All hail the Kween of the Cajun Kitchen, Ms. Leah Chase, on the Mardi Gras day! Red beans and creamed turnips with a whole stick of 🧈 for #lundigras dinner 💜💚💛 last week listening to @wwoz the spirit moved me to book a trip to New Orleans for the fall – even if it still can’t happen, i need something to believe in on the other side of quarantine to get through the mental marathon of winter in Massachusetts!
These recipes are from Dookie Chase, the family restaurant Chef Leah married into, then took over cooking, decorating, and hostessing for decades. On our last trip to Nola with the #AllStarKrewe we stayed a couple blocks away, but missed our chance to dine there while Leah was still alive- she passed the next year in 2019. The restaurant has been a hub of the community for decades, especially as a gathering place for Civil Rights leaders and politicians.
Leah Chase grew up in Cajun country with 10 siblings and some of these recipes are inspired by their home cooking. She says, “I don’t think you are going to get food anywhere else like New Orleans. It is a mixture of everything; Black, Spanish and French. Our cooking at Dookie Chase reflects those traditional influences.” ⚜️
Fest Food 