1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced
28 ounces diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 pound shrimp, thawed, peeled and cooked
2 cups cooked rice
In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.
Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Stir in the thawed shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.
Crawfish Étouffée, serves 4-6, from Southern Living
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, chopped
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ to 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
14 1/2-ounce can chicken broth
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
2 pounds cooked, peeled crawfish tails*
Hot cooked rice
Garnishes: chopped fresh chives, ground red pepper
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 4 ingredients; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add flour, salt, and red pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until caramel colored (about 10 minutes). Add next 3 ingredients; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Stir in crawfish; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with rice. Garnish, if desired.
*2 pounds frozen cooked crawfish tails, thawed and drained, may be substituted for fresh crawfish. If you can’t find crawfish, you can use small shrimp.
New Orleans-Style Shrimp serves 4
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 pounds large shrimp, unpeeled
2 lemons, sliced 1/4" thick
4 teaspoons butter, divided
Combine first 11 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°.
Fold 4 (16 x 12-inch) sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil in half crosswise. Open foil. Remove shrimp mixture from bowl; reserve marinade. Place about 2 1/4 cups shrimp mixture on half of each foil sheet. Drizzle remaining marinade evenly over shrimp. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon butter. Fold foil over shrimp; tightly seal edges.
Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Place on plates. Unfold packets carefully; peel shrimp, and serve immediately.
Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish serves 4, from Cooking Light
3 slices bacon
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons salt-free Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (6-ounce) catfish fillets
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; reserve 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; reserve for another use.
Combine cornmeal, seasoning, and salt in a shallow dish. Dredge fillets in cornmeal mixture, shaking off excess.
Heat reserved drippings in pan over medium-high heat. Add fillets; cook 5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.
Pralines, serves 18, from Better Homes & Gardens
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups pecan halves
Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, and half-and-half. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugars. (This should take 6 to 8 minutes.) Avoid splashing the mixture on sides of the pan.
Carefully clip a candy thermometer to pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring occasionally, until thermometer registers 234 degrees F. (soft-ball stage). Reaching soft-ball stage should take 16 to 18 minutes.
Remove pan from heat. Add butter but do not stir. Cool, without stirring, to 150 degrees F. (This should take about 30 minutes.) Remove thermometer. Stir in pecans. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until candy just begins to thicken but is still glossy. This should take about 3 minutes.
Working quickly, drop candy by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. If candy becomes too stiff to drop,
Make-Ahead Tip: Up to 3 days ahead, prepare Pralines. Store at room temperature in a tightly covered container.
Brennan's Bananas Foster, serves 8
4 medium bananas
¼ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup crème de banane (banana liqueur)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup dark rum
2 cups vanilla low-fat ice cream
Peel bananas; cut each banana in half lengthwise. Cut each half into 2 pieces.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, liqueur, and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes. Add bananas; cook for 4 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Add rum to pan, and ignite rum with a long match. Stir bananas gently until flame dies down. Serve over ice cream.
Hurricane, 1 drink , from the bar.com
½ ounce Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
¾ ounce dark rum
3 ounces passion fruit
3 ounces mango juice
2 ounces sweet and sour mix
Wheel lime
Add Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, dark rum, passion fruit or mango juice, and sweet and sour mix.
Shake and pour into crushed ice-filled hurricane glass or other specialty glass.
Garnish with lime wheel.
Mardi Gras Cupcakes, makes 24, from Taste of Home
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
3 tablespoons each lemon, lime and grape gelatin powder
16 ounces cream cheese frosting
Purple, green and yellow sprinkles
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, sour cream, oil, sugar and eggs; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Divide evenly among three bowls.
Stir one flavor of gelatin powder into each bowl until blended. Fill paper-lined muffin cups with 2 tablespoons of each flavored batter.
Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Decorate with sprinkles.
Mardi Gras King Cake, serves 24 , from Taste of Home
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1/2 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cans (12-1/2 ounces each) almond cake and pastry filling
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons water
Purple, green and gold colored sugar
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, salt, egg and 2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll one portion into a 16-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Spread almond filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.