Beginning

I am a gourmand, not a gourmet, a food lover, not a food snob.
I hope to share my love of food with you through narratives, restaurant recaps,
menu suggestions, and recipes. Bon appetit!
(And if you blog about food, are you "flogging"?)

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Mardi Gras 2018!




Parades.  Parties.  Balls. Costumes. Masks. Beads. Doubloons. King Cakes.  

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!

A Mardi Gras Dinner Party Menu

Muffaletta Bruschetta
Mardi Gras Salad with Red Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
Crawfish Étouffée
Corn Maque Choux
Amaretto Bread Pudding


Muffaletta Bruschetta

I posted this recipe a while back, but it remains a hit and is full of the flavors of the quintessential southern Louisiana sandwich, the muffaletta (sometimes spelled muffuletta).

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
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:  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.)

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