test cook

Marcelle Bienvenu's

Yield: approximately 1 dozen pastries

1-cup all-purpose flour
1/4-teaspoon salt
About ½ cup water
Vegetable oil for frying
One 12-ounce can Steen’s cane syrup
½ cup finely chopped pecans cup chopped pecans

Combine flour and salt. Stir in enough water to make stiff dough. Divide dough into 12 equal parts and roll each into a ball. Roll out the balls of dough very thin on a lightly floured surface. Pour about 2 inches of oil into a heavy, deep-frying pot. Heat the oil to 350 F.

Drop the one of the pastries into hot oil and using a long handled fork, stick the tines of the fork into the center of the pastry and twist quickly. Hold fork in place until dough sets and holds the shape. This will give the appearance of a pig’s ear. Cook until golden brown and drain well on paper towels. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry.

Bring syrup to a boil in a heavy saucepan and stir until it reaches the soft ball stage

Dip each pig’s ear into the syrup, coating well. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and lay on waxed paper. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store only one or two days, separated and tightly sealed.

Head note

Pig’s Ears are a Cajun country treat, an example of purely making do with what is on hand and turning it into something remarkable. Add a sprinkle of chopped pecans once they have been dipped in cane syrup, so they are both sweet and crunchy at the same time. Marcelle says that literally translated les oreilles de cochon means “the pig’s ears.”

LES OREILLES DE COCHON
Pig Ear-Shaped Pastry

Yield: approximately 1 dozen pastries

1-cup all-purpose flour
1/4-teaspoon salt
About ½ cup water
Vegetable oil for frying
One 12-ounce can Steen’s cane syrup
½ cup finely chopped pecans cup chopped pecans

Combine flour and salt. Stir in enough water to make stiff dough. Divide dough into 12 equal parts and roll each into a ball. Roll out the balls of dough very thin on a lightly floured surface. Pour about 2 inches of oil into a heavy, deep-frying pot. Heat the oil to 350 F.

Drop the one of the pastries into hot oil and using a long handled fork, stick the tines of the fork into the center of the pastry and twist quickly. Hold fork in place until dough sets and holds the shape. This will give the appearance of a pig’s ear. Cook until golden brown and drain well on paper towels. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry.

Bring syrup to a boil in a heavy saucepan and stir until it reaches the soft ball stage

Dip each pig’s ear into the syrup, coating well. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and lay on waxed paper. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store only one or two days, separated and tightly wrapped.

Head note

Pig’s Ears are a Cajun country treat, an example of purely making do with what you have on hand. A add a sprinkle of chopped pecans once they have been dipped in cane syrup, so they are both sweet and crunchy at the same time. Marcelle says that literally translated les oreilles de cochon means “the pig’s ears.”

Sidebar

Marcelle Bienvenu has done it all in the culinary world. Born and raised in St. Martinville, La, she has worked with Commander’s Palace, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans and Brennan’s of Houston. From 1981-1984, she owned and operated her own restaurant, Chez Marcelle near Lafayette, La., then used her food knowledge for writing about what she’d been eating. Her resulting “WHO’S YOUR MAMA, ARE YOU CATHOLIC AND CAN YOU MAKE A ROUX” is a Cajun/Creole family album and cookbook from the bayou country. She co-authored, with Emeril Lagasse, LOUISIANA REAL & RUSTIC, EMERIL’S CREOLE CHRISTMAS, EMERIL’S TV DINNERS and EVERDAY’S A PARTY. She also contributed to EMERIL PRIMETIME, FROM EMERIL’S KITCHENS, EMERIL’S POTLUCK, AND EMERIL’S DELMONICO: A RESTAURANT WITH A PAST.
She edited the 1987 edition of the THE PICAYUNE’S CREOLE COOK BOOK, originally published in 1901 and reissued to celebrate the newspaper’s 150th anniversary and also writes a weekly column for them. Marcelle’s home is a fine place to pass a good time around the kitchen table. There’s not much better than a good meal, laughter and a rollicking good time in Acadiana.