Shrimp Remoulade Salad

When I was little I got to help make the Shrimp Remoulade Salads for Thanksgiving Dinner at my friend Marianna's house.  The only addition to this salad is the feta cheese.  You MUST make the Remoulade Sauce.  It's the star of this show.

Ingredients:

• Shredded iceberg lettuce
• 2 lbs. of boiled shrimp
• 1 can of black olives
• 4 oz. of crumbled feta cheese
• Remoulade Sauce

Directions:

1. Boil and peel the shrimp
2. Cover four plates with the iceberg lettuce
3. Add several black olives that have been cut in half
4. Sprinkle 1 oz. of feta cheese over each
5. Add ½ lb. of shrimp to each plate, about 10 - 12 medium shrimp or 6 – 8 jumbo
6. Drizzle with the Remoulade sauce

Tips and Tricks:

• Follow my links for the recipes for boiled shrimp and the Remoulade Sauce.
• Traditional Shrimp Remoulade is served with iceberg lettuce.
• I recommend boiling the shrimp and making the Remoulade Sauce the day before and refrigerating them overnight.  Peel the shrimp when you are ready to make the salads.

Remoulade Sauce

This is a tried and true recipe.  I have tweaked several recipes over the years and this is the one we like.  

Ingredients:

• 2 C. mayonnaise
• ½ C. chili sauce
• ½ C. Creole mustard
• ½ C. green onions, finely chopped
• ½ C. celery, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 T. horseradish
• 1 T. Crystal hot sauce
• 1 T. lemon juice
• ½ T. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight before serving

Tips and Tricks:

• This is great to make when you are boiling seafood.  Everyone loves it to dip:  shrimp, crawfish, and potatoes.
• This calls for horseradish, NOT horseradish sauce.  There is a difference.  Horseradish sauce is a milder version and is often found on a shelf in the grocery.  Horseradish is REFRIGERATED and is usually found in the dairy section.
• I use Zatarain's Creole mustard.  It has the perfect bite that this sauce needs.

Chicken Cacciatore

This is a comfort food delight.  Rich and flavorful, it makes a wonderful presentation with all of the beautiful colors of red, yellow, and green.  This is a Giada deLaurentiis recipe that I've slightly tweaked.

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken thighs
• ½ C. all purpose flour, for dredging
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped in strips
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• ½ T. salt
• ½ T. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 C. white wine
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 3 T. drained capers
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1 t. dried basil

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat
2. Dry chicken with paper towels and season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour
3. Fry chicken in two batches
4. Fry off chicken skin side down first, 5 minutes on each side
5. Place chicken on a plate and cover with foil while the other batch cooks
6. Remove the second batch and cover with the foil
7. Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt, and Creole seasoning to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, on medium heat
8. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes
9. Add the tomatoes with their juice, capers, oregano, and basil
10. Return the chicken to the pot and submerge into the cooking liquids
11. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-low heat
12. Cook for 45 minutes
13. Remove chicken and place it back on the plate and cover with foil
14. Let the sauce boil for 3 minutes to thicken up
15. Return chicken to the pot and heat through for 5 minutes

Tips and Tricks:

• This recipe can be made with all parts of the chicken.  I make it with thighs because they create the best sauce!
• I serve this with angel hair pasta.  Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top for an added kick.

Crustless Spinach Cheese Quiche

This is a great recipe from Paula Deen.  It is easy to fix and makes a great presentation for a brunch or breakfast celebration.  Don't let the spinach fool you into thinking this is healthy.  You'll realize it's not when you read the ingredients, but it sure is GOOD.

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
• 4 eggs
• 1 C. sour cream
• 1 C. small curd cottage cheese
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 1 T. Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
• ¼ C. all purpose flour
• ½ C. Parmesan cheese
• ¼ C. of chopped green onions
• 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Spray a 8” x  8” baking pan or corning ware with cooking spray, set aside
3. Cook the spinach in the microwave for 4 minutes, in a microwave safe bowl
4. Drain and then remove the excess water with paper towels, set aside
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, flour, Parmesan, green onions, salt and Creole seasoning together
6. Fold in the spinach, then the cheddar cheese
7. Pour the mixture into the baking dish
8. Bake for 45 minutes
9. Remove from the oven and allow to set for 15 minutes
10. Cut into pieces and serve

Tips and Tricks:

• I use an immersion blender to whisk the eggs with the sour cream.   They are light and fluffy this way.  I use the immersion blender to incorporate all the other ingredients also.
• I usually double this recipe and bake in a 13’ x 9” dish.  I cut the quiche into 16 pieces.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

This is an easy, quick fix dip for football game watching or anytime.  I got the basic recipe from the "Recipe Girl". 

