We kept busy with John (Dippa) and Brenda (Brem), as always. Dippa did his fish fry one night – WONDERFUL! But, the highlight was the day we spend crabbing! 
We got an early A.M. pickup and were told to wear comfortable clothes and shoes, bring sunscreen and be ready to work. Not knowing what to expect, we piled into John’s truck and drove south toward Houma. We drove past a line of folks (mostly men) with lines in the water, some decked out with lawn chairs and umbrellas. We passed them by and Dippa found the perfect spot for crabbing. We parked by the side of the road and pulled out these wooden paddles with a long line of string with a hook on the end. The hooks were baited with turkey necks- fresh from the grocery store. Dippa threw out the string and anchored the wooden paddles on the rocks. He put out about 10 lines and then we waited. After a bit, Dippa would wade out in the water and look out to see if he had any bites. Once the crab grabbed onto the turkey neck, he would gently pull the line in. Then, the bucket crew (John and Brenda) would go into action, shaking the crab off the turkey neck and into the bucket. Then, it was John’s job to take the crab from the 
bucket, shake off the seaweed and put it into the cooler. Now this job had to be done with seriously thick gloves because those little devils had claws that would lock on for dear life. Things started slowly, but then heated up and Dippa was pulling crabs in by the bucket load. With no time for the bucket crew to run the bucket down to his catch, he’s drop the crab onto the beach, hold it down with his foot and yell for John to come get it! Those little guys can run! Imagine John in his “pecker head hat” racing after blue crabs on the beach. It was quite a sight! Within 5 hours, we had over 60 beautiful blue crabs in the cooler.
Time for a crab boil! When we got to Dippa and Brem’s, the stage was set for the big boil. Behind the pool house, Dippa had his Cajun sized pot already set up. The blue crabs were ready for their last swim. We took a few photos before they hit the pool and watched them turn a brilliant red. Once they were cooked, Dippa triumphantly brought platters of them into the pool house and at the table (covered with newspaper), we feasted on the most wonderful fresh crab ever! Two days later, we got another treat- crab stew. Brenda took the remaining crabs and turned them into a thick, rich stew.
Not to be out-done, with Dippa and Brem away for the weekend, their son, Jeff, came over to John’s Shed on Sunday complete with jambalaya fixin’s. We grabbed a glass of wine and a notebook and pencil and while Jeff cooked, I took copious notes, hoping someday to be able to cook a great pot of jambalaya. With andouille and spicy pork sausage, chicken, green peppers, garlic and onions, Zatarain’s seasoning, Louisiana rice and, of course, Louisiana hot sauce, it was a meal made for the gods. With Jeff’s cast-iron skillet cornbread and a salad, we were in heaven.
Does it sound like food is a focus in Cajun Country? Well, there’s no place on earth with more amazing food. After crab boils, jambalaya, crab stew and fish fry’s, we had to take advantage of crawfish season. So we bought fresh crawfish from the local crawfish stand and once again, Dippa worked his magic boil. 
Then there was the feast at Huey and Katie’s house. Brenda and I barely made it back from Baton Rouge in time for dinner. There was a blow-up on I-10 – a rolling meth-lab blew up and shut down the freeway. Fortunately, we had the queen of back roads behind the wheel and we made our way through the back roads to Belle Rose, just in time for a mega-feast. Huey and Katie must have been cooking all day and we ate and drank profusely. I have to admit that one of the highlights was a sampling of syrup made from their sugar cane! Drizzled on a home-made biscuit, this thick, molasses-sweet syrup was meant to be savored. They even gave us a jar of our own to take home.
We were ready to head off—but now before Dippa took John out to Lake Verret for some Cajun fishin’. The boys came by in Huey’s red truck at 7 AM. When they returned a few hours later, John was wet
and smelly and needed a good hosing down. It turns out that “fishin’” consisted of a series of pipes set 2 – 5 feet in the lake with one end open, the other end capped off. Holes are drilled into the pipes to allow water to flow though. The catfish find the pipes a great protective space and go in them to spawn. The “fishing” part is simply a matter of pulling up the pipes, letting all the water flow out and “pouring” the fish into the boat. Quite ingenious and very productive. This was one of the first catches of the season and the fish were absolutely humungous. I stayed to get a photo of the bucket of fish, but decided to leave when the executions started. Somehow seeing a fish hung by a nail on a fence post and gutted wasn’t something to savor at 9 A.M. in the morning!
