-Funding for "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana" was provided by... -I'm Kevin Belton.

Today on "Cookin' Louisiana," we've got a prairie sampler from St. Landry Parish, my Cajun Kevin po'boy, followed up by some tasso potato croquettes.

And who says you can't have eggs for dinner?

Zydeco omelet.

I've got my French bread, and I can't wait to show you my Kevin po'boy.

Hoo, it's so good!

Yeah!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ Singing ] Hey!

How y'all doing?

Man, I've got to tell you, bonjour...

Welcome to my "Cookin' Louisiana" kitchen.

Thank y'all for hanging out with me on this tasty tour of the state's best flavors and dishes.

Now, today, we're going to head to St. Landry Parish, which is in south-central Louisiana.

St. Landry is known for zydeco music, its vibrant Cajun and Creole cultures, and its tradition of home cooking, prairie style.

Now, we're going to get things started and get kicked off with my Cajun Kevin po'boy.

It's my take on a specialty stuffed po'boy that comes out of a little town called Arnaudville.

Now, we want to get this pan on.

Now, you know I'm going to do this in a cast-iron pan all at once.

And, of course, to get this kicked off, hey, how about a little bacon?

You all know that I love my bacon.

You know, a po'boy -- In New Orleans, there was that streetcar strike.

And the Martin brothers asked the bakers to bake a long loaf of bread.

Originally, the French bread, it looked like the shape of a football -- very short.

Then they stretched it out to be really long, where it could feed a family of four.

And that's how we got the po'boy, because when the streetcar workers were on strike and they would come to get a sandwich that only cost a nickel, there was like, "Oh, look, here come the old po'boys coming for lunch."

That's how it got that name.

Now, in the little town of Arnaudville, there's a place that did a sandwich called the Kevin Po'boy, and I just wanted to put my spin on it.

And, of course, keeping that Louisiana tradition alive, we're going to use a little andouille.

Now, your bacon, if you want, you can cook this to get it crispy and then take it out and add it in toward the end, or you can leave it in the pan, cook it kind of soft or even cook it crispy in the pan.

Totally up to you.

Now, andouille is a chopped ham that is made into a sausage and smoked.

It's not a ground sausage.

You can see how firm it is.

That's what andouille is.

Andouille is seasoned typically with white pepper, red pepper, a little bit of cayenne pepper.

It's not hot, but it's well-seasoned.

So, any firm sausage, anything nice and firm.

You don't want a fresh sausage that cooks apart.

Something nice and firm.

Now, here we go -- a little onion.

And you notice, I have a little yellow bell pepper and a little red bell pepper.

These peppers are going to be nice and sweet.

And I just cut them in strips, like a julienne-type cut.

So we're going to lay those babies right there on top.

And, of course, let's get a little seasoning in.

A little bit of Creole seasoning.

We're going to do a little bit of salt.

Of course, a little garlic.

Have to have a little garlic in, or a lot of garlic.

Look how this is coming along.

Now, we've got that garlic in there.

We're going to go with some shrimp and some crawfish.

For those of you that have never had crawfish, if you've eaten shrimp, okay, crawfish have the same texture of shrimp but just a little bit sweeter.

So, we'll get our shrimp in.

We'll get our crawfish in.

And remember, hey, they're just coming to the party, so let's put a little bit of our Creole seasoning on them.

We're going to also put a little bit of salt on them.

Oh, yes!

And one of the worst things to do with seafood is overcook it.

Don't overcook your seafood.

So, our shrimp won't take long to cook.

Matter of fact, the crawfish tails are already cooked because they blanch the crawfish and peel the tail meat out.

See that little shrimp right there?

See that one right there?

That guy right there?

See how it's all curled up nice and tight?

That's one of the ways you can tell that it's cooked, because it curls up nice and tight and has a nice little color to it.

So you see them go from being, like, an opaque color to just a little pink.

So now let's get a few other things in here.

We're going to go in with a little heavy cream.

Yes, indeed.

This is going to smooth this out, make it nice and creamy.

The other thing we're going to pop in is a little bit of garlic sauce.

See, this is part of my take on it.

I love garlic, so we're going to go with that little extra garlic in there.

I tell you what we can do now -- We can actually turn this down super, super low, all right?

We're going to garnish with some green onions, but let's put some in right now.

Get those stirred in.

I have Parmesan cheese and some crabmeat.

Now, crabmeat -- This is claw meat.

Lump is pretty.

Claw meat is sweet.

So in this particular dish, I'm using claw meat because I want that nice, sweet flavor.

So let's get our claw meat in.

Let's get our Parmesan cheese that we grated in.

Oh, yes.

