>> male announcer: Funding for Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking was provided by: >> Prudhomme: Louisiana meat pies--oh, northern Louisiana's famous for them-- cream cheese and ham tortilla rolls, apple pie with chili and cheese.

Hi, I'm Chef Paul Prudhomme.

We're doing all that stuff, and we're rolling everything that comes in sight.

[lively Cajun music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Hello, welcome.

Ah, Louisiana wonderful meat pies, the reason we call them wonderful, it's because they are.

And there's some stuff going on here, and you know, you can use doughs that you buy or, you know, I mean, you can--anybody who bakes frequently would know how to make it a little bit shorter of a recipe, but I like to do the whole recipe because it's good information.

Anybody who's starting out would like to do something like this and do it from scratch.

It's always better from scratch, no matter what anybody tells you.

If you do it from scratch, you know, and you got a good recipe, it just makes a huge difference.

Natchitoches is the oldest city in Louisiana, and where I'm from, my home town of Opelousas is the third oldest city, just a little Louisiana information.

We've got a dough that we want to start making right here, and we got some flour.

And we've got a little bit of sugar and a little bit of salt, kind of relative to Louisiana doughs.

And we've got some butter and margarine.

You could use all margarine, or you could use all butter.

I choose to mix it sometimes.

Sometimes I don't.

And we got a little bit of water.

And we're going to start the dough going.

And this dough is a dough for pie, so it doesn't take as long as it would if it was a dough for bread or those things.

So we're going to start the cranking now.

[mixer whirring] I want to show you this because I think it's relative.

It's one of the things that, to me, makes a great dough for pies is that when you get these crumby-looking--you know, when that's the flour mixing-- mixing with the shortening or mixing with the butter or mixing with the margarine.

And it just makes it so flaky and wonderful; it really does.

[mixer whirring] Looks perfect, it really does.

It looks like it's got some consistency to it.

That was convenient, just dropped right off.

Got some consistency to it, and it's--it needs to rest for a few minutes.

But it's not too wet, and it's going to be pliable enough to really handle well.

So I'm looking forward to doing--doing another pie for the crew.

We're going to put this here because we've got one that's been resting, and it's right here.

And so we're going to deal with it in just a couple of minutes.

The next thing I want to do is to make the filling, because the filling, it's important to do it a little bit in advance, so it can cool down a little bit.

You don't want to put a really hot filling into the dough.

And so we've got the ingredients.

The ingredients is-- we're starting with onions.

We're getting a wooden spoon here, and we're going to go to work.

I got a big skillet.

It's actually bigger than what you'd need for this, but I did it for a couple of reasons, and one is that makes it easier for y'all to see what I'm doing.

And so I'm going to put a small amount--now, I don't follow my recipes.

And so that's really important to understand, and it--you really shouldn't, on television, at least, I think we don't.

It's better to just make it simple and make it reality for the person that's watching, and I love to do that.

I would like for you to be able to do the recipe that I do, and so I try to do that.

We're starting to brown already, which is really great.

I had preheated the skillet, and to make sure that when I did start, it would go quickly.

I'm going to add the celery to it.

Now, with this unusually sized skillet for the ingredients, it's going to really brown it quickly.

So you don't need to--you don't need to take a whole lot of time doing this.

And so I'm getting some good brown smell, so I'm going to add some of the seasoning in, and I'm not adding it all.

I'm staging things, which-- which I don't always do in a recipe, because I don't want to make it look too--I don't want the recipe to look like it's too daunting, you know.

So if you--but if you stage things, it just makes it amazingly more flavor.

And I'm going to put the beef in, but I want to break up the beef a little bit first.

The meat pies are from Natchitoches.

Actually, I have a connection to Natchitoches, and we've never been able to really figure it out, because as a lot of--there's a big family there that has the same surname as I do.

It's Prudhomme, and we've tried on several occasions--now I'm going to put the pork in-- we've tried on several occasions to get the family back to a connection, and it's very hard to, because my family arrived in Louisiana in 1760.

And so 1760 to now, there wasn't many records, especially for the Natchitoches family, there doesn'seem to be a beginning record as much as with the Opelousas family.

And the Opelousas family built a church.

My first ancestor built a Catholic church.

So we have--we also have a family house there in Opelousas.

But we never could make the connection with the Natchitoches, and they're the meat pie Prudhommes.

And so we've never really been able to make a connection.

What I just put in there was some potatoes, and we use the red potatoes.

The red potatoes are--got a different kind of moisture in it.

They got a little stronger moisture than the white potatoes, and I like to use them for things like this.

And besides that, they grow really well in Louisiana.

Sweet potatoes and red potatoes grow well.

Got some garlic I'm going to put in.

