The Nifty Foodie

I find myself completely stoked about this year’s Superbowl. While the Saints aren’t in it, it’s going to be held in New Orleans, which is where I’m from (well, a suburb of New Orleans, but close enough). Every time New Orleans is on the nation’s radar (for a good thing, at least), I feel a small sense of pride. New Orleans has been through a lot, and it’s just wonderful to see New Orleans back to being a prime tourist city again. Seven years ago, I remember going home for the Mardi Gras holiday, and going to my first post-Katrina parade. New Orleans (months later, mind you) still had a mildew-y smell. You could still see those “X”s spray painted on searched homes, as well as the water line stains on homes from the flooding.

While it was a sad sight to see, I think Mardi Gras that year allowed everyone to temporarily take their minds off of the damage and just simply enjoy New Orleans the way we all knew how. Stand on the neutral ground (or sidewalk), wave your hands in the air, take in the high school marching band music and catch/wear beads until your neck ached. Mardi Gras (the family version, at least) is the best!

Now, New Orleans is doing a LOT better than it was in February 2006, obviously. It’s mostly back to normal, but if you drive to certain parts of the city, there’s still some rebuilding happening. I’m so happy to see New Orleans hosting it’s first Superbowl since Katrina. With Mardi Gras being the week after, this whole shin-dig is being called Super Gras. I mean, these tourists have it made…they can have a hurricane in one hand and king cake in the other with their jerseys and face paint on, and no one will give them a second glance. New Orleans is really the best. (hint hint: food blog conferences take notes please?)

Since my husband and I have been counting calories, I haven’t been cooking much Louisiana cuisine. I still enjoy gumbo and jambalaya from time to time, but to have a full pot of that in our house? I just can’t do it lol! However, not ALL Louisiana cuisine is heavy in the calories. Let me introduce you to a wonderful dish called shrimp creole. It’s a wonderful tomato-based dish that is commonly served over plain rice. Now, I know…tomatoes can be boring, but there are layers of flavor in this dish. You start with making your own shrimp stock (using the heads and shells),  and I swear, it’s worth it. Just make it. When it comes to cooking the dish, it starts with the “holy trinity” (as every good Louisiana dish should…except for bananas foster…who wants that in their bananas foster? ha!) and then tomatoes/fresh shrimp stock/white wine. Are you hungry yet? I’m tempted to take the leftovers out of the freezer as I’m writing this post!

Now, fair warning…this is a SPICY dish. If you need to tone it down, feel free. You can play around with the spices if you want it a little milder. I swear, it will still taste great!

Shrimp Creole
adapted from NOLA Cuisine

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. peeled and deveined Shrimp (save the shells and heads to make the stock)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp.vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 small green pepper, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chachere’s)
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 20 oz. of canned fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups shrimp stock (recipe)
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• kosher salt, to taste
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. white pepper
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp. tabasco sauce
• 1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup green onions, green tops thinly sliced
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Melt the butter, along with the vegetable oil, in a dutch oven over medium high heat. When the butter begins to foam, add 1/2 cup of the onions. Cook the onions, stirring often, until the onions are a golden brown color. Add the remaining onions, as well as the celery, bell pepper, 1 tbsp. of the cajun seasoning and a pinch of salt, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the vegetables until they are soft.
2. Add the tomato paste to the vegetables, stirring constantly, until the paste begins to brown. Then, add the diced tomatoes and another pinch of salt. Stir everything together, and cook the mixture until the tomatoes are starting to break down a good bit. Add the wine and turn the heat until high, until most of the alcohol burns off (a couple of minutes). Add the shrimp stock, remaining tbsp. of cajun seasoning, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, white pepper, a little bit of cayenne (to taste), as well as the thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Continue simmering the mixture on low for another 45 minutes.
3. Add the hot sauce (you may want to add less if you’re sensitive to spice) and worcestershire sauce. Season the sauce to taste with salt. At this time, season the shrimp with 1 tbsp. kosher salt and a pinch of cayenne. Bring the sauce to a boil again, and then reduce the heat to low, adding the shrimp in. Let the shrimp cook in the sauce until cooked through, which will only take a few minutes at the most. Add the green onions and parsley just before serving. Serve over plain rice and enjoy!

 

 

 

My husband is not a big pasta person. He could eat rice for days, but pasta? He has to be in the mood for it. I’m the opposite. If you told me I had to eat pasta every day for the rest of my life, I would think I died and went to heaven. I LOVE pasta. I’m all about it. So, when crawfish went on sale on weekend, instead of making the usual etouffee, I hoped that my husband would be in a pasta-loving mood that day, because crawfish fettuccine was on my mind.

Well, as you can see, we had crawfish fettuccine that evening. And it was every bit as delicious as I had hoped. We ended up halving the recipe, since the original recipe would make way too much food for just my husband and I.

I do want to note that this recipe does contain Velveeta. If you aren’t OK with using processed foods, you may be able to substitute freshly grated cheese, since this recipe’s directions reminded me a lot of making a bechamel sauce. However, I personally didn’t try that to tell you if it works out the same way.

Crawfish Fettuccine
Source: adapted from Holly Clegg

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. fettuccine
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1 lb. light Velveeta, cut into small cubes
• 1 lb. crawfish tails (make sure they are cleaned)
• 1 tbsp. chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
• pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the fettuccine in boiling water until al dente. Do not add oil or salt to the pot. Drain the pasta, wash in cool water to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick together as it sits, and set aside.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter and saute the onions, green bell peppers, and garlic until translucent and tender. Add the flour and stir well until everything is mixed.
3. Gradually add the milk, stirring at the same time, until the mixture is smooth. Add the cheese cubes, stirring the sauce until all of the cheese has melted.
4. Add in the crawfish tails, parsley, green onions, worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper and mix everything together gently.
5. Add in the pasta, and using tongs, toss everything together until well-combined. Heat the fettuccine well and serve.
   
   

Part of me cannot believe that the Superbowl is Sunday. I mean, that’s the end of football season until next Fall. I have to wait at least six months to watch another game after this. Sad.  (If you know me, you know I’m being dead serious about how sad this is to me. Crazy football fan here!) A perk of Superbowl Sunday? Watching Millie run up to the TV when I randomly switch over to the Puppy Bowl.

To mourn celebrate the end of another football season, here’s some great recipes that will definitely disappear if you serve them at your Superbowl parties.

Restaurant Style Queso Blanco

Restaurant Style Salsa

Crawfish Pies

Crawfish Cheesecake

Pork and Sausage Jambalaya

Berry Mash Bruschetta

Sugar Cookie Bars

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

Oreo Cupcakes

Oh, and if you have an occasional puppy bowl break, I’m pretty sure the dogs at your party would love you for these!

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats

Around here, Jambalaya is a staple. If you live in Louisiana, you’ve had it. If you live in Louisiana and you haven’t had it, let’s just say you haven’t fully lived yet.

The best jambalaya is usually cooked in huge quantities in a large cast iron pot. If you’re going to a tailgate out here, they’re probably serving jambalaya. Same goes for huge family reunions. Heck, we had jambalaya at our wedding. It’s one of my favorite foods for a gathering and with good reason. It’s absolutely delicious!

Now, at home, we usually would make jambalaya from a mix. I really had no idea how to make jambalaya from scratch….until now. My friend Kayla, who used to have a food blog (hint hint, Kayla…), posted this recipe for jambalaya, which comes from her husband. When my husband and I tasted this, we were absolutely floored! This recipe tastes just like the amazing jambalaya that is made in those huge cast iron pots. I call it tailgating jambalaya in a much more manageable amount. However, be warned (in a good way)…..this makes enough jambalaya to completely fill a 5 qt. dutch oven. We had leftovers that filled up a gallon ziploc bag, which we happily ate throughout the week and even shared with the in-laws.

So yes…make this. For those of you who are wondering, there are no ingredients in this jambalaya that are regional (to my knowledge). Anyone can make this! Just do it.

On an unrelated note: If you have a minute, I would really appreciate your vote for my entry (Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Truffles) in a local holiday dessert recipe contest. Voting ends on Wednesday, and the top 10 entries (by popular vote) move on to be finalists! I know that you have to register to vote, but I’d completely appreciate the support! You can also vote once/day if you wanted to be extra nice.

Jambalaya
Source: Scrumptiously Sassy (recipe posted on Cooking with Christen)

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1.5″ chunks
• 1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 3/4 cup green onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 cups long grain rice
• 8 cups water (for rice)
• 3 tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet browning & seasoning sauce
• Seasoning (salt, red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.)
• Extra water (for meat)

Directions:

1. In a 5-6 quart cast iron pot, heat up the vegetable oil.  Season pork to taste and brown thoroughly (do this in small batches, putting the browned pork in a bowl as it’s done browning).  If the pork starts to stick to the pan, you can add a little water to the pot.
2. Once you’ve browned the pork and removed it from the pot, add the sliced sausage to the pot to brown it as well. Once it’s browned, add the vegetables and cook until tender and translucent. Add the pork chunks back in the pot and stir to combine. Add enough water to cover and simmer on medium-low until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Add the 8 cups of water to the pot and season to taste. You want the liquid to taste spicier and saltier than your preference, since the rice will soak up those flavors. After the liquid is spiced to your preferences, add the Kitchen Bouquet to darken the liquid.  Once the liquid starts to boil, add rice, parsley and green onions. Keep stirring the pot until most liquid is absorbed, then turn the fire to low and cover for 20 minutes. During those 20 minutes, do not remove the lid.
4. Remove the lid and stir to fluff. Once the mixture is well stirred/fluffed, put the lid back on and cook on low for 10 more minutes.  Again, do not remove the lid.
5. Once the jambalaya is finished, uncover the pot and once again, stir/fluff the mixture. Serve and enjoy!

When I was a little kid, I had such trouble spelling “Mississippi”. Was it too many “s”s or the double “p” that threw me for a loop? I just couldn’t get it. My house was less than a tenth of a mile away from the river, and I just couldn’t spell it. That bothered me. My parents taught us a little fun way to spell it eventually, and now I can’t ever spell Mississippi wrong. When in doubt, I tell myself “M-i-s-s… I-s-s…i.P.P.i”. There was an emphasis on the cap letters, so it became a bit of a rhythm to say it in my head that way before spelling it out.

Since I grew up living so close to the Mississippi, I’ve seen the river have its ups and downs. Literally. When the river gets high in the Spring, boats appear like they are floating on the levee. And of course, when it gets low, you’ll barely see the tops of the boats. It’s crazy how much it varies, and this year was no exception. For the first time in almost 40 years, the river was so high that the Corps of Engineers had to open a spillway north of Baton Rouge in order to save New Orleans and Baton Rouge from catastrophic flooding. Sadly, this spillway isn’t just land. People actually built their homes and farms in the spillway, so they had to evacuate. While I’m glad that nothing catastrophic happened to our big cities, it still hurts to know that some people suffered from this.

While I was watching a news segment about the river one night, I couldn’t help but think about the massive journey that the water takes. All the way north from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. There are so many different cities that the river just flows by, and my husband had the greatest idea. A culinary journey down the river–from Minneapolis all the way to New Orleans. Our party idea featured foods that are notorious in the major cities along the river: Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans. I was so stoked when Foodbuzz let me know that our party proposal had been accepted for this month’s 24×24, so I called up our families and had them over for this awesome party!

For Minneapolis, we grilled up the famous Juicy Lucy burger! You can’t go wrong with a cheese stuffed burger, and this burger was one of the favorites of the meal!

For St. Louis, we baked a gooey butter cake. We served it with ice cream and various summer fruit sorbets. The cake is a yeast based batter on the bottom and of course, a gooey butter base layer on top. Many of us (myself included) have never had a gooey butter cake, but it was a great hit! I think next time, this would go perfectly with some fresh fruit.

For Memphis, we made some fabulous BBQ Baby Back ribs. This was my first time ever working with ribs, and it really wasn’t that bad. These were very flavorful ribs and super tender, since they were in an oven for a good part of the morning before finishing off on the grill!

And of course, for New Orleans, we made some grilled corn grits. Grits are a favorite around here, and in one of our favorite restaurants, this is how they make the grits. It’s fabulously rich and flavorful! You probably don’t want to know how much heavy cream and butter are in these grits, but I’ll tell you anyway later when I post the recipe!

Oh, and since we’re all from Louisiana, we had to add in a little lagniappe for NOLA: Hurricanes. I mean, how could you NOT? For a hot, summer day, these are always a hit!

*all recipes will be shared on the blog at a later date*

It was so wonderful to spend time with our families, and I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the food. You know it was a good party when people ask for the leftovers and recipes as they’re leaving!

Thanks so much to Foodbuzz for making this party happen! We really enjoyed the different foods from cities along the river, and also had a blast spending time together!