Food Lush

Mardi Gras Party Ideas

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

By Ariel

I'm sad to be saying goodbye for awhile, but thankful to the Lush editors for letting me in on this wonderful website. I learned a lot about food around here (like not everyone is ACTUALLY a gourmet chef in their spare time. Everyone loves a shortcut!) The first post that came to mind when I was asked to throwback a favorite was Carrie's cauliflower pizza crust!  I had never heard of such a thing before but the genius is astounding. I've used it several times and actually find myself craving it more often than regular pizza, go figure. My own favorite of mine is one of the first ones I wrote here at Food Lush, and continues to be my most-requested party food, my Bacon and Cheese Tartlets.  I make these for every. Single. Group. Gathering. And still people need confirmation that yes, I am bringing them, don't worry.

*** 

For my last post around these parts for awhile I thought it would be appropriate to send off with some Mardi Gras party ideas. Fat Tuesday is coming up February 12th, and while I'm a little too far north for the real party, my people and I never like to pass up an excuse to eat and drink in the name of a theme!

First and most important, the drinks:

[Photo credit Chicago Tribune]

The Mardi Gras Hurricane!  Rum, rum, and some other stuff, this is a staple and a favorite of mine.  Whenever I find these on vacation I'll usually down enough so that I won't notice a hurricane going on around me, but what a delicious drink!

Or, if you want to get everyone involved in some fun, how about a Virgin Hurricane?

[ Photo credit Taste of Home]

To spice up your appetizers with some theme fun, how cute are these claw picks?
 

 
[Picture from nolaimports.com] 

My husband and I are going to the beach for a week with a few other couples, I'm thinking I need a beach-themed party before we go and these little claw picks are just so cute I can't stand it.

Of course, you also need some Mardi Gras COOKIES!  You can pick up a set of your own Mardi Gras cookie cutters at Mardigrasoutlet.com for only $12 or browse all their cookie cutter shapes here.
 

For snacks, how about Mardi Gras Pretzels, King Cake Bars, or these Apple Beignets (which I am DROOLING OVER)

[Image from Babble.com]

For the main attraction (ah, who am I kidding, the booze up top is the main attraction!) how about this amazing looking citrus marinated shrimp dish from Southern Living?



[Photo credit Southern living]

And one of my absolute favorite things to eat in the entire world, the Shrimp Po' Boy:

 

[Image from cooking channel tv]

I recently discovered  restaurant nearby that made the most excellent shrimp po' boy I've ever found in this part of the country.  I'm so excited to go back I can't even tell you.

Hopefully I've put everyone in a party mood.  Rather than a Hurricane I'll probably be tipping back a few champane cocktails this weekend (today's my birthday!).  Thanks for two great years, you guys!  We truly couldn't ask for a better crowd around here.

Pepperoni Dip

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

by Tara

I think it would be impossible to pick a favorite post. I've been a fan of the Lush sites since long before I wrote for Food Lush. Since before Food Lush was around and I still got recipes from Style Lush! I think of myself as an adventurous cook, and that means that the Recipe Round-ups were probably the most-used of the posts over the years. My favorite post I wrote was my first: World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. I was so honored to become a part of the Lush team, and I shared the best recipe I had. I hope you enjoy those cookies as much as I always do! I might make some tomorrow! 

***

With Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching, I know what we're all thinking about: food, commercials and what Beyonce's going to wear! (Wait. You mean some people watch the football game? Weird.) Anyway! Here's a crowd-pleasing recipe for an appetizer dip. Easy and delicious!

Pepperoni Dip

Ingredients:
-1 can cream of celery soup
-2 8-oz bricks of cream cheese
-1 package of pepperoni
-crackers and/or bread torn into dippable chunks

Directions:
1. Add soup and cream cheese to smallish slow cooker.*
2. Cut pepperonis in half and add to cooker.
3. Let warm, stirring occasionally, until creamy and easy to dip stuff into.

*I'm positive this can be made in a regular pot on the stove, or even in the microwave, but in a slow cooker is easiest because then you can keep it warm after it's done (and also just dump everything in and then leave it while you do other things).

'Kay, So...Let's Talk Cheese

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last two years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

By Erica H.

(Post from the archives that I most wish I had written myself: Tara C.'s funny and informative write-up of Soul Cakes. Post from the archives that I am most pleased to have written: Granny's Lemon Pound Cake.)

