Soup for the soul
Published 12:50 pm Thursday, March 7, 2013
- Chef Blake Payne, executive pastry chef of the Cypress Bayou Casino - Hotel, gives a demonstration recently at the Jeanerette Bicentennial Museum. Payne often uses indigenous ingredients in whatever he cooks for groups. He often uses turbinado sugar, which is processed less than refined sugar.
JEANERETTE — Nothing satisfies the soul better than a hot bowl of homemade soup. Have it your way — soup and sandwich, soup and salad or a just a bowl of soup accompanied with French bread or crackers.
Soups, salads and sandwiches are a traditional trio that has their place at a lunch table any time of the year, but soup served alone also can turn dinner into a light meal that is perfect for those spring and summer evenings when families gather around the table.
For those warm evenings, opt for an ultra creamy seafood bisque paired with a glass of wine chilled to perfection. Fresh Louisiana seafood combined with the creamy base lends a perfect touch to any summer lunch or light evening meal.
Chef Blake Payne created quite a stir recently at the Jeanerette Bicentennial Museum. Whenever word gets out that Payne, executive pastry chef of Cypress Bayou Casino – Hotel, will be stirring a pot for a cooking demonstration, there is sure to be a crowd gathered around the table.
Payne, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who started his career at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, got the full attention of a group of local cooks who had gathered at the museum to learn how to cook a creamy Shrimp, Crab and Corn Bisque.
Payne said he usually incorporates some of the local ingredients that are indigenous to the area when he is giving a cooking demonstration and likes to offer a little history about the dish. Payne often adds a mystery ingredient that puts a different twist on a traditional dish.
For this workshop, Payne was touting fresh Louisiana seafood and offered a few facts on turbinado sugar and cane syrup.
“Jeanerette is Sugar City so I thought it would be good to offer a little history of sugar,” said Payne.
Payne said recipes that call for turbinado sugar tend to use it as a replacement for traditional brown sugar. Turbinado sugar, which is a sugar cane-based sugar that is medium brown in color with large crystals, is considered by some people to be healthier than both white and brown sugar. It is generally less refined because it undergoes less processing and retains more nutrients than brown or white sugar.
The turbinado sugar has more moisture than regular white or brown sugar, which can beneficial in cookies or muffins, but with recipes that have ingredients that provide extra moisture, the end product could become soggy.
Payne received a few looks of disbelief from the local cooks in attendance as he poured a half cup of cane syrup into the pot of corn bisque he was preparing.
“Sweet is good for the palate and a little of the syrup will make the soup savory,” said Payne.
Payne said the secret to making a good seafood soup or gumbo is in the stock. To make a flavorful stock for the corn and seafood bisque, Payne recommends roasting four gumbo crabs for at least 10 minutes. Place in a pot with water and let cook for 10 to 15 minutes to intensify the flavor, then drain and discard crab shells.
“Roasting the crabs first, before placing them in the pot, enhances the stock flavor. Roasting is a great form of cooking because it intensifies the flavor,” said Payne.
Payne is known to venture away from the unexpected in the kitchen and never shies away from exploring new and creative combinations.
“My parents never cooked with a recipe, they always cooked from their heart and that’s what I do,” said Payne.