MARDI GRAS
No one is quite sure where or when
Mardi Gras began, and folks in New Orleans don’t care. This yearly wild
celebration in “Nawlins” (Only the tourists pronounce it “Noo Orleens”) is
their most important tradition that not even the most pious will put asunder
before it all disappears at the stroke of midnight when Ash Wednesday and forty
days of repentance sober everyone.
Those who have been to New Orleans for Mardi
Gras will attest to its madness. Thousands line the streets to catch colorful
beads thrown from hundreds of floats built by private individuals and
businesses who have spent untold dollars to provide this day of outlandish
opulence and ostentation fort their own enjoyment. Bourbon Street is alive with
jazz and booze. Outlandish costumes know no limits. As the frenzy of decadence
reaches an unbearable pitch, the clock strikes midnight and police and street
cleaners suddenly appear to sweep away the mockery. But, even the most pious of
New Orleans do not restrain from their cuisine because they know that anything
that beautiful – that good – surely must come from Heaven. There is no other
cuisine in this world that matches good Creole and Cajun cooking.
It is said
that, in order to fully savor Creole cooking, one must have a “Bouche Creole”,
translated simply as a Creole mouth, and a “Boudin Creole”, or Creole Stomach.
The real Creole cook doesn’t follow a recipe, but relies on his and her
imagination, remembering that Creole cooking began with the French love of and
skill in manipulating anything edible into a tasty dish. Combine this with the
Spanish passion for piquancy, the native African ability for developing the
perfect method of slow cooking, coupled with the gift of herbs and spices from
the Indians, and, Voila! Creole! Combine it all in a well-seasoned cast iron
pot with a nut brown roux, add onions, celery and peppers and, from there, you
can go anywhere with ingredients of choice.
And, now, some translations of New Orleans’ jargon:
JAMBALAYA: Highly-spiced rice, chicken and ham, often mixed
with sausage, peppers, tomatoes, shrimp and oysters, as inspired by Spanish
Paella.
GUMBO: The African
word for okra. An original creation indigenous to the city of New Orleans,
developed from local ingredients of seafood and vegetables and thickened with
okra or filé powder. Okra is added at the beginning to simmer with the other
ingredients. Filé powder must be added at the end, or it will become gummy.
Gumbo is a combination of soup and stew to be eaten as a first or main course.
Like other New Orleans dishes, it is served with white, fluffy rice.
ÉTOUFFÉE: Probably derived from the French, étuvée, “to
braise”, or slowly simmer.
CRÊPES: The Queen of pancakes and traditional fare of Shrove
Tuesday celebrating renewal, family life and hope for good fortune and
happiness.
KING CAKE: It is said the cake was brought to New Orleans
from France in the 1870s. The decorative colored sugars - purple for justice,
green for faith, and gold for power – represent the three Kings who visited the
Christ child on Epiphany. Also known as
Twelfth Night Cake, it is prepared in New Orleans bakeries during the period
between January 6th and Ash Wednesday. The cakes were round to
represent the circular route taken by the Kings to confuse King Herod, who was following
them to kill the Christ child. A bean or pea or tiny doll is hidden inside the
cake to symbolize the baby Jesus.
SHRIMP ÉTOUFFÉE
Yield: 4 servings
For the Roux:
2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 3
tablespoons all-purpose flour. Stir together in a heavy pot over very low heat
until the flour is browned. Be careful not to burn. This will take
approximately 10 minutes.
For the Étouffée:
1 large onion, chopped, 1 bell pepper, color of choice,
chopped, 2 ribs celery, chopped, 2 cloves garlic, chopped, 3 ounce can tomato
paste, 1 ¼ cups beef broth (10 ounce cans Campbell’s®), 1 cup water, 2 bay
leaves, 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon chili
powder, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon Kosher or coarse sea salt
1- 2 pounds peeled medium shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
½ cup chopped scallion greens, a handful chopped parsley.
1.
Add the onions, peppers, celery and garlic to the roux.
Stir.
2.
Add the tomato paste. Stir in the broth and water, a
little at a time over medium heat. Add the bay leaves, basil, thyme, pepper and
salt.
3.
Simmer slowly over medium – low heat 45 minutes or
longer. Cover and let this wonderful dish rest 1 hour or longer for the
seasonings to blend.
4.
Peel the shrimp. Sauté in the oil/garlic until just
colored and coated. Add salt, if you wish. Add to the sauce directly before
serving. Reheat and serve over rice sprinkled with chopped scallions and
parsley
Louisiana Crab Dip
8 ounces crab meat (fresh, if possible)
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons white horseradish
½ teaspoon lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon Louisiana style hot sauce or Tabasco®
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1. Pick over the crab meat for any shells and cartilage.
2. Beat cream cheese smooth. Beat in sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, hot sauce and mustard. Stir in chopped cilantro. If mixture is too thick, add extra sour cream.
3. Carefully fold in the crab. Sprinkle the top with paprika or chopped parsley for color.
4. Refrigerate. Serve with crackers and celery, Belgian endive, or toast points.
Note: This is fabulous served warm from the oven or microwave.
King Cake
2 packages active dry yeast (Fleischman’s®)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup warm water (100° - 115°F)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cold milk
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 extra large egg yolks
¼ pound plus 4 tablespoons butter, softened
3-4 cups all-purpose
or bread flour
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1
teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup finely chopped pecans
8-9 inch spring form or tube pan
1.
In a large bowl, combine the yeast with 2 tablespoons
of the sugar and sprinkle over the water. Let it sit 5 minutes. Stir. Let it
sit 10 minutes to become doubled and puffy. (to proof)
2.
Stir in remaining sugar, salt, milk, sour cream, lemon
juice and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
3.
Add the egg yolks and stir again to blend.
4.
With your fingers, quickly work the butter into 2 ½
cups of the flour to a dry, mealy consistency. Add it to the yeast mixture and
punch down and turn over the dough many times (knead) to make a smooth elastic
dough. Add more flour as needed.
5.
Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and continue
to knead approximately 6 minutes.
6.
Shape into a ball. Cover. Refrigerate at least 4 hours
or until mixture doubles in size.
7.
Place o a lightly floured surface and punch the dough
down.
8.
Roll the dough into a rectangle about 10 X 14 inches.
Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg mixture.
Sprinkle the nuts over.
9.
Roll it up from the wide end, jelly-roll fashion.
10. Grease
the bottom and sides of the pan. Set the dough in, pushing the ends together to
meet.
11. Cover
and let rise again until doubled in size.
12. Preheat
oven to 375°F.
13. Bake
40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool to the warm point in the pans. Invert
on a rack and glaze.
Glaze:
Confectioners’ sugar mixed with a little lime or lemon juice
to a smooth cream.
Purple, green and gold colored sugar can be purchased from
specialty stores or through King Arthur Flour – Google King Arthur colored
sugar to order or call 800.827.6836.
Tune in Comcast channel 22 & BrightHouse 199 to watch host, Valerie Hart, interview chefs in their kitchens "The Back of the House", or watch it live on your computer at www.lakefronttv.com. Follow her food page on Wednesdays in The Daily Commercial.
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