We got an early A.M. pickup and were told to wear comfortable clothes and shoes, bring sunscreen and be ready to work. Not knowing what to expect, we piled into John’s truck and drove south toward Houma. We drove past a line of folks (mostly men) with lines in the water, some decked out with lawn chairs and umbrellas. We passed them by and Dippa found the perfect spot for crabbing. We parked by the side of the road and pulled out these wooden paddles with a long line of string with a hook on the end. The hooks were baited with turkey necks- fresh from the grocery store. Dippa threw out the string and anchored the wooden paddles on the rocks. He put out about 10 lines and then we waited. After a bit, Dippa would wade out in the water and look out to see if he had any bites. Once the crab grabbed onto the turkey neck, he would gently pull the line in. Then, the bucket crew (John and Brenda) would go into action, shaking the crab off the turkey neck and into the bucket. Then, it was John’s job to take the crab from the 
bucket, shake off the seaweed and put it into the cooler. Now this job had to be done with seriously thick gloves because those little devils had claws that would lock on for dear life. Things started slowly, but then heated up and Dippa was pulling crabs in by the bucket load. With no time for the bucket crew to run the bucket down to his catch, he’s drop the crab onto the beach, hold it down with his foot and yell for John to come get it! Those little guys can run! Imagine John in his “pecker head hat” racing after blue crabs on the beach. It was quite a sight! Within 5 hours, we had over 60 beautiful blue crabs in the cooler.
Time for a crab boil! When we got to Dippa and Brem’s, the stage was set for the big boil. Behind the pool house, Dippa had his Cajun sized pot already set up. The blue crabs were ready for their last swim. We took a few photos before they hit the pool and watched them turn a brilliant red. Once they were cooked, Dippa triumphantly brought platters of them into the pool house and at the table (covered with newspaper), we feasted on the most wonderful fresh crab ever! Two days later, we got another treat- crab stew. Brenda took the remaining crabs and turned them into a thick, rich stew.
Not to be out-done, with Dippa and Brem away for the weekend, their son, Jeff, came over to John’s Shed on Sunday complete with jambalaya fixin’s. We grabbed a glass of wine and a notebook and pencil and while Jeff cooked, I took copious notes, hoping someday to be able to cook a great pot of jambalaya. With andouille and spicy pork sausage, chicken, green peppers, garlic and onions, Zatarain’s seasoning, Louisiana rice and, of course, Louisiana hot sauce, it was a meal made for the gods. With Jeff’s cast-iron skillet cornbread and a salad, we were in heaven.
Does it sound like food is a focus in Cajun Country? Well, there’s no place on earth with more amazing food. After crab boils, jambalaya, crab stew and fish fry’s, we had to take advantage of crawfish season. So we bought fresh crawfish from the local crawfish stand and once again, Dippa worked his magic boil. 
Then there was the feast at Huey and Katie’s house. Brenda and I barely made it back from Baton Rouge in time for dinner. There was a blow-up on I-10 – a rolling meth-lab blew up and shut down the freeway. Fortunately, we had the queen of back roads behind the wheel and we made our way through the back roads to Belle Rose, just in time for a mega-feast. Huey and Katie must have been cooking all day and we ate and drank profusely. I have to admit that one of the highlights was a sampling of syrup made from their sugar cane! Drizzled on a home-made biscuit, this thick, molasses-sweet syrup was meant to be savored. They even gave us a jar of our own to take home.
We were ready to head off—but now before Dippa took John out to Lake Verret for some Cajun fishin’. The boys came by in Huey’s red truck at 7 AM. When they returned a few hours later, John was wet
and smelly and needed a good hosing down. It turns out that “fishin’” consisted of a series of pipes set 2 – 5 feet in the lake with one end open, the other end capped off. Holes are drilled into the pipes to allow water to flow though. The catfish find the pipes a great protective space and go in them to spawn. The “fishing” part is simply a matter of pulling up the pipes, letting all the water flow out and “pouring” the fish into the boat. Quite ingenious and very productive. This was one of the first catches of the season and the fish were absolutely humungous. I stayed to get a photo of the bucket of fish, but decided to leave when the executions started. Somehow seeing a fish hung by a nail on a fence post and gutted wasn’t something to savor at 9 A.M. in the morning!
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