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Mardi Gras

Mama Mangia

Mama Mangia

Super Moderator
Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, the festival New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous for. "Gras" is French for fat and "Mardi" is French for Tuesday and Mardi Gras means fat Tuesday, the culmination of the season between Christmas and Lent. Fat Tuesday falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.
 
Crawfish Etouffee

1 pound fresh or frozen, peeled, cooked crawfish tails (or shrimp)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cooking oil, butter, or margarine
2 medium onions, finely chopped (1 cup)
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped green sweet pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Hot cooked rice
Fresh parsley (optional)


Thaw crawfish tails, if frozen. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan stir together flour and 1/4 cup oil, butter, or margarine until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir for 5 to 8 minutes more or until a reddish brown roux is formed. Add onion, celery, sweet pepper, and garlic to saucepan. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; stir until melted. Stir in water, green onion, parsley, salt, ground red pepper, and black pepper. Bring to boiling. Add crawfish. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve with hot cooked rice. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings.
 
Crocialles (Beignets)


1 bottle (48 ounces) oil
2 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/4 cups milk
Confectioners' sugar, as desired


Heat oil in a deep pot to 375 degrees F. In a bowl, blend flour and granulated sugar. In another bowl, blend egg and milk. Add to dry mixture. Beat to a thick batter. Drop by tablespoon into oil. Deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.


Yield: 4 to 5 dozen
 
Potluck Gumbo

1 large slice (1/4 pound) precooked ham, diced
1 pound raw shrimp, shelled to tail and deveined
1-1/2 cups chicken giblets, parboiled and diced
1 pound fresh okra, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup scallion tops, sliced thin
Pepper to taste
5 cups water
4 ounces frozen crab meat
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon gumbo file

In large pot or Dutch oven, saute ham in its own border of fat, adding oil if ham fat is scant. Trim off any unrendered fat and set ham aside. Saute shrimp in same pan until pink. Remove and set aside. Then saute chicken giblets.

Add okra, onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley, scallion tops, and pepper. Add the water. Simmer for 1 hour. Add ham cubes, shrimp, and crab meat. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add salt to taste, then gumbo file. Serve over hot rice.

Yield: 6 servings
 
Cajun Casserole

1 lb. fresh (hot) sausage*, skinned and cut
2 cans whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 peeled eggplant, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
3 or 4 medium zucchini, sliced in rings.

Brown sausage in large frying pan. Add the following: eggplant, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini. Smother down, then transfer to a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle a lot of Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

*You could also use shrimp or crawfish. It is great either way.
 
Cajun Cabbage Jambalaya

2 lb lean ground chuck
2 cups chopped
cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 quarts shredded cabbage
Two 10 oz cans diced tomatoes and green chili peppers
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Put oil in a heavy 5 quart pot. Add ground meat and stir until brown. Add bouillon cubes, onions, celery, garlic and bell pepper. Stir and cook for about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, undrained and water. Cook for a few minutes then stir in cabbage. Lower fire to medium and cook stirring often. Put lid on pot and cook until cabbage is crisp tender. If mixture is too dry add a little hot water and adjust seasonings. Add cooked rice until mixture is moist.
 
Beignets Au New Orleans

6 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups milk, scalded
2 packages yeast
2 eggs
Peanut oil for frying
Powdered sugar



Mix flour, salt, vanilla and set aside. Place margarine and sugar in large mixing bowl. Heat milk. Do not boil. Stir often and do not scorch. Mix heated milk over sugar and margarine and stir until melted. Cool to temperature needed to activate yeast. Add yeast and dissolve. Add milk mixture and flour mixture to form batter. Add eggs and beat thoroughly. Cover with warm, damp towel and set in warm place. Dough should double in bulk in one hour. Punch and knead gently. Roll dough out on floured surface to quarter-inch thickness. Cut into 2 x 2 inch squares. Let rise once again (half-hour to one hour). Fry in oil at 380F. turning only once. Drain and dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm.
 
Cajun Ribs

2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons onion
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons red pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
4 pounds pork back ribs (about 2 whole slabs)

Combine seasonings. Rub on all surfaces of ribs. Place ribs on covered grill over indirect beat. Grill for 1-1/2 hours. Cut ribs into serving size pieces.

Serves 4.
 
Chicken Maque Choux

1 chicken, cut into serving pieces
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
1/2 cup oil
12 ears fresh corn, cut from cob
2 chopped onions
1/2 chopped bell pepper
1 tomato, peeled and chopped

Procedure: Salt, pepper and cayenne chicken, brown in heavy pot in oil; remove from pot as it browns. Add remaining ingredients, stir and cook on med-high heat about 2 minutes, return chicken to pot, stir, cover and cook over medium heat about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

Servings: 6
 
Dirty Rice

1 bunch of green onions
1/2 bellpepper chopped
2 ribs of celery chopped
1/2 lb of chicken livers and gizzards, mixed
1/2 lb of calf's liver
1/4 lb of ground beef
3 tbls of oil
3 c cooked rice
1 tbls of dry parsley
1 tbls of chives
salt and pepper to taste

-Grind vegetables and meats
-Put oil in a heavy pot with lid. Add ground vegetables and meats. Cover pot. Simmer on low heat one-hald hours. Season, to taste.
-Mix rice and vegetable-meat mixture. Stir thoroughly. Add dry parsley and chives.
 