All right, so you see the brown color that's happening here, and so we're getting to a--and the smell is just really wonderful.

We're going to add the fresh thyme to it.

And you can add it at any stage.

I like to add it--I like to add it at a later stage, especially when I'm using fresh herbs.

They just work better.

All right, so now I'm going to add the stock to it, and the stock is the amount you add with this skillet, it's going to be easy, because I want it to evaporate.

And so we're going to let it cook--going to let it cook and evaporate.

I'm going to turn this down a little bit, get rid of the moisture, do the cream cheese topping.

In the topping, we've got, of course, we've got cream cheese, which is important.

And we've got some heavy cream, and we got fresh and dried herbs to it.

It gives it a lot of flavor that way because the cream cheese and the cream itself is going to really absorb a huge amount of the flavor.

So we got fresh and dried oregano, and we got some fresh thyme, and then we got-- you can see it's a lot of it, and the reason, again, is a lot of it is that you want to make this--this filling have a flavor to it, and you're getting-- you got two of the most absorbing ingredients that I know of, is cream and cream cheese.

I mean, those things really do absorb a huge amount--a huge amount of flavors.

And so I'm going to take the spatula out.

I'm going to use the whisk.

And the cream cheese is--it looks like it's tough, and it is, but when it starts breaking up or when it starts melting into the--and you can do this in a electric mixer.

And we're just about there.

I'd like to give it a little taste.

You know me.

If you can't taste it, don't do it, you know.

Ahh, I mean, the flavor of the herbs coming through, and right at the end--right at the end, I've got whipping cream, and then I've got the cream cheese.

Look at that.

And it's not going to come out of my whisk, but I'm going to get it out.

I'm going to just shove it out.

All right, you got the idea.

Get it done.

I still have the dough to deal with.

All right.

Stretch it out.

Stretch it out.

Actually, it's pretty easy to do, because pie doughs are not--not as hard to roll out as bread doughs.

And I love to just keep turning them over and just keep stretching them out.

Just keep stretching them out until you get to the size you want.

And when you get to the size you want, you know, then it will be--it'll stay in place.

I'm looking at the pan it's going into, and so I'm just about at the right thickness.

And so the pan ought to be-- we oiled the pan, and if you look at it, you can tell it's been oiled.

And you just--you can either spray it with an oil or just take oil and put it on your fingers and just put it in there.

Now, look at there.

If I do it right, I probably won't even have to trim it.

And I don't worry about it if it's sort of--if it just kind of rolls back like that and just kind of folds over, so... getting there, getting there.

Yes, all right.

Now, the next thing is that you want to make it look good.

And you gotta put it in the oven, and in order for it not to puff up and for it to distort, you got to hold it down, and you do that by putting beans in.

Actually I got to trim it.

Let me do that.

See, on the long sides-- on the long sides like this, you just--I like to just take it and just trim it off.

You know, I've always--I've learned to be--I learned to be a baker at a very early age.

And you know, I was always able to do it, and I'd help Mother bake.

So you know, I had--I had information on baking, but it was never the thing that I would love--that I would love to do as a profession.

And it was a very simple reason.

It wasn't because, you know, anything to do with baking.

It's just that I like to change things every time that I do it.

You know, I mean like--didn't follow the recipe, don't even know what the recipe is here, but it's good.

And that's what's important, you know.

And so when you do baking, you have to repeat it.

You have to repeat it.

You have to repeat it.

So we're going to put this in the oven.

I've got one already done here.

And look at there.

Isn't that gorgeous?

Got red beans in it, going to pour them in here.

And the red beans that stick-- and there's always going to be some that sticks--you blind bake for 250 degrees for 20 minutes, and you remove the beans out of it, and then you cook for 15 more minutes.

Now, see, what happens is that if you don't put enough red beans in--let me show you this, because I think this is important.

You know, you say, "Why put the red beans in?"

And when we did this one, we neglected to put enough red beans right where this is at.

And you can see the bump there.

I'll try to show it to you.

It's a--it's a real big bump.

Now, they had enough red beans over here.

There's little bumps, but that's okay.

So the next thing we're going to do is put the filling in, and we let the filling cool a while.

And so it's still kind of hot, but I'm not going to worry about it.

We're going to take it and put it in this pan.

And then the cream cheese is-- this--I mean, oh, look at that.

Mmm, you know this is going to be good.

I mean, you just know it's going to make everybody who come close to it happy, because not only will it taste good, but it'll smell good.

And you take the cream cheese and spread over it.

And I'm going to take the cream cheese and just spread it on.

The more you let the cream cheese get room temperature, the better off you're going to be; the easier it's going to be to handle.

And so don't hesitate, you know.

Just--just let it--just let it get warm.

And you spread this--you want to cover it totally.

