Host a Mardi Gras party to collect donations for Katrina disaster

[kitchenelf]

That's what we are planning on doing. Probably a mardi gras/poker party where everyone makes a donation.

TIZreporter is getting people on many different websites to host parties for this purpose. I apologize to him for taking his intentions the wrong way.

So...if you were going to host a party and serve New Orleans food what would you fix - and we need recipes too.

 

[TIZReporter]

Thank You Kitchen Elf

AT times like this, we all need to work together.

There are, sadly still tens of thousands of people who are still searching to re-connect with their missing loved ones through the Gulf Coast States.

The rebuilding job is going to be massive and take years.

Sharing in the spirit of "the Big Easy" through its food and special culture is a great way to help.

James Murray
(TIZReporter)

 

[kitchenelf]

I would serve:

Shrimp and Grits
Crawfish Etouffe
Jambalaya
Dirty Rice
Black-eyed peas
Cornbread


This is a great shrimp and grits recipe and can very easily be doubled or tripled.

[font=&quot]SHRIMP AND GRITS[/font]

[font=&quot]
1-quart water
1-cup stone ground grits
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper
2 lbs. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-½ cups chicken broth
6 scallions, finely chopped
2 onions cut in half then cut in julienne strips
2 green peppers cut in julienne strips
Andouille sausage, cut in 1” pieces or so (preferably or you could use kielbasa)

· First, cook your sausage in the 1-quart of water. Remove sausage when done BUT KEEP WATER.

· Use the sausage water for the grits water. Add the grits and ½ cup butter. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir constantly until thickened. When thickened remove from heat and stir in the cream and the Parmesan Cheese. Season with salt and pepper, set aside but try to keep warm (just put lid on it).

· Melt 2 TBS of the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, and green pepper, stirring occasionally but letting the pieces get caramelized (you want them to brown a little bit).

· Add the shrimp, tomatoes and garlic, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

· Stir in the stock, sausage, and continue cooking until shrimp are opaque throughout and the stock has reduced slightly, about 2 minutes.

[/font]

[font=&quot]· Stir the remaining 6 TBS of butter into the mixture and cook until melted. [/font][font=&quot]

· Stir in the green onions and then taste to adjust the salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon equal amounts of grits into 6 bowls. Top with the skillet ingredients and serve immediately.

The best way to do this is to have everything chopped, diced, and minced prior to beginning to cook. Put everything in individual bowls ready to go. Have butter divided as listed in directions and everything. Line up everything from left to right in order of needing for recipe.

My Note: I know I added some beef base to this – when you add the chicken stock throw in a beef bullion cube if you don't have beef base. Really helps the flavor.[/font]

Crawfish Etouffe (Magnolia Bar and Grill)

Ingredients:
1 lb. cleaned Crawfish Tails
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 stick Butter
1 medium Onion, chopped fine
1 tsp. Flour
2 thin slices lemon
1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp. Green Onion
1 Tbsp. Parsley


Preparation:
Use a saucepan with a tight fitting lid to "Etouffe". Season crawfish
tails with salt and pepper; set aside. Melt butter, add chopped onion, and
cook over medium heat until onions are tender. Stir in flour, blend well,
and add 3/4 cup water, lemon, tomato paste, and cook slowly for about 20
minutes, and add a little more water occasionally. When sauce is done, add
crawfish tails; cover with lid. Cook 8 minutes. Season again, to taste.
Add green onion, parsley, and cook 2 minutes longer. Serve over steamed rice.


Jambalaya


1 whole chicken cut up
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 pound bacon or tasso cut into chunks
2 onions, chopped
1 bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
5 cups rice
1 tablespoon seasoning mixture



Brown the chicken. Add the sausage and bacon or tasso and saute about fifteen minutes. Pour off all the fat but be sure and don't get rid of the browned bits in the bottom of hte pan. Add the vegetables and cook until soft. Add five cups of water and two teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil and add rice. Cover and cook over low heat until rice is cooked.

 

[kingfisherfd2]

[FONT=&quot]SHRIMP AND GRITS[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]
1-quart water
1-cup stone ground grits
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper
2 lbs. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-½ cups chicken broth
6 scallions, finely chopped
2 onions cut in half then cut in julienne strips
2 green peppers cut in julienne strips
Andouille sausage, cut in 1” pieces or so (preferably or you could use kielbasa)

· First, cook your sausage in the 1-quart of water. Remove sausage when done BUT KEEP WATER.

· Use the sausage water for the grits water. Add the grits and ½ cup butter. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir constantly until thickened. When thickened remove from heat and stir in the cream and the Parmesan Cheese. Season with salt and pepper, set aside but try to keep warm (just put lid on it).

· Melt 2 TBS of the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, and green pepper, stirring occasionally but letting the pieces get caramelized (you want them to brown a little bit).

· Add the shrimp, tomatoes and garlic, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

· Stir in the stock, sausage, and continue cooking until shrimp are opaque throughout and the stock has reduced slightly, about 2 minutes.

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]· Stir the remaining 6 TBS of butter into the mixture and cook until melted. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

· Stir in the green onions and then taste to adjust the salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon equal amounts of grits into 6 bowls. Top with the skillet ingredients and serve immediately.

The best way to do this is to have everything chopped, diced, and minced prior to beginning to cook. Put everything in individual bowls ready to go. Have butter divided as listed in directions and everything. Line up everything from left to right in order of needing for recipe.

My Note: I know I added some beef base to this – when you add the chicken stock throw in a beef bullion cube if you don't have beef base. Really helps the flavor.[/FONT]

I made this recipe last night with a few changes after talking with KE on the phone about it.

One change that I did was used smoked sausage, I bought a Hillshire farms smoked sausage, and ended up using half of it.
I made the entire amount of grits, but only half the amount of the shimp and vegitables.
I also added additional, Mexican Cheese blend, to the grits.
I chopped each shrimp into 3 pieces. I wanted to make it so I wouldn't need to cut anything at the table. It sounds silly, but sometimes grits are slippery when you are trying to cut shrimp with a fork.

When we chatted, KE mentioned that the sauce was a little thin, so once my shrimp had finished cooking, I removed all of that and left the broth in. I proceeded to all a couple teaspoons of All Purpose flour, and a couple or three tsp of the cream. At which point I let it simmer and continued to wisk it until I felt it was at a thickness of a thin gravey.

Now I guess that this is the kicker. I plated some up, and decided that I would get some of the pots that I had used rinsed out before I ate so that the food wouldn't get dried on it, and poured the grits into a bowl, then decide, I might was well put the shrimp mix in too. Once I had done that I mixed it all up. All the colors looked really good together, and the whole meal was excellent.
I used a red bell pepper instead of the green for a little extra color.
There really is enough of a mix with have the shrimp mix. It has a very balanced, yet rich, flavor. It could have been the stick and a half of butter, and the cream that did that could it?

Well, I'm going to take the left overs to my friends and make them eat it.

kingfisher

 

[kitchenelf]

Smoked sausage sounds like it would be perfect. I think I used red peppers too - just didn't change what I already had written. I do like the thin gravy when it comes to shrimp and grits - kind of like red-eye gravy. HOWEVER, your cream/flour variation sounds - - - - ummmmm - - - REALLY good Glad you liked it and I'm glad you got me on my phone - we had an exceptional and unexpected good time last night - thank goodness Lisa is just a few doors down to take care of Isabella!!!!! I dreamt about her trying to sleep comfortably all night long!!! Oh, and I listened to Michael snore too Asheville was crisp and beautiful!