Lisa Rogers

By Published On: July 27, 2016

Lisa Rogers  grew up on the west bank of New Orleans, and has lived in Calhoun City since 2005. Her favorite Cajun dish is crawfish etoufee and her favorite Mississippi dishes are fried chicken, fried vegetables like okra, and her zucchini apple pie.
She cooks some Cajun and some soul food, she says, having gotten a lot of Cajun recipes from her mother, Brenda Walls, and southern recipes from her grandmother, Effie Walls.
Lisa usually makes regular chicken and dressing but does sometimes make it with shrimp. When she does make shrimp dressing, the seasonings she uses are pretty much the same. She likes to cook using shrimp, andouille sausage, crawfish and alligator meat. She grills a lot of boudin with peppers and onions with a little oil drizzled over it, then grilled about 30 minutes.

Lisa Rogers CookHaving learned from her mother, she has been cooking since a teenager with the first thing being homemade tacos, which were put together then fried, like a meat pie. She looks for recipes with “very few ingredients, but tasty,” and the garlic jalapeno shrimp “is good, and easy.” And on the easier side, Lisa says her mama always cut her homemade dumplings, but she drops hers.
She has many cookbooks and several index boxes full of recipes. She has accumulated a lot from her mother and grandmother, and many over the years from friends and other people. “They are squeezed in everywhere, and written onto her cookbook pages.” Among her favorites to use are her grandmother’s simple peanut butter cookie and peach cobbler recipes.

Caramel cobbler a family favorite and most times there is none left over. Another favorite dessert is her mother’s simple M&M pie. A big box of chocolate instant pudding is prepared according to the pie filling directions. Stir in one to 1 1/2 cups of mini M&Ms and pour into a graham cracker crust. Top with Cool Whip, sprinkle on a few mini M&Ms and refrigerate.
Lisa makes Christmas cookies and candies–pralines, coconut bonbons and macaroons. “Pralines are funny. You have to have the right type of weather for them to set correctly. And they won’t set right if you double up the recipe.”

Red Beans and Rice is a favorite of the people she works with at Calhoun Health Services, including administrator James Franklin. “It is real spicy, but you can alter it to what you like.” At work they also like her zucchini apple pie, which actually has no apples, but tastes like it. She says using the zucchini that has gotten big and almost too tough to fry works well in making the pie.

Red Beans & Rice
1-16 oz. bag Camellia red beans
1 medium onion
1 small bell pepper
1/2-1 tsp. crushed red pepper
3 Tbsp. Louisiana hot sauce
6-8 cups water
2-3 slices bacon
1 pkg. little smokies or andouille sausage
Rinse beans. Chop onions and bell pepper. Put all ingredients in crockpot. Add salt and pepper. Cook on high until beans are tender. Serve over rice.

Zucchini-Apple Pie
4 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Dash of salt
Dash of nutmeg
2-9” pie crusts or make crunch crust (below)
Preheat oven to 400°. Peel and cut zucchini lengthwise. Remove seeds. Slice like apples and cook until tender. Drain and place in cold water five minutes. Drain well and add to sugar and other ingredients. Pour into pie crust and cover with refrigerated pie crust cut into strips or make the crunch crust. Bake 40-50 minutes.
Crunch crust: 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup butter. Mix and sprinkle over pie.

Crab Cakes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 Tbsp. chopped green onions
1 lb. crab meat
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 egg
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
8 Tbsp. butter
Combine parsley, onions, crab, salt, pepper, mustard and egg well. Shape into small cakes. Roll in bread crumbs and cook in butter until golden brown on all sides.

Creamy Smooth Pecan Pralines
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup white Karo syrup
1/2 cup water
2 cups pecan halves
1/2 stick margarine
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Combine sugar, syrup, water and pecans in pan. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture reaches soft ball stage. Remove saucepan and add margarine and vanilla. Allow candy to cool. Whip until mixture gradually changes to lighter color and becomes creamy. Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet or wax paper.

Garlic-Jalapeno Shrimp
20 large shrimp (about 1 lb.) peeled, deveined, tails optional
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large jalapeno (stem, seeds removed) chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. oil
Salt and pepper
Toss together shrimp, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, 1 Tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper. Marinate in refrigerator one hour. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in large wok or skillet over medium heat. Remove shrimp from marinade and add to skillet. Cook approximately four minutes, turning shrimp once.
Caramel Cobbler
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 cup nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in 9×13 pan. In bowl mix flour, sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour batter over butter in pan (do not mix). In separate bowl, mix brown sugar, hot water and nuts (if used.) Pour over mixture in pan. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

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