ANNA MONICA / L’Observateur / January 8, 2000

Within the next few days, Allen St. Pierre of Garyville will be raising hishand to take an oath as a St. John the Baptist Parish councilman. St. Pierrefirst served in this capacity from 1984-1987, and from 1992-1997 was director of public works, so this role is not exactly something new for him.

Spending time in the kitchen is not new to him, either, because he has been sharing duties with his wife for at least 35 years. The St. Pierreshave been married for 46 years.

St. Pierre has also been a VFW member since 1960 and has beencommander about 10 times, including the present.

St. Pierre said both he and his wife, the former Audrey Millet of Garyville,come from families that really knew how to cook. They grew up learningto cook some great local favorites, such as hogshead cheese, crayfish bisque, etouffees and dirty rice. His mother, the late Maria St. Pierre ofSt. James Parish, was voted the best cook in the parish for two years. Thelate Emeline Millet, his mother-in-law, was also an excellent cook.

The St. Pierres acknowledge learning to cook from their mothers on asmall scale and after marriage expanding to a larger scale. St. Pierresaid, “My mother always told me that to cook for a small amount of people was much harder than cooking for a large amount of people.”St. Pierre finds that cooking a larger volume with a large pot is far morerelaxing for him.

“My mother always said ‘do not back away from the stove because it will burn on you.'” So, when he cooks in large volume, he doesn’t have to watchhis pot so closely and can do other things and feel no pressure which, is very fortunate, since he often cooks in large volume.

Once a regular, he now subs when needed as the cook for the Riverside Booster’s Club and for their band’s banquet. Each year he cooks for St.Charles District Attorney Harry Morel’s golf tournament at Ormond and also for the senior citizens’ Thanksgiving dinner. Through Morel’sinfluence, for 10 years St. Pierre cooked for Dominican High School’s 5-Krun. Every year he is heavily involved in cooking for the annual bazaar andfrequent dinner/bingos of his church parish, St. Hubert’s, and he is strictlya volunteer.

St. Pierre admits he developed his enthusiasm for cooking while helpingfriend, Forest Brady, formerly of Garyville, cook for politicians, schools, churches and people in public service. His interest carried him evenfurther into the cooking arena when he began a catering and food stand business with he, Audrey and daughters Darlene, Kathleen and Suzanne sharing work duties. After suffering an injury and with his daughters thengoing their own way, St. Pierre gave up on the idea of expanding into arestaurant business. The St. Pierre sons are Allen, Jr. and Darren.Both Allen and Audrey regret they didn’t learn even more from their mothers. Acknowledging also that his mother was great at baking, the St.Pierres believe “a lot of talent went in those graves.””Cooking is time-consuming,” said St. Pierre, and once again he quotes hismother as saying “If you do not like to cook, stay away from the stove. Soif you are not willing to put in the time, don’t even put a spoon in your hand and don’t put a pot on the fire.” He believes that much of his own cooking success comes from the fact that he cooks very slowly and does things step by step.

Before he once again steps into the role of councilman, St. Pierre sharesseveral recipes below. By the way, he also makes a scrumptious dish offresh sausage cooked down in a mushroom gravy. But that takes fourhours!

5 LB. POT OF JAMBALAYA

Grocery List: 3 lbs. ground pork (coarse) or cubed pork

1 can grated Rotel tomatoes

2 lbs. mild smoke sausage

1 large can of mushrooms – stems & pieces

2 lbs. andouille sausage

1 bottle Lea & Perrin sauce (brown label)

1 lb. deboned chicken (white or dark meat)

1 bottle Lea & Perrin sauce (green label)

3 lbs. onions

1 bottle Cajun sauce

4 stalks celery

1 bottle Louisiana hot sauce

2 bunches green onions

1 bottle Kitchen Bouquet

1 bunch fresh parsley or parsley flakes

1 small bottle cayenne (red) pepper

4 large bell peppers

1 small can ground black pepper

2 cans of Dawn’s Mushroom Sauce

1 box salt

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 box garlic powder

1 can golden mushroom soup

5 lbs. Manhatma long grain rice

1 gallon water

1 small bottle Season-All seasoning

Preparation Procedure: Use large enough cast iron pot or heavy aluminum pot to accommodate this recipe of jambalaya.

Cut sausage and andouille about 3/8″ thick and use a small amount of water as a starter and brown for about 20 minutes on medium heat.

Remove from pot.

Add pork to pot using small amount of Season-All seasoning and salt over low medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Removepork from pot.

Add deboned chicken to pot, stir and brown chicken for about 10 minutes.

Remove from pot.

Add onions, bottoms of green onions, chopped celery to pot. Add smallamount of garlic powder, saut over low medium heat for about 30 minutes. Then add all the gravies, Dawn’s, both mushroom soups, Roteltomatoes, small amounts of both Lea & Perrin sauces, Cajun sauce, hot sauce and black pepper. Stir frequently and continue to saut for 20minutes.

Add all the meats except for chicken and add one gallon of water. Bringheat to a low high, stir occasionally until boiling for about five minutes.

Add cut shallot tops, parsley, cook for about five additional minutes, then add bell peppers, mushrooms, chicken and small amount of chicken bouquet for right color – not too dark. Check for final seasoning for your taste. Liquid should be at a medium boil or slightly above.

Here comes the fun: add 5 lbs. of rice, stir occasionally. Allow about 10 to12 minutes before reducing heat to a minimum and put cover on for steaming. Allow 20 to 30 minutes before removing cover at which timethe jambalaya should be cooked. It usually takes around two hours orslightly more for the whole procedure.

CRAYFISH ETOUFFEE RECIPE

Grocery List:

2 lbs. peeled crayfish

1 heaping stirring spoon of all purpose flour

2 blocks of real butter

1 lb. chopped onions

1 8 oz. Can of V8 Vegetable Juice

1 jar Heinz Mushroom Sauce

1 can Dawn’s mushroom gravy

1 can grated Rotel tomatoes

1 bunch green onions

2 stalks celery hearts, preferably

1 large bell pepper

Chicken bouillon cubes, Accent, Lea & Perrin Sauce, Season-All seasoning, garlic powder, red and black pepper and Louisiana hot sauce (seasonings)

Preparation Procedure: Melt butter in sauce pan. Add flour and stir frequently over low heat forabout 40 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, celery, green onions, saut forabout 30 minutes. Then add all above ingredients except crayfish. Add asmall amount of water and an additional can of V8 juice to enhance the color. Bring heat to low medium and cook gravy. letting simmer for about30 minutes. Then add crayfish and bring to a low boil. Cook for about anadditional 20 minutes and check again for final touch of seasoning. (Usethe seasoning above to taste) The etouffee should be ready for serving.

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