Even though I have only been to New Orleans once, and that was just this past December, I have always loved the city, the culture and of course, the cuisine, Mardis Gras has always been a fascination of mine & despite the fact that my husband half grew up in Louisiana, we have yet to go to Mardis Gras together!!
Every year though, I like to go all out for Fat Tuesday! While traditionally Fat Tuesday symbolizes the last days before lent begins, I am not Catholic (although my husband sometimes is!), so I use the day as an excuse for making as many Cajun foods as possible! It doesn't hurt that Cajun food is one of my favorites, or that my dad has been making it for as long as I can remember...
This year, I decided to make Gumbo using an Instant Roux mix we bought at the Winn Dixie in Destrehan.
While I would normally make my own roux (butter and flour), I was really excited to try out this new item!
Quick Review on Tony Chachere's Creole Instant Roux Mix:
I thought it made a really nice, dark roux; darker normally than I use, so if you like thinner gumbo, I would use more water or less of everything all together... The downside to the mix was that just for one pot of gumbo, I had to use almost half of the canister; so really the mix cost me about $4 and I used $2 for one meal. Cost wise, it would be much cheaper to just use butter and flour, but the mix is quick and if you aren't comfortable with making a roux, the mix is definitely a good choice for you! Another downside is that except for that Winn Dixie, I have never seen the Mix in any other stores.
Chicken, Sausage & Okra Gumbo
Ingredients:
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 white onion, sliced
10 cups cool water
1 cup Ton Chachere's Instant Roux
1 roterrise chicken (original)
1 lb smoked sausage
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
Directions:
Saute bell peppers and onions until tender.
Make the roux: Whisk together 1 cup mix and 2 cups water. Bring to boil.
Chop up the chicken and the sausage (our grocery store didn't have andouille, so I had to use a-not-as-good kind of sausage; this really does make a difference!)
Add the remaining 8 cups of water, the chicken, sausage and the okra.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (aka the best seasonings ever!)
Serve with steamed white rice.
For dessert, I did a take on a New Orleans classic, Bananas Foster (a personal favorite).
Sauteed Bananas in a Brown Butter Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
4 bananas
Vanilla Ice Cream
Directions:
Brown the butter. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the sliced bananas to the butter and sugar mixture.
Spoon the hot mixture over a few scoops of vanilla ice cream! So delicious!
When we were in New Orleans a few months back, we picked up some cheap Mardi Gras decorations, so we put them up!
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