New Orleans: Hey Y’all, it’s Carnival–Laissez Le Bons Temps Roulé!

Posted on Feb 8, 2015 by PeggyPrint Recipe Only | Email Recipe | Leave a Comment
Filed under: All Recipes, Feed Your Party, Feed Your Soul, Feed Your Wallet, My Travels, One-pot-chop Pin It

IMG_5402Whether you’re buried in 10 feet of snow, or basking in more winter favorable climes, February is a great time to inject a bit of heat–New Orleans style– into your kitchen. Here for my niece’s wedding, we’re  spending a week in the Garden District, VRBOing a home built in the 1850’s with a front porch large enough to accommodate a family reunion.

New Orleans is a country unto itself; a city of jubilant excess where less is never more; a city that suffers fools gladly, especially when they’re three sheets to the wind with a wad of ready green. And Mardi Gras is in the air.

It’s in the purples and greens decorating the Creole cottages, shotgun houses and palatial mansions in the Garden District; in the waft of spilled rum on Bourbon Street; in the outstretched arms, begging for beads flung down from floats parading down Charles, and strewn from iron lattice balconies. Certainly it’s in the salty chew of mortadella in a muffaletta sandwich as big as the Mississippi. Mardi Gras, 2015, is in the slideshow below…

I’ve visited this city many times through the years. Every time the plane glides down the Louis Armstrong airport runway, I check my common sense—indeed, my brain—at the gate, allowing myself to be swept into the Bacchanalian vibe with abandon. A culture unto itself, New Orleans has its own brand of music, speech, worship, and certainly its own  brand  of cooking.

Shrimp and Oyster Po' Boy

Shrimp and Oyster Po' Boy

Gumbo Ya Ya

Gumbo Ya Ya

Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp and Grits

Chicken and Tasso Jambalaya

Chicken and Tasso Jambalaya

Red Beans and Rice with Andouille

Red Beans and Rice with Andouille

Grilled (or baked) Creole Oysters

Grilled (or baked) Creole Oysters

Cajun Bronzed Scallops

Cajun Bronzed Scallops

Cajun-Spiced Pork with Greens

Cajun-Spiced Pork with Greens

Muffaletta (New Orleans Olive and Meat Sandwich)

Muffaletta (New Orleans Olive and Meat Sandwich)

Chicken Tchoupitoulas

Chicken Tchoupitoulas

Poor Girl's Seafood Etoufée

Poor Girl's Seafood Etoufée

Shrimp and Oyster Po' Boy thumbnailGumbo Ya Ya thumbnailShrimp and Grits thumbnailChicken and Tasso Jambalaya thumbnailRed Beans and Rice with Andouille thumbnailGrilled (or baked) Creole Oysters thumbnail
Cajun Bronzed Scallops thumbnailCajun-Spiced Pork with Greens thumbnailMuffaletta (New Orleans Olive and Meat Sandwich) thumbnailChicken Tchoupitoulas thumbnailPoor Girl's Seafood Etoufée thumbnail

It’s said that New Orleans is a city with thousands of restaurants and only one menu. That’s far from the reality, but if the statement holds a kernel of truth, oh what a menu the landscape has created.

I made the following  recipe before I left Ann Arbor, the ingredients a gift from Stephanie and Tom Teague, former Ann Arborites who now call Nola their home (lucky ducks).

Recipe: Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried red beans or kidney beans
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large white or yellow onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 large green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
  • 1 1/2- 2 pounds smoked ham hock(s) or shank(s)
  • 1 pound andouille sausage links
  • 6 cups water
  • 6-8 cups cooked extra long grain white rice
  • Your favorite hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Crystal

Instructions

  1. Rinse beans, sorting out small rocks if necessary. Soak 12-24 hour in a large pot of water, or use the quick soak method.*
  2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion two minutes then add garlic. Stir until just fragrant, about 45 seconds; don’t let garlic brown.
  3. Stir green pepper and celery and continue cooking until beginning to wilt, about 3-5 minutes, then stir in bay leaves, cayenne, thyme, basil and Cajun seasoning.
  4. Add ham hocks and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and shimmer for 2 1/2 hours. (As beans soften, use a spoon to crush some of them against the side of the pot to thicken the broth.)
  5. Remove ham hock(s). When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone, chop and return to pot.
  6. Slice andouille into 1/4-inch thick pieces and stir into the pot. Simmer until cooked through, 20-30 minutes. (Now is a good time to make the rice.) Serve over white rice. Pass the hot sauce.

*To quick cook beans, place in a pot and pour water over beans to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil for 1 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 1 hours. Rinse beans then use in recipe as directed.

Preparation time: 40 minute(s)

Cooking time: 3 hours

Number of servings (yield): 6-8 servings

Copyright © Peggy Lampman’s dinnerFeed.

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