Akron restaurant owners Steve and Marcy Baker visited New Orleans for the first time in 2004, and like many of us, were captivated by the food.
Unlike many of us, they have a stage upon which to share their love of the city’s Creole, Cajun, Native American and African culinary influences.
For more than a decade, the Bakers have annually cooked up Mardi Gras Madness at their Ido Bar & Grill, celebrating the city that is the mecca of Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins.
Steve Baker, at his restaurant on a recent day, said the popularity of the Mardi Gras dishes “just took off. People are watching food stuff on television,” learning about regional cuisine, and thinking “I’d like to try this or that.”
This year, the Bakers expanded to eight days of house-made goodies such as chicken and sausage gumbo, char-grilled oysters, jambalaya, po’ boys and Hurricanes (rum and fruit juice) — along with the neighborhood pub’s regular menu items. On Tuesday, the final day of the special menu items, Mardi Gras Madness will completely take over, though you’ll be able to get a hamburger or other lunch special if you insist.
“It took about five years of tweaking and now most of the Mardi Gras recipes are pretty much set in stone,” Baker said.
The Bakers bought the Ido, a Firestone Park staple, 18 years ago. Steve, a Coventry High School graduate, wanted to strike out on his own after working as a chef at Guy’s Party Center in Akron.
He added new items to the menu and kept familiar offerings such as fish fry Fridays. The couple spruced up the building at 1537 S. Main St. and the parking lot, but haven’t gussied it up too much. The Bakers also own Kevin O’Bryan’s Irish Pub, just a few blocks away on South Main.
We asked Steve Baker for a couple of easy recipes. After all, New Orleans is the Big Easy. He provided recipes for Creole shrimp and grits and blackberry peach cobbler, which are relatively new additions to his lineup.
Earnest foodies might point out that shrimp and grits has a greater connection to the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia than New Orleans. Nevertheless, the city has embraced it, typically jazzing it up with some heat.
Bill Neal, the late owner of the famous Crook’s Corner in North Carolina, has been credited with heightening the dish’s popularity. Neal’s recipe can be found on the Internet. Notably, it calls for mushrooms and bacon, which Baker doesn’t use.
He adds andouille, a spicy pork sausage, giving the dish a Creole flair. I added minced onion to the shrimp mixture; Baker chooses to finish the dish by topping it with green onions.
Baker doesn’t use half and half in his grits as Neal did, but with butter, Parmesan and cheddar cheese, they’re still rich and creamy. Here are Baker’s recipes; he encourages you to do your own tweaking.
Creole Shrimp
AND Grits
For the grits:
3½ cups water
¾ cup grits (not instant)
½ stick butter
½ cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
Black pepper and salt to taste
Garlic butter sauce:
¼ stick butter
1 tsp. fresh minced garlic
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. Worcestershire
Hot sauce to taste
For the topping:
8 oz. andouille sausage
¾ to 1 lb. medium shrimp (tail on or off)
½ cup diced green pepper
½ cup diced red pepper
Diced green onions or parsley, for garnish
Bring water to a boil and slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat to low and cook roughly 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add seasonings, butter and cheeses.
Make garlic butter sauce: Melt butter and add rest of ingredients.
Saute peppers and sausage in a little oil (can use blend of olive oil and vegetable oil) until cooked through. Add shrimp (be careful not to overcook) and garlic butter sauce. Pour over grits and sprinkle with Asiago cheese and diced green onions or parsley.
Makes 4 servings.
Blackberry Peach
Cobbler
For the cobbler:
50 oz. canned sliced peaches in syrup, drained, ½ cup syrup reserved
18 oz. fresh blackberries
½ cup sugar
¼ cup flour
For the topping:
1½ cups brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1½ cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
Ground cinnamon
Mix fruit with reserved syrup, flour and sugar and put into greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Make topping: Mix brown sugar, butter and flour. Fold in pecans. Crumble mixture over fruit. Sprinkle top with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Makes 10-12 servings.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com.