Gulf Coast: The Dinner Table @ Laura's

Gulf Coast: Wine

White: Pacifico Sur Chardonnay 2009, Curico Valley Estate Grown, Chile (un-oaked)

Red: Saint-Amour Red Wine, Recolte 2007

Both purchased at A&M Wine Shop

Gulf Coast: Shrimp Boil with Mussels and Lemon

By Laura

• Water
• 2 lemons, halved, plus more for serving
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 1/2 bunch thyme, tied together(I only had dried thyme and I just sprinkled that in, worked just fine)
  
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 2 serrano chiles, split in 1/2 lengthwise
• 1 head garlic, halved(i used a couple heads of garlic)
  
• 1 pound 5 ounces red new potatoes, medium to large, cut in 1/2 (i would suggest cutting these into 1/4s)
• 3 ears sweet corn, halved
• 3 pieces smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound 5 ounces)(spicy chicken sausage worked really well and was just a bit healthier!)
  
• 12 littleneck clams, scrubbed (about 1 pound 4 ounces)(i used mussels instead)
  
• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp with heads and tails
• Kosher salt

Directions

Fill a huge stockpot, preferably fitted with a basket insert, with about 4 quarts of water (add some chicken or vegetable stock for more flavor). Keep in mind that when you add the solid ingredients the water level will rise, so don't fill the pot up more than halfway. Squeeze the lemons into the water, tossing in the halves too. Add the bay leaves, salt, seasoning, thyme, onions, chiles and garlic; bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 10 minutes. You want a very aromatic broth with plenty of salt and spices. Taste it; don't be afraid to make it strong so some of the flavor can penetrate and get absorbed by the potatoes and other ingredients. Adjust seasoning with salt.

Add the potatoes to the pot to give them a head start; simmer for 20 minutes. Now add the corn and sausage; cook another 5 minutes, making sure everything stays covered with the liquid. Add the clams and boil for 8 to 10 minutes until they open. Then toss in the shrimp and shut off the heat. Cover the pot and let the shrimp steep in the flavor for 15 minutes. Drain and spread the shrimp, sausage, clams, corn, potatoes, and onions out on a newspaper-covered table. Serve with lemons and plenty of napkins.

This is a Tyler Florence's recipe

Gulf Coast: Fried Green Tomatoes with Spicy Bacon Sauce

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES- (www.chow.com but changed a bit) by Lauren

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 cups panko
• 1 1/2 teaspoons loosely packed lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons dried tarragon
• 1/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning
• 4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds green heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

What to do- slice tomatoes thick, dip in flour, shake off, dip in egg, dip in dry mixture of panko, tarragon, zest and Old Bay. Fry for one minute on each side in 1/4" of veg oil.

Spicy Bacon Dip (from abirdinthekitchen.com)

1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve with fried green tomatoes

Gulf Coast: Louisiana Sunburst Salad

The salad is dressed with an unusual and wonderful cinnamon and Tabasco vinaigrette.

Salad:

24 ounces mesclun mix (mixed baby lettuces, like mâche, frisée, radicchio, baby spinach, etc.)
2 ounces dried cranberries
2 ounces almonds, sliced and toasted
2 ounces crumbed Stilton cheese (or blue cheese) - we used blue, Stilton is for the really intense cheese-eaters out there
2 ounces ruby port wine

Vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ounce vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 ounces raspberry vinegar
1 ounce water
5 dashes of Tabasco

Soak dried cranberries in port - leave overnight.

Combine cinnamon, vegetable oil, raspberry vinegar, water, and Tabasco in small bowl. Whisk until emulsified. Toast almond slices with a tiny drop of canola oil. Lightly dress the greens and garnish with the almonds, cranberries, and blue cheese.

The recipe for this bright, delicious salad was adapted from a salad served by Chef Robert Bruce at the Palace Café on Canal Street in New Orleans -- a beautiful restaurant located in the old Werlein's for Music building.

Gulf Coast: Cajun Okra Bruschetta

Cajun Okra Bruschetta from Alyssa

vegetable oil

1/3 c. onion

1/3 c. red pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

Cajun seasoning to taste
8 oz. okra cut into 1/3-inch rounds
6 Tbs. water
1/4 c. diced canned tomatoes in juice
2.5 tsp. red wine vinegar
1.5 tsp. capers
baguette slices, toasted

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté until tender. Add garlic and cajun seasoning; stir 1 minute. Add okra, water and tomatoes and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until okra is tender and liquid thickens, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar and capers. Add additional cajun seasoning to taset. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill.

Best part is you can make this one day ahead. Just toast your baguette slices and top with the bruschetta.

This is also great served as a side with grits.

Gulf Coast: Pimm's Cup

Pimm's Cup from Alyssa

A British import and a NoLa favorite, this was a very refreshing and light cocktail. A big hit. Too bad there was a spill of (almost) BP proportions. Luckily our clean-up efforts were decidedly more successful. (Too soon?)

1 part Pimm's No. 1
2 parts Ginger Ale
2 lemons, sliced
1 orange, sliced
10 mint leaves
1 cucumber, sliced

Combine all ingredients and a few slices of cucumber, stir (do NOT shake) to muddle the flavors, and serve over ice with a cucumber garnish. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Best cake ever...bananas and nutella

Ladies - I went to a dinner party last night and a friend of mine is starting a catering company called Moveable Feast. She made the birthday cake for this party and it was so amazing I felt like I needed to share.

here is the recipe in euro measurements (Note, she lined the bottom row of the sides with pecans and didn't put anything on top, looked much nicer:

BANANA, PECAN AND NUTELLA CAKE

pre-heat oven to 170 degrees C

ingredients

4 over ripe bananas

340g castor sugar

340g self raising flour

340g soft butter

6 eggs

100ml milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

80g roughly chopped pecan nuts

then

cream butter and sugar

add the eggs

mash the banana together with the vanilla and the milk

mix all ingredients together

pour into two 25cm baking tins

cook in oven for 40 minutes

leave the cakes to cool whilst preparing the icing

nutella icing

2 tbs Nutella

225g Creme cheese

400g icing sugar

1 tbs vanilla

Mix together

when the cakes are cool put them together with a layer of the nutella icing

generously ice the top of the cake

decorate with fresh banana slices and icing sugar

(if you are a kitchen whizz the bananas taste even better than ever caramelized)