Mardi Gras is a festive time in Louisiana. And what a better time to gather some good friends together for a dinner celebrating some of our distinctive flavors!
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Muffaletta Bruschetta
Mardi Gras Salad with Red Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
Crawfish Étouffée
Corn Maque Choux
Amaretto Bread Pudding
Muffaletta Bruschetta
Source: original recipe
Yield: 20+ pieces
Ingredients:
1 c. purchased olive salad (I use Boscoli)
½ c. salami, diced (I used Genoa)
½ c. smoked Gouda or provolone, diced
1 baguette
olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced lengthwise in half
Since the salad is rather oily, I put it in a wire-mesh
strainer, spray it with hot water, let it drain, and blot additional
moisture with paper towels. Combine the
olive salad with the salami and cheese.
Set aside. (The topping mixture can be prepared ahead. Refrigerate if preparing more than an hour
before serving.)
Preheat oven to 350°. Slice the baguette, slightly on the diagonal,
into ½-inch slices. Place bread slices
on a large cookie sheet. Brush each
slice with a small amount of the olive oil.
Bake in the oven until the tops are beginning to crisp but the bread
still gives to the touch. Remove from
oven and let cool until you can touch the bread. While the bread is warm, rub each slice with
the cut side of the garlic. Start a new
garlic clove halve if the first one starts to disintegrate. (The bread can be prepared a few hours before
assembly and left at room temperature.)
To assemble, top
each slice of bread with a heaping tablespoon of the olive salad mixture. Return the bruschetta to the oven and heat
for about five minutes or until the cheese begins to melt. Serve immediately.
Mardi Gras Salad
The stars of this salad are red and golden baby beets. Arranging the beets on a bed of greens results in a vivid display of Mardi Gras colors. The salad dressing features a popular southern Louisiana condiment--pepper jelly.
Source: original recipe
Yield: 6 servings, with leftover dressing
Salad Ingredients:
4 red baby beets, trimmed & washed
4 golden baby beets, trimmed & washed
olive olive
10 oz. pre-washed salad greens (preferably a spring mix with some purple lettuces
½ -¾ c. chopped green onions, green part only
½ Spicer Pecans (see recipe index under "Appetizers")
4 oz. feta cheese crumbles
Process:
To roast beets, preheat oven to 400°. Place red beets on a square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and "massage" the oil over the beets. Fold the ends of the foil to form a package. Place the package on a baking sheet. Repeat with the golden beets. Bake for 30-45 minutes, checking for tenderness with a sharp knife. Cool beets. Rub beets with paper towels to remove skin. Halve beets and slice in 1/4-inch slices. (This can be done a day ahead, but store red and golden beets separately.
To assemble salad, place salad greens (enough for 6 servings) in a large bowl and lightly dress with salad dressing (recipe follows). Divide the greens among 6 salad plates. Arrange sliced beets on top of salads. Sprinkle salads with green onions, pecans and feta cheese.
Red Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
Source: original recipe
Yield: about 1 cup
Ingredients:
½ c. red pepper
jelly (such as Tabasco brand)
¼ c. red wine
vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. Creole
mustard
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ c. canola oil
Process:
Melt the pepper
jelly in a bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Combine the melted jelly with the next 6
ingredients with a whisk. Slowly whisk
in the canola oil in a steady stream.
Crawfish Étouffée
Mardi Gras is early this year, so crawfish season hasn't quite begun. But frozen crawfish tails (I only buy Louisiana crawfish) are readily available, and crawfish étouffée is a wonderful way to get your "fix" before the boiled ones are available.
"Étouffée" is French for "smothered" and around here usually refers to a seafood "stew" served over rice. This dish is smothered in goodness! In the past, I have made this dish with a blonde roux, but I felt it just didn't have the depth of flavor I wanted. So this recipe begins with a darker roux and is a melding of two recipes with a few of my own touches here and there.
Source: My Recipes.com and John Folse's recipe
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 T. paprika
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ c. vegetable oil
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 medium-sized onion, chopped (approx. 1 c.)
½ c. chopped celery
½ green pepper, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeds & ribs removed, diced
½ c. diced tomatoes
2 T. diced garlic
½ c. tomato sauce
2 pounds frozen peeled crawfish tails, thawed and rinsed
2 quarts (or less) crawfish stock of unsalted chicken broth
1 oz. dry sherry
1 c. chopped green onions (green part only)
½ c. chopped parsley
2 tsp. hot sauce
S & P to taste
Process:
Stir together the first five ingredients in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir well to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of caramel sauce, about 20 minutes.
Add onions and saute until they are translucent and slightly caramelized. Add the celery and peppers. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, spice mixture and tomato sauce. Cook 2 minutes. Add the crawfish tails.
