Mardi Gras Recipes: Cajun Style Meals, Snacks, Drinks and More

Ingredients:
1 quart tomato juice
1 cup vodka (can use gin for a different taste, but vodka is standard)
1 tablespoon of lime or lemon juice
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon of Tabasco or other brand of pepper sauce

Preparation:
Combine and refrigerate using a 2 quart pitcher. Stir again and serve over ice, garnished with a celery stalk. Some include a skewer with diced cheddar and pepperoni on it. Add more pepper sauce for spicier flavor.

Cajun Devils
(spicey devilled eggs)

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
1/4 cup of Miracle Whip
Dried dill weed
Paprika or chipotle powder
Tabasco or other pepper sauce
6 eggs make 1 dozen devilled eggs. Count on at least two per person. Double for a whole dozen (24 devils) and multiply accordingly for the size batch you're making.

Preparation:
Boil the eggs for 10-15 minutes until hard-boiled. Drain water off and set eggs in ice bath until they're easy to handle.
Peal shells off of eggs and cut eggs in half lengthwise. Carefully remove egg yolks to a mixing bowl. Set cooked egg whites on serving plate/tray.
In a mixing bowl, run a fork through each yolk, turning the cooked yolks into as fine a powder as you can. For six eggs, add ¼ cup of yellow mustard (Dijon for added zing) and ¼ cup of Miracle Whip (salad dressing down South). If mixture looks too dry, add a little more Miracle Whip and mustard a little at a time until it's of a smooth consistency, but isn't overly runny.
Add a pinch of dried dill weed.
Add a quarter tablespoon of cayenne pepper or a few dashes of hot pepper sauce.
Mix together thoroughly. Carefully spoon mixture into the empty center of each egg. Try to get an equal amount into each egg. You may use a piping bag for this also.
Top each egg with a dash of paprika (smoked if you can find it) or some chipotle powder.
Refrigerate before serving.

Seafood Jambalaya

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground is best)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped into cubes
1 cup chopped celery
5 cloves garlic, peeled
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and juice saved. Chop the tomatoes
½ cup chopped green onions
2 pounds of medium to large shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined (Make sure they're raw if you buy them frozen. Thaw if frozen).
1 ½ to 2 pounds of crab legs (uncooked).
½ to 1 pound of crawfish tail meat.
1 tablespoon of hot pepper sauce
2 cups of rice, rinsed and drained.

Preparation:
Brown the onions, green pepper, celery and garlic in a large pot, and sauté for five minutes, scraping the bottom to get all those tasty bits into the mix. Add broth and tomato juice to the pot, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Mash the cooked garlic and stir into the mixture. Add tomatoes, green onions, shrimp, crawfish, crab, pepper sauce and seasoning to the mix. Add the rice. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, lower the heat and stir occasionally. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes until the rice is tender and fluffy, and almost all the liquid has been absorbed. By now the seafood should be cooked as well.

Serves 6-8 people.

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
1 pound of dried red beans, picked over for stones or bad beans
8 cups of cold water
½ pound of lean bacon or ham, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Tabasco or other pepper sauce
4 cups hot cooked rice

Preparation:
Combine the beans and water in a large saucepan, cover and soak overnight. Add the bacon or ham and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes or until golden. Add the mixture to the beans along with the cilantro, salt and pepper sauce. Cover and simmer 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours more, or until the beans are tender. Add hot water as needed to keep the beans covered, and stir occasionally. When the beans are done, they will have soaked up most of the liquid. Serve over the cooked rice.

Serves 8.

Creole Caramelized Pineapple

(For 6 guests)

Ingredients:
1 regular sized can of sliced pineapple
10.5 ounces of powdered sugar
6 eggs
2 ounces of brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
2 ounces of flour, sieved
0.1 liters of amber rum

If the recipe is intended for children you may leave the rum out and replace it with vanilla.

Preparation:
Using a blender or a mixer, blend 3/4 of the pineapple slices with their syrup for 10 seconds.
Put the mixture in a saucepan with 10.5 ounces of powdered sugar and leave it to boil for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 1/4 of pineapple slices, diced, and reduce the liquid for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave on the table until it has cooled down and has become warm.
Separately, using a large mixing bowl, whisk the 2 ounces of flour with the lime juice and add .05 liters of rum. Mix well and add the 6 eggs. Once everything is well blended, add the pineapple mixture. Keep stirring continuously with a spatula.

Making the caramel: Put 2 ounces of brown sugar, .05 liters of the remaining rum and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan and heat. Once it takes a nice golden color, pour this caramel mix into a porcelain dish, taking care to cover the bottom and the sides, then leave to cool for half an hour.
Start the oven at a temperature of 325°F; pour your pineapple batter into the caramelized dish and cook in a bain-marie (double boiler or over water bath) for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The water bath helps keep it moist, as dry heat of an oven can make the top kind of crusty.
Once it has been removed from the oven, please wait for half an hour before un-molding.
This dessert can be served in thick slices, hot, warm or cold.

Bourdin Apples

Ingredients:
6 apples
1 ounce of butter
2 ounces of sugar
1 shortcrust pastry (or two large pie crusts rolled out)

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 360F.
Peel and core apples without cutting into them. This can be achieved by using a specialty apple corer or a sharp melon baller.
Place a knob of butter and a small amount of sugar into the opening in each apple.
Wrap each apple in pastry.
Cook for about 50 minutes.

Best served fresh from the oven.