ANNA MONICA / L’Observateur / January 28, 2000

The fried chicken looked so good – on the outside, that is. The inside wasperfect too – perfectly uncooked. Brent “Beno” Duhon and wife Kathy werenewly married when Kathy tried her hand at cooking the ill-fated chicken. Ithad been cooked over a too-high fire and caused their very first mini-fight.

Fortunately, they had another pack of chicken handy so that was cooked up just fine. Nevertheless the couple still laughs about it, and that incidenthelped Beno decide it was time for him to take over the cooking.

Now they have been married for 25 years, are the parents of B. J., Shawnand Dustin, and Beno still spends considerable time at the stove. Kathy cookson the weekend, but he is still doing most of the cooking. Beno is ratherenthusiastic about it, and it makes perfect sense to him. His wife works fivefull days each week and he has more time off since he works shift, so taking over the kitchen duties makes sense to him.

“If we want to eat supper at a reasonable time, it better be made by the time she gets here,” he says.

Sometimes when working the night shift, Beno cooks before he leaves home and then takes a plate with him to eat later. “It gives me a hot meal at work,even though I had to cook it myself,” he declares.

He gets a little teasing at work about that, but there is no teasing when he cooks for his shift. Employed at BASF in Geismar, Beno takes pride in thelarge kitchen provided for the workers there and says they even have all the pots they can use, supplied by the company.

Sometimes he makes them a pastalaya, which he has become fond of doing, and says the trick is to toss it to get it to mix well. If it seems too dry, herecommends you add water.

When it comes time to cook turkey, that job falls to Beno, too. Every year heis the one to cook it to take to the home of Hilda Kilburn, his mother-in-law, where the family congregates. He finds that task very simple.Deer meat is in his well-stocked freezer, too, and Beno claims to be able to fix it so well you would never know it was venison. He can give some goodpointers for cooking that kind of wildlife.

None in the family minds eating leftovers, and Beno admits if there is food in the house he most likely cooked it. However, no proponent of slow cooking orslow processes are used; he likes to fix the things that can be done quickly.

He is not into gourmet-type cooking but does like to eat and prefers to cook favorite meals like gumbos, beans and rice and emphasizes a good chicken and spaghetti dish. Red bean gumbo is one of his favorites, and like manypeople who like to cook and are accustomed to doing it he does it mostly by memory.

Beno has to scratch his head to come up with recipes. He shares thefollowing with us:

RED BEAN GUMBO 1 pk. Cajun Creole mix1/2 to 1 lb. ham seasoning (cut in 1/2-inch sq.) – optional1 lb. andouille (cut in 1/4-inch slices)3 cans red beans 1/2 to 1 lb. smoked sausage (cut in 1/4-inch slices)1 8 qt. pot

In an 8-quart pot, put three cans of red beans and five cans of hot tap water. Mix roux in 10 oz. of hot tap water and add to beans. Add andouille,sausage, ham seasoning, seasoning mix and one pack of spices. Bring to aboil and cook uncovered over medium heat for about one hour. Add additionalspices if needed.

Serve over rice. Makes 10 to 15 servings.

SMOKED SAUSAGE AND RICE CASSEROLE

1 lb. smoked sausage1 can French onion soup 2 cups rice 1 onion 1 can golden mushroom soup 1/2 cup green onion 1 – 2 cups water

In a glass casserole dish, cut sausage into 1/4-inch slices. Fry down in 1/4cup oil and add chopped onion and green onion. Fry five minutes longer. Draingrease. Add additional seasonings. Then add all ingredients, stirring in enoughwater to cover rice. Cover in oven at 350 degrees for approximately 40-45minutes.

PASTALAYA

1 lb. boneless chicken2 11 1/2 oz. cans consomme beef1 lb. smoked sausage (cut into 1/4-inch slices)1 11 1/2 oz. can beef broth1 lb. andouille (cut into 1/4-inch slices)1 pk. Cajun Creole Mix1 lb. pork1 can golden mushroom soup 2 oz. cooking oil1 5 qt. pot or largerApproximately 2 1 lb. packs ofNo. 3 spaghetti2 large onions 1 cup green onions 1 pk. seasoning

Fry down smoked sausage, chicken and pork for 10 to 15 minutes. Drainmost grease, leaving some to fry down two large onions, one cup of green onions and 1/2 cup chopped garlic. Add consomme beef and beef broth, onepack of seasoning. Mix 1/3 cup of roux into 8 oz. of hot tape water and addall other ingredients. Add additional seasoning if needed. Cover with 2 to 3inches of water above ingredients. Bring to a boil until water level in pot isabout 1 inch or so from ingredients. Slowly add two to three packs ofspaghetti (break in half), stirring continuously while adding. Use judgment ifneed to add more water. Cook and stir until pasta is soft and well mixed.

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