Slowly add the stock or broth, a little at a time, until sauce consistency is achieved. (I usually don’t use all of it.) Continue adding more stock as necessary to retain consistency. Boiling to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, green onions and parsley, and hot sauce and cook an additional five minutes. Season to taste using salt and pepper. Serve over white rice with extra hot sauce.
Corn Maque Choux
This dish is said to have Creole and Native American roots. Some recipes add andouille sausage, but I like this all-vegetable version. The cream adds a lovely richness.
Source: Bon Appetit, October 2008
Yield: 4 servings (I doubled this)
Ingredients:
2 T. (1/4 stick) butter
1 c. finely chopped onion (I used less)
1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
2 c. fresh corn kernels (cut from 3 medium ears of corn)
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. (or more) hot pepper sauce
1 green onion, green part finely chopped
1/2 finely chopped jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed
2 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 T. chopped fresh basil
Coarse kosher salt
Process:
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add corn; sauté 2 minutes. Add cream, thyme, and 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Mix in green onion, parsley, and basil. Season to taste with coarse salt, pepper, and more hot pepper sauce, if desired.
Amaretto Bread Pudding
I have made this bread pudding so many times, some people mistakenly think it's an original recipe. I wish it was because it's the best bread pudding I've ever had. I could eat the sauce just by itself. Although once I made 4 pans for an engagement party, for this dinner party I made 2/3 of the recipe, and those measurements are in parentheses.
Source: Kay Ewing’s Cooking School Cookbook (process modified)
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 T. paprika
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ c. vegetable oil
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 medium-sized onion, chopped (approx. 1 c.)
½ c. chopped celery
½ green pepper, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeds & ribs removed, diced
½ c. diced tomatoes
2 T. diced garlic
½ c. tomato sauce
2 pounds frozen peeled crawfish tails, thawed and rinsed
2 quarts (or less) crawfish stock of unsalted chicken broth
1 oz. dry sherry
1 c. chopped green onions (green part only)
½ c. chopped parsley
2 tsp. hot sauce
S & P to taste
Process:
Stir together the first five ingredients in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir well to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of caramel sauce, about 20 minutes.
Add onions and saute until they are translucent and slightly caramelized. Add the celery and peppers. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, spice mixture and tomato sauce. Cook 2 minutes. Add the crawfish tails.
Slowly add the stock or broth, a little at a time, until sauce consistency is achieved. (I usually don’t use all of it.) Continue adding more stock as necessary to retain consistency. Boiling to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, green onions and parsley, and hot sauce and cook an additional five minutes. Season to taste using salt and pepper. Serve over white rice with extra hot sauce.
Corn Maque Choux
This dish is said to have Creole and Native American roots. Some recipes add andouille sausage, but I like this all-vegetable version. The cream adds a lovely richness.
Source: Bon Appetit, October 2008
Yield: 4 servings (I doubled this)
Ingredients:
2 T. (1/4 stick) butter
1 c. finely chopped onion (I used less)
1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
2 c. fresh corn kernels (cut from 3 medium ears of corn)
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. (or more) hot pepper sauce
1 green onion, green part finely chopped
1/2 finely chopped jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed
2 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 T. chopped fresh basil
Coarse kosher salt
Process:
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add corn; sauté 2 minutes. Add cream, thyme, and 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Mix in green onion, parsley, and basil. Season to taste with coarse salt, pepper, and more hot pepper sauce, if desired.
I have made this bread pudding so many times, some people mistakenly think it's an original recipe. I wish it was because it's the best bread pudding I've ever had. I could eat the sauce just by itself. Although once I made 4 pans for an engagement party, for this dinner party I made 2/3 of the recipe, and those measurements are in parentheses.
Source: Kay Ewing’s Cooking School Cookbook (process modified)
Yield: 12 servings (6 servings in 11 X 7)
Ingredients:
12 pieces of sliced bread (1 loaf of Albertson’s French
bread) (2/3 loaf)
4 c. milk (2 2/3 c.)
¼ c. butter (2 2/3 T.)
3 eggs (2)
1 ½ c. sugar (1 c.)
2 tsp. almond extract (1 1/3 tsp.)
½ c. sliced almonds (optional)
Sauce:
½ c. butter
1 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
¼ c. Amaretto
Preheat oven to 350°.
Tear up bread into a 13 X 9 pan-inch (could spray with Pam). Heat milk and butter until butter melts. (I do this in a large Pyrex measuring cup in
the microwave). Beat eggs in a large
bowl; add sugar and almond extract. Stir
in milk-butter mixture. Pour over bread
and press bread until thoroughly saturated with the milk mixture. (Sprinkle with almonds if using.) Bake about 40 minutes until set.
To make sauce, melt butter and powdered sugar in a small
saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat
and quickly whisk in 1 egg. Stir in
Amaretto and beat (I whisk) until smooth.
To serve, cut bread pudding into squares and top with
sauce. Serve warm, even if made
ahead. (Can be reheated in microwave.)
