup of cornmeal.

What do you think?

Should we start with about a tablespoon of this?

- [Eric] Sounds good.

- Okay, and then we'll stir it up.

We may need more.

All right, let's taste a little bit.

Mm, mm.

- Like it?

- We're killing the kids again, (Eric laughs) but it's good.

So, I'm gonna say one to two tablespoons.

- Okay.

- I don't think it's terrible, I think it's nice.

I mean, I really like it.

And your kids are intrepid, so I think we're fine.

(Eric laughs) All righty, so, that is our dry mix.

Now we need our wet mix.

- That's right.

- You don't always dip it in anything, do you?

- I don't, no ma'am.

- Do you mind if we use a little bit more milk?

- No, that's- - This is sort of, this one is a collaboration between the two of us.

- Absolutely I'm willing to try new things.

- And then we're gonna use catfish.

Now, what's so great is you eat catfish here all the time, right?

- That's right.

- But, here's the other happy thing, is catfish is one of the sustainable fish that is farmed in the United States.

- Mm hm.

- There aren't a lot of choices because so many fishes are endangered for all sorts of reasons.

And especially farmed is usually an issue, but not with catfish.

So, I'd say it's a wonderful choice for everybody.

So, I'm glad we're doing it.

(bright upbeat music) When you're doing this, you have to have a wet hand and a dry hand.

So, here's my wet hand.

I can do more than one at a time here.

That's so you don't bread your hand.

I inevitably bread my hand anyway.

(Eric laughs) You know, I always come out with a big fist of dough on it.

All right, now dry hand.

And then, I'm gonna do what you taught me, which is to put it right into the spider.

(oil sizzling) Wow, so, those are sort of looking done.

How long did that take?

- Just a couple of minutes.

I think they're ready to take out.

- All right.

Wow, look at that.

Those look delicious.

- Smell good, too.

- I can't wait for dinner.

(bright upbeat music) All righty, here we go.

- [Kelly] Smells delicious.

- Some fried catfish.

I know you guys are hungry, huh?

- Yes, ma'am.

- [Sara] All right.

All right, well I just wanna make a toast with our sweet tea to the Vaughn family.

Thank you all for making my day.

- [Eric] Your plate okay?

- Oh.

- Did you want some coleslaw?

- [Sam] This fish is very good.

- Oh, we gotta have the tartar sauce.

- Oh, the best part.

- Is that your favorite thing?

No, actually the rice puppies are.

- I love it.

- Great.

- [Sara] Yeah.

- You guys did a great job rolling those.

- You sure did.

- They're good.

- Do you think that's the one that you rolled?

- It's so good.

No.

- No?

(laughing) - Is it sweet tea?

You're gonna have to peel me off the ceiling after dinner.

- I guess.

- Yeah.

- So good.

- Well, you know, you made it.

- I'm a chef.

- Well, of course you are.

You're the chef.

To be honest, Arkansas isn't the first place I would think of as a food destination, but I was so wrong.

The food that is grown here and the food that is cooked here is not to be forgotten.

Especially when it's made with love and served to all the generations gathered around the table.

How could it not be the best?

- Oh, we got a toast.

Gotta do it the right way.

All righty.

(soft jazz music) If you're a fan of the foods of New Orleans, boy, do I have a treat for you today.

I have a native, grew up there, my good friend Airis Johnson.

And that's not all, besides the fact that you're authorita on Cajun food, correct?

- Yes.

- Yes.

She also has an incredible history.

She's worked at all these fancy restaurants in New York, including for some real screamer male chefs.

And she survived.

She's also a two time winner.

Well, first place and then second place on Chopped, which is pretty amazing.

- Yes.

- So.

What are we making?

- Today we are making jambalaya.

- [Sara] Oh, yes.

- Jambalaya is a rice dish with origins in West Africa, and it has influences of Italy and France.

And these are all the cultures that came together to make Cajun and Creole cuisine in New Orleans.

- Okay, and w-what's in it?

- We get started with the base, which is the base of all our dishes in New Orleans, and it's called a Holy Trinity.

- [Sara] Oh, yeah.

- Onions, celery and green peppers.