Oh, I'm just--I'm really getting excited, because, I mean, this pie, I can smell it, because there's one over on the table over there.

And I'm going to just leave this one alone and go to the table and show you how a real professional baker would do these pies and how they come out.

You bake it at 350, and for 40, 45 minutes, and it should come like--look like the one that I'm going to show you in a second.

Now, this is what I call "A one-man's Louisiana wonderful meat pie."

I mean, I could sit down and eat the whole thing.

Cream cheese and ham tortilla rolls: roll 'em, baby.

♪ Rollin', rollin', rollin'.

♪ You know, cream cheese and ham tortilla rolls, it's really neat, and it's one of those quick ones.

And you can do them at the last minute, or you can take them and do them ahead, and you know, take paper towels, or, you know, a cloth and hold them with that, because the tortilla dries out.

So you got to kind of be quick with that.

So we got cream cheese, and we're going to put it in the mixing bowl and spread it.

I like to spread it before I put anything else in.

And you can tell it's pretty soft, so anything else I put in is going to blend with it really quickly.

And so I'm going to put seasoning.

And this is herbs and spices, and it's a salt-free blend.

And you can see it's--it's a lot of it.

I'm going to put a little bit of lemon juice in, and the reason there's a lot of it is because it's the only thing in there that's really seasoned, and because it don't have salt on it, you know, it's not--I mean, it's not real hot.

It's just a really good, complex seasoning.

It makes it--it gives the cream cheese a beautiful color.

And you'll see.

It'll start coming out now.

So we want to scrape the sides as we do this, and we want to fold it, fold it, fold it, and press it and make sure that-- see, I have a streak of cream cheese there.

And so that's great.

I'm going to put artichoke hearts in it.

And these are diced real small.

And so I'm going to put those in, and that's part of the flavor.

And it just--just mash them in.

I mean, it just real easy-- it's real easy to do.

So I'm going to scape this off, and how do you like that?

And we're going to put some-- we're going to put some more red in it.

And this is pimentos, and pimentos are different from red bell peppers.

They have a little more red to them, and they have a unique taste.

A pimento is not a red pepper, a normal red pepper that you see, and it's probably not as sweet as a red pepper, because red pepper has a tendency to be sweet.

Look at that.

Isn't that gorgeous?

I'm going to make a roll for you.

Now, I've got the tortillas underneath a wet cloth, and I'm doing that--I'm doing that so they'll stay pliable.

And hopefully they won't break on you.

One of the things that you should do--if you're going to do a party and use tortillas-- probably one of the first things you should is get you some tortillas from the store and test them.

And I don't mind--I think that's a good thing to do.

See how well they--how pliable they are.

See how much moisture they have in them so you'll know how to handle them.

And so I'm going to spread-- I'm going to spread the dressing right on top of this tortilla, and then I'm going to put some ham.

And the amount of ham you put is totally up to you, because you're going to roll it.

And so I'm going to try--I'm going to put two pieces of ham on it.

And then I got some cheese, and I'm going to just put the cheese on one side right here.

Now, you could use sheets of cheese if you want.

You could slice it.

You could actually put the cheese in here, and it would be okay too.

So we're using provolone cheese.

And so, now, when you make a tortilla--let me get this out of the way--when you make a tortilla, you pull back on it.

You just pull back on it.

Pull back, once you make that first roll.

You pull back on it, and then when you feel like it's real tight, you start rolling.

You start rolling.

You start rolling.

And hopefully if it does break like that one just did, the break is underneath the roll.

So you got a good-looking tortilla.

And I'd give it some good pressing, probably you could-- if you feel like it's dry, you could put a cloth on it.

You can cut it.

And let's see what it looks like when we cut it.

Oh, isn't that pretty?

Look at that.

Look at that circle.

I mean, it's just absolutely gorgeous.

And you take it and you make them about this size.

And you just cut them, and then you set them in a tray.

And I'll show you how we did that.

But a damp cloth keeps them a long time, and so don't hesitate to make them ahead, if you want to.

Or you get everything ready and make them at the last minute and have the people that are in the house partying with you help you with them.

And so cream cheese and ham tortilla rolls--delicious.

Mmm.

Oh, do we have an apple pie for you, and we're going to spice it with chili and cream it with cheese.

We're starting out with the apple peel, and we're making a stock with it.

And I mean, these were really red apples, and they've faded out.

But we got the stock right here.

See, that's a nice pink, pretty stock.

So the first thing we're going to do is, we're going to build a dough, because the pie needs a good dough.

And this is--this is an unusual dough.

We have butter, and we have lots of ingredients in it.

We have sugar, which is normal, butter and sugar.

And we have eggs, which is also normal.

And we got the egg broken.

And this is where it starts to be a little bit different.