 Ingredients:

• ½ C. sour cream
• 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• ½ t. garlic powder
• 1 C. pizza sauce
• ½ C. pepperoni, cubed or slices cut into fourths
• ¼ C. green onions, finely chopped
• ¼ C. yellow bell peppers, finely chopped
• 2 garlic clove, minced
• 2 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, and garlic powder until incorporated
3. Spread the mixture into a pie plate
4. Cover with the pizza sauce, then add the pepperoni
5. Green onion, bell peppers, and garlic, on the next layer
6. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and add the mozzarella cheese
7. Bake for an additional 5 - 8 minutes or until the cheese melts and slightly browns
8. Serve hot with Fritos Scoops

Tips and Tricks:

• I use light sour cream and reduced fat cream cheese.
• I used Ragu bottled pizza sauce.

Key Lime Pie

I made this to serve to my friends after a crawfish boil.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.  I combined some recipes I know well, to create this one.

Ingredients:

Lime Mixture:

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• ½ C. of fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 t. lime zest
• 9 inch graham cracker crust

Sour Cream layer:

• 2 C. (16 oz.) sour cream
• 1/3 C. sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 t. lime zest 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat the egg yolks with the condensed milk, lime juice and lime zest
3. Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust
4. Bake for 30 minutes
5. While the lime mixture is baking, make the sour cream layer
6. Whisk the sour cream, sugar and vanilla together
7. Remove the lime mixture from the oven
8. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
9. Spread the sour cream layer over the lime mixture and sprinkle the lime zest on top
10. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes, just until it firms up
11. Remove from oven and allow pie to cool
12. Refrigerate the pie overnight and then serve 

Tips and Tricks:

• I have not had luck finding KEY limes.  I make this with fresh lime juice.
• You might need to wrap the edge of the pie pan with foil so the graham cracker crust doesn’t burn during the lime mixture baking step.

Whiskey Sour Slush

This is a recipe from my friend, Ron.  It is a great addition to a party, shower, or dinner party.  Get out a big pot and start combining ingredients!

Ingredients:

• 1 (48 oz.) pineapple juice
• 2 (12 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 3 oz. lemon juice
• 1 (6 oz.) jar of maraschino cherries (cherries and juice)
• 1 (2 liter) bottle of ginger ale
• 3 C. of whiskey

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and stir well until all are incorporated
2. Pour into Ziploc bags and freeze for at least 24 hours
3. Before serving, crush the bags with your hands to create a slushy consistency
4. Serve in a punch bowl

Tips and Tricks:

• Use an inexpensive whiskey for this punch.  A “1/5^th” of liquor is about 1 ounce over 3 C. , so just put in the bottle if you bought a 1/5^th.
• If you are making this for a party you will most likely need to double the recipe.

Croissant Bread Pudding

This will be my NEW go-to dessert when I'm asked to bring something sweet to someone's house.  It puffs up and browns beautifully.  The Barefoot Contessa is who we have to thank for this one.  I have given it my own twist and it is SUPER!

Ingredients:

• 6 croissants, preferably stale
• 3 large eggs
• 5 large egg yolks
• 5 C. half and half
• 2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 ½ C. sugar
• 1 C. dried cherries
• 1 C. semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, half and half, sugar, and vanilla
3. Slice the croissants in half horizontally and place the bottom half of each croissant into a 10” by 15” casserole dish
4. Sprinkle the cherries and chocolate over the croissants and place the tops on each
5. Pour the custard over the croissants and allow the custard to soak into the croissants for 10 minutes before putting the casserole dish into the oven (You can press down on the croissants, so they absorb more of the custard.)
6. Fill a roasting pan with 1 inch of hot water and place the casserole dish inside of the roasting pan (this is called a water bath for the custard)
7. Tightly over the roasting pan with foil
8. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 45 minutes
9. Serve warm or room temperature

Tips and Tricks:

• This can be made with many different ingredients stuffed in the croissants.  I chose cherries and chocolate because it gives the bread pudding a great rich flavor. 
• This is really easy to make, the hardest part is the water bath.
• This makes 10 large sized servings.

Deviled Eggs

I am a Southern lady, with my milk glass egg tray and my deviled eggs.  This recipe is easy, except for peeling the eggs.  I HATE peeling eggs.  It's a good way to use up the dyed Easter eggs.

Ingredients:

·        12 boiled eggs

·        ½ C. sandwich spread

·        ¼ C. mayonnaise

·        1 t. mustard

·        ½ T. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

Directions:

1.      Boil eggs, then peel and cut them lengthwise

2.      Carefully remove yolks and place in a mixing bowl

3.      Mash the egg yolks with a fork, then add each of the ingredients to the bowl, mixing well

4.      Spoon mixture into egg halves or use a pastry bag

5.      Place eggs in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes

6.      When ready to serve, sprinkle with paprika and salt

Tips and Tricks:

·        Follow my link for boiling eggs.

·        Sandwich spread is made by Blue Plate.  It is used by many Southern ladies in their potato salad or deviled eggs.  It is light orangey color and has relish in it.  It’s sweet and tangy and gives the deviled eggs the kick they need.