DEBORAH CORRAO / L’Observateur / July 24, 1999

Like a lot of great south Louisiana cooks, Beverly Bourgeois of Lutcher doesn’t need a cookbook.

“I don’t follow recipes,” she says. “I don’t measure. I just put it all in andit all comes out good.”The 63-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 11 seems like she always has something simmering on the stove to feed an army of children and grandchildren, most of whom live in the area.

“I cook what they like to eat,” she says. “The grandchildren will call meand ask me what I’m cooking and they’ll come over to eat.”Bourgeois says her mother moved in with her family after the death of Bourgeois’ father. Her mother, she says, helped raise her children andhelped out in the kitchen.

“I wasn’t that great of a cook then,” says Bourgeois. “But I watched mymother and learned how to cook from her.”Bourgeois likes to cook vegetables – eggplant, zucchini and squash – and uses a lot of seafood in her dishes.

Bourgeois has been married to her husband Ferrel for 45 years. Retiredfrom Kaiser, Ferrel Bourgeois had a stroke several years ago, but the couple still enjoys attending sports events their grandchildren are involved in.

They have recently purchased a van with a lift to accommodate Ferrel’s wheelchair, and they’re hoping to be able to go to LSU football games to watch two granddaughters who perform in the Tiger Band and color guard.

Bourgeois says she also enjoys going to the casino and cleaning house. Allof her cooking equipment is washed and put away before she sits down to dinner, she says.

Here are some of her favorite recipes:

Crawfish Fettucine 3 sticks butter 3 medium onions, chopped 3 ribs celery, chopped 2 bell peppers, chopped 1/4 cup flour 4 tbsp. chopped parsley3 lbs. crawfish tails, peeled (shrimp can be substituted forcrawfish) 1 qt. Half & Half1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut in 1/2″ cubes2 tbsp. Jalapeno peppers, chopped3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 lb. packaged fettucine noodlesSalt and pepper Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in large, heavy saucepan. Add onions, celery and bell pepper. Cook 10 minutes until clear. Add flour and blend in well. Cover and cook 15minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parsley and crawfish tails. Cover andcook 20 minutes, stirring often.

Add Half & Half, Velveeta, jalapenos and garlic. Mix well. Add salt andpepper to taste. Cook covered on low heat for 20 minutes, stirringoccasionally.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and add sauce. Mixthoroughly. Pour into 5-quart buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle withparmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Serves 12.

Gold Brick Fudge 4 cups sugar 1 can evaporated milk 2 sticks butter 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels (more may be added fordarker fudge) 1 large jar marshmallow creme 1 tsp. vanilla extract2 cups chopped pecans

Cook sugar, milk and butter until it comes to soft boil stage. Remove fromheat and add other ingredients, stirring until chocolate and marshmallow is melted. Pour into 9 x 13” pan. Cut when cool.

Eggplant with Shrimp 1/2 gallon eggplant slices (pre-boiled) 1 qt. peeled shrimp1 bell pepper, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 cup cooking oil

Saute shrimp, onion and bell pepper in cooking oil 10 minutes or until shrimp get pinkish. Add eggplant and salt and pepper to taste. Lower heatand cook covered on low fire for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

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