Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras

[#1cook]

Tarte á la Bouillie Pie

1/2 gallon milk
2 cans evaporated milk
2 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
8 eggs vanilla to taste

Crust
1 stick butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder

Heat the milk in a large saucepan. In a separate bowl mix flour and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Pour a little of the hot milk over the egg mixture. Return to the pot and cook stirring until thick. Stir continuously or else the bouillie will stick. Add vanilla to taste.

CRUST: Mix butter, eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and baking powder. Chill for 1/2 hour before rolling out. Bake at 350º until brown.

[#1cook]

Cajun Baked Potato Casserole

6 large potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup parmesan cheese (fresh grated)
1/4 cup bacon bits
salt
pepper
6 green onions, green part only
1 cup shrimp (raw, medium-size)
1 cup crawfish
cajun seasoning
garlic

Boil, bake, or microwave the potatoes. Cut potatoes in half and
arrange in a large casserole dish, leaving skins on potatoes.
Press down with a fork.

Spread butter over potatoes. Spread bacon bits over butter. Add
salt and pepper.

Devein and peel shrimp and crawfish. Saute shrimp and crawfish in
butter with garlic and cajun seasoning. Add to casserole. Spread
grated cheese over top. Sprinkle cajun seasoning on top. Bake
until hot and cheese is melted. Top with chopped green onion tops.

[#1cook]

Ham and Corn Beignets

•2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
•4 ears fresh corn
•4 eggs
•3/4 cup milk
•10 ounces diced cooked ham
•1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
•1/2 cup finely diced red onion
•1 tablespoon salt
•3 cups all-purpose flour
•1 tablespoon baking powder

1.In a large heavy pot, preheat the vegetable oil to between 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.Shuck, wash and dry the corn. Using a sharp knife, shave the ears of corn into a medium sized bowl. Using a cheese grater, scrape any remaining corn and juice into the bowl with the kernels. Discard the scraped cobs.
3.In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Combine the corn, ham, cayenne pepper, red onion, salt, flour and baking powder with the egg and milk mixture. Whisk until a firm batter has formed.
4.Slowly drop rounded tablespoonful of the batter into the hot oil one at a time. The drops should form a loose layer on the top of the oil. Fry until the drops of batter are dark golden brown. Remove the beignets from the oil and place them on a towel. Check that they are cooked all the way through. If the centers are doughy, lower the heat of the oil and fry the beignets again for 2 or 3 minutes. Repeat this step until all the batter has been used.

[#1cook]

Cajun Crawfish and Shrimp Etouffe

•1/3 cup vegetable oil
•1/4 cup all-purpose flour
•1 small green bell pepper, diced
•1 medium onion, chopped
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•2 stalks celery, diced
•2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
•2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce
•1/3 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
•2 tablespoons seafood seasoning
•1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
•1 cup fish stock
•1 pound crawfish tails
•1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined

1.Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Gradually stir in flour, and stir constantly until the mixture turns 'peanut butter' brown or darker, at least 15 or 20 minutes. I use a large fork with the flat side to the bottom of the pan in a side to side motion. This is your base sauce or 'Roux'. It is very important to stir this constantly. If by chance the roux burns, discard and start over.
2.Once the roux is browned, add the onions, garlic, celery and bell pepper to the skillet, and saute for about 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and fish stock, and season with the seafood seasoning. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.Season the sauce with hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper (if using), and add the crawfish and shrimp. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque.

[#1cook]

Shrimp and Crab Chowder

2 cans cream of potato soup
8 oz. cream cheese
1 can evaporated milk
1 can shrimp
1/4 lb. or 1 can crab


Melt cream cheese in soup with 1 soup can evaporated milk and 1 can of water. Add shrimp and crabmeat.

[#1cook]

Baked Shrimp Creole

2 Eggs,slightly beaten
1/4 c Water
2 c Shrimp,shelled/deveined
2 c Cornflake crumbs
Oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste


Shrimp Sauce
1 c Chili sauce
1 c Mayonnaise
1/4 c Pickle relish
1 Egg,hard-cooked,chopped
1/2 ts Mustard,prepared
1/2 ts Onion,grated
1 tb Lemon juice


Beat eggs slightly with water. Dry shrimp on paper towels; dip first into crumbs, then eggs, then into crumbs again. Place shrimp in well-oiled shallow baking pan so they do not touch; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn once with a broad spatula so that both sides are oiled. Bake in preheated 450'F. oven 6 to 8 minutes. Serve with Shrimp Sauce or your favorite sauce. *** SHRIMP SAUCE *** Combine all ingredients; chill. Serve with baked or broiled shrimp. NOTE: You may prefer broiled shrimp. Follow the same recipe, but cook only 2 minutes on each side under the broiler.

[#1cook]

Crawfish Maque Choux

Butter to cover bottom of pot
2 Onions; chopped
1 Clove garlic; diced
1 Bell pepper; chopped
5 Ears of fresh corn; cut
1 cn Ro-tel Tomatoes
2 lb Crawfish*
Parsley; chopped
Onion tops; chopped


Place onions, garlic, bell pepper in a medium size heavy pot with butter. Saute. Add fresh corn with corn milk from corn and season to taste. Stir well. Cover and let simmer stirring occasionally. Add Ro-tel, a little bit of water, cover and simmer 1 hour on low heat. Add seafood and cook another 15-20 minutes. Can also add parsley and green onions. You may substitute 2 cans whole kernel corn with 1/3 cup evaporated milk.


*Or shrimp tails or crabmeat.

[#1cook]

French Quarter Fudge Pie


One 12-ounce package chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons brewed coffee
1 teaspoon Tia Maria liqueur or almond extract
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup flour1-
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, divided
use1 unbaked pie shell

Melt chocolate chips into a syrup. Set aside. Mix together sugar, coffee, and Tia Maria/almond extract. Add melted butter; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time. Pour in melted chocolate chips. Add flour and pecans. Mix until smooth and pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans on top.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool 2 hours before cutting.

[#1cook]

French Quarter Potatoes

2 Tablespoons Creole mustard
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoons ground Allspice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 lib (625 g) small red or white potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 bay leaves
freshly ground black pepper
6 large cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped red onions
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
4 andouille sausage links. quartered lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch chunks
2 green onions, pale and green parts, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the mustard Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, and allspice. Set aside

Heat olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet and cook the potatoes, bay leaves and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cover the pan as they cook. When potatoes are tender, add the garlic, onions, and bell pepper and raise the heat to high and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the sausage and stir until heated through. Stir in the mustard mixture, then serve.

[#1cook]

Red Beans and Rice

1 pound red kidney beans
1 large onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 pound smoked sausage cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 hambone with some meat on it *Optional but wonderful to use
1 bay leaf
red pepper to taste
salt and black pepper to taste
water to cover beans


Wash beans. In a large Dutch oven or cast iron pot, cover in cold water and soak overnight. When ready to cook, add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaf and hambone. Add enough additional water to cover the beans at least 3 inches above their marker. Cook slowly stirring occasionally until beans are tender. Time will vary from 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

In the last 30 minutes of cooking mash some of the beans to thicken the gravy. Add the smoked sausage and season to taste with salt and pepper. The heat may be increased to evaporate excess water if the beans have a too watery gravy or water added to make more gravy. Do stir to prevent sticking. Serve over steamed rice.