We got Anaheim and we got New Mexico and we got arbol chilies.

Now, you can use any chilies you want.

If you have a favorite, do that.

So I'm going to put--I'm going to put the cinnamon in and cream of tartar.

I mean, this stuff just--just flips right in, you know.

Now we're going to add the baking soda, and then we're going to start the mixture soon.

We got--we got a little vanilla, gotta have vanilla, right?

I mean, it's an absolute necessity.

And then we got some yogurt, and the next thing is, we got is flour.

And so we're going to put the yogurt in.

Now, I'm going to start with this mixture, because--and I know it's kind of silly on my part, but I like to mix this first.

And if I didn't do it in the recipe, you know, it's okay.

But I like--I really--I really enjoy doing that, taking and mixing this first.

And want to make sure that we get it--get it going, the butter melted, or the butter splashed around.

[mixer whirring] I'm going to help it out here because it don't have much depth to it till the flour gets in.

Just make it a good mixture.

Going to do it again, see what happens.

[mixer whirs] All right, I'm going to slower the machine out.

I'm going to start adding flour.

Now, when you have--when you have so many herbs and spices and, you know, so many ingredients in it, I like to do the flour slowly.

Going to go a little bit more and speed it up.

Really coming now.

I mean, it's ready.

And I'm going to make the filling.

First thing I'm going to do is, I've got some cornstarch.

I'm going to put some water in it.

While I'm stirring this, I'm going to add the butter right into the pan.

And you can see it starting to melt already.

So I had--I was sneaky.

I had the pan on.

I'm going to just set this right in here, and I'm going to put the chilies in.

I'm going to start with the-- I'm going to start with the cinnamon, actually.

And then the next thing, I'm going to put the ancho and the Anaheims and the New Mexico chilies in.

I'm going to stir this.

It's important to cook the chilies, but you don't want to overcook them, so be ready to add the next ingredient.

And of course, the next ingredient is sugar.

And so we're going to add that.

We got the apple stock we're going to put in next.

Oh, look at--the smell is just incredible.

I mean, you see the brown that's there.

Look at that brown.

I mean, that's mean--that means that you've got caramelization there with the ingredients, and you got ingredients that just is--I mean, they're going to be totally different.

And then a little bit of cane vinegar.

If you can't find cane vinegar, don't worry about it.

I also added in the vanilla.

You can use another one of the vinegars.

Cane vinegar has got some sweetness to it.

Maybe I'll do the cornstarch before the apples.

That makes a lot of sense.

Don't put the cornstarch--put the apples in and then try to put the cornstarch, because it's going to make you stir too much, and it won't be--it won't be-- it won't make it really consistent.

And I don't mind using a wooden spoon.

A whisk would probably be really good to do.

Now, at this point, I got to taste again, right?

I mean, it's important to do so.

And I can't put my spoon back in, and I don't have a clean one right here.

Oh, I mean, the cornstarch just sort of spread it--just spreaded it, you know.

And we got the apples in.

And then we're going to put the Gouda cheese in.

And then the next step is the currants.

I mean, how could this not be wonderful?

Just look at the ingredients.

Oh, and then you stir.

And you're going to cook it in--you're going to put the pie in the oven and cook it, so you don't need to worry about cooking this for a long time.

But you need to really make sure you stir it well and get all the ingredients sort of enjoying each other.

I'm very big--I'm very big on that, is getting the ingredients to be in love.

You let it cool down a bit, and then you put it in one of these incredible crusts.

You got to bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Cool in the refrigerator.

I got one in the fridge that's cool.

I'm going to get it out of there.

I mean, isn't that just absolutely wonderful?

All you got to do now is just eat it.

That's good cookin', good eating, good lovin'.

We love you guys out there.

>> announcer: A cookbook featuring all the recipes from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking is available for $15.95 plus $7.95 shipping and handling.

The cookbook features 97 recipes, color photos, and cooking tips from Chef Paul.

To order a copy of the companion cookbook, call: And pay by credit card.

Or send a check or money order to: Captioning by CaptionMax www.captionmax.com >> Prudhomme: ♪ Da-da-da-da.

♪ ♪ Dee-da-da-da-da.

♪ ♪ Anytime you're ready.

♪ And so we're going to add some liquid to it, but we're also going to add more ingredients.

And we've got some-- oh, does that smell good.

Wish I knew what it was.

>> Don't give me that face.

>> Prudhomme: All right, I'll do it.

[mumbling] Hello, y'all.

Pineapple [laughs] I'm going to have a hard time with this one.

Pineapple glaze fruit basket skewers.

[laughter] Cooking, cooking, cooking, cooking, cooking, cooking, cooking.

Ahh, help.

>> male announcer: Funding for Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking was provided by: