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Name That Dish!

partysugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:15:06 -0800

Welcome to the Mardi Gras edition of Name That Dish. Below is a Creole specialty that can contain many ingredients including vegetables, seafood, and meat. Do you know what its called? Hint: this dish made a cameo on last week's Top Chef.

Noteworthy Nibbles - Feb. 24-Mar. 2, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:00:30 -0800

With Mardi Gras parades and festivals going on today across the country and a handful of restaurant weeks still going strong, this week's a great time to pay a visit to your favorite food events: If you live anywhere nearby, celebrate dungeness crab season in Northern California, as well as the beginning of Florida's strawberry season. And if you're attending the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, perhaps I'll see you there!

Got any fine food events that you see left off this list? If so, chime in below. Will you be going to any of this week's events?

New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Mardi Gras - Feb. 24
St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Mardi Gras - Feb. 24
New York, NY: NYC Restaurant Week - Feb. 24-27
Chicago, IL: Chicago Restaurant Week - Feb. 24-27
Orange County, CA: Orange County Restaurant Week - Feb. 24-28
San Francisco, CA: Dungeness Crab Week - Feb. 24-Mar. 1
Houston, TX: Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Championship Bar-B-Que Contest - Feb. 26-28
Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Experience - Feb. 26-Mar. 1

To see the rest, read more.

Plant City, FL: Florida Strawberry Festival - Feb. 26-Mar. 8
Albuquerque, NM: Fiery Foods & BBQ Show - Feb. 27-Mar. 1
New York, NY: New York Wine Expo - Feb. 27-28
Boca Raton, FL: Boca Bacchanal - Feb. 27-Mar. 1
San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition - Feb. 28
San Francisco, CA: 7th Annual Celebrity Crab Fest - Feb. 28
Comstock Park, MI: Winter Beer Festival - Feb. 28
Grant, FL: Grant Seafood Festival - Feb. 28-Mar. 1
New Orleans, LA: Culinary Inspired Seasonal Mixology - Mar. 2

Fast & Easy Dinner: Jambalaya

partysugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:50:44 -0800

Tonight, invite your family to celebrate Mardi Gras with this classic Creole rice dish. Although jambalaya traditionally simmers on the stove for hours, this simple variation takes some help from the store, cutting down the cook time.

It's not short of flavor, though; hot sauce, shrimp, and kielbasa sausage provide depth and deliciousness. To get the recipe now, read more.

Jambalaya
From Real Simple

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 16-ounce package kielbasa, cut into 4-inch rounds
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained
1 8-ounce box jambalaya, Spanish, or fiesta-flavored rice mix
1 1-pound package peeled and deveined raw shrimp
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the kielbasa. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes.
Add the tomatoes along with 1/2 cup of water and their liquid and crush with the back of a spoon. Bring to a boil.
Add the rice mix. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for the time specified on the package.
Add the shrimp, stir, cover, and cook until pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the hot pepper sauce (if using). Spoon onto plates.

Serves 4.

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Test Your Mardi Gras Food Facts!

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:30:12 -0800

Bring out the beads and hurricanes, because it's time to celebrate Mardi Gras! Although Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is based on Easter and can fall on any Tuesday between Feb. 3 and March 9, this year it happens to be today!

Since New Orleans, LA, is the city most known for its Mardi Gras festivities, I thought I'd quiz your knowledge of fun facts related to NOLA Mardi Gras traditions. Think you know how to celebrate the season? Put your knowledge to the test when you take our quiz!

Source

Take the quiz

Off to Market Recap: Party Glasses

partysugar — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:50:53 -0800

What with the Oscars, Mardi Gras, and St. Patrick's Day, I plan on doing a lot of entertaining in the next couple of weeks. From Champagne flutes, to tumblers, to pint glasses, each soirée requires a certain glass. I asked you to help me find the best party glassware by heading off to market. You looked for the most stylish stems and saved them in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Party Glasses. Aren't these triangular Champagne flutes fabulous? Jspeed suggested we use them for the Oscars, they'll be fun for Mardi Gras bubbly as well! Check out the entire selection of glassware below.