- [Sara] The father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

- And then we always have a special guest star, that's not part of the Trinity, which is the Pope, garlic.

- Oh dear.

- [Airis] Would you mind chopping the celery?

- Just small dice?

- Yeah, small dice.

- Okay.

- So, I'm gonna add the celery next.

And this is all flavor building by adding these vegetables one at a time.

Not gonna cook the celery as long as we did with sweatin' the onions, because we wanna keep it kind of crisp.

It's actually pretty quick, like compared to some of our other dishes, like gumbo.

- Oh t-that roux cooking for hours and hours.

- Yes.

- [Sara] I wouldn't have the patience.

- Like, the time that it takes to make the roux for gumbo, we'll be finished with the jambalaya.

- Okay, got it.

- [Airis] All right, I'm gonna add the green pepper.

- [Sara] All right.

- And just let that saute for just a second.

And we're gonna add the Pope.

- Okay.

(laughing) Here comes, I feel well, whatever.

(Airis laughs) It's what it's called.

- [Airis] Yeah, add the pope.

Very important.

- Okay.

And that was, okay, so that was one onion, one green pepper, three celery ribs.

- Yep.

- And four cloves of garlic.

- Yes.

- [Sara] Okay.

- [Airis] Did you grab the andouille sausage for me?

- [Sara] Absolutely, yeah.

And what do we have about a pound there?

- Yeah, it's about a pound.

Andouille sausage is a sausage made with pork shoulder and it's fat, and it's smoked.

It's a meatier sausage than most sausages, like kielbasa.

It's more of like, more robust.

All right, let's go right into the pan.

- This slides right in, huh?

- Yep, we're gonna adjust- - Look at that, that's perfect.

- Beautiful, right?

And just the smell, like the smell of the trinity and the pope together.

- Oh my god.

- That's the smell- - The happy smell.

- Of my childhood.

- Yes.

- Yes.

- So, next I'm gonna add chicken.

So, we're gonna season it with a little Cajun blend.

This is like the basis of your basic Cajun seasoning, with a few special guest stars, right?

- (chuckling) Okay, I like that.

- Yep, So, we have some paprika, we have some cayenne pepper.

We always wanna have a little heat.

Just a kick, to remind you you're alive.

Some garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and salt.

- Okay.

- [Airis] So, I'm just going to season our chicken thighs.

- [Sara] And, what do we have about a pound there?

- Yeah, it's about a pound of chicken thighs.

- And how much seasoning?

- I like to season with my soul, you know?

I'm just gonna saute this in a separate pan.

- [Sara] Okay.

- So, I'm gonna add a little grape seed oil.

- [Sara] All right, I have to ask you the million dollar question.

What is the difference between Cajun and Creole?

- Oh, that's a very good question.

So, the big difference between Cajun and Creole is one, Creole has the addition of tomatoes and seafood, and Cajun is from the land.

So, it's made with meat and things that walk the ground, walk the earth.

So, we have our chicken nice and brown.

- Okay.

- Gonna leave that there for a minute.

And so, now we're gonna continue to build our flavors in our pan.

So, we're gonna add some crushed tomatoes.

- Okay.

- [Airis] So, when you see jambalaya- - [Sara] Should I stir?

- Yes, please.

- Okay.

I gotta be useful somehow, huh?

(Airis laughs) - [Airis] Yes, definitely stir.

- [Sara] Okay, we just went over into Creole land here.

- Yep.

- Okay.

- And so, we're also gonna add some chicken stock.

- Okay.

- So, I added one can of crushed tomatoes and about a quart of chicken stock.

- Boy, this has everything in it.

- Yes.

- This is a one pot meal.

- It is.

So, we're just gonna season this, and we wanna make sure we season this really well, 'cause this is our flavor.

After the rice is cooked, you usually don't season it again, so- - Right.

And also, 'cause rice can absorb after the fact.

- Exactly.

- It has to go in- - Exactly.

- To season... People don't know that, so- - Yeah.

- [Airis] So, I'm gonna add the chicken.

With the fat and everything.

- [Sara] Oh, of course.

- [Airis] Because we want all of that flavor.

- [Sara] We want all that, fat is flavor.

