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Laissez les bon temps rouler!
31 January 2010
Although I've never been to New Orleans, there's no reason I can't pretend I'm there just once a year. It seems to be a place I would not only enjoy for the obvious reasons of food and frolic, but also appreciate for its architecture and rich history. While the city most certainly must have been changed by Katrina, and is still in the process of rebuilding, the spirit of New Orleans endures. From all accounts, they still know how to "let the good times roll."
The food of New Orleans, and that related to the entire Mardi Gras celebration is drenched in decadence. Of course, Mardi Gras has its roots in Roman (even Pagan), and then European Catholic traditions, but it took until after the Louisiana Purchase to get things rolling and achieve the heights of New Orleans' reputation for throwing a heck of a party. This Mardi Gras season as we know it (which begins on January 6 every year with Epiphany) is noted most for everyone taking the time to throw caution to the wind before Lent. This is especially true during this two weeks before Ash Wednesday (Fat Tuesday is February 16 this year). I'm not prepared to go full force in that respect, except for where the food is concerned. Full force it is...bring on the overindulgence of full flavored gumbos, the bounty of wonderfully spicy crab, shrimp, and crawfish, the calorie laden pastries and cakes, and the overall richness of everything worthy of consumption. I have an urge to go through Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme recipes, and even try to look up anything from an old PBS cooking show called "The Cajun Cook."
Anything Creole or Cajun may come together quite easily, and just the thought of sucking the heads and pinching the tails of some crawfish makes me start to giggle. Good friends of mine had some crawfish shipped to them a few years back . They invited my husband and me to share them, and what a treat! I imagine the cost would be prohibitive for many, but here's a link to a site for ordering. http://1800crawfish.com/ Now, how much easier can that be? I'm willing to bet that a local seafood monger could get a hold of some just for the asking, allowing you to purchase a smaller amount.
Being more of a fan of Jambalaya than Gumbo, I'm happy to share my favorite recipe for it. The recipe actually originated from a random Junior League cookbook of my mothers, although, I've tweaked it over the years to make it mine. I make this at least two or three times a year, as it satisfies the cravings in this house for something fun and spicy, and it serves a crowd nicely, too.
Without any real explanation for it, I have a bit of a fascination with the popular King Cake. The colors on the cake (purple, green, and gold) remind me of the favorite colors in my garden as it blooms, so that may be part of it. I'm a sucker for the symbolism of the colors, too. (Purple - Justice; Green - faith; Gold - power.) Other than that, it seems a silly sort of thing to hide a baby in the cake. I imagine myself being some poor fool biting into it and cracking a tooth or something. The custom behind the baby in the cake actually comes from the French. They would put a bean in the cake to represent a baby Jesus, then changed it to being a miniature Baby Jesus, and would have been served on January 6. I'm not willing to sink my energy to baking this cake, but if having a party, I would look to order one from a reputable bakery, or even contact one of the really good bakeries in NOLA who ship them. Haydel's has been a popular one (http://www.haydelbakery.com/) and seems to have a good reputation, but chances are, depending on your part of the country, one of your local bakeries offers one. Or, what the heck...go ahead and make your own!
Bananas Foster (for which I've already expressed my fondness and translated it into breakfast) has its roots in NOLA at the legendary Brennan's Restaurant, and would be great fun to go all out in its presentation for the flambé effect if having a just a few friends over. This could also satisfy the pyromaniac within me.
Any of you who are actually from the Crescent City, surely could offer some advice and pointers for pulling together a great Mardi Gras celebration. And if you know of good resources, please share them. I'd love to learn fun facts and trivia for it, as well. As for me, I'll just do my thing, make up some Jambalaya, and if I want any beads...well, I'm not going to embarrass myself to get them. The party supply store will work just fine for me.
Seafood Jambalaya
(Serves 10-12)
- 1 lb. bacon
- 1 lb smoked sausage, thinly sliced
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 can (28 oz) chopped tomatoes
- 1 bunch scallions/green onions, chopped
- 2 cups water
- 1 ½ t dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 t oregano
- 2-3 T hot sauce
- 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 T ground black pepper
- ½ t chili powder
- 2 c long grain rice
- 3 lbs seafood, (your preference of shrimp, scallops,
mussels, firm, white fish like mahi-mahi )
- Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Method
Brown bacon in a large stock pot or Dutch oven - drain the fat, crumble the bacon and set aside. In the same pot, brown the sausage, remove, and set aside. Add the green pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, and celery to the pot. Sauté the vegetables until tender. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, green onions, and water. Add the thyme, bay leaves, oregano, hot sauce, salt, pepper, jalapenos, cayenne, chili powder, and mix well. Stir in the sausage and bacon. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rice, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes (until rice has absorbed most of the liquid). Add the seafood. Cook until the rice is tender, and the seafood is cooked through. Serve with additional hot sauce and lemon wedges.
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