Mardi Gras

I love that we have a two-fer in February as far as holidays go, and they are two of my favorite. These recipes will help you celebrate a most delicious Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday) on February 13, this year. Try to save some room for the day after, which is a requisite chocolate consumption day - Valentine's Day.

I say "try" because I know how delicious each of these recipes is and I'd have a hard time saving room, too. I originally sent these to Disney for Family.com, which is now defunct, and for a short while they were part of the web site for The Princess and the Frog before moving on to Spoonful.com. The web changes so quickly, though, and the recipes are no longer there. Through the magic of Archive.org, here is a link to where they were housed on Spoonful: Archive.org - Spoonful.com Great Mardi Gras Recipes.

I have already shared several of them here and you can find links to those at the end of the post. Here are the final three, Red Beans and Rice, Shrimp Jambalaya, and Beignets - Enjoy!

This thick and hearty stew-like dish is Cajun cooking at its finest. Red beans and the Cajun 'Holy Trinity' of celery, onion and green pepper combine with smoked sausage to make one fine meal. Add more Cayenne or hot sauce as you see fit, there's no way to get that part wrong.

Red Beans and Rice

Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:

1/2 pound cooked red kidney beans
1/2 pound smoked sausage or kielbasa cut up bite size
1 medium onion-diced
1 green pepper-diced
2 stalks celery-diced
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic-minced
4 cups water
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tablespoon hot sauce
2 cups already cooked long grain white rice - kept warm for serving

Directions:

1. Combine beans, sausage, onion, pepper, celery, parsley, bay leaf, Cayenne, garlic and
water in a large Dutch oven.
2. Heat to boiling and reduce heat to a low simmer. Lid tightly and cook for 2 hours.
3. Remove bay leaf and add butter, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Stir well and
serve over cooked white rice.

The French word for ham is 'jambon' which is where the term 'jambalaya' comes from. Any jambalaya just isn't right to me if it doesn't contain the smoked meat. This shrimp version is quick and flavorful with just the right kick.

Shrimp Jambalaya

Hands-On Time: 10 minutes
Ready In: 35 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/3 cup each diced green, yellow and red peppers
1 cup diced lean ham
2 cloves minced garlic
16 ounces diced tomato
2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup long grain white rice

1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 pound shelled and deveined shrimp

Directions:

1. Heat a large and deep skillet over medium-high and add oil.

2. Toss in onion, peppers, celery and garlic. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, or until 

fragrant.

3. Add ham, tomato and chicken broth and heat for 2 minutes.

4. Stir in rice and seasonings and turn the heat very low. Lid tightly and let cook for 

20 minutes.

5. After 20 minutes, check to see that the rice is tender and add the shrimp. Lid again 

and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until shrimp is pink. Serve hot.

A morning in New Orleans wouldn't be the same without beignets and cafe au lait made with chicory (see Cafe du Monde). NOLA's answer to doughnuts, the beignet is a light and airy fritter sprinkled with mounds of powdered sugar and served in threes -- the only way to enjoy them to their fullest.

Beignets

Hands-On Time: 30min
Cook Time: 4h 30min
Ready In: 5h
Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients:

1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water, 110 to 115 degrees
1 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
oil for frying, enough for 2 inches of oil in the pan

Directions:

1. Stir together yeast and warm water until yeast is dissolved. Let stand 5 minutes until bubbly.
2. Add in evaporated milk, sugar, salt, oil and egg and stir until well blended.
3. Add the flour one cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
5. Punch dough down and roll into a rectangle 12 by 8 inches. Cut into 2-inch squares and let stand for several minutes.
6. While dough is standing, heat frying oil to 360 degrees. Make sure oil is at least 2 inches deep.
7. Fry dough squares, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Remove to paper toweling to drain well.
8. Shake powdered sugar over beignets and serve warm with cafe au lait!


DO NOT miss the rest of these recipes - linked here:

Muffuletta

Chicken Gumbo

Corn Maque Choux

King Cake

Sweet Potato Pie with Praline Sauce

Throw Me Somethin', Mista!

The title of this post, should anyone need to know, is the proper, and most common Mardi Gras parade chant. This is the official Mardi Gras site, full of information and history. Very interesting if you have the time to look.


I've already thrown out a couple recipes suitable for Mardi Gras, Gumbo and Cajun BBQ Shrimp.

Here are a few more and a link to the recipe for the Mardi Gras classic~King Cake.

Jumping Joe's Jambalaya

1 pound chicken, de-boned and cut in 1" cubes
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 pound shrimp, cooked (21-25 count)
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
2 medium onion, chopped
2 green pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 cup okra, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cups rice, cooked

Cut chicken and slice sausage. Chop onion and green pepper.
Put all in crock pot. Add remaining ingredients, except shrimp
and rice. Cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. Thirty
minutes before eating, add cooked shrimp and cooked rice, and
allow to heat. Can be cooked on high for 3-4 hours instead.
***************

Smoked Andouille Sausage in Red Gravy

6 tb Unsalted butter
1/2 c Chopped green peppers
1 1/2 lb Andouille smoked sausage (2-inch pieces)
1 ts Minced garlic
8 ts Tomato sauce
3 c Onions
1/4 c Chopped parsley
6 1/2 c Pork or beef stock
1 c Chopped green onion tops
1 1/2 ts Cayenne pepper
3 ts Cooked rice
3/4 ts Salt
1/2 c Chopped celery

Melt butter in Dutch oven. Add sausage cover and cook without stirring about 7
minutes. Turn over and sprinkle 2 c. of onions on top. Cover and cook another 7
minutes. Should be dark brown sediment on pan bottom. Add 3/4 c. of stock and
scrape bottom. Add pepper and salt stirring scraping and turning. Cover and cook 2
minutes scraping once. Add celery green peppers and garlic. Cover and cook 3
minutes scraping once. Add tomato sauce and cook uncovered 5 minutes scrapping
occasionally. Add 1/2 c. onions. Cook 8 minutes until large puddles of oil have
broken out and tomato mixture is thick. Stir only if sticking. Add parsley and 1/2
c. of the green onions. Add 3-1/4 c. more stock and scrape. Cook 20 minutes until
liquid is thick dark red gravy. Stir occasionally. Stir in remaining stock and
onions. Bring to boil reduce heat and simmer stirring frequently about 14 minutes
until gravy is noticeably thicker but still juicy. Remove from heat and serve
immediately.
***************



What is a King Cake?

A king cake is a traditional Mardi-Gras treat, brightly decorated in the colors of
Rex: purple, green and gold. The cake, which is similar to a rich sweet bread or
coffee cake contains a special surprise-- a tiny baby doll contained within one of
the slices. Custom dictates that the "lucky" recipient who gets the piece with the
baby throws the next Mardi-Gras party (or bakes the next King Cake).

King Cake Recipe