Thinking of you, Daphne

[cjs]

I ran across a dinner I made while we were on the road trip which I think you and William would like - and it is so trailer friendly!!

 
Tony Chachere’s Creole Red Beans & Rice Dinner Mix

So  handy to have dinner in a box ready for you without having to stock up on all the staples & seasonings  AND, it is delicious.

We had it with fried gator, but can't find the picture!!!

[Gourmet_Mom]

Jean, I have had the Zareran's version and we liked it very much.  I'll have to look for the Tony's version.  I'm sure it will be even better.

BTW, did I ever tell you the whole story about our alligator experience at the lake?

[cjs]

no, you didn't

[Gourmet_Mom]

Oh WOW!  I'll get back to you later with the story.  I'll have to compose it outside the forum since its kinda long.

[Mare749]

I'm looking forward to that one, too! You can't even imagine what's rolling through my head at the moment. Pictures of William on the dock with a shotgun and a spear!

Although we do have some Tony C's products here, like the seasoning, McCormick seems to have the monopoly in our area, so we have a ton of Zatarain products here. I mostly don't use them except the jambalaya mix, and only once in a while. It's pretty hot. This is what they look like:
https://www.mccormick.com/zatarains/prod...ide-dishes

[cjs]

O.K., I've seen those pkgs. somewhere (not here), but I have yet to try a Tony C's product and not liked it. Altho, I really do like to smell the red beans (w/ham) and rice cooking, so I don't go the easy route too often.

That's the image which is in my head of William, too, Maryann!

[Gourmet_Mom]

Here you go! I've been reluctant to share this, but I guess if I don't name names, it'll be okay.

Years ago, an old friend and neighbor was the head park ranger at the lake.  He was the only one authorized to dispose of road kill, dead alligators.  One night, when we were at his house, a game warden brought a gator to be disposed of that had been found hit on the highway.  This thing was HUGE!  He had it strapped across the trunk of his car, and the nose and tail were dragging the ground!  They left it with our friend for disposal. 

As an aside, this gator was the premier gator at the lake.  It had even been named.  The incident was even in the local paper, and the mayor was interviewed.  It was a big deal!

Anyway, our friend was going to bury it the next day with the tractor with a back hoe.  But late that night, our friend called William to go with him to the park.  They took two big coolers and cut slabs of meat off the tail, filling up both coolers!  Huge slabs two feet long and four inches wide!  Like I said, this thing was HUGE!

They hurriedly buried what was left, leaving a lot more meat, but they were scared to death of getting caught!  They'd still be in jail!  Later, park officials decided to dig it up and the head is now on display at the museum at the park.

We ate good for several months off that gator!  But we never shared with anybody for fear we'd all be turned in.  Our friend would have surely lost his job at the very least.

[Old Bay]

We are having more and more gators in the Houston area..Lots of bayous, creeks , rivers, and lakes. Biggest I have seen is about 10 feet. Little gal in Houston is called Gator Girl. She catches gators for homeowners . Alligator meat is almost tasteless to me. I really don't seek it out.

[Gourmet_Mom]

After trying numerous ways, we all decided fried with a light tempura batter was best.  We like the fishy chicken-y flavor.

[Mare749]

That's a great story, Daphne! Ron will love that one! One question though...when the park officials had the gator dug up, didn't they notice that the tail was missing?

I don't think we have ever tried gator although I have seen it on menus in the south. We will have to try it sometime.