Smothered Okra

10 pounds of okra
Cooking Oil
2 large onions chopped
2 large bellpeppers chopped
2 large cans of tomatoes (or 4 fresh tomatoes peeled)
salt and red pepper to taste

-Wash okra and slice into 1/2 inch slices
-Pour oil to cover bottom of large heavy roasting pan; add okra, bellpepper and onion and blend. Cover tightly and cook in 300F oven for one hour.
-Add tomatoes and stir until well-blended; recover and continue to cook for at least two more hours. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
-When cooked add seasonings to taste and serve hot as a side dish, or freeze for later use in gumbo.
 
Bourbon Street Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 C. soy sauce
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. bourbon (to taste)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions: 1. Place chicken breasts in a 9x13" baking dish
2. Combine the ginger, soy sauce, onion flakes, sugar, bourbon and garlic powder and pour over chicken
3. Cover dish and place in refrigerator overnight
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
5. In a covered dish, bake in preheated oven, basting frequently, for 1 hour or until chicken is well browned and juices run clear. Also good on the grill!
Note: If you double the recipe, make sure that the chicken is still in a single layer. Serving 5 Oven Temp: 375F
 
King Cake

Cake
1/2 C warm water (100-115° F)
2 T yeast
1/2 C sugar, plus 2 tsp.
3 1/2 - 4 C flour
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 C warm milk
5 egg yolks
1/2 C butter
2 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg beaten with 1 T milk, for egg wash

Icing
3 C confectioner's sugar
1/4 C lemon juice
3-6 T water

additional sugar & food coloring for decoration (follow link for tinted sugar directions)

1 tiny 1" baby doll (see notes above)


Sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar over warm water in a small, shallow bowl. Allow to rest for 3-5 minutes, then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm, draft-free place until yeast starts to bubble up and mixture almost doubles in volume, about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, mix 3 1/2 C flour, 1/2 cup sugar, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt. In mixing bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer or food processor, combine yeast , milk and egg yolks. Gradually add dry ingredients, and softened butter, adding additional flour, as necessary to achieve a medium-soft ball. Knead dough, again adding flour if necessary, until smooth, shiny and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Place dough in a covered, buttered bowl , in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

In the meantime, butter a large baking sheet and set aside.

When dough has risen, remove and punch down. Sprinkle with cinnamon and form into a cylinder, then twist this cylinder into a circle. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Once again, cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375° F.

Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack completely before hiding baby doll inside or icing and decorating.


Icing
Mix sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water until mixture is smooth, adding more water as necessary to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency. Spread icing over cake and immediately sprinkle colored sugar in alternating color rows.


Bread Machine Version
To make this dough successfully in a Bread Machine, substitute milk for the water, making the liquid total 1 cup milk.

Just put the ingredients in the machine, as per manufacturer instructions, set it to the dough setting, and in a few hours you're ready to pick up the instructions from the rolling out point.
 
Black Eyed Peas with Ham

Cooking black eyed peas at a low simmer instead of a boil will keep the skins from bursting and give the dish a better appearance. Also add salt after cooking is complete as it can make the beans tough.


3 1/2 c canned or frozen (and thawed) black-eyed peas thawed
3 c chicken stock or canned low-salt broth
4 oz finely chopped ham
1 C onion, chopped
2 T balsamic or red wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. (more to taste) crushed red pepper
pepper to taste



Serves 6

Bring all ingredients to boil in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Crab Creole


6 small crabs
Bread crumbs
3 canned pimientos, chopped fine
pinch of mace
1 hot red pepper, chopped, or cayenne pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped chervil
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons sherry
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, crushed
butter

Remove the crab meat from the shells and chop fine. Scrub the
empty shells and reserve. Mash 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs into the
crab eat until the mixture is smooth. Add all the other ingredients
except the butter, mixing thoroughly. Stuff the reserved crab
shells with the mixture. Sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs, dot
with butter, and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 1/2 hour, or
until browned. Serves 6 as an appetizer or 2-3 as a luncheon
entree.
 
Bread Pudding

1 1/2 loaves dried Raisin bread, torn into pieces
2 cups milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 can Eagle brand milk
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-cup dark rum or 1 tablespoon rum extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the milk, eggs, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, heavy cream, sugar, brown sugar, and salt, mix well to ensure the sugar has been dissolved.
Add bread pieces. Let sit until bread has soaked up all of the milk mixture. Place in baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour or until bread pudding has set. Remove bread pudding from oven and let cool to just warm.

Rum Sauce:

1 can Eagle brand milk
4 tablespoons margarine, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup dark rum

Combine Eagle brand milk, margarine, stirring well, warm before serving time. Whisk in rum just before serving.
Serve bread pudding with sauce.
 
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