I think that at one time or another, most people have heard of TurDucKen, but I doubt many have actually seen, let alone eaten, one. I did while in Abbeville, Louisiana for the Giant Omelette Festival. While I was in Abbeville I was lavished with all sorts of wonderful food that I’d seldom – if ever – enjoyed and the TurDucKen was one such treat.

For those that haven’t heard of a TurDucKen, it’s a turkey stuffed with a duck that’s stuffed with a chicken. Get it? TURkey-DUCk-chicKEN. The combination of the flavors and textures of each of the birds is amazing. That the duck and chicken were roasted INSIDE of the turkey gave them a whole new flavor spin. (Check out the picture below to see me with my first TurDucKen!)  It was only one of the many wonderful new foods served at a party in the beautiful home of Mark, the Mayor of Abbeville, and Suzanne Piazza.

Over my three-day stay in Abbeville, I was impressed by the fact that I everyone seemed to be a culinarian. In fact, one of my new friends informed me that the first question a Louisiana native always asks a Louisiana newbee is, “what’s your name, who’s your daddy, and can you make a roux?”

As the trip came to an end, I realized I had not eaten any gumbo. When I mentioned this to my host she immediately ran off to Abbeville’s best gumbo restaurant and delivered me a bowl of award-winning seafood gumbo. When she set it down in front of me, I couldn’t help thinking that gumbo must be the ugliest food eaten anywhere, but…oh was it delicious!The Turducken and Gumbo were great but I think that of all of the new Cajun food I tried, corn macque choux (pronounced mach-shoo) might have been the best. It’s a side dish (like Cajun rice dressing, which was also new to me) that takes some time to prepare and cook but it’s worth it. Here’s the recipe so you can enjoy a little taste of Abeville as well:

Corn Macque Choux (6 side dish servings)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 can of Rotel brand tomatoes (already spicy tomatoes but you can use any canned tomatoes and add your own Tobasco to taste)
• ½ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 clove of garlic chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon of Tobasco
• 4 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1 cup finely chopped white onions
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• ½ cup chopped green onions

On medium heat in a heavy 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter. Add the corn and cook for 5 minutes. Slowly add the tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. Turn up the heat a little and stir well. Add the garlic, seasonings, sugar, salt and Tobasco. When the corn seems to be cooked (about 25 minutes) add the heavy cream that’s been beaten together with the egg. Cook a little longer (maybe 10 or 15 minutes) then add the green onions and parsley and let it all set for a few minutes before serving.

That’s what was cooked up on November 2nd in the town square of Abbeville, Louisiana, just a few miles up the road from Lafayette. It was served over a slice of French bread to about 2,500 townspeople and visitors! I was there and I helped cook it! Officially, I was invited to the two-day “Giant Omelette Festival” to give my omelet demonstration and be an “honored guest.” And I was.

The Festival’s history goes that according to legend, when Napoleon and his army were traveling through the south of France they decided to rest for the night near the town of Bessieres. Napoleon feasted on an omelet prepared by a local innkeeper that was such a culinary delight he ordered the townspeople to gather all the eggs in the village to prepare a huge omelet for his army. From this beginning came a world-wide “Giant Omelette” fraternity rich in friendship, tradition and cultural exchange known as the Confrerie. This year, members of the Confrerie, came to Abbeville from French-speaking areas of France, Belgium, Canada, New Caledonia and Argentina. Abbeville residents also speak to one another in French and enjoy a history rich in French influence. Giant Omelette Celebrations take place in each of the Confrerie’s six countries. It’s serious stuff.

But because it’s a fraternity, it’s all about having a good time, too. For two days the Abbeville townspeople literally danced in the streets to Cajun fiddlers, washboard scrapers, guitar and harmonica players and drummers. I’d say that the dancing was kinda’ like two-stepping, but there was no disciplined way. There were waltzes, though, and everyone seemed to do that beautifully together. And food galore…all of Louisiana’s wonderful traditional dishes, so many of them that I’m going to devote an entire blog post to what I ate there. Check back for that!

In the meantime, here’s the recipe for the GIANT omelet (though I don’t recommend trying this at home):

Abbeville’s Gigantic Omelet (serves 2,500!)

5,024          eggs
52 lbs         butter
1-1/2 gal    cooking oil
6-1/2 gal    milk
3 lbs           salt
2 lbs           black pepper
4 buckets   crawfish tails
2 gal          diced scallion greens
50 lbs        diced onions
75              diced green bell peppers
2 gal          chopped parsley
Tabasco sauce to taste

Crack the eggs by hand into 5 or 6 mega-size stainless steel stock pots. Add the milk, salt and pepper. Stir these ingredients together with a small outboard boat motor.

Meanwhile, heat a 12-foot diameter skillet over a bonfire until it’s hot. Add the butter and oil, then empty the stock pots of egg into it and begin stirring the mixture with wooden oars. Add all the remaining ingredients by walking slowly around the pan and tossing them by handfuls into the egg. Continue to stir until done. Move the pan from over the bonfire and, using big serving spoons, spoon the omelet onto slices of French bread in bowls and serve hot.