The Caterist Files ~ Mardi Gras!!!

I love the Mardi Gras feast events!!! The cuisine and party-ful spirit is fun and playful, like the Puerto Rican cuisine, and many of the base flavors and seasoning blends are the same! So I'm right at home!

Lessaiz le bon temps roullet!!! Or, Let the good times roll!!! My Mardi Gras vision this year wanders a little bit off the usual path! So, along with the expected fare, I'm doing some things to kick it up a notch...and doing my version of Emeril's Poulet Tchoupitoulas (poo lay chop' it too' les) and some other fun foods!!! Our colors will be it the spirit of the season, using purple, green and gold. Feathers, masks and Mardi Gras beads will abound!!! And, you know that music sound!!! Let's go!

For a full Supper Club experience, we've got to have a bar set up!!!

A scattering of colorful dubloons, an assortment of beads and a few festive masks are all you need to bring life to the bar. Bring in your favorite beers and wines, your good stuff and mixers! Wrap your ice bucket in Mardi Gras color to keep your wine cool in style! For bar appetizers, set out the sweet & spicy mixed nuts and a plate of marinated olives and mozzarella bites, along with bites of sopresatta...delish! and not overly filling!

The Mardi Gras party is especially festive in spirit, and I like movement with the occasion! That means a couple of passed hors d'oeuvres, instead of just the table set items.

One of my most popular and delicious conversation starters is Ragin Cajun Seafood Balls...these are a mix of shrimp, crab and the trinity, along with a few other secrets! I place a small dipping bowl of remoulade sauce on the serving tray for a fun dipping taste. A few lemon wedges are nice, too, to squeeze over.

Muffaletta Puff Pinwheels are another of the prize winning hors d'oeuvres! This starts, simply enough, with refrigerator thawed puff pastry dough. I like to roll it out, just slightly, on a floured surface, to mold the seams and make it a little bit thinner. Create a tepenade by processing a few black olives and stuffed green olives, pepperoncini, and cocktail onions. Place it in a strainer to drain off the excess liquid. Chop up deli ham, mortadella (or garlic bologna if you're restricted to local shopping), shred some Swiss cheese and sprinkle all over the surface of the pastry. Roll it up tightly, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for several hours, to tighten up the roll of deliciousness. The butter in the pastry dough has to re-harden so it'll puff up like you want it to. Slice into 3/8" pieces and lay out on a parchment lined sheet pan, bake at 425 for 10 minutes, flip over and bake another 7 minutes, or so, untill they're all nice and golden, gooey and delicious! The flavor on these is over the top! We'll stop there!!! Gotta save room for the rest of the meal!!

I like to do a Muffaletta Chopped Salad for the occasion, when we do a salad course. It's light, crisp, a combination of chopped romaine hearts, sliced pepperoncini, strips of deli ham, a cotto salami, Swiss cheese and seasoned croutons. A garnish of sliced black and stuffed Spanish olives gives a pop of fun color and texture. For dressing, well, French, of course!! Not that French dressing really has anything French about it, but, hey! the color is bright and festive, and the sweet tartness goes well with this salad.

If you want to do a Mardi Gras Starter Soup...the French Onion Soup is a must try!!! Mine is made from my home made, slow roasted bone stock, with slow caramelized sweet onions and shallots...I shred whatever meat is on the bones into the stock for extra meaty goodness. Oh my goodness, if you are a fan of the Onion Soup, you will love this!! The buttery Provolone topped crouton is the star on top of this tree!!

Moving along to the Main Course, we cannot have Mardi Gras without my Chicken and Sausage Gumbo!!! Yes, this Catholic girl can make a roux!!! Gumbo & Rice, sure is nice!!

If you want, we can add shrimp to the mix, for an upcharge. Delicious, either way you take it!!!

For our festive new main, I'm doing Poulet Tchoupitoulas, the Creole chicken dish made famous by Emeril Lagasse.

Of course, I'm doing my own twist on the recipe...but the basic idea is classic! We start with a base of completely delicious savory bread pudding. I brine, then season chicken leg quarters with a special Cajun seasoning blend. These are pan seared, then oven finished and placed atop the savory bread pudding. I do a creamy chive gravy over the top...it's the perfect accent!!

Next on the typical Mardi Gras line up is Creole Red Beans and Rice. I've been making this for years!!! Do you know, the ONLY difference between Creole and Puerto Rican Red Beans, is that Creole uses andouille sausage, or Polish sausage, if you can't find andouille...the Puerto Rican version uses ham. Other than that, they're the same! Sometimes, I put both meats in the beans...actually, I do that a lot!

The Spinach Madeleine is another great favorite! It's a creamed spinach casserole with a wonderful spiciness and a pepper jack cheese layer to make it interesting! It's topped with a Parmesan bread crumb mix that gives a crunchy texture for interest.

Let's move along to the dessert portion of our dinner!

This is a delightful twist on Bananas Foster! It's a Butter Rum Pecan Cake, topped with bananas foster. I finish this with a dollop of fresh vanilla whipped cream before serving! Delicious!! It's comforting in the cold winter, and goes really nicely with coffee to wrap up the evening!

So, that's my plan, and I'm stickin' to it! Hope you've enjoyed the inspiration!!! Our Kinsloe House Mardi Gras Event will be coming up soon, we'll be featuring some of these items, and I do know you'll enjoy!!! Follow The Kinsloe House on Facebook for updates!!

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