Cucumbers New Orleans Style

New Orleans, though spared a direct hit from Hurricane Isaac, was pummeled by wind and rain this week. Now it looks like the remnants of that hurricane will hit the Ohio Valley just in time for the fireworks on Labor Day Eve. Bummer, but a little rain beats our own encounter with a hurricane a few years back. And we can use the rain.
For another connection between the Queen City and the Big Easy, try this New Orleans-style Cucumber Casserole, a recipe adapted from an old edition of The Joy of Cooking by Enright CSA member Mary Jo Bazeley. We definitely need to expand our horizons when it comes to preparing some of our produce (think eggplant for breakfast—I’m not kidding, that recipe coming soon!) and this one does a good job of making cucumbers into something that is neither pickled nor fit for tea with the queen.
Jazzy cucumbers, in fact—I’m looking forward to trying this one myself.

Creole Cucumber Casserole
3 large cucumbers
5 slices of bread crumbled and dried

Place bread crumbs on bottom of 9x12 pan. Pare and seed cucumbers, then wrap in paper towels to drain. Meanwhile prepare Creole Sauce:

Creole Sauce
Melt 2 tbsp. butter over low heat.
Add and cook, covered, for about 2 minutes
1/2cup chopped onion
1 minced clove garlic
6 shredded green olives
Add and cook until the sauce is thick, about 50 minutes
1 ½ cups canned or fresh tomatoes
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 bay leaf
A pinch of thyme
1 tsp chopped parsley
1 tsp. dark brown sugar
½ tsp. of salt
A few grains cayenne
1 tbsp dry sherry
¼ cup chili sauce
½ cup diced ham
½ cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

Slice cucumbers, then mix with Creole sauce. Pour over breadcrumbs. Dot with pieces of cheese (Mary used a queso cheese, although any cheese should work.) Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. The cucumbers were a tad crunchy but the cheese was starting to burn, so it might be a good idea to add the cheese later in the baking cycle so it just melts and does not burn.