From our Food Goddess, TaMara:
I was mulling over what to post tonight and realized Mardi Gras is coming up soon and I have a stash of recipes that would fit that theme.
My fall back recipe when I want a touch of creole is Washday Beans and Rice (recipe here)
A trip to New Orleans a few years ago gave me my first taste of authentic Beignets at Cafe Du Monde and Po’boys at Johnny’s. I liked the sandwiches so much, I hunted down some recipes, (click here).
Dinner was fancier, Trout Amandine with Creole Meuniere Sauce (recipe here).
I flew home in time to miss the rain, but managed to drive home in white out conditions. I am so over winter, how about you? What’s on the menu for the weekend? Any favorite Fat Tuesday recipes? Hit the comments.
The featured recipe (pictured above) is from JeffreyW tonight:
Shrimp and Andouille in a Creole Mustard Sauce
1 pound uncooked peeled deveined large shrimp
1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun seasoning (recipe below)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 pound andouille sausage, cut crosswise on diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick pieces
1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
5 tablespoons Creole mustard
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to tasteToss shrimp with Creole seasoning in medium bowl to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add sausage pieces, cut side down. Cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to bowl. Add shrimp to skillet; cook until browned and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with sausage. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, bell pepper, and thyme to skillet. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add broth, mustard, and vinegar. Stir until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Return sausage and shrimp to skillet. Simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Creole Seasoning
1/3 Cup Paprika
1/4 Cup Granulated Garlic
4 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/3 Cup Freshly Ground Black Pepper
3 Tbsp White Pepper
2 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbsp Dried Thyme
2 Tbsp Dried Basil
1 Tbsp Dried OreganoCombine all ingredients and place in an airtight container.
Makes about 10 oz.
That’s it for this week. Until next week…. – TaMara
Mnemosyne
My favorite Fat Tuesday recipe is to call up Porto’s and order a coupla King Cakes, which you can only get this time of year. Yum.
Villago Delenda Est
mmmmm…..shrimp and andouille….
JPL
I can’t wait until I try that trout recipe. yum
raven
My duck gumbo was a hit for the superbowl and I have a good bit of fat left so I’ll probably use it for a roux and do it again.
raven
Reprint:
You need a stock beef, chicken, turkey or even vegetable. I like to take the bones of a whole bird and roast them until they are brown, then put them in a pot of water and simmer with onion, bell perper, celery, garlic and bay leaf. Let’s shoot for a batch for 12 so at 1/4 cup dry rice per person we want 3 cups of rice and six cups of stock people. Strain the ingredients and, if you have the inclination, let sit in the fridge overnight and let the fat congeal so you can remove it. Y As that is occurring brown what ever meat or poultry and sliced polish, andioulle, or keilbasa sausage and set aside. Chop more onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, about a half cup of each and one clove garlic in vegetable oil. Saute the chopped veggies in a thick bottomed pot just short of them beginning to brown then add the meat and stir well, add the rice and coat in the oil and add the stock. This is where you need to know your own taste for heat, the cajun mixes do quite well so add to taste (over salt a closed pot like this just a bit) cover,reduce heat and simmer until the rice absorbs the water, If you are going to use shrimp add it 5 minutes before you serve, kix it in and close the the pot. Folks use chopped tomatoes but that is more what the call in Savannah “Red Rice”
RuhRow_Gyro
The parsley sprigs do not change the appearance of the dish. To me the dish looks like dog vomit. I have a nice dog, and know what I am talking about. If you feed him too many dairy products, his little stomach has a hard time processing it. But I love him.
Pogonip
This has nothing to do with Fat Tuesday, but I have a cooking question. I want to make lasagna, and I like hamburger in my lasagna. However, since modern hamburger is maybe one step above toxic waste, I no longer use it. Can someone recommend a brand of faux-hamburger vegetarian crumbles that at least taste somewhat like the real thing?
mainmata
Many cultures do great rice-based dishes and NOLAs are okay but kind of heavy in my experience, which is very multinational. But I do love me some oyster po’ boys. Very nice and the the Trout Amandine with Creole Sauce recipe seems very yummy.. Must try it.
raven
@Pogonip: Spinach.
raven
This is a little joint we went to in New Iberia about four years ago. Insanely good.
mclaren
My experience with creole cooking suggests that if you rinse your mouth with kerosene and then light it with a match, you’ll get much the same gustatory effect.
Pogonip
@raven: I always use spinach, even with hamburger.
raven
God what a bunch of assholes. McDouche shows up and it’s a quorum. Fuck you whiny bitches. Laissez bon temps rouler!
raven
@Pogonip: There ya go! Have you tried ground turkey?
danielx
New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp.
Not exactly healthy eating*, should come with a coupon for stent procedure. But oh so good….serve with green salad and fresh bread.
*Edit – come to think of it, that could be said about a lot of Cajun or Creole cookery, which might have something to do with all those stats talking about how unhealthy Louisiana’s population is. However…I don’t give a rusty goddamn what people eat as long as they enjoy it and don’t season their food and conversation with heaping tablespoons of dietary sanctimony.
Pogonip
Before I forget, tomorrow is National Pig Day. Observe this solemn occasion as you think best.
Mnemosyne
@Pogonip:
I haven’t gone wrong yet with anything from Morningstar Farms. Except their fake-chicken buffalo nuggets — way too hot.
Helen
@Pogonip: Was at friends house recently. The Dad was about to put a pork roast in the oven and I said “Do you know what that dead pig needs? To be wrapped in dead pig” And I pulled the bacon out of the fridge and wrapped it around the pork loin.
The two daughters (9 and 11 years old) yelled :DEAD PIG??.
Yeah they loved it too.
Downpuppy
My wife was away for a while, so yesterday was going to be burrito night, except Aguacate Verde was closed. So I made a pretty good jambalaya.
Small One was not pleased.
Wife came home tonight, and loved the leftovers.
Small victories!
Mnemosyne
Turns out cats DO NOT like thunder. Especially when they’re Southern California cats who have never heard it before.
Poor Keaton is hiding under the bed, which is something he never does.
NotMax
@Pogonip
Finely diced portobello mushrooms and eggplant. Maybe a bit of a favorite sausage included.
p.a.
@Pogonip: I second the portobello. Why not have the butcher ground up a cut of your choosing?
My food question: I’ve been using dried peppers in sauces and braises; guajillo, ancho, paquilla, Cali, New Mex. I toast (gently), soak, seed and de-vein. I don’t use the liquid because it’s supposed to be too bitter. And the sauces still taste bitter. Salting cuts it, and agave nectar cuts it, but I’d rather avoid using those if possible. Any help?
NotMax
@p.a.
Several things you might try:
Lower the heat to more slowly toast the peppers. Remove any particularly heavily charred bits before using.
Add lemon juice (and, optionally, salt) to the soak.
Add a very little molasses to the sauce.
Add some grated carrot to the sauce.
Violet
@p.a.:
Read through this for tips. Here’s one:
PurpleGirl
@Pogonip: Ham and bacon… lots of bacon.
Yatsuno
@Pogonip: Ground veal. It’s made from much better cuts plus it has a wonderful mild flavour. You could do a mix of ground veal and pork or lamb for something really unique. Fake meats sometimes are worse than the real thing.
RobNYNY1957
I make a nice vegetarian lasagna with spinach, lentils and mushrooms. (Obviously, the lentils are cooked in advance.)
Another possibility is smoked tofu, cut into tiny cubes. I use that is a lot of dishes where you might expect to find ham or bacon. It has about the same effect as smoked mozzarella.