Etouffee with a Side of Harleys

The birds weren’t even up yet Saturday morning when I got into my car and drove towards HPC. The Cooking for Christ team was preparing etouffee for 500 people at the Police Motorcycle Competition. I thought that would be a pretty cool event to volunteer for. After loading a few things at HPC we headed to Cortana Mall to set up. One of the flashing signs on Airline blinked ‘5:47am’ and ’41 degrees’ as I drove past. I thought of the volunteers who did this on a regular basis; giving up sleep, recreation and time with family to show others the love of Christ through a hot meal. Pretty impressive.

The dawn was just starting to break when we got to our destination. The place was already abuzz with dozens of motor cops practicing for the day’s competition, event workers, judges and other vendors doing prep work. Amidst the roar of Harleys and the din of the chaos I watched our CFC men remove their hats, join hands and bow their heads in prayer. I was humbled to be a part of it.

After the prayer we started moving equipment, firing burners and getting some stuff in the pots. As we were cooking bacon and browning chicken, the Motorcycle Competition got underway. I was standing at the fence watching the opening ceremony as almost 150 motor cops from across the nation drove into formation. It seemed like a sea of uniforms standing at attention beside their bikes. The sight of police officers from across the country, bowing their heads simultaneously in prayer, brought tears to my eyes. They saluted as one when the American flag was raised, the national anthem being sung from the podium. We live in a great country, protected by some great people. I returned to our cooking station thanking God that I live in a place of freedom.

The menu for the day was chicken & shrimp etouffee, spicy corn and fresh rolls. The enticing aromas of tomatoes and onions, chicken and bacon were almost too much to bear. From 7am until we served at 10:30am we had to keep telling people that it wasn’t ready yet. They would wander past every few minutes, breathing deeply, to see how it was coming.

Being from Canada, I know absolutely nothing about South Louisiana food. Fortunately, all I had to do was stir the pot and follow directions. Everyone was good-natured about my lack of knowledge and gave me some helpful hints on southern cooking. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
1. Every good recipe starts with at least twelve pounds of butter.
2. A roux should not look like cookie dough, so keep stirring.
3. Corn isn’t ready to be served until it makes your nose run.
4. When in doubt, eat a bacon sandwich and add something spicy.
5. Official CFC measurements are always made in quantities of ‘some’ or ‘a lot’.
(For novices: 2 ‘somes’ equals 1 ‘a lot’)
6. Before becoming a CFC volunteer be sure that your health insurance covers Lipitor or similar medications.

As always the food was superb. I even had a Texan tell me that it was very, very good! It was a great day. I thank God for our church, and for the hearts of the men and women who give of their time and their talent, taking the doors of the church to the people. If ever you have the opportunity to volunteer with this ministry, I encourage you to take it. You’ll be glad you did. All glory to God!