“From My Kitchen to Yours: The (bleep) My Family Eats” is the cheeky title of Gretchen Frith LaJaunie’s cookbook. She is a native of Ville Platte, a graduate of Sacred Heart. Her father, Don, was the post master in town. Eighteen years ago, he and his wife, Flo, started their own catering company, Don’s Custom Catering, LLC, where LaJaunie works. She is also the assistant manager of the Caldwell House, a bed & breakfast in Abbeville. LaJaunie’s cookbook has something for everyone, even the hunters. There is a special section of recipes for wild game, including one that was originally a recipe for elk, but can be used for deer. She even has one for alligator sauce piquant.
When asked why she decided to write a cookbook, LaJaunie said, “Everybody always told me that my food was so good I should. I always laughed it off, but one I day said ‘Why not?’”
She said her grandmother was her teacher when she was growing up. “A lot of the stuff I learned how to cook is from my Maw-Maw Lege, spending summers with her. She would get up really early in the morning and I’d wake up with her and cook, kind of the old fashioned way at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning.”
LaJaunie has been a chef since she was 25 years old. “But I started cooking at such a young age. It’s just what I know.” The first place she professionally cooked food was at the bowling alley in Lafayette, making Perky’s Perfect Pizza in concessions. She also worked at Logan’s, where she was in charge of the salad station and prep, and then worked the grill. She then moved to Alaska where she worked as a sous chef at a bed & breakfast.
“I did everything. I cooked breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, got lunches ready for the fisherman who worked with us,” she said about working in Alaska. “I planted a 45x10 foot garden. I scrubbed a lot of pots and cooked a lot of seafood. And I had a lot of Ville Platte smoked sausage and Community Coffee and Tabasco shipped up to Alaska, so I could cook them some really good home-cooked food from Louisiana.”
While in Alaska, LaJaunie did not cook any wild game, but did cook plenty of fish such as halibut and salmon. However, one of her recipes for deer roast is a recipe she learned from John, the fisherman who worked with her in Alaska. He had used the recipe for elk. She said it works the same for deer. She said she has eaten different types of wild game, such as deer, rabbit, and squirrel. “I know I’m from Ville Platte, but I’m not a fan of squirrel. Elk is good. I’ve had moose, too. I’ll try anything, but my favorite is buffalo, although in the north, they’re raised like cattle are down here. Buffalo is the best.”
After Alaska, she worked at Lynn G.’s in Abbeville where she was a pasta chef. Her parents, Don and Flo, opened the catering business with Gretchen after that. She has been on staff at the Caldwell for nine years, but has been catering there with her parents for 14 or 15 years. Don’s Custom Catering just started their 18th year in business. LaJaunie plans on taking over the catering business after her father retires.
LaJaunie is not the only one who cooks in the Frith family. “We’re all good cooks. My brother, Mike, can cook a hell of a deer roast, as well. You’re going to be sopping it up with bread if there’s no rice left. All the Frith people are very big cooks. We like to be in the kitchen. We like to cook good food, and we like to surround ourselves with family and friends around a good meal.” While she is not a hunter, she grew up fishing, crawfishing, trolling for shrimp, and crabbing.
LaJaunie said cooking wild game is not that much different than regular meat. “Some wild game you can’t cook as long because they’ll dry out, because they’re really lean. Some things, like rump roast, you have to cook a long time to get it tender. It’s more of a lean meat because the animals are surviving more than, say, cattle being fed.”
“From My Kitchen to Yours: The (bleep) My Family Eats” by Gretchen Frith is available on Kindle. The following is one of the recipes in her book:
Gretchen’s Rabbit Stew
1 rabbit, cut up
1 tablespoon cooking oil or bacon grease
1 chopped onion
1/4 chopped bell pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 cup cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup water
Add oil to a skillet and heat to medium-high. Season the rabbit with salt and peppers. Add to skillet and brown on all sides. Add onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes then add mushroom soup and mushrooms. Stir in 1 cup of water and cook covered for 40 to 60 minutes or until meat is tender. More water may be added if more cook time is needed.