Thread: en brochette and the Atchafalaya

On Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:27:01 -0500, "modom (palindrome guy)"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>If a goat may offer a point on the topic: a brochette is a skewer in
>French. A dish cooked on a skewer is cooked "en brochette." While it
>is two words in the original and not one, it is not a fabrication made
>of whole cloth to name a dish of proteins grilled on skewers "X
>enbrochette." Such language mutations are most common in Cajun and
>creole constructions. That the restaurant in question calls itself
>Atchafalaya even though it's in Houston would locate its cuisine
>outside standard French usage but squarely inside rural Acadiana.
>
>While there is certainly not any single recipe for "X en brochette" or
>even "X enbrochette," I'd assume the cooks at Atchafalaya in Houston
>do follow something like a consistent method and ingredient list when
>they prepare their evidently tasty dish.

Thanks, Michael. You're the soothing voice of reason.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

modom (palindrome guy) wrote:

> If a goat may offer a point on the topic: a brochette is a skewer in
> French. A dish cooked on a skewer is cooked "en brochette." While it
> is two words in the original and not one, it is not a fabrication made
> of whole cloth to name a dish of proteins grilled on skewers "X
> enbrochette." Such language mutations are most common in Cajun and
> creole constructions. That the restaurant in question calls itself
> Atchafalaya even though it's in Houston would locate its cuisine
> outside standard French usage but squarely inside rural Acadiana.
>
> While there is certainly not any single recipe for "X en brochette" or
> even "X enbrochette," I'd assume the cooks at Atchafalaya in Houston
> do follow something like a consistent method and ingredient list when
> they prepare their evidently tasty dish.

Ah. But then I only learned a smattering of French in high school and
I've never been to Houston...

FWIW, in South Africa, we like "sosaties" i.e. cubes of
marinated/curried lamb/mutton (usually interspersed with various
veggies/dried fruit) that are cooked on skewers. They're often cooked
on a charcoal grill.

Although the original idea was to use lamb/mutton - these days just
about anything goes; some people cook cubes of chicken, beef or venison
on skewers and still call them sosaties... I've even seen vegetarian
sosaties e.g. chunks of bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, dried apricots
etc. Might not be 'traditional' but still pretty tasty, IMHO.

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

"ChattyCathy" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> FWIW, in South Africa, we like "sosaties" i.e. cubes of
> marinated/curried lamb/mutton (usually interspersed with various
> veggies/dried fruit) that are cooked on skewers. They're often cooked
> on a charcoal grill.
>
> Although the original idea was to use lamb/mutton - these days just
> about anything goes; some people cook cubes of chicken, beef or venison
> on skewers and still call them sosaties... I've even seen vegetarian
> sosaties e.g. chunks of bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, dried apricots
> etc. Might not be 'traditional' but still pretty tasty, IMHO.
>

Where does the word sosaties come from?

cybercat wrote:

>
> Where does the word sosaties come from?

It's an Afrikaans word, which like many other languages evolved from
others. I believe this particular word came from 'saus' i.e. the sauce
or marinade part - and 'sate/satay' which refers to meat on skewers in
other languages. Maybe it started out as saussate, who knows? All know
for sure is that they taste good. <g>
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
> If a goat may offer a point on the topic: a brochette is a skewer in
> French. A dish cooked on a skewer is cooked "en brochette." While it
> is two words in the original and not one, it is not a fabrication made
> of whole cloth to name a dish of proteins grilled on skewers "X
> enbrochette." Such language mutations are most common in Cajun and
> creole constructions. That the restaurant in question calls itself
> Atchafalaya even though it's in Houston would locate its cuisine
> outside standard French usage but squarely inside rural Acadiana.
>
> While there is certainly not any single recipe for "X en brochette" or
> even "X enbrochette," I'd assume the cooks at Atchafalaya in Houston
> do follow something like a consistent method and ingredient list when
> they prepare their evidently tasty dish.
>
> More about the Atchafalaya can be found here:
> http://www.newyorker.com/archive/198...ARDS_000347146
>
> I mean the river in Louisiana, not the restaurant in Houston. John
> McPhee is a great writer, and the subject is his equal in that piece.
> Having seen at an early age the rivers and bayous he mentions in the
> essay, I may have more of a sense of connectedness than many to the
> story. I've fished in Old River, and most RFCers haven't. But I think
> I can say that McPhee's story is wonderful, anyway.

