Leonard Gray / L’Observateur / July 15, 1998

DES ALLEMANDS – A Friday evening shower did nothing to dampen the spirits of the Louisiana Catfish Festival at St. Gertrude’s Catholic Churchduring the weekend.

People down the bayou kicked up their heels, enjoyed the good life and let the weekday worries slide away.

“We had a very successful festival,” church secretary Gloria Matherne reported. “We sold out everything on Saturday after the 5 o’clock mass,and we had a big crowd until 10 p.m.”Saturday morning began with the 1-mile run. Ricky Haas won overall malewith a time of 5.29, and Patty Carey won overall female with a time of6.54.The 5-K run’s male overall winner was Kenneth Schexneyder with a time of 17.47. Patty Carey won overall female with a time of 22.24. Severalwalkers also participated in the 5-K, and the male overall winner was Mark Baniol with a time of 29.59. Kelly Gaubert won female overall with atime of 38.04.The crowd slackened only slightly on Sunday because of the heat, Matherne said, but the festival concluded that night “a little better than last year’s.”The Rev. William O’Donnell hosted prize-giving after the catfish cookingcontest and the canning and preserving competition.

“This was only my second festival here,” O’Donnell said. “The people allseemed to enjoy it, and the weather was terrific, too.”Queen Monica Adams, 21, of New Sarpy, greeted festivalgoers and also indulged in some serious catfish eating as well, accompanied by Teen Queen Celeste Boudreaux, 14, of Des Allemands, Junior Queen Heidi Courville, 11, of Bayou Gauche, and Mrs. Queen Maria Prince of DesAllemands.

The festival’s court also led the way in enjoying the festival’s booths, games and rides.

Jay Brasher aced the catfish-eating contest on Sunday by polishing off a half-pound of fried catfish in 49 seconds.

Janet Yule took first place in the annual canning and preserving competition, taking blue ribbons with her 20 entries. Altogether, LSUCooperative Extension Service Home Economist Denise Zeringue said, there were 92 entries.

Roy Lunk of Des Allemands took top honors in the catfish cooking contest with his recipe for sweet and sour catfish. Lois Voison of Des Allemandstied for first with her seafood pie, but lost on the flip of the coin, and reinforced her place with her stuffed catfish rollettes, finishing in second place. Third place was taken by first-time competitor Randy Lauve ofLuling with his catfish artichoke soup.

SWEET & SOUR CATFISH Ingredients 1 pound catfish fillets 1 medium onion 1 tomato 1 yellow squash 1 bell pepper 6 oz. pineapple chunks10 oz. jar of sweet & sour sauce1 cup vegetable oil 4 oz. tempera1 tablespoons yellow mustard Seasoning: salt, black pepper and garlic powder Preparation Cut fillets into pieces and season. Coat with mustard and dust withtempera. Mix tempera batter according to box directions. Dip fillets inbatter and fry until golden brown. Set aside. Slice onion, squash, tomatoand bell pepper and saute under high heat for 3 minutes. Add pineapple,sweet & sour sauce and catfish pieces and cook for 1 minute.

L & L’s SEAFOOD PIE Ingredients 9-inch deep pie shell 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup evaporated milk 2 beaten raw eggs 1 cup boiled catfish 2/3 cup crawfish 6 oz. finely-shredded Swiss cheese1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper salt and pepper to taste Preparation In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, flour, evaporated milk, eggs, crab meat, catfish, crawfish, cheese, onion and bell pepper. Season to taste.Pour into the pie shell. Top may be covered or latticed with another pieshell. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Servessix to eight people.

L & L’s STUFFED CATFISH ROLLETTES Red Sauce Ingredients 1 chopped medium onion 1 chopped medium bell pepper 1 can tomato sauce 1 can tomato paste 2 cups water 1 can diced Rotel tomatoes 1 15-oz. pkg. McCormick Spaghetti Sauce mixSaute bell pepper and onion. Add tomatos, tomato paste, tomato sauce,water, Rotel tomatoes and spaghetti sauce mix. Cook for 45 minutes onlow heat.

Stuffing Ingredients 1 lb. raw catfish fillets1/2 cup boiled catfish 1/2 cup crawfish 1/2 cup crab meat 1 small onion 1/4 cup green shallots 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs salt and pepper to taste Preparation Combine the boiled catfish, crawfish, crab meat, onion, shallots, eggs and bread crumbs in a large bowl and mix well. Cut the raw fillets into 1-inchwide strips. Put the mixture on the catfish strips and roll the strips.Place each roll on a baking dish. Pour the Red Sauce on the rollettes. Coverand bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve over warm rice.CATFISH ARTICHOKE SOUP Ingredients 1 lb. fresh catfish1/4 cup bell pepper 1/4 cup shallots 1/4 cup parsley 1 large onion 2 cups fresh mushrooms 2 cans artichoke hearts 1 can cream of celery soup 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 qt. half-and-halfPreparation Saute bell pepper, shallots, parsley, onions and mushrooms. Add soups andquartered artichoke hearts. Blend in half-and-half. Salt and pepper totaste. Cook for 30 minutes, then add catfish, cut into 1-inch pieces. Cookfor 20 additional minutes.

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