In 1946, Edgar “Dooky” Chase, Jr. married Leah Chase, a native of Madison, Louisiana, who was steeped in the culinary culture of the “Creole de Couleur.” It was Leah Chase, later known as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” who infused the family-owned and -operated restaurant with a Creole flavor. She added her own family recipes and other recipes she gained from her time working in French Quarter restaurants to the original menu, attracting patrons of all colors despite Jim Crow laws. “I’d worked in some of the finest restaurants in the French Quarter and wanted the same thing for my people, in my neighborhood,” she recalls. “I had one dream: to make this a truly fine restaurant for black people and to raise the standards of the whole community.” Dooky Chase’s Restaurant would become just that—and more.
Red Rice and Beans Recipe
Ingredients
1 lb. red kidney beans
8 cups (2 qts.) water
2 onions, medium, chopped
1 lb. pickled pork, cut in cubes
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs parsley, chopped Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Wash and soak beans overnight. Drain. Cover beans with water and boil for one hour over low flame. Add onions, pickled pork and cook until tender. Add oil, bay leaf, garlic, and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook about half an hour. Serve over rice. Option: Serve with New Orleans hot sausage.
(Los Angeles Centennial February 10, 1999)