Oh, let's just stir this in and get it mixed in.

You know, that crabmeat just has to touch the heat just to show a little love.

We want to go ahead and make sure we stir this all in... ...just so all the flavors can blend together.

Look at the flavors that's in here.

Look at that.

You know what we need?

Bread.

That's the only thing left to have, is bread.

Now, I have to tell you, at home, sometimes when I make a po'boy, if you look right down in there, can you see that in there?

Can you lookit?

Lookit right down in there.

I hollowed that out.

I cut the French bread off.

The end is still there.

And I took tongs and pulled out the center.

And a lot of times, I'll just load it up, because that way, when you're watching that movie, you don't have to worry about it dripping out of the bottom.

You could just bite it like this.

But if you've ever come to south Louisiana and you've gone on a swamp tour, and in the swamps, you see cypress trees.

Cypress is our state tree.

And coming out of the water, you see these cypress knees.

So in Arnaudville, they serve it straight up like this because it looks like cypress knees coming out of the bayou.

Now, this is hollowed out in the middle, but what's nice about serving it this way -- it can get down in the bread, but it can also just get right there on the plate, as well.

Come on, hop in there.

Hop in.

Everybody in.

But, you see, that's what's great about having it on the plate.

Oh, it just leaks right on over.

Here, you pop down in there.

Get in there.

Oh, yeah, look at that little shrimp right on top.

Oh, yeah.

Doesn't that look good?

Look, put a little bit on this side.

We're going to put a little bit on this side.

That way, it'll hold it up to look just like a cypress knee.

So let's move this here.

And, of course, we have to finish it.

A little bit of parsley.

Oh, yeah.

A little bit of green onion.

So here's my version of that Cajun Kevin Po'boy.

Next up, tasso potato croquettes.

Now, this is the perfect use for leftover mashed potatoes.

We're here at the Little Big Cup in Arnaudville.

We're going to get the scoop on the Cajun Kevin Po'boy from Sanjay Maharaj.

The signature sandwich is named after co-owner Kevin Robin.

-So Kevin has always loved cypress knees in the Atchafalaya Swamp, so he conceptualized the po'boy with the chef.

It represents not only the landscape of Louisiana, but all the good food that Louisiana has to offer.

We are honored to represent Louisiana with this dish and present it to everyone.

-Y'all got to come get this.

Guys, if you have leftover mashed potatoes, do I have something for you that you are going to absolutely love.

Now, what I did, I boiled my potatoes.

And, yes, I boiled them in a little stock.

But something I also put in them when I boil them -- whole garlic cloves.

Yes, these garlic cloves, they're nice and soft.

And I took them out because I wanted you to see them.

Remember, when I boil rice, when I boil pasta, when I boil potatoes, it's in stock.

So I'm going to put these garlic cloves right on in, and we're just going to start to mash our potatoes.

We're just going to give these a nice little mash.

Of course we're going to have to show them some love.

With leftover potatoes, they can be buttery, they can have garlic in them.

However you happen to make them, that's how they'll work.

But a croquette is like a little fried ball of goodness.

But today, we're going to start them in a skillet but then go ahead and put them in the oven.

So, in here, let's go ahead and put a little seasoning.

We're going to get a little Creole seasoning.

Let's get a little bit of salt.

Now, I have an egg right here.

Just kind of beat this egg up a little bit.

Get it down in there.

You stay right there.

And I'm going to just get it mashed in with this egg.

Oh, doesn't this look good?

And, you know, that garlic, by cooking that garlic in it, this garlic is now going to be mashed up and be all the way through.

All right.

So we're good.

Look how good they're mashed.

One of the ingredients that we're going to put in is a thing called tasso.

Now, here, my tasso is cubed.

But let me introduce you to the most seasoned piece of meat in Louisiana cooking.

It's a piece of ham.

And if you notice, see the seasoning on it?

It's red pepper, it's white pepper, it's black pepper, a little brown sugar, and garlic.

And that's rubbed on the outside of the meat.

That's how you can see it here.

The thing about it is it's not very spicy.

You would think it's hot.

I said it's the most seasoned, but it's not hot, okay?

So we're going to use the tasso here in our croquettes.

Oh, yes.

Oh, yeah.

We're going to just get this mixed in.

Now, the other thing we're going to add to this is a little cheese.

Let's get some cheese in.

Now that we have our tasso incorporated, let's put in a little Romano -- shredded Romano.

Oh, yes.

Hop on in there.

And the last thing we're going to pop in here -- a little parsley.

Let's get some parsley in now.

Oh, yes, you get right there.

Just make sure you have everything coated really well.

It's all seasoned, all right?