- [Airis} Yes, yes.

So, we have some fresh thyme and bay leaf.

Not off the stems, just right in.

(gentle music) Let's talk about the main event.

- Yes.

- The rice, because this is a rice dish.

- Right.

I have about two cups of par boiled rice here.

With par boiled rice it's a guarantee that you'll get nice separate grains of rice every time.

And outside of that, par boiled rice actually has, like, some good nutritional value because there are nutrients added into the rice that helps it cook the way it does.

- [Sara] Who knew?

- [Airis] Time for the lid.

- [Sara] And then how many minutes?

- 20 Minutes.

But right before the 20 minute mark, we're actually gonna add some shrimp.

- Oh, okay.

Here we go.

- [Airis] The shrimp gets seasoned just with simple salt and pepper.

- [Sara] Okay.

- [Airis] So, we'll add scallions maybe when we plate it up.

- [Sara] You want me to slice 'em for you?

- [Airis] Yeah, slice 'em.

(gentle music) I think it's ready for the shrimp, let's see.

- Oh wow.

- Ooh, It's looking good.

- [Airis] I'm just gonna give it a little- - Look at how it absorbed all that liquid.

I'm always amazed, you know?

- Yes, yes.

- There's so many miracles in cooking.

- Right?

- Don't you think?

- Exactly.

We're just going to give it a little fluff.

But the other thing we are doing too is like, kind of releasing some steam.

And that steam is gonna help cook the shrimp.

So, you can go ahead and- - [Sara] Plop it in?

- [Airis] Yep, just plop it in.

- [Sara] Plop away.

- [Airis] Yeah, and I'll use a spoon and kind of spread it out.

- [Sara] Okay.

Okay, so, how many more minutes?

- [Airis] About five more minutes, just until the shrimp is cooked through.

- Okay.

Oh my god.

- Woo.

- Woo-wee.

- Good.

- Gorgeous.

- I think this is ready.

The shrimp looking nicely cooked, so let's just add those scallion whites.

Adds a little brightness since it's fresh.

So, I'm actually gonna add some hot sauce too.

- [Sara] Okay.

- Just for a little extra kick of flavor.

And not too much, but at the same time, don't be shy.

- [Sara] (laughing) I'm never shy when it comes to hot sauce.

- All right.

- So.

- All right.

So, you like a lot of you like a little?

- Oh, of course I want a lot.

- All right.

- Are you kidding?

I like sausage too.

I like it all.

(Airis laughs) It's all good.

All right, a little garney.

Right?

Okay, let's go dine al fresco.

I'm gonna bring the hot sauce.

- [Airis] Yes, Don't forget the hot sauce.

- The moment has come.

- I know.

- Too exciting.

Oh geez.

- Let's get into it.

- Yes, wow.

(Sara moaning) I'm pretty speechless.

You know, that seasoning is really the key.

This is deeply seasoned and I don't mean salty.

- Yeah, no, just flavorful.

Flavorful.

Yeah, that's a big misconception, you know, that we get in Louisiana a lot, t-that the food is spicy.

It's not spicy, it's just very flavorful.

- Mm hm.

- I'm gonna say this and you're gonna think I'm joking, but I'm not.

This is the best jambalaya I've ever had.

- [Airis] Oh, thank you.

- Not that I've eaten a ton.

My God, this is so deeply flavored.

- Thank you, thank you.

- Well, I have to say it's been such a pleasure.

I mean, it would've been good enough if I'd had just got to eat this, (Airis laughs) but to learn how to make it with you.

Although now, I really need to know your secret spice mix, every last thing in it.

- Oh, I'll tell you.

- But in the meantime, thank you so much.

- [Airis] You're welcome, thank you.

- [Promoter] For recipes, videos and more, go to our website, saramoulton.com.

"Sara's Weeknight Meals" is made possible by Sunsweet, Mutti Tomatoes of Parma, Le Gruyere AOP from Switzerland, and by... - Cooking is the first kind of love you know.

It was starting when I was child with my grandmother doing fresh pasta.

And now I transmit it to all the guests.

It's something made specially for them.

- [Promoter] Oceania Cruises, proud sponsor of "Sara's Weeknight Meals".