Zydeco Chop Chop & Toe-Curlin' Cocktail Sauce!

Zydeco Chop Chop dehydrated Cajun Trinity is a key ingredient in my Toe-Curlin' Creole Cocktail Sauce (Recipe down below!) Not to mention my crowd-favorite, Pimento Cheese Saint Peter, just to name two of the taste-sensation recipes of mine that come to mind.

My Toe-Curlin' Cocktail Sauce and Pimento Cheese recipes are from "The Infinite Feast: How to Host the Ones You Love—Recipes from the Big Easy . . . and Beyond" by Brian Theis, 2020 Click here for more on my best-selling cookbook.

So what IS the trinity? In Creole/Cajun cooking it's the "holy" combination of onion, celery, and bell pepper. Usually there's a fourth ingredient, garlic, also known in Louisiana, as "the Pope." In this case it's dehydrated and is convenient to sprinkle in so many recipes where it then "rehydrates" and adds exciting bursts of flavor. There are three main brands out there, which are sometimes easiest to find on eBay or Amazon if you're not in the New Orleans area. If you can't find Zydeco Chop Chop, I used to use either Rex Cajun Trinity or Bayou Belle as well, but I don't think they're in production anymore. I have not tried Mam Papaul's but I bet is good.

Toe-Curlin' Creole Cocktail Sauce

Enough for a great big platter's worth of shrimp dippin'

10 ounces organic, or "simply" ketchup

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish, HOT preferred

Juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons dehydrated Creole or Cajun Trinity with Garlic

1 tablespoon cracked black pepper

Put it all in a bowl and stir vigorously. Chill for a few hours covered, or best overnight. Watch your jubilant guests' hair stand on end at your next Shrimp Cocktail party!