I'm not most, I've fished the Old River and throughout the Atchafalaya
swamp area many times. Great fishing most of the time and, depending on
where you launch, seldom crowded. Lots of good fishing water in there.

"modom (palindrome guy)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> If a goat may offer a point on the topic: a brochette is a skewer in
> French. A dish cooked on a skewer is cooked "en brochette." While it
> is two words in the original and not one, it is not a fabrication made
> of whole cloth to name a dish of proteins grilled on skewers "X
> enbrochette." Such language mutations are most common in Cajun and
> creole constructions. That the restaurant in question calls itself
> Atchafalaya even though it's in Houston would locate its cuisine
> outside standard French usage but squarely inside rural Acadiana.
>
> While there is certainly not any single recipe for "X en brochette" or
> even "X enbrochette," I'd assume the cooks at Atchafalaya in Houston
> do follow something like a consistent method and ingredient list when
> they prepare their evidently tasty dish.
>
> More about the Atchafalaya can be found here:
> http://www.newyorker.com/archive/198...ARDS_000347146
>
> I mean the river in Louisiana, not the restaurant in Houston. John
> McPhee is a great writer, and the subject is his equal in that piece.
> Having seen at an early age the rivers and bayous he mentions in the
> essay, I may have more of a sense of connectedness than many to the
> story. I've fished in Old River, and most RFCers haven't. But I think
> I can say that McPhee's story is wonderful, anyway.
> --

I love Louisiana and Texas. They are like foreign countries in some
delightful ways.

Where the "asshole" bit came into this thread, for me, is when people who
delight in "correcting" others hopped in. As usual, I automatically assumed
that I was wrong, and sheepishly said, "oh, haha, that's how I remembered it
from the menu 20 years ago." When in fact that was what was ON the blinking
menu. It's a dish, not a gd French lesson. One of the elders in my family
used to be a teacher, and is rude enough to "correct" people all the time.
She uses the fact that she used to be a teacher to "justify" this. It
doesn't help. She just comes off as petty, tightassed, and looking for any
kind of ego boost she can get. Because she is so quick to do this, it often
happens that she is wrong. Ahhhh. Happy moments for me come in most unusual
places.

"ChattyCathy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:18Tjm.113049$[email protected]..
> cybercat wrote:
>
>>
>> Where does the word sosaties come from?
>
> It's an Afrikaans word, which like many other languages evolved from
> others. I believe this particular word came from 'saus' i.e. the sauce
> or marinade part - and 'sate/satay' which refers to meat on skewers in
> other languages. Maybe it started out as saussate, who knows? All know
> for sure is that they taste good. <g>
> --
Afrikaans I think comes from Dutch and German and African? Satay sounds
Indian. Interesting. (I'm not going to tell you you're calling the dish the
wrong thing ...)

cybercat wrote:

>
> "ChattyCathy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:18Tjm.113049$[email protected]..
>> cybercat wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Where does the word sosaties come from?
>>
>> It's an Afrikaans word, which like many other languages evolved from
>> others. I believe this particular word came from 'saus' i.e. the
>> sauce or marinade part - and 'sate/satay' which refers to meat on
>> skewers in other languages. Maybe it started out as saussate, who
>> knows? All know for sure is that they taste good. <g>
>> --
> Afrikaans I think comes from Dutch and German and African?

Mainly Dutch, but quite a few other languages have contributed words and
phrases...

> Satay sounds Indian. Interesting.

It's also known as such in Indonesia and Malaysia - and sosaties are a
typical Cape Malay dish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sate

> (I'm not going to tell you you're calling the dish the wrong
> thing ...)

Thankyewverymuch ;-)

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:19:39 +0200, ChattyCathy
<[email protected]> wrote:

>cybercat wrote:
>
>>
>> Where does the word sosaties come from?
>
>It's an Afrikaans word, which like many other languages evolved from
>others. I believe this particular word came from 'saus' i.e. the sauce
>or marinade part - and 'sate/satay' which refers to meat on skewers in
>other languages. Maybe it started out as saussate, who knows? All know
>for sure is that they taste good. <g>

