>> male announcer: Funding for Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking was provided by: >> Prudhomme: Hi, I'm Chef Paul Prudhomme, and I'm steamin'.

Oh, but I'm using fish to steam it.

We're doing poisson en papillote, or "fish in a bag."

We're doing, ooh, broccoli Basile.

It's wonderful.

And steamed shrimp with the rémoulade sauce.

Oh, you're going to love it.

You got to see this.

Come on back.

[lively Cajun music] ♪ ♪ Welcome, everybody.

Nice to see you all.

Oh, we doing some steaming today, and steaming is a unique way of cooking that--it's good-- it's especially good when things are fresh.

And if you're doing seafood and it's fresh, steaming works really good because it just gives you the simple natural taste, and you put a little bit of herbs and spices in it, and it just really is good.

But we're letting off steam, and we're going to do a poisson en papillote, or as we say in English, "fish in a papillote."

Papillote was created in New Orleans in the French--one of the French Quarter restaurants.

We had a--we had a person that was very celebrated as a balloonist that was in town, and I'm sure this was like at least 100 years ago.

[laughs] It was a long time ago.

And so they created this dish at the French Quarter restaurant, and it's a very celebrated dish, and it's--it's kind of a neat way to do stuff.

It really is.

It's in a paper, and it's parchment paper, and it works really good.

It does.

Well, we'll try to give you a good idea on how to do it, but first we need to make the sauce.

And we need to make the filling, because the fish goes in, we're going to season the fish, and it goes in--in the--in the paper.

And then on top of it we put a mixture of seafood.

So we're going to do that first.

We're going to start with making butter roux, and a butter roux means that we're going to make flour and oil, and we're going to do it--we're going to do it with butter.

And we don't want to brown it too much, because when you're using a butter roux, you just want it to be--have it-- that's perfect right there.

See how that kind of little brown tone is through it?

Well, that's a good butter roux right there.

And so we're going to set it aside.

Now, what we're going to do is as--when it cools down a little bit is, when we're going to use it--and sometimes when you make a butter roux and it cools down, it--the oil or the butter comes out, and if it does, just add a little more roux--more flour.

I mean, that's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to add a little more flour if need be.

All right, the next step-- we're going to turn the fire on high, because the next step-- I'm going to put just a dash of herbs and spices in here.

I'm talking so much I'm forgetting some of the good stuff.

I know that--that I'm going to need to use all that.

It's going to--it's going to cook the herbs and spices.

Look how pretty that is.

Wow, it just really changed it.

And it's going to help give it a little bit of tone of color there.

And so we got to--we got to do some bacon, and our steps are going to be, we're going to put the bacon in and let it start melting, and then when the bacon is brown, we're going to add some ham to it, and then we're going to brown--we're going to take that out because-- we're gonna set it aside, because I want to brown the onions.

And if I don't do that, if I don't set it aside, the oil-- there's going to be a lot of oil in the bacon, and so I don't want to--I don't want to have all that all in there, so we're going to give us an opportunity to drain it off, set it aside.

We need to just let this render out.

What really makes this really neat is that when it's done, it's really pretty, and it puffs up.

So it looks like, you know, it looks like a balloon.

Well, kind of.

I mean, if your imagination is really strong, it looks like the top of a balloon or something.

The cooking method seals in the juices, and that's the truth.

That's no joke.

And so, now see, my bacon's started.

I still got some--some fat in there, but I need to brown the-- I need to brown the ham also, so I'm going to take the ham and put it in, and then we're going to let them work together.

Just turned up the fire, so I got a nice high fire going.

And so, oh, if you could smell-- I love the smell of bacon.

And you add ham to it, and it's really good.

So I've got it--I think I've got it where I want to.

I'm going to see if there's any extra oil in this thing.

And so if there is, I'll take it out.

If not, I ain't going to worry about it.

It doesn't seem to be a whole lot, because I need at least a tablespoon or so of the oil left in the pan, and so I'm going to let it continue to cook while I drain it out and put it over here.

And, um, actually, that bacon didn't produce very much oil.

It really didn't.

All right, the next step is to put the onions in, and I think I got enough oil in there.

I'm going to leave that little bit of bacon right where it's at.

And I've got the fire on high.

I'm going to put the onions in, and when I put the onions in, I need to put a little bit of herbs and spices with them, so I'm going to do that.

And you could wait until the onion starts turning, but I got the fire hot, and so I don't mind putting the seasoning in now.

It'll help get the--get the color on the onions and help them brown quicker.

I'm always amazed at that, because any time you put herbs and spices, it seems to elevate--it seems to elevate the--the--the heat that's in the pan, and it makes it cook a lot faster.

And so we're getting some good color on it, some of it from the seasoning, some of it from the pan, because the pan was already hot.

I'm going to add the bell pepper and the celery at the same time.

