You Thought You Knew Mardi Gras Foods?

Marian Cairns, Of Southern Living Magazine, Fills You In On Ins And Outs Of The Day's Fare, Shares Recipes, On Fat Tuesday

(CBS) 

RECIPES

Chicken-and-Sausage Gumbo

Prep: 55 min., Cook: 3 hrs.

1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
4 skinned bone-in chicken breasts
Vegetable oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
2 quarts hot water
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot sauce
4 green onions, sliced
Filé powder (optional)
Hot cooked rice
Garnish: chopped green onions

Cook sausage in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until browned. Drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in Dutch oven. Set sausage aside.
Cook chicken in reserved drippings in Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes or until browned. Remove to paper towels, reserving drippings in Dutch oven. Set chicken aside.
Add enough oil to drippings in Dutch oven to measure 1/2 cup. Add flour, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 20 to 25 minutes, or until roux is chocolate colored.
Stir in onion, bell pepper, and celery; cook, stirring often, 8 minutes or until tender. Gradually add 2 quarts hot water, and bring mixture to a boil; add chicken, garlic, and next 5 ingredients. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Remove chicken; let cool.
Add sausage to gumbo; cook 30 minutes. Stir in green onions; cook for 30 more minutes.
Bone chicken, and cut meat into strips; return chicken to gumbo, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves.
Remove gumbo from heat. Sprinkle with filé powder, if desired. Serve over hot cooked rice. Garnish, if desired.

Yields 4 to 6 servings

Jambalaya

1 (16-ounce) package spicy hickory-smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups uncooked rice
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 pound unpeeled medium-size fresh shrimp
3 tablespoons chopped green onions

Brown sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Drain, reserving 3 tablespoons drippings in pan. Add onion and bell pepper, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and sauté 1 more minute.
Add rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and next 3 ingredients.
Peel shrimp, and devein, if desired.
Stir in shrimp and green onions; cook 2 to 3 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink.

Yields 6 to 8 servings

Crawfish Étouffée

Prep: 35 min., Cook: 22 min.

1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, chopped
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14-oz.) can low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
2 pounds cooked, peeled crawfish tails*
Hot cooked rice

1. Melt butter with oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until caramel colored. Add onion and next 6 ingredients; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Add chicken broth, parsley, and chives; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and bubbly.
3. Stir in crawfish; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with hot cooked rice.
*2 lb. frozen cooked crawfish tails, thawed and drained, may be substituted for fresh.

Yields 4 to 6 servings

Sazerac

Said to be The Big Easy's first cocktail, it was originally served at the Sazerac Coffee House.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Ice cubes
1/4 cup rye whiskey or bourbon
1/4 teaspoon bitters
1/4 teaspoon anise liqueur
Lemon rind twist

Cook 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat 5 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and cool.
Pack a 3 1/2-ounce cocktail glass with ice cubes, and set glass aside.
Combine whiskey, bitters, sugar syrup, and a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker; stir to chill.
Discard ice cubes in cocktail glass. Coat inside of glass with liqueur, shaking out excess liqueur. (For stronger licorice flavor, leave excess liqueur in glass.) Rub lemon rind over rim of glass, and discard rind.
Strain whiskey mixture into prepared glass. Serve drink immediately.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Jim Beam Straight Rye Whiskey, Peychaud's Bitters, and Herbsaint anise liqueur. Rye whiskey is distilled from rye grain instead of wheat and barley, giving it a smooth, rich flavor similar to that of bourbon.

Yield: Makes 1 serving

[Viag]

Good Lord......someone forgot to proofread!

A Sazerac calls for one LUMP (not one cup) of sugar. Or, if you'd prefer to use simple syrup, use 1 teaspoon of simple syrup (in a 1:1 water-to-sugar ratio).

Rye, not bourbon, is the correct spirit.

You also haven't specified which bitters to use. Peychaud's (plus an optional drop of Angostura) is a critical.

The Sazerac is THE great, classic New Orleans Cocktail. Here's a link to a recipe:

http://www.gumbopages.com/food/beverages/sazerac.html