In Defense of Emeril...sort of.

For the first 17ish years of my relationship with my husband, he traveled for work...a lot. When a loved one is on the road as much as he was, it is natural to think about one thing. Gifts! There will be travel gifts. Some women like shiny things to adorn their bodies. Some like stuff to dust...like snowglobes. I like cookbooks. I LOVE cookbooks! I have cookbooks from everywhere. You want to know what the Greek ladies at some church in Pennsylvania are cooking? I know because I have their cookbook. The roast duck with cherry sauce I make for Christmas every year comes from a cookbook originating in London. One of the very first cookbooks that arrived home in the suitcase was written by a lean, mean stud of a guy just getting it done in New Orleans. His name? Emeril Lagasse. Hey, stop laughing! This was the early 90s and he was all that. There was no Food Network. Other than e-mail at work, I had no internet access (what internet?). No one had ever heard ‘BAM’ or ‘let’s kick it up a notch’. He was a rebel from Fall River, Massachusetts (a Portuguese working-class town on the Massachusetts/Rhode Island border) who somehow landed in New Orleans. Anyway...I’m feeling a little protective of Emeril. I’m currently reading Anthony Bourdain’s book ‘Kitchen Confidential’. In it he refers to Emeril as a ‘furry little Ewok’. That was funny. I laughed. And then I spent the rest of the day remembering back to the first time I saw Emeril - on the cover of that cookbook, so long ago. He was standing on the deck of a boat with sunglasses, size 32 waist and attitude. I had no idea what he was talking about in most of the book. I had never made a roux. I didn’t know what a mirliton squash was. Hush puppies? Weren’t those some kind of shoes I had worn as a kid? The whole thing was like entering a new world for me. I loved it! I was living out in the woods of Massachusetts at the time and couldn’t find anyone who knew what crawfish was, let alone could sell it to me. I had to mail order crawfish from New Orleans! Emeril opened a whole new world to me. Anne Rice sold more than a few books as a result of my fascination with New Orleans created by Emeril. Vampires and great food? What could be better? By the time Emeril first showed up in Bon Appetit magazine, I felt like we were fast friends. When I finally got to see him on the Food Network...he had changed a bit. He wasn’t as much of a stud as I had worked him out to be in my mind. He was like an Uncle Mortie with an altered Massachusetts accent. I’ll admit that I seldom watch his shows because he is goofy and to hear ‘oh yeah, babe’ roll out of his mouth while adding ingredients makes my skin crawl a bit (again with the Uncle Mortie thoughts...but this time it’s a dirty old man Uncle Mortie). Yeah, he’s changed but there’s a lot to be said for the guy. I have often spent time looking longingly into the lobster tank at the supermarket thinking ‘I’d love to get some of those but they’re too expensive and I can’t afford them.’ I’m pretty sure Emeril never has that problem. And longevity...who has greater longevity than Emeril? I can still remember when Bobby Flay was awarded the James Beard Rising Star Award. Emeril had already been cooking for perhaps decades by that time. Emeril Lagasse doesn’t really need my defense. He has plowed head-long into a career that was stolen the soul of many a person. I’m not sure if his soul is still intact but I know that he must be doing something right or his empire wouldn’t be where it is today.

I just pulled out that first cookbook, circa 1993. My intent was to resurrect some magical recipe from the past and share it with you. Not going to happen. It’s been a while since I poured over Emeril’s accounts of New Orleans cooking so I had forgotten...forgotten that every recipe has 20 ingredients with the top two heavy hitters being butter and heavy cream with white flour thrown in for clumping affect. I love sauces as much if not more than the next guy, but if you try some of these recipes, you’ll stroke out before the hour is up. I did use a more current Emeril recipe to make beignets for this past Mardi Gras celebration and it didn’t kill us so I’ll share that one with you instead. Beignets, for those who are unfamiliar, are bready, donutty things with powdered sugar on them. Eaten hot out of the fryer, they are one of the most wonderful delights you can treat your mouth to.

Sweet Beignets

• Corn oil, for frying, or another oil with high smoke point, such as safflower or peanut

• 3 1/2 cups sifted flour, plus extra for rolling

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup sugar

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1/3 cup canola oil

• 1/3 cup milk

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for serving

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed, wide-mouthed pot halfway with corn oil and heat over a medium-high flame until oil reaches a temperature of 360 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl whisk together sugar and eggs. Stir canola oil and milk into sugar-egg mixture. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture until a biscuit-like dough forms.

Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour and, using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut into 2-inch squares. You will have scraps leftover but do not try to remix these as that will cause tough dough; just fry as are.

Use the dough scraper to lift dough squares off the work surface. Fry the beignets in small batches about 4 minutes, or until golden, turning several times to color evenly. Using a slotted spoon gently remove the beignets and drain thoroughly on paper towels. Place powdered sugar in a sieve and shake over the beignets to cover with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Moral of this story....if you’re looking for a defense attorney, you might not want me. I believe that Emeril is a master....a master of promotion. He has a line of cooking products (edible and inedible), a number of restaurants, a number of television shows, and legions of loyal worshippers. I’ll leave you with a quote from the above-mentioned Kitchen Confidential...’For every schlockmeister with a catch-phrase and his own line of prepared seasonings who manages to hold American television audiences enthralled, there are scores more who manage to show up at work every day in a real kitchen and produce brilliantly executed, innovatively presented, top-quality food. I am, naturally p***** off by the former, and hugely impressed by the latter.’ I could be wrong but I believe that Emeril started out as the latter and allowed himself to be seduced into the lifestyle and thus the life, of the former.