Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This weekend, the Sunday Supper Tastemakers are posting about Mardi Gras . The name means 'Fat Tuesday,' in French, reflecting the practice of eating rich foods on the last evening before fasting for Lent! Event host Marion of  Life Tastes Good   invited the Tastemakers to "create easy versions of Mardi Gras-inspired recipes such as jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, king cake, crawfish boils, beignets, muffulettas, and more to celebrate!" Laissez le bon temps rouler! The Other Mardi Gras Creations Appetizers Andouille and Crawfish Pimento Cheese Fries by Soulfully Made Hot Louisiana Shrimp Dip by Sprinkles and Sprouts Mardi Gras Muffaletta Dip by For the Love of Food Piquant Shrimp Balls by Food Lust People Love Trinidadian doubles by Caroline’s Cooking Main Dishes Andouille and Chicken Gumbo by Delaware Girl Eats Bananas Foster French Toast by A Mind “Full” Mom Bananas Foster Baked Oatmeal by Cooking With Carlee Blackened Shrimp Pasta by...

It's Friday night! I'm a few nights late for Mardi Gras . But, as New Orleans' signature cocktail is one of my favorites, it's a must. So, here's a slightly belated Sazerac. Ingredients makes 2 1 ounce absinthe 4 ounces rye  1/2 ounce maple syrup 8 dashes bitters (I used my homemade Meyer Lemon Bitters ) Meyer lemon twists for garnish Procedure  Pour absinthe, rye, and maple syrup into an ice-filled shaker. Shake and strain cocktail into two glasses. Add bitters to the glasses. Rub the rims with a lemon twist and drop twist into the glass. Cheers. Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Laissez le bon temps rouler!  I forgot to put the andouille sausage in my Sweethearts' Seafood Boil   last weekend, so I had a pound that was begging to be used. And I had a jar of RED spice blend from  Voodoo Chef *  that was sent to me for participating in an online event earlier in the month. Put those together - and given that today is Mardi Gras - the culinary lightbulb of inspiration blinked: Red Beans and Rice! It's easy; it's filling; and, most importantly, it's delicious. Note: mine is not a traditional red beans and rice recipe. I throw in whatever veggies I have on-hand for a nutritious, one-pot meal. Thanks to our High Ground Organics CSA for keeping my fridge stocked with fresh, amazing produce. Ingredients 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and diced 1 large leek, trimmed and diced 3 or 4 small carrots, diced 4 celery stalks, diced 2 T butter splash of olive oil 1 pound cooked andouille sausages, halved and sliced 1 bunch kale, thinly sliced ...

We clearly are in need of some updated Mardi Gras photos! These are about 7 years old. What have I been doing for the past seven years?!? Who knows. Until then, these pics will have to suffice. Even Hippo got in on the masked action! Mardi Gras : French for 'Fat Tuesday', referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. We had to do our Mardi Gras dinner one night early. Long story. One from which I will spare you. In any case, we celebrated last night with... [ click on the title to go to the recipe post ] Seafood Étouffée    Bananas Foster    Sauzerac And I could only locate one mask in my Monday evening scramble, so, I updated my photo! Next year, I'll aim to find four masks and actually do it on Tuesday.  What's on your Mardi Gras table?

I was trying to come up with a Mardi Gras libation to serve with our Seafood Étouffée tonight. But even the thought of a hurricane glass makes me queasy...and I haven't been to New Orleans since before I had kids! Then I remembered that I've always wanted to try a Sazerac; I'm a sucker for anything with absinthe...and I already had some rosemary-thyme simple syrup . The recipe I found called for whiskey or bourbon. Not being particularly savvy with either of those, I opted to get small bottles and make one with bourbon and one with scotch. Just to try it out. Here's my version of a Sazerac... Ingredients  makes one cocktail ice cubes just shy of 2 ounces whiskey 3/4 ounce simple syrup 3 splashes of bitters (I used some Bar Keep Fennel Bitters ) splash of absinthe (I used St. George) lemon rind twist Preparation To make a simple syrup, place 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirrin...

