We asked 4 rising Black caterers to share recipes with Courier & Press readers

EVANSVILLE – In Evansville, if you need a caterer who cooks Southern food, Soul Food, comfort food with international flavors, scratch desserts, or even vegan versions of all the above, we have a squad of ladies who can take care of you. They’re young, Black entrepreneurs who started small and are making their businesses grow and shine.

As part of Black History Month, we wanted to find out what Melanie Albert, Tori Chapman, McKenna Warfield and Jasmine Calhoun enjoy cooking at home. We asked for one treasured family recipe, either modern or generations old. Here’s what they shared with us.

For more information on any of these businesses, follow the links to their Facebook pages.

Melanie Albert

Melanie Albert owns Smallbert’s Comfort Food Catering. Albert loves comfort food and cooks up plenty of fried chicken and pork chops, but a quick glance through her Facebook page shows there’s more to the story. You’ll find mushroom wellingtons wrapped in puff pastry, beautiful charcuterie, steak and shrimp kebabs and more. Contact Smallbert's at 812-774-6065.

At home, Albert loves making Crawfish Etouffee Nachos. A lot of the amounts in this recipe are up to the cook. Add spices to your taste and pile the extra toppings as high as you like.

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Melanie Albert’s Crawfish Etouffee Nachos

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup onion, chopped

• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (divided)

• 1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, chopped (divided)

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• Cajun seasoning

• Onion powder

• Garlic powder

• Cayenne

• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 cups chicken stock

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 pound crawfish tail meat, thawed

• ½ pound andouille sausage, sliced

• ½ cup red onion, chopped

• Tortilla chips

• Grated sharp cheddar, Gouda, and/or pepper jack cheese

• Fresh Jalapeños, sliced

• Cilantro, chopped

• Green onions, sliced

• Diced fresh tomatoes

• Sour cream

DIRECTIONS

1. In a wide skillet, melt the butter and permit to brown a little. Add the onion, half of each bell pepper, and celery. Add some Cajun seasoning, onion and garlic powders, and cayenne pepper to taste. You’ll add more later so don’t go overboard. Saute over medium-high heat until the vegetables are softened.

2. Add flour and stir to combine with the butter in the pan. Cook for about two minutes.

3. Whisk in stock until there are no visible lumps of flour. Re-season to taste with spices and add bay leaves. Bring to a light boil, then permit to cook over low heat, stirring often, until it is smooth and thick like gravy. Add in crawfish and barely simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. In the meantime, heat a second skillet and fry the Andouille sausage until crisp and some of the fat has rendered. Remove sausage. Add the reserved bell peppers and red onion and saute until just soft.

5. To build nachos: Pile tortilla chips on a plate and top with the crawfish etouffee and the fried Andouille sausage and peppers. Finish with sliced fresh jalapeño, cilantro, sliced green onions, diced fresh tomatoes and sour cream.

Tori Chapman

Tori Chapman owns Vegan Eats and Treats. On her menu are beautiful cakes and desserts, vegan versions of fun food such as Buffalo Chick’n egg rolls and boneless wings; and special Saturday menus with everything from barbecued pulled Chick’n, meatloaf, mac and cheese and greens to chicken and dumplings and broccoli cheddar soup − all plant-based.

Chapman shared a treasured popcorn ball recipe of her mother’s that her family made for Halloween each year.

Tori Chapman’s Popcorn Balls

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup corn syrup

• 1/3 cup water

• ¼ cup butter

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon vanilla

• 3 quarts popped popcorn

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and butter in a pot. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved.

2. Continue cooking without stirring until the temperature reaches 270 degrees or forms a brittle ball when dropped into cold water. Add vanilla.

3. Pour syrup over popped corn, mix to cover all kernels.

4. Grease hands with butter, shape into balls.

McKenna Warfield

McKenna Warfield owns McKenna’s Southern Cuisine, which she describes as “where Southern style meets Soul Food.” Warfield also likes cooking dishes with flavors from around the world. At work, she prepares everything from southern biscuits and gravy to lasagna, boudin balls, Mexican cornbread casserole, seafood boils, Parmesan-sauced chicken and much more.

To contact Warfield, join her Facebook group.

A favorite recipe from the Warfield household is this sweet potato casserole that has always been a big hit on Thanksgiving and Easter.

McKenna Warfield’s Sweet Potato Casserole

INGREDIENTS

• 6-8 pounds sweet potatoes

• 1/3 cup milk

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 stick butter or margarine (divided)

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 ½ cups brown sugar

• 1/3 cup flour

• 1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and place them in a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat, cover and let simmer until the potatoes are tender. Let cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the sweet potatoes, milk, white sugar, half the stick of butter, eggs and vanilla. Mash everything together with a potato masher.

3. Spread mixture into a lightly greased casserole dish or pan.

4. In a small mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, remaining half stick of butter and the pecans. Mix until it forms a gritty texture. Pour topping over the sweet potatoes.

5. Bake for 30 minutes.

Jasmine Calhoun

Jasmine Calhoun owns Peace4U catering, and can whip up anything from Soul Food to international foods and unique desserts. A glance through her Facebook page turns up cinnamon rolls, jumbo pineapple cupcakes, seafood mac and cheese, whole roasted Cornish hen, General Tso’s chicken wings and more.

Calhoun sent us a traditional greens recipe with smoked turkey that she cooks up at home in the Crock Pot.

Jasmine Calhoun’s Greens with Smoked Turkey

INGREDIENTS

• 1 smoked turkey leg

• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced, about 3 cloves

• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth

• 1 bag of shredded collards

• 1 yellow or white onion, sliced, or less to taste

• 2 teaspoons red chili flakes or less to taste

• 2 tablespoons onion powder

• 1 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• Water as needed

DIRECTIONS

1. Place smoked turkey leg into the Crock Pot and add garlic and one quart of chicken broth. Put on the lid, turn on high heat and cook 1 hour or until turkey is tender and broth has taken on a smoky flavor. Remove turkey and separate meat from the bone. Replace meat in the pot and discard bone.

2. Add onions and greens to the pot with red chili flakes, onion powder garlic powder and salt. The liquid should be at midlevel of crockpot with greens half submerged. Add enough chicken broth from the second quart to make this happen. If necessary add water.

3. Close lid and turn heat to low. Let cook 2 to 2 ½ hours and stir. The greens should be fully submerged in the broth at this point. Cook a further 1-2 hours on low and they will be soft and ready to eat. Great served with Honey cornbread muffins and roasted chicken.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Recipes for etouffe nachos, popcorn balls, sweet potato casserole, greens