jcrilley

Need a recipe for something quick and relatively easy for a church Mardi Gras gathering. Jumbalya, king cake and hoppin john already taken. Any ideas?

ptquilts

I'm confused, Mardi Gras was over a week ago.

Angellight

Beignets "Cajun doughnuts"
Red Beans & Rice
Etoufee (sp?)
Cornbread to go with the Jambalya & hoppin john
Any kind of green (mustard, collard, Kale-my favorite)

I would do a search for Mardi Gras recipes, and you will find a lot of them..

Have fun,
Susan

flybreit

I guess Mardi Gras is being 'extended' in some circles - I saw an event advertised in March......As for me, I ate my jambalya and gumbo on Fat Tuesday :-)

retrogirl02

Shrimp Creole is a family favorite and a simple recipe. You can substitute chicken for the shrimp if you're concerned about allergies....if you do, use chicken broth instead of the shrimp stock used in most recipes....as far as being quick, you can dump everything in a crockpot but it will take a while to cook down whether you use stovetop method or slow cooker. It goes a long way because it's served over rice, it's hearty and perfect for a winter meal.

http://www.nolacuisine.com/2008/04/1...creole-recipe/

If you're looking to impress with a simple layered sandwich, the muffuletta is the way to go http://www.nolacuisine.com/2005/07/1...ndwich-recipe/ and you can simplify it a bit by layering local deli meats instead of the specialty meats on NOLA. The olive salad is what makes the sandwich. Use ready made bakery Italian loaves. If you don't have all the olive salad ingredients, you can simplify those as well. I usually use a full can of black olives to a half or less can or jar of green----they're so salty that no one will miss them. If you can get the canned low salt greens from California, they're ideal. When I can find them, I use those 1:1 with the canned black. I chop, add in some minced garlic and chopped onion, add a bit of red wine vinegar & pepper to taste and fold in some real mayonnaise. Some of the olive salads are olive oil based & some a creamier mayo base. MMMM. awesome. My DH can eat the olive salad straight----he even adds it to his bologna sandwiches for the rest of the week when I make a batch!

Easy, fast side dish: Cajun Choux http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/caju...0000000258936/ won a southern living recipe contest.

retrogirl02

If you go crockpot method with shrimp creole, hold the shrimp until the very last minute. We use large, precooked shrimp and add them just a couple minutes before serving so they've warmed through but are not overcooked.

jcrilley

Thanks for all the ideas - I will check them out. The event is late, but who cares? We are usually disorganized but have a good time anyway!

efayard

When's your event? Maybe I can send you some gumbo mix I use for chicken and sausage gumbo.

AUQuilter

Red Beans and Rice is a great Cajun dish. You can make the beans the day ahead and reheat in the crockpot for the gathering. I am not at home to look at my recipe but I found one very similar by Emeril. I would double the recipe- that way you can keep some for some meals. One thing that I do is when it is all cooked, I remove the ham hocks, take just the meat part off discarding that bone and tough outer skin. I get the ham hocks at WalMart. One more thing: Most likely you will not be able to find the small red beans in Ohio just substitute dried red kidney beans. This dish has so many flavors going on that the difference will be minor. I don't use thyme either but fresh parsley is important. One last thing: you can freeze leftovers, too. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/e...pe2/index.html