Is it a standard recipe or does it vary?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:33:43 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
>I love Louisiana and Texas. They are like foreign countries in some
>delightful ways.
>
>Where the "asshole" bit came into this thread, for me, is when people who
>delight in "correcting" others hopped in. As usual, I automatically assumed
>that I was wrong, and sheepishly said, "oh, haha, that's how I remembered it
>from the menu 20 years ago." When in fact that was what was ON the blinking
>menu. It's a dish, not a gd French lesson. One of the elders in my family
>used to be a teacher, and is rude enough to "correct" people all the time.
>She uses the fact that she used to be a teacher to "justify" this. It
>doesn't help. She just comes off as petty, tightassed, and looking for any
>kind of ego boost she can get. Because she is so quick to do this, it often
>happens that she is wrong. Ahhhh. Happy moments for me come in most unusual
>places.
>
If you're talking to me, it was an honest question. I didn't know
what an embrochette was. I had already looked it up and it seemed to
vary. I wanted to know what you were talking about, but you've been
on a real tear the last couple of days.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Aug 22, 9:19*am, ChattyCathy <cathy1...@mailinator.com> wrote:
> cybercat wrote:
>
> > Where does the word sosaties come from?
>
> It's an Afrikaans word, which like many other languages evolved from
> others. I believe this particular word came from 'saus' i.e. the sauce
> or marinade part - and 'sate/satay' which refers to meat on skewers in
> other languages. Maybe it started out as saussate, who knows? All know
> for sure is that they taste good. <g>
> --
> Cheers
> Chatty Cathy

Did you know that the proper name for Shish Ka Bob
is . . . . . . . . . Shish Ka Robert?
L in F

"sf" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:33:43 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>>
>>I love Louisiana and Texas. They are like foreign countries in some
>>delightful ways.
>>
>>Where the "asshole" bit came into this thread, for me, is when people who
>>delight in "correcting" others hopped in. As usual, I automatically
>>assumed
>>that I was wrong, and sheepishly said, "oh, haha, that's how I remembered
>>it
>>from the menu 20 years ago." When in fact that was what was ON the
>>blinking
>>menu. It's a dish, not a gd French lesson. One of the elders in my family
>>used to be a teacher, and is rude enough to "correct" people all the time.
>>She uses the fact that she used to be a teacher to "justify" this. It
>>doesn't help. She just comes off as petty, tightassed, and looking for any
>>kind of ego boost she can get. Because she is so quick to do this, it
>>often
>>happens that she is wrong. Ahhhh. Happy moments for me come in most
>>unusual
>>places.
>>
> If you're talking to me, it was an honest question. I didn't know
> what an embrochette was. I had already looked it up and it seemed to
> vary. I wanted to know what you were talking about, but you've been
> on a real tear the last couple of days.
>

Whoah, there, Nelly. If I were talking to you I would address you. I was
talking about Goomba, and others like her.

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:37:55 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Whoah, there, Nelly. If I were talking to you I would address you. I was
>talking about Goomba, and others like her.

Well, then please tell me about what you remember as embrochette! I
saw a lot of skewered horseradish filled shrimp recipes and I'm not so
sure that's what you were talking about.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

"sf" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:37:55 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>Whoah, there, Nelly. If I were talking to you I would address you. I was
>>talking about Goomba, and others like her.
>
> Well, then please tell me about what you remember as embrochette! I
> saw a lot of skewered horseradish filled shrimp recipes and I'm not so
> sure that's what you were talking about.
>

It was a skewer with what looked like little bacon balls on it, but when
you cut into them, they had scallops and oysters!!! Grilled, and served with
a lemon wedge to squeeze on and a ramekin of red sauce that was kind of
sweet, kind of spicy, not quite bbq sauce, def. not cocktail sauce. Very
nice. I usually had these and the crawfish etouffee. Which at that
restaurant (Atchafalaya River Cafe, the original incarnation, circa 1985 in
Houston TC) had a creamy sauce, not a tomato-based sauce, as I recall. BUT I
COULD BE WRONG. It HAS happened.

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:10:32 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>"sf" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]. .
>> On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:37:55 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
>> wrote:

>It was a skewer with what looked like little bacon balls on it, but when
>you cut into them, they had scallops and oysters!!! Grilled, and served with
>a lemon wedge to squeeze on and a ramekin of red sauce that was kind of
>sweet, kind of spicy, not quite bbq sauce, def. not cocktail sauce. Very
>nice. I usually had these and the crawfish etouffee. Which at that
>restaurant (Atchafalaya River Cafe, the original incarnation, circa 1985 in
>Houston TC) had a creamy sauce, not a tomato-based sauce, as I recall. BUT I
>COULD BE WRONG. It HAS happened.

You are NOT wrong, Dear. Was the sauce, perhaps, a free-form
remoulade?

NB> Cajun remoulade does NOT resemble in any way the French
stuff that is called by the same name.