Geeksugar has put together an article that explains how to bookmark on TeamSugar.

Happy Hour: Hurricane

partysugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:00:53 -0800

Bring a little Mardi Gras spirit into your kitchen this weekend by mixing up a classic hurricane cocktail. Created at Pat O'Brien's bar in New Orleans, this drink is potent, yet incredibly tasty - almost like fruit punch.

Made with rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, lime juice, and passion fruit nectar, it's a tropical breath of fresh air, especially delicious in the dead of Winter.

Although the ingredient list is a little long, this refreshingly fruity drink is worth the effort. Traditionally, it's served in a glass that's shaped like a hurricane lamp, but any large glass will do. To get the recipe, read more.

Hurricane
From Dale Degroff's The Essential Cocktail

Ingredients

1 ounce Meyer's dark rum
1 ounce light rum*
1/2 ounce Galliano*
2 ounces fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 ounces unsweetened pineapple juice
1 ounce passion fruit syrup or passion fruit nectar*
3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
Dash of Angostura bitters
Fresh tropical fruit, such as pineapple, passion fruit, or orange, for garnish

Directions

Combine the dark and light rums, Galliano, orange juice, pineapple juice, passion fruit nectar, lime juice, syrup, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice and shake well.
Strain into an ice-filled hurricane (or serving) glass and garnish with fruit.

Makes 1 drink.

*My liquor cabinet did not have light rum, so I used 2 ounces of dark rum. Neither the local super market or liquor store had Galliano, so I substituted another Italian liquor, Tuaca. I also couldn't find passion fruit syrup or nectar, so I used guava nectar. Despite these changes, the cocktail was still fantastic!

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'Wich of the Week: Hot Muffuletta

YumSugar — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:00:15 -0800

Mardi Gras puts me in the mood for muffulettas, but this year I wanted to move beyond the classic recipe for the New Orleans cold-cut monstrosity. Invented by Sicilian immigrants in the French Quarter around 1906 - the Central Grocery lays claim to the original - a muffuletta actually tastes better after a few hours. Served at room temperature, the signature olive salad soaks the roll, making the salami, ham, mortadella, and cheese deliciously moist and creamy.

The last time I went to New Orleans, a friend of mine told me that she thinks the Napoleon House serves even better muffulettas than Central Grocery, so of course I had to try the sandwich at this cafe/bar founded in 1917. To hear all about it and get my re-created recipe, read more.

The Napoleon House's version is served hot, and the topic of warm vs. cold muffulettas can lead to very heated debates around the Crescent City. In my mind, the two sandwiches offer entirely different experiences. A heated muffuletta doesn't improve with age, but it does deliver the greasy goodness of a hot pastrami sandwich with melted cheese.

The Napoleon House, in fact, replaces the mortadella with pastrami, alongside salami and Italian ham. Its olive salad was greener than what I've had in the past - and by green I mean it had lots of green olives and capers, plus chickpeas. The sandwich was delicious, but I think I still prefer my muffulettas cold; the heat made the olive salad too runny and messy. But if you love toasty-warm sandwiches, this twist is definitely worth trying. Muffulettas are typically served on special sesame-seeded buns about 10 inches in diameter, but if you can't find muffuletta bread (which you probably can't outside Louisiana), seeded Kaiser rolls work just fine. This sandwich is best served with a side of potato chips, since your belly won't be able to accommodate much more. Here's how to make it.

Hot Muffuletta Sandwich
Inspired by Napoleon House

Ingredients

For the olive salad (makes enough for 6 to 8 sandwiches):
1 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, coarsely chopped
1 cup canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained, rinsed, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/8 cup capers
2 gloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the sandwich:
2 slices pastrami
2 slices ham
4 slices Genoa salami
3 slices provolone cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive salad (depending on size of roll)
One muffuletta loaf or seeded kaiser roll

Directions

Preferably one day in advance, make the olive salad. Combine all 12 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Store overnight in a tightly sealed container.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Slice the seeded rolls in half, hamburger-bun style. On the bottom slice, brush a thin layer of olive oil.
Atop that base of bread, stack the ham, salami, and pastrami. Top with a layer of olive salad about 1-inch thick.
Lay the cheese slices over the olive salad and cover with top half of bun.
Place the entire sandwich in the oven for approximately 5 minutes, until bread is slightly toasted and cheese is melted.
Slice in half and serve.

Makes one sandwich.

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Celebrate Mardi Gras With a Frozen Bananas Foster Bombe

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:00:56 -0800

Browsing the Food Network site, I was thrilled to find Emeril Lagasse's play on the New Orleans classic Bananas Foster. This decadent take on the dessert combines bananas, ice cream, rum, and chocolate mousse into a frozen bombe. It would be the ultimate ending to any Mardi Gras celebration.

Since the dessert is frozen, make a day in advance to allow enough time to completely freeze. The final step of flambéing the banana topping will surely impress your guests.

Each bite is a delightful combination of crispy caramelized bananas, creamy chocolate mousse, and delicate banana-flavored ice cream. If you want to pull out all the stops with this fabulous flambé, read more.

Banana Foster Bombe With Chocolate Mousse
Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 ripe bananas, peeled, sliced lengthwise in 1/2 and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
Quick Chocolate Mousse
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Garnish
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large bananas, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
1 tablespoon rum

Directions

Make the ice cream mixture: In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Be cautious not to burn the butter.
Add the bananas and cook, stirring for 3 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the rum. Return the pan to the stove and carefully ignite the alcohol. Shake the pan until the flames die down, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
Place the softened ice cream into a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, mix in the cooled banana mixture.
Make the mousse combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan, over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the chocolate melts completely, whisking occasionally. Remove from the heat, pour into a glass bowl and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled.
Once the mixture has chilled, beat in an electric mixer with a wire whip, until stiff, firm peaks form.
To assemble, line muffin tin with plastic wrap. I used an extra deep muffin tin. Spread 3/4 cup of the ice cream over the bottom and sides of the molds. Freeze for a half hour to set. Spoon 1/4 cup of the chocolate mousse in the center of the mold. Wrap the molds in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.
When ready to serve, make the garnish. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the bananas and cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the rum. Return the pan to the stove and carefully ignite the alcohol. Shake the pan until the flames die down, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Cool partially.
Place frozen banana bombe on a plate and top with cooled bananas. Enjoy.

Serves 6-8.

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Off to Market: Party Glasses

partysugar — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:45:22 -0800

Now that ~~single's independence day~~ Valentine's Day is finally over, we can focus on the more fabulous upcoming "holidays," like the Oscars, Mardi Gras, and St. Patrick's Day. I plan on doing a lot of entertaining in the next couple of weeks and each soiree will require the proper glasses. Let's head off to market in search of all types of party glasses from Champagne flutes (for toasting the Academy Awards) to tumblers (for sipping Sazeracs) to pint glasses (for enjoying green beer). Bookmark the glassware in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Party Glasses. Cheers!

Geeksugar has put together an article that explains how to bookmark on TeamSugar. Check it out for more details!

Not sure where to start looking? Be inspired by some of my favorite online stores when you read more.

Bed Bath & Beyond
CB2
Cooking.com
Crate & Barrel
Ikea
Linens and Things
NapaStyle
Pier 1
Plum Party
Pottery Barn
Sur La Table
Target
Restoration Hardware
Williams Sonoma
Wishing Fish
World Market

Yum's February Must Haves

partysugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:46:24 -0800

Finally, January is over and we can move on to more exciting times! February is a great month to plan a get-together because there is so much to celebrate: there's Valentine's Day, the Academy Awards, and Mardi Gras! To enjoy February to its fullest, I've rounded up five items you must have.

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