Laissez les bons temps rouler

Okay, I'm not Catholic.  Well, there was that time that I thought I was "in love" with a guy and I went to Catholic classes and I went to a Catholic church...but, long story-short...I'm not Catholic.  But, you know me, and I love an excuse to eat food related to a "holiday event", so Mardi Gras will be no different.  We love Cajun and Creole food so celebrating this night will be pretty easy for us.  I am not happy that it is called Fat Tuesday because I am trying not to be fat.  Usually I would fix a lot of each of the foods I want to eat, and then proceed to eat a lot more of it than I need to consume in one sitting.  So, this year, I'm cutting the original recipes in half.  My body will thank me later.

This year, I'm going basic.  Tuesday's menu consists of etouffee, toasted rice, lemon-garlic shrimp and grits, and good ol' gumbo.  By halving the recipes, I will get enough to enjoy, but I get to taste them all.  I am posting the complete recipe below, so you can make a large pot of the food, or half it like I'm doing.

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Shrimp and Chicken Etouffee

Total Time:  1 hr 22 min    Prep:  45 min    Cook:  37 min

Yield:  8 servings   Level:  Easy

 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound Andouille sausage, diced

3 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

Kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 stalks celery, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons dry sherry

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and Andouille and cook, stirring, until crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Season the chicken with salt, then add to the pot in batches to brown, 5 minutes per side. Transfer to the plate with the Andouille.
Make the roux: Remove the pot from the heat and cool slightly (there should be about 1/4 cup drippings; drain or add oil as needed). Return the pot to medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook, stirring, until the mixture smells nutty and turns a deep brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, cayenne, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
Whisk in the broth. Return the chicken and Andouille to the pot and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let cool slightly while the stew simmers; remove the skin and shred the meat. Return the meat to the pot. Stir in the shrimp and sherry and cook until the shrimp turn pink, 2 to 3 more minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.


Toasted Rice
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups converted long-grain rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 green onions, chopped
parsley, rough chopped, to taste

Directions:
Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Stir in rice, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the rice is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and water; bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over low heat, 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in chopped green onions and parsley.


Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Grits
Serves: 4
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup instant grits
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, covered. Uncover and slowly whisk in the grits, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic and cayenne, if using, and cook, tossing, until the shrimp are pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons water, the lemon juice and parsley; stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Divide the grits among shallow bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.


Gumbo

Total Time: 2 hr 40 min   Prep: 15 min   Cook: 2 hr 25 min

Yield: 8 to 10 servings     Level: Intermediate

Ingredients:

3 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons margarine

1 large onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic minced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 stalks celery chopped

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 bunch flat leaf parsley, stems and leaves, coarsely chopped, plus chopped leaves for garnish

4 cups hot water

5 beef bouillon cubes

1 (14-ounce can) stewed tomatoes with juice

2 cups frozen sliced okra

4 green onions, sliced, white and green parts

1/2 pound small shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked

 

Directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides and remove. Add the sausage and cook until browned, then remove. Sprinkle the flour over the oil, add 2 tablespoons of margarine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until brown, about 10 minutes. Let the roux cool.
Return the Dutch oven to low heat and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons margarine. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper and celery and cook for 10 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, to taste and the 1/4 bunch parsley. Cook, while stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Add 4 cups hot water and bouillon cubes, whisking constantly. Add the chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Add tomatoes and okra. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Just before serving add the green onions, shrimp and chopped parsley.

 

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These are all relatively easy to prepare and they taste great.  To complete the night, I am planning to find a frozen bread pudding or cream pie for dessert.  I would make a Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé, but that takes hours to make and has to be served immediately...after cooking the other stuff all day, that's something to save for another night.   I might get a King Cake for the girls, too.  I've never made one for them and I've seen them in the stores around this time of year.  Every kid ought to look for a baby in a cake at least once in their life.  The masks and beads are completely optional, too.  For your reference, the traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple-which stands for justice, gold-which stands for power, and green-which stands for faith.

 

I hope you get a chance to try one  or all of these, even if not for your Fat Tuesday.  I know you will think C'est Ci Bon!

 

 

It's Gonna be Soup-er Cold This Week

The winters here in Texas are usually pretty mild.  Our average temperature in February is a low of 41 degrees and a high of 61 degrees.  This week, we are expecting highs in the mid 30's to low 40' and overnight lows from the upper teens to low 30's, and three days of possible sleet/snow.  I am not equipped to handle driving on ice, so I don't chance it unless the choice is made not to cancel school for the day.

So, when I see a forecast of Cold and especially Wet Cold, I start looking for warm food to eat.  Since the Super Bowl was yesterday, I have some leftovers to use up, and we will do our best to eat those first, but I had a vegetable tray that left me with a lot of cherry tomatoes.  I decided to find a creative way to use up without eating them alone.  I found a package of frozen corn and I remembered that I still had green onions leftover from the other recipes I made.  I decided that tomatoes, green onions, and corn might just make a good soup.

I decided to blend the corn with chicken stock to make it creamy.  I sautéed 1/2 of a dice yellow onion in olive oil and added the leftover cherry tomatoes after I cut them in half.  I added the green onions when I added the corn mixture and other ingredients.   After I combined everything and let it simmer a bit, it wasn't creamy enough for me and it seemed a little watery.  So, I added some milk mixed with flour to thicken it up.  I tried to remember how much of what I added to the pot, but I bet if you have more or less of any of the items, it will turn out pretty close.

Corn and Tomato Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, coarsely chopped (or  ½ yellow onion, diced)
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 1/4 cups (1 pound) frozen corn, thawed
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 ½ teaspoon of dried)
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk

Directions

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the shallots, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft.  Stir in the tomatoes and garlic, and simmer on low until the tomatoes mush and the juices thicken, stirring occasionally.  Meanwhile, place the corn and chicken stock in a blender, reserving ½ cup of the corn.  Blend until smooth.  Once the tomatoes are thickened, add the basil and remaining corn, and pour the blended corn mixture into the saucepan.  Bring the soup to a boil.  In a small container with a lid, place the milk and flour together, and shake until blended.  Add it to the pot.  The soup should thicken quickly while stirring.  Turn the heat down to low, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the flavors combine.

Hopefully, if you make this, it will turn out well.  I don't typically buy canned corn because I like the freshness and flavor of frozen corn, so I can't say whether it would be good with canned corn...but it's probably still worth a try if that's what you have on hand.

Good luck!