Mix really well.

Now, here's what we want to do.

I like to just take an ice cream scoop.

I'll take an ice cream scoop.

Let's plop that right here.

Kind of whack it in half a little bit.

That's more than half.

We're going to pop this one right here.

And now we're going to do a little work because we want to shape it into, like, the shape of a torpedo, all right?

Just take it and roll it.

Here, come on, let's go.

Come on, get here.

See, this is where you can get the kids in the kitchen, get them involved, all right?

So we're going to pop that right there.

Let's take this next one, do the same thing.

Do the same thing with this.

Now, what I'm going to do, I'm going to go ahead and get a few more of these made, and then I want to put them in the refrigerator.

I want them to firm up before we toss them in our skillet to brown them off because, actually, can you believe, we're going to do something healthy.

I'm not going to fry these.

We're going to bake them in the oven.

So let's get the rest of these done and get them in the refrigerator.

Now, flour, egg wash, bread crumbs.

Let's get our fire on.

We're going to put a little olive oil in the pan.

Get on in there.

Let's give you a little swirl.

Get you swirled all around.

All right, turn you down a little bit till we ready for you.

So in my flour, yes, I'm going to put a little bit of seasoning because, you know, flour isn't seasoned.

I have a couple of eggs with just a little bit of water, a couple tablespoons of water in it.

So, look at our croquettes.

See, put them in the flour.

Oh, yeah.

We're just going to kind of roll them around, stand them up, bounce them.

In the egg wash, give them a little roll.

Bounce them to get rid of the excess.

In the egg wash. Last but not least.

Okay, everybody, to the pool.

All right.

You know, this is one of those things where, as a kid, I loved when Mom made extra mashed potatoes because of the fact that these would just be so, so good.

[ Gasps ] Look, it's starting to come apart.

But that's okay.

It might happen.

But we can put it back together.

It's like being a doctor in surgery.

There we go.

All right.

Now, take a little fork.

Just make sure these are flipped and coated with all the egg.

Then we're going to bring this right close, right into the bread crumb.

See, get a little toss in there.

Right into the bread crumb.

We're going to get you rolled around just to get you a little wet.

Right into the bread crumbs.

You get there.

Okay, guys, your turn.

You hop there, you hop there.

Look, that little bit of egg came with it.

All right, now, when we roll it in the bread crumbs, I'm using a seasoned bread crumb.

You know, some folks like panko, which would give you a nice little crunch, all right?

I like the seasoned bread crumb.

So we shake off any excess, and just let's lay them in the skillet.

We're going to put you right there.

All right, let's get these to come join the party in the pan.

Roll, roll, roll.

Roll, roll, roll.

There we go.

Come on.

Bread crumb.

Bread crumb.

Bread crumb.

We're going to get you right on in there.

We just want to get this just browned off a little bit.

Some folks like to do them all the way in the oven and deep fry them.

So let's get rinsed off right quick.

Oh, you're looking pretty.

Oh, you're looking pretty.

Let's take a little bit of oil, a little more oil, get a little more oil on this side of the pan.

We can go ahead and turn our fire up a little bit.

And, look, let's just -- See how they brown off really quick?

That's all we want.

We just want them to get a little tan all the way around before we put them in the oven.

And you can always tell the one that went in first because it gets a little darker.

That's why we try to work really, really quick to get them done.

But it doesn't take much.

Just turn it one more time.

We'll spin these one more time.

And this just helps the coating stay on and firm up.

Oh, yeah, so here we go.

Let's just pop them right on in to our pan.

Oh, yeah, there you go.

There we go.

We're going to stick you right there, turn that fire off, and plop you right there.

Now, I have the oven heating 375 degrees.

This only needs to go in the oven for about 10 or 15 minutes to get heated up all the way through.

So we'll put these in the oven, get cleaned up, and then we'll have our potato croquettes with the tasso inside.

Wow!

Oh, look at you.

Look at you, look at you!

See, we just wanted them to bake to get heated all the way through.

Now, let me show you what I'm going to do to try to fancy this up a little bit.

Let's take some parsley.

I know you guys are saying, "What is he doing?

What is that man doing because he normally doesn't do this?"

Well, today I am.

I'm going to try to make this look a little attractive.

So now, let's take -- You're the one who wanted to fall apart.

Let's put you right here.

And let's get you out, or the two of you out.

Come on.

Come on, you can do it.

You can do it.

You can do it.

Oh, don't you fall apart, either.

Okay, you go right there.

You come right here.

All right.

Now, y'all cooperate with me.

We're going to do you right here.

We're going to put you right there.

And we're going to put you right on the top, just like that.

