Sarah Vaughn Loved Dooky Chase's Stuffed Crabs

Sarah Vaughn’s Favorite New Orleans stuff crab, recipe below

In 1946 Dooky Jr. married Leah Chase, a native of Madison Louisiana steeped in the culinary culture of the “Creole de Colour.” It was Leah who infused the family owned and operated restaurant with a Creole flavor to it. Leah added family recipes and recipes from time spent working in French Quarter restaurants to the original Dooky Chase menu that attracted patrons of all colors despite Jim Crow Laws in the Crescent city. "I'd worked in some of the finest restaurants in the French Quarter and wanted the same thing for my people, in my neighborhood. I had one dream: to make this a truly fine restaurant for black people and to raise the standards of the whole community," says Leah Chase known to many as “Queen of Creole Cuisine.” In the 1940s and 50s Dooky Chase restaurant served noted African American entertainers such as Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway who came to play in New Orleans segregated venues for white patrons but Jim Crow laws prohibited them from eat in such places. “There was no other place to go, really,” recalls Leah Chase, so word of mouth led them to Dooky Chase in the city’s African American Treme district. “Sarah used to order our stuffed crabs, and Lena, she likes our fried chicken,” remembers Leah Chase. Here’s a New Orleans stuff crab recipe below with some of my healthier eating interpretations.

Sarah Vaughn’s Favorite New Orleans stuff crab recipe

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces I can’t believe it’s not butter
4 1/2 ounces chopped onion
1 1/2 ounces chopped bell pepper
1 ounce celery
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 1/2 ounces claw crab meat (or vegan substitute)
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 1/2 to 2 ounces bread crumbs
1 ounce chopped green onions

Method
Sauté onions, bell peppers, and celery until half done. Add garlic salt and cayenne and sauté until vegetables are translucent. Add claw meat, bread crumbs, parsley and green onions. Mix thoroughly and stuff accordingly. Recommended baked but some served it fried