Now, what I'm doing here, what I'm trying to create, is a great sauce, and it's got to be a thick sauce, but a great sauce to go with--on top of the fish, because en papillote has always been--to my knowledge, it's always been stuffed.

It's not just a piece of fish that's in--that's in a piece of paper that's puffed up and that's cooked.

It--it has stuffing on top, which really makes it intriguing, or really makes it-- makes it special, so... Next step: we're going to add to it the mushrooms, and we're going to shake them down, shake them down.

I probably should add some more herbs and spices, and it's going to--oh, yes, I needed it.

I could tell.

All right, you just stir this real good, and then you put the next touches to it.

And the touches is the stock.

What really makes it special is adding this cream, and you need some really good butterfat cream, yes, 40%.

Now, see, you don't have a huge amount of sauce in here, and you're going to get some moisture from the shrimp and the crabmeat, but this is going to be a fairly dry sauce.

And so we're going to add the-- we're going to add the roux back to it.

I'm going to scrape the pan real good, and this is the butter roux that we put the herbs and spices in earlier, and so it's going to thicken it.

Want to get it all out here.

It's going to thicken it.

And as it thickens, I want to taste it, because I need to know what it tastes like.

And if you don't taste it, you absolutely won't know what it tastes like.

Ah.

The seasoning is just at the perfect amount.

I mean, it's just--it-- it's very good.

I mean, it just tastes great.

So I've got a boil going.

I'm going to put the shrimp in.

And I would--I would put the shrimp in and stir them real good, and we're going to do that and then put the crabmeat in.

I hate to break the crabmeat up, especially if you've got fresh crabmeat, I mean, that's-- that's lumps.

And these are kind of small lumps, but I don't want to break them up anymore, so if you stir first--and then you gently stir this.

Now, the--the next part of it is to put the--the ham back in.

And I actually should have done that before I put the crabmeat in, but I'm too excited.

I'm too excited.

We're doing papillote, yes.

And papillote is good stuff, and it's fun to do.

So I'm going to stir this, and I'm going to try to do it gently, but I'm going to mix it in because you need that ham and bacon in there, and let it simmer together while the seafood finish--oh, look at that.

And it's getting nice and thick now, because it needs to be nice and thick.

Now what we're going to do is, we're going to shut the fire off.

We're going to let this sit here.

Got my friendly piece of fish here, and we're going to put some seasoning on.

And then you see, we've got some chilled--some chilled dressing to go on top, the topping.

Going to add some more to this side of the papillote.

Now, the parchment paper part is--is pretty simple.

You make it into a heart, and you take the paper and fold it over and make it even as you can.

And then you cut it out in a heart form.

And so you just start comme ça, or "like that," and then just kind of make it round from here.

Just keep cutting, keep cutting, keep cutting, keep cutting.

And then as you get towards the end--and I'd wait till almost the end, because you want to do the fish right-- you want to cut it into a, to a little bit more of a, of a curve here right at the end.

All right.

And so you open it up, and you have a heart.

Now, the steps I'm going to take is, I want to--the heart to be dry--the heart is dry.

I want it to be wet.

And the best thing to wet it with is with some butter.

And so we got some melted butter, and we're going to do that with it.

Put the piece of fish in.

I like to put the--the skin side down, and that means that this side--this side is the skin side up.

And you can pretty much tell, because the skin side down, you can see the marks of the skin.

And then we're going to put some dressing on it, what I just made earlier, and this one's cooled down.

And you just load it up.

Just put it right in there, and get lots of shrimp in, because--lots of crabmeat in, and just--you want to make it nice and high.

All right, so we got it there.

I like also at this point just to put a little bit of butter on top.

Just drip a little butter.

Doesn't hurt, doesn't hurt.

And then you want to roll it, or you want to make it into-- into a papillote.

And you take this, you fold it over, and then this part we're not going to spend a whole lot of time with, because it-- it does take time-- does take time to do it, and I'll just show you how.

And it's real--I mean, it's real simple.

You just start at either end, and then you start twisting and turning, and--and you just simply keep rolling this over and then rolling it over again.

And as you do that and you press, I like to pull it back like this and then roll it again and then pull it back and then roll it again and pull it back.

And you go all the way around.

And we've got one already done, and we've got one in the oven, so--and it's baking at 450 degrees.

10 or 15 minutes'll do it, in between.

What you look for is for this to start puffing up, and as it puffup--I mean, as it cooks, it puffs up, and it really looks great.

And so we're going to go to the oven, and we're going to see how it's doing, yes.

One goes in, one comes out.

We're going to open the door.

Say, "Hey, Little Richard.

Open the door, honey."

Now, if you can successfully do that, isn't that gorgeous?

But we're going to puff it.

We're going to poof it, poof it, poof it.

We're going to make it with the knife and then cut it.

Oh, look at the steam coming out.

And we're going to make a cross on it both ways and then just take it and open it.

Look at the moisture, the juice that's in it.

Ooh, it's hot.

But I want you to see it.

I mean, that is pretty.

Now you know--look at that.

Not a bit of that juice went away.

It's ready to eat, and I got a fork.

A good cook always has a fork.

♪ Allons danser, Colinda.

♪ ♪ Collé, collé, Colinda.

♪ That's really good.

Broccoli Basile, a little town next to where I was born.

Broccoli Basile.

Basile is a--is a little town next to where I'm from.

I'm going to--we're steaming, absolute steaming here, and we got some steam going.

So I'm going to--it takes a while to steam, so I'm going to just put this right in there.

That's broccoli, and we're going to let it steam.

Now, we got some broccoli cooking over here, and it's boiling, and it's the stems.

And I got it for two reasons.

One is to mince the stems, which we've already done, and so we've got some going.

But we're also going tmake a stock with this, because I'm going to use it for the sauce.

You know, I mean, steaming is a really old way of doing things, and it takes a while, but it's worth it.

We left the cover off here and-- so you could see it, but the truth is, is that if you had a cover on it and it was just a small amount of--of space for the steam to come out, it would be much better.

So we got this boiling, and we're going to start the-- we're going to start the dish out, and we've got the pan hot.

And we're going to add the onions and the ham, because we want to brown the onions and the ham.

And so let me get a--let me get a spoon here and just put a little bit--a little bit of butter in the onions and the ham.

And the ham's got some fat in it, so that's going to-- that's going to help, but it's going to help brown it.

It's going to brown it quicker.

And also, we're going to put some herbs and spices in it, and that's going to help brown it, and so we want this to get a really nice rich brown color to it, and we've got the fire all the way up.

Get the spatula out and spread this out.

Now, one of the things about steaming is that it really-- you need fresh things.

I mean, you can't steam something that's not very fresh, because steam won't give it any flavor.

The broccoli is very high in vitamin C, and it has a lot of fiber to it, so that's another good reason for it.

And then I'm going to take some of this--some of these stems out, and see, I've got a stock with it, and so we're going to just take them out and put them on the side.

And like I said a couple of seconds ago, I got these already ground up, but I want to show you how I was making the stock, because the dish is going to call for stock.

I'm going to continue to reduce that and let it go down.

Now, we've got--we've got seasoning, cream, and I'm going to put the--I'm going to put the chopped-up broccoli or the minced broccoli right into this, and I'm going to add just another touch of butter to it, and that's going to-- the ham that we use was a good ham, because it don't have a lot of fat in it.

I was anticipating--I was anticipating that the ham would--would give me some--some moisture on the bottom in the way of fat, and it's not doing it, so what we're going to do is just--we're going to let this brown, and it's going to take a couple of minutes, so we're going to just let it brown.

Boy, I wish you could smell this.

It's really--and you can see the broccoli's starting to cook.

We took the stems out because they were ready, and we're making a stock over here.

And so I'm going to start finishing this.

And you can see the colors in here.

If you taste this, I mean, it's going to be fantastic because of the brown.

See this brown stuff?

Brown on ham is just really great.

Ah.

Put the seasoning in, because I'm going to put some bread crumb and cream, so I need a lot of seasoning power.

I'm going to add the butter to it and just give it a good old shake.

I'm putting some bread crumbs in, and this is a thickener.

I want to also get those a little bit of brown on them, and I'm going to put a little bit of stock in it, and I'm going to put the cream in.

I always like to--and I think it's very important to do that-- I always like to take--and when I'm browning something or, like, when I put something in like I just put those bread crumbs in, wait.

Just absolutely wait until you don't see the original color.

And here's what I'm talking about.

See how the color is?

And you don't see that anywheres else in the pan, so it means that I've--I've gotten the bread crumbs to a good spot, to a spot where I'm going to shut the fire off the--off the stock I'm making.

And the handle of the pot is a little bit warm, so I'm going to take some out and put it in here.

And we don't need--we don't need a whole lot, because the cream's going to--going to do-- going to be in.

Let's put the cream in.

Oh, the smells, the smells.

It's wonderful.

The smells, it's wonderful.

I wish I could share them with you better, better, better.

You know, one of these days, we're going to learn how to do television that can smell.

[chuckles] That would be great.

You want this to be thick, and this one's just a little bit too thick, and so I'm going to add--I'm going to add a little more of the stock to it.

I've got to remember that my-- my skillet handle is a little warm.

And actually, we're adding flavor to it by putting in some more of the broccoli, broccoli stock.

Oh, you're going to love this.

Mmm.

I mean, this is a meal within itself.

I mean, it absolutely is.

I'm going to take the--the steamed broccoli and add it to it, and then take the skillet and just do like that.

Oh, one more, one more.

Got to get it.