Let me tell you -- Oh, we're not finished yet!

Of course, we've got to take a little bit of green onion to just pop on there to make that potato croquette look so good!

The next dish is music to my ears and my mouth -- a zydeco omelet.

In St. Landry Parish, where the motto is "gumbo for your soul," people like to fais do-do and paddle the bayous to pass a good time.

With its beautiful prairies, rich folk traditions, and historic towns, this parish in south-central Louisiana embodies Cajun spirit and Creole soul.

This is an egg-cellent dish for you to make your friends and family.

Yes, an omelet -- a zydeco omelet.

A little bit of butter.

Now, I don't want you to judge me.

I know you're going to try to judge me, okay, because I put butter in our pan.

Because along with that butter, you know what else we're going to put in?

A little bacon.

We have to have a little bacon.

And who puts bacon and butter together?

Yes, bacon and butter, they go together well.

Here's a little bit of andouille sausage that's just cubed up nice and firm and smoked.

Matter of fact, I want to show you what andouille looks like.

See how that's a nice, firm sausage?

That's what we're talking about in Louisiana cooking.

We don't want a fresh sausage that's going to cook apart, but something nice and firm.

Also in our omelet, I'm going to put some red bell pepper in.

And I want to show you this.

You know, everyone always has problems cutting peppers and cleaning them.

Sometimes I like to just turn them upside down.

Now, if you just cut off one side straight down, then if you lay it down, you could see right down in it.

So all you have to do is come straight down.

Come straight down.

Come straight down.

Cut the bottom off.

And, look, now your seeds are all intact.

Yes.

So we can take our bell pepper at this point.

You know, trim that little membrane out.

And we're just going to julienne.

This is a julienne cut.

We just want a few pieces.

Then we're going to turn it and give it a nice little fine chop.

Now, I like the red bell pepper.

But, you know, if you're a fan of green, go with the green.

I don't know if you realize this about Opelousas, but it's Louisiana's third-oldest city.

Plus, it's the zydeco music capital of the world.

Yes, that's why they dance so much, because the dancing is so good with the music.

So let's get a little bit of this red bell pepper on in here.

Oh, yes.

Now, we're going to do a little more red bell pepper, a little bit of green onion.

Oh, yes.

Now, I'm going to turn the fire down real low because we have to get ready for our eggs.

Now, in our eggs, a little salt, a little bit of our Creole seasoning.

And I just want to whisk them really well.

Now, some folks will put a little cream in their eggs or a little milk in their eggs.

Whatever you like, that's fine.

Okay.

Let's just pour our eggs right on in all over.

Oh, yeah.

All right, look at this, gang.

Now, pull your omelet back to let that raw egg run off the top, because that way, we want it to cook, all right?

Now, remember, we don't want our fire too high, but see how that's starting to cook, and see how it's all moving in the pan?

So now I'm going to turn it this way and run some of that raw egg off, all right, to get that cooked on that side.

Here, let's take a little bit off this back side back here and get that cooked.

Oh, yeah.

The great thing about omelets, they don't take a long time to cook.

So here's our plate.

All right.

You ready?

Oh, yeah!

Now, shut your fire off.

This is mostly cooked.

Now we're going to take our cheese.

This is a little Monterey Jack.

Oh, yeah, baby!

Hop on in.

Our fire's off right now.

Look, we're going to turn this around just a little bit in the pan.

Come right to our plate.

Come off the edge of your plate right about there.

When it's halfway out the pan, flip it on over, lay it down.

Now, all we have to do now, let's take a little bit of green onion, a little bit of parsley to dress that up.

And, oh, can you hear that music?

Oh, this zydeco omelet just makes me want to sing.

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

Now, keep that party rolling.

Bring 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.

-Now, I have a king, I have a queen, I have a jack.

-What the heck?

I don't have anything good.

-But I don't have a 10, a 9, or an 8.

Actually, I am 102 years old, but because I've been cooking so long -- look at my face -- because the steam, it is the steam.

The steam seasons the face, okay?

It's the steam.

The steam seasons the face.

That's why I'm 102 and look the way I do.

Are you lonely?

Have you not been out in a long time?

Well, I have a date for you.

♪ Come on, baby ♪ ♪ Let's do the twist ♪ Start checking to make sure we have an internal temperature of a hundred and -- No, we don't want to come to you.

I didn't want to come to you because we have to go over here to make the sauce.

So I'm going back to the oven because we're going over here because we have to make our glaze.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Keep the receipt.

Oh, wait.

Ooh, ooh!

Ooh, look at that.

Wait.

Wait, don't!

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

Funding for "Kevin Belton's Cookin' Louisiana" was provided by... ♪