Alex, who has eaten Cajun and Creole remoulade all over LA.

"Chemiker" <[email protected]> wrote


> Was the sauce, perhaps, a free-form
> remoulade?
>
> NB> Cajun remoulade does NOT resemble in any way the French
> stuff that is called by the same name.
>

Could have been!

modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
> If a goat may offer a point on the topic: a brochette is a skewer in
> French. A dish cooked on a skewer is cooked "en brochette." While it
> is two words in the original and not one, it is not a fabrication made
> of whole cloth to name a dish of proteins grilled on skewers "X
> enbrochette." Such language mutations are most common in Cajun and
> creole constructions. That the restaurant in question calls itself
> Atchafalaya even though it's in Houston would locate its cuisine
> outside standard French usage but squarely inside rural Acadiana.
>
> While there is certainly not any single recipe for "X en brochette" or
> even "X enbrochette," I'd assume the cooks at Atchafalaya in Houston
> do follow something like a consistent method and ingredient list when
> they prepare their evidently tasty dish.
>
> More about the Atchafalaya can be found here:
> http://www.newyorker.com/archive/198...ARDS_000347146
>
> I mean the river in Louisiana, not the restaurant in Houston. John
> McPhee is a great writer, and the subject is his equal in that piece.
> Having seen at an early age the rivers and bayous he mentions in the
> essay, I may have more of a sense of connectedness than many to the
> story. I've fished in Old River, and most RFCers haven't. But I think
> I can say that McPhee's story is wonderful, anyway.
>

It sure is nice to have you back.


Becca

ObFood: For lunch yesterday I had a beef bologna sandwich on 7-grain
bread "dressed" with my-nez.

sf wrote:

> On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:19:39 +0200, ChattyCathy
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>cybercat wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Where does the word sosaties come from?
>>
>>It's an Afrikaans word, which like many other languages evolved from
>>others. I believe this particular word came from 'saus' i.e. the sauce
>>or marinade part - and 'sate/satay' which refers to meat on skewers in
>>other languages. Maybe it started out as saussate, who knows? All know
>>for sure is that they taste good. <g>
>
> Is it a standard recipe or does it vary?
>
Heh. I've had plenty of variations, and they were all good... Of course,
a lot of folks have their own 'secret' family recipes (handed down from
their great-great-grandmas) - but IME, the marinade always contains
some form of 'curry powder'. (Various types of pre-mixed packages
of 'curry powder' are sold here, but a lot of people buy the individual
spices/chilies sold at the markets and grind/mix their own, thereby
catering to their own tastes.)

The other ingredients in the marinade vary - most people use apricot jam
but you can add some ground ginger, cinnamon, garlic (of course) and
some red wine. (Some people use lemon juice instead of wine, but I
prefer the wine <eg>.)

Dried apricots are a must though - and are placed on the skewers in
between the chunks of lamb/mutton; pieces of onion, and sometimes
chunks of bell pepper are often used too. However, AFAIAA, a 'genuine'
sosatie is supposed to be made with lamb/mutton (not chicken or beef).
Otherwise they'd just be known as kebabs/kabobs (or however you spell
it in your neck of the woods). Probably wouldn't appeal to you tho' -
as I seem to recall you are not that fond of anything that
contains 'curry'.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:37:19 -0500, Chemiker wrote:

> On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:10:32 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>"sf" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected] ..
>>> On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:37:55 -0400, "cybercat" <[email protected]>
>>> wrote:
>
>>It was a skewer with what looked like little bacon balls on it, but when
>>you cut into them, they had scallops and oysters!!! Grilled, and served with
>>a lemon wedge to squeeze on and a ramekin of red sauce that was kind of
>>sweet, kind of spicy, not quite bbq sauce, def. not cocktail sauce. Very
>>nice. I usually had these and the crawfish etouffee. Which at that
>>restaurant (Atchafalaya River Cafe, the original incarnation, circa 1985 in
>>Houston TC) had a creamy sauce, not a tomato-based sauce, as I recall. BUT I
>>COULD BE WRONG. It HAS happened.
>
> You are NOT wrong, Dear. Was the sauce, perhaps, a free-form
> remoulade?
>
> NB> Cajun remoulade does NOT resemble in any way the French
> stuff that is called by the same name.
>
> Alex, who has eaten Cajun and Creole remoulade all over LA.

i *thought* i remembered it was you that made the remoulade tour.

your pal,
blake