I'm going to lower the fire and let it simmer to make sure my broccoli is--is nice and soft.

And then look what I got right here.

This is what the end result is going to be.

And you can see it right here.

I mean, it's right here.

So we got to take a spoon and just kind of--oh, we're going to use a fork--and just move it around and see what-- I mean, the texture's the same.

We're going to add--ooh, yes.

And that's broccoli Basile.

Yes.

And if you ever go to Basile, you're going to have a good time.

Wonderful Louisiana shrimp with steamed up--steamed up with the New Orleans rémoulade.

We're going to steam some shrimp and make a New Orleans rémoulade.

Rémoulade is really wonderful, and it's one of the dishes that was ought from France a long time ago, and it's evolved-- I mean, really evolved--into what--what I call--what I feel is real New Orleans flavor.

And so the method we use in the steaming--and we're going to steam some shrimp, and these are fresh shrimp, got the heads on them.

You can see the fat from the heads, in the heads right there.

I'm going to take this and-- and just try to get a little bit of seasoning on it, because it's not easy to season something that's got the shells on, but I'm going to try to do that.

When you're steaming, the fact that you could load a bunch of steam--well, I think you could load a bunch of steam in the-- bunch of seasoning in the steam in the water, and it still wasn't--wouldn't work very well as far as flavor is concerned.

So you see, we got a good steam rolling.

We're going to put the--we're going to put the shrimp in.

I'm going to sort of move them around because I want to use all the surface, and I want them to get as much of the steam as they possibly can.

And the ones that don't have much seasoning on, I'm going to do it again, because I'm actually seasoning the shells, and the shells are going to come off, so you can put a lot of seasoning on.

So we're going to let that dude steam.

In the meantime, we're going to go to the blender, and we're going to make a rémoulade sauce.

It's really a neat sauce to make, and the New Orleans-style rémoulade is just incredible.

It really... And so we're going to start by putting in egg yolks and vegetable oil, and once that's in, then we'll--you're really starting to make a mayonnaise, and so I want to do that.

And this particular machine is very, very good, but it's very noisy.

So we're going to--we're going to start blending this, and then we'll stop and add the other ingredients.

[blades whirring] I've got the oil and the egg yolks mixed, and so all we've got to do now is add the rest of the ingredients, and we're going to put--and you don't need to stage them.

You don't need to put some in and grind it up.

I'll put the celery, the celery in that's diced.

I'm putting the green onions in, and we're going to put some parsley in it, and so it's going to give it a great flavor.

It's got lots of green to it.

And then we're going to put the horseradish.

And the horseradish, it shouldn't be a really hot horseradish, you know.

It's not necessary.

We got some lemon we're going to put into it.

We got some bay leaves, and we already crushed them, so they're going to go right in there.

And then we got some Creole mustard, and I need my-- I need my--this is that New Orleans stuff, that mustard that's really wonderful, because it's using brown mustard seeds, and they don't grind it a whole lot.

And so we're going to go to the ketchup, and then we're going to put the Lee & Perrins in, or the Worcestershire sauce.

No matter what the trade name is, it's Worcestershire sauce.

And then we're going to put some--some mustard in it.

Going to put a little bit of vinegar in it.

Oh, and the pepper sauce.

Can't put too much pepper sauce for me.

I love the pepper sauce.

Got a seasoning mix and some minced garlic, and the last thing is some paprika for color, because paprika doesn't have a lot of taste on it.

And then all you got to do with this is just-- [blades whirring] Isn't that gorgeous-looking?

And it looks just like the real stuff that we made.

We got the shrimp over here, and see what they look like.

Oh, look-a-there.

All right.

Now, see the curl on this?

You don't want shrimp to curl too much, because more they curl, more they curl this way, the more--the drier they're getting, so those are perfect.

But we've got some really perfect ones right here, and it's got the rémoulade sauce with it, and all I have to do is just take it and dump it in like that.

Oh, isn't that gorgeous?

I mean, isn't that just absolutely beautiful?

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

We love you guys.

Oh, yes.

Mmm.

Rémoulade, rémoulade, rémoulade, mmm.

>> 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 ♪ I say, that blue moon ♪ ♪ of Kentucky, ♪ ♪ keep on shinin.'

♪ >> Okay.

>> Prudhomme: I knew that would get them started.

They don't want to hear any more of that.

And I'm going to wrap it up with the foil and-- >> Let's wrap and then show, okay?

>> Prudhomme: It's not fun.

I've got them.

If it looks better, I have tongs.

Eat the cheese?

Okay, I'll do that too.

Really?

>> News to me.

>> Prudhomme: [laughs] That'll shake me up.

Neh-neh-neh-neh.

This is what I--you know what I think about?

Neh-neh-neh.

>> Say "yum," or something good like that.

[gruffly] Ehhhh...yum.

Ah, ah, ooh.

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