I originally wanted to make a traditional Crawfish* Étouffée for Mardi Gras , but crawfish are hard to find in the store and I wasn't about to trek to a muddy creek to hunt for some this week. Another time...maybe I'll make this on a summer camping trip when we normally catch crawfish anyway...and because the dish was a hit! Étouffée means 'smothered' in French. Smothering meat, seafood or vegetables is a technique utilized in both Cajun and Creole cuisines. The technique involves cooking in a covered pan over low heat with a small amount of liquid; it's really just a form of braising. The dishes cooked like this are usually served over steamed white rice; I used some brown jasmine rice tonight. *Crawfish, crawdads, crayfish and mudbugs are all names for the same tasty critter. Click to read the Cajun legend of how crawfish came to be . Ingredients 2 pounds mixed seafood (I used shrimp, squid, scallops, and some chunks of white fish) 1/4 C butter ...

You can't search for Mardi Gras recipes without crawfish popping up. This afternoon I took part in the chat on social media, about Mardi Gras , and crawfish made an appearance in the conversation stream. They are normally things we catch when we're camping...and cook and serve with lots of butter and garlic. But, we call them crawdads. Apparently crawfish, crawdads, crayfish, mudbugs are all names for the same tasty critter. One of the guys in the chat shared this with me. And I wanted to share it with you. According to Cajun Legend...crawfish are descendants of the Maine lobster. After the Acadians, now called the Cajuns, were expelled from Nova Scotia in the 18th century, the lobsters longed to reunite with the Cajuns. Their journey, over land and sea, was so arduous that the lobsters began to shrink in size. By the time they found the Cajuns in Louisiana, they had shrunk so much that they hardly looked like lobsters anymore. A great festival was held u...

To end our Mardi Gras feast I wanted to make a New Orleans bread pudding with bourbon sauce. But, alas!, when I braved the Dragon Cabin, clinked the bottles around, I only came up with Aquavit (a Scandinavian caraway spirit), Cynar (an Italian artichoke liqueur), Liquore Strega (an Italian saffron liqueur), Amarula (a South African liqueur made from the marula fruit), several bottles of tequila, some brandy, and a bottle of rum.  And I still have a bottle of vodka in the freezer from my Martian Martini Bar.  Hmmm...which, if any, of those would be the most like bourbon?  None are made with corn. I opted for the brandy, for the mere fact that it was labeled "French brandy."  I figured 'New Orleans' was more closely related to France than any of my other booze options. Though my intent was New Orleans bread pudding with bourbon sauce, I ended up making a Filipino bread pudding with chocolate chips topped with brandy sauce.  I write 'Filipino bread pudding' b...

I sauteed diced onions in a pat of butter and a splash of olive oil.  Then I added cubes of chicken and pancetta and cooked them completely. Next I added all the seafood (a combination of fish, oysters, mussels, octopus, shrimp, and squid), a can of tomatoes, red wine, a few saffron threads, a couple of bay leaves, two crushed tepin chilis, ground ancho chili powder, and ground cumin. Finally, I brought that pot to a boil, reduced the heat, added sliced okra, and simmered till everything was completely cooked.  Before serving I stirred in cooked brown rice and topped it all with rough-chopped parsley. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

In honor of Mardi Gras, I searched for traditional recipes for gumbo...only to discover that there is no canonical recipe for gumbo. It seems there are as many recipes for gumbo as there are cooks!  The only two constants in a gumbo: variety and okra. The term 'gumbo' likely comes from an African dialect whose word for okra is ki ngombo .  Gumbos can have meat, seafood, just about anything.  In Mark Huntsman's "The History of Gumbo" he refers to written mentions of using muskrat and owl in gumbo recipes.  I embraced the unlimited potential of ingredients and opted for a combination of fish, chicken, pancetta, oysters, mussels, octopus, shrimp, and squid...and lots of okra!