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--> --> July 16: A seven-course crawfish dinner By Jeff Cheek After England took Canada from France, the people of Acadia refused to swear allegiance to the British Crown. In 1755, the English herded them onto ships and dumped them in the swamps of Louisiana. These hardy, independent Cajuns still maintain their identity, speaking archaic French mixed with English. They have assimilated. They are Americans, but they did it on their own terms. They traded the lobster and cod of the Atlantic for crawfish (crayfish) and catfish of the bayous. In the process, they created a whole new school of cooking: Hot, spicy Cajun Cooking. An old, old friend I first met in school in 1939, Dr. Albert Ben Clark Dowdey, M.D., recently sent me a charming recipe for a Cajun Boiled Crawfish Dinner. "Tak yo pirogue down de bayou and catch yoself 'bout tirty pounds of dem crawfish. Dis will take 'bout six beers. Den tak dem crawfish home and tro dem in yo rain barrel or other clean water. Den add a box of rock salt. Let dem soak for 'bout one more beer. While dem crawfish is purgin start yur boil pot on de cook fire. Tro in de whole onion, de corn an de new potatoes and let dem boil for one mo beer. Den tro in de crawfish wid two mo boxes salt, two or tree cut lemons, mo spice an de cayenne pepper. Let all dat boil up real good for bout two mo beers. Put dat ole newspaper on de table an warm de bread. When de crawfish is done, pour out de water. Den dump de crawfish on de table and set out de bread. Den set down for a Cajun Seven Course Dinner. Six beers and a pile of crawfish." For those who have never been in Cajun Country, a pirogue is a dugout boat. A crayfish is freshwater crustacean, about six inches long, which looks like a baby lobster. Dr. Dowdey also sent a recipe I well remember. His mother would send me and his younger brother, Ernest Foyt Dowdey, to the orchard to pick a quart of blackberries. She used them to prepare a delicious dessert. Mrs. Dowdey started from scratch, but you can use frozen biscuits to save time. The tasty dessert is Baked Blackberry Pockets. INGREDIENTS: 1 package frozen biscuits 2 or 3 cups fresh blackberries Light brown sugar Melted butter PREPARATION: Wash blackberries. Remove any stems. Set aside. Roll one biscuit out into a 7 inch circle. Place two tablespoons berries on one side of circle. Dust berries with one tablespoon brown sugar. Drizzle a teaspoon of melted butter over the fruit, then close the pocket with the other flap of the biscuit. Place in the baking pan and brush with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve. They taste great just out of the oven. Jeff Cheek lives in Medford Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing