Ingredient Sourcing: Fat Tuesday

This was not as challenging as I thought it would be. Most of the recipes of the dishes we had planned to make for Mardi Gras were readily available. The only two ingredients that were somewhat harder to acquire, but not really, were frozen okra and andouille sausage. Both of these ingredients I found at Fred Meyer, though the latter was more of a fluke and I managed to snag the last package of Aidell's Andouille Style Sausage.

Because we were also cooking for toddlers (in addition to the adults), really spicy foods are frowned upon because young digestive systems simply cannot handle it. Gives 'em diaper rash. Anyhow. I substituted a smoked turkey sausage I found at Trader Joe's for the andouille. By breaking out the missing ingredients by recipe, it was easy to create a shopping list.

For example:

New Orleans rice & beans:
1 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 lb red kidney beans (2-3 cans)
celery ribs
1/2 lb Andouille sausage / smoked sausage

bread pudding:
1/2 gallon organic milk (4 c for the bread pudding)
1 qt heavy cream (2 c for the bread pudding, 2 c for the whiskey sauce)
day old French or white bread

langostino etouffe:
1-2 lb langostino
4 c chopped onions (if using Emeril's recipe), so roughly 2-3 onions

I did have to look up a conversion for the beans, from dried to cooked. Because we simply lacked the time, I opted for canned red beans instead of the slow cooker method.

Also, all the recipes called for Creole seasoning, which excluding the salt, I had just taken out all the traditional Creole seasoning spices and set them on the kitchen counter. Then we could just flavor by approximation.

Besides salt, black pepper, and onions, the Creole seasonings used for Fat Tuesday's dinner were: cayenne powder, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, and thyme.

New Orleans Style Beignets

When I researched recipes to make this deep fried doughnut/fritter, I came across two distinct recipe ratios. One looked far more unhealthy than the other and included ingredients such as evaporated milk and vegetable shortening. Sure, evaporated milk isn't that unhealthy but it is a far cry from being fresh. And shortening? Ugh. Perhaps the locals to New Orleans see it differently during Mardi Gras. I'm speculating that the shortening (versus butter) would make the dough a little bit more airy in texture. My only comparative taste sample were the ones I had at Toulouse Petit in Seattle. 

The recipe ratio comes from a Los Angeles Times recipe by chef Bryan Gilmore of the Creole Creamery in New Orleans.

Making Fat Tuesday fatter with fresh beignets

Ingredients


1 teaspoon plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups flour, divided
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg, at room temperature
powdered sugar, for dusting

Peanut oil and/or vegetable oil for frying, heated to 370 degrees F.


Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 c warm water (110 degrees F) and 1 tsp sugar. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 5 minutes. If the yeast is alive, it should be foamy and/or poofy looking.

2. In a stand mixer, whisk together remaining sugar, 3 cups of flour, and salt.

3. In a small saucepan, combine milk and butter. Gently heat until butter is melted. Pour warmed mixture into the flour and mix using a dough hook in the mixer. Add the egg, yeast mixture, and remaining cup of flour. Mix until a soft dough forms. Cover with another bowl or plate or plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.

4. Divide dough into thirds and roll out until it is 1/4" thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 2" wide strips, and cut the strips into squares. 

5. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven until the temperature reaches about 370 degrees F. Gently drop in 2-3 pieces of dough at a time. Use a metal slotted spoon to turn beignets over when browned on one side. Should take no more than 1 minute per side.

6. Remove fried beignets to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve hot.

New Orleans Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Bam! Emeril really knows how to kick a dish up several notches. I made a 9x13 bread pudding with a half batch of the whiskey sauce and there are no leftovers. Devoured. *poof* In one evening party. Strangely enough, despite Trader Joes having a lot of different types of freshly made bread, it is all sourdough based. I wanted just a general "white" bread that didn't scream, I'm a white bread. You know? 

Ideally day-old French or Italian bread would have done it, so I picked up a loaf of shepherd's bread. Trader Joes either changed their supplier or the recipe ratio for their private label shepherd's bread. It's no longer one of those rustic-looking, mop-up-the-stew loaves of bread. It looks -and tastes- like it was mass manufactured. Anyhow. It did the trick for this bread pudding.

This recipe ratio comes from the cookbook: Emeril's Potluck (HarperCollins, 2004). The whiskey used for the sauce was Makers Mark; though, I suppose any whiskey could do or bourbon.

Already hacked into before I could photograph it.

Ingredients

3/4 loaf shepherds bread (originally 24 oz), sliced into cubes (about 14 cups)

2 c (1 pint) organic heavy cream

4 c organic whole milk

6 large eggs

1 1/2 c brown sugar

4 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 c raisins

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Place bread in a large bowl. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with unsalted butter.

2. In another large bowl, combine cream, milk, eggs, sugar, spices, salt, and raisins. Whisk to mix. Pour this into the bread bowl. Stir to combine. You can let this sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until you're ready to bake.

3. Transfer bread mixture to baking dish and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the center has set.

4. Pour some of the whiskey sauce (see below) over the top of the bread pudding. Reserve the rest in a small bowl so that guests may add more sauce if they like.