***

As you know by now, this is a series wrap for me here at Food Lush, which has engendered a certain sense of urgency that I impart the absolute most crucial food-related information to you while I have the chance. Down to the hungry depths of my soul have I searched! And what did I discover there (underneath the layers of garlic and yea, even eggs) but a vast pool of spicy liquid cheese: my molten core of queso.

 

In the interest of making sure that you all can fend for yourselves in my absence, I now present a very important recipe round-up.

Quick and dirty queso for when you only have ten minutes: the classic RoTel/Velveeta combo.

Oh, you have fifteen minutes? Q&D version, slightly enhanced.

Killer, real-deal queso for when you are feeling fancy enough to make a bechamel sauce.

Or just come visit me in Austin, where you can't throw a stick without it ending up in a bowl of the stuff. Seriously, come see me. I already miss you.

Homemade Shrimp Cocktail

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last two years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

by Maura

I'm so sad that Food Lush and Style Lush are shutting their internet doors, but I'm so proud to have been a part of these sites. My favorite posts are very hard to choose, but the ones I chose are:

My post on my Favorite Wines from Marlborough, New Zealand. If you are yearning for summer, pick up one of these wines. Their crisp citrus flavors will bring a little sunshine to your dark winter evenings.

There are so many posts from my colleagues and friends that I love, but as I was perusing the site tonight, I stopped on one and said to myself, HOW haven't I made this yet? I'm definitely going to be eating this delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup from Sarah this week!

***

For my parting post, I made shrimp cocktail. As my journey on Whole 30 comes to a close, I was struggling to find tasty alternatives to beef and veggies. I don't know what made me think of shrimp cocktail, but once the idea got in my head, I just couldn't get it out. Unfortunately, most shrimp cocktail sauce is loaded with sugar, so I had to make my own.

I started with a basic idea of the ingredients of shrimp cocktail, and modified the sauce by taste.You may have to adjust your seasonings for your particular tastes!

18 oz tomato sauce
4-5 T. horseradish
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 t. Dijon Mustard
2-3 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
2-3 dashes of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

The only drawback to this cocktail sauce is that it is not thick. It was tasty, though, and creamy because of the mustard.

For the shrimp, I looked at a bunch of shrimp boil recipes and put my own together with what I had on hand and without the beer that is usually in a shrimp boil. Before you start, prepare an ice bath for the shrimp.

2-3 T. Barbecue shrimp seasonings (or Old Bay)
1/2 lemon
1 t. garlic, minced
1 t. salt
1/2 t. chili powder
~24 frozen shrimp, defrosted, tails on

I put all the ingredients in a pot and brought it up to a boil. When it was at a rolling boil, I added the shrimp. Once the shrimp started to boil, I let it cook for 1 minute, then strained and dumped into an ice bath. Serve with cocktail sauce and enjoy!

Cooking Duck Confit for Duck Nachos

by Jess M

My husband and I had duck nachos for the first time a couple of years ago when we were out for our anniversary at Monocacy Crossing. All of our food was delicious, but the duck nachos really stuck out as over-the-top good, and also they were something we had never even thought we could make at home. 

Not too long after that, I saw that a cooking class on pub food was being offered at The Kitchen Studio, a fantastic place in Frederick, Maryland to take classes to learn new techniques or recipes. And on the menu for that class was duck nachos. Our instructor, Carla, showed us how to cook a simple duck confit and assemble some delicious (and easy!) nachos.

Since taking the class I've made the duck nachos a couple of times at home. My Wegmans grocery store carries whole ducks, as well as various duck pieces. You can buy a confit leg/thigh piece cooked and packaged, but it is pretty pricey, and is quite a small amount of meat. So if you're going to the duck section you might as well go for the whole thing. The duck that I bought was about $30, which for us, is a special occasion meal.

First, you have to cut apart the duck. It's just like cutting apart a raw chicken, it's a little bigger and the skin and fat layer is really thick. I cut the duck into the leg/thigh pieces, wings, and breasts. Duck confit seems to only consist of the legs, but I cooked the whole duck the same way.Arrange the pieces in a high-sided dish, prick the skin all over and sprinkle with salt. Then cover the duck with oil or duck fat. I really wanted to be able to save and reuse the duck fat so the first time I bought a container (about $6) so that it would be all duck fat and not a mix of duck and oil. After it was cooked I strained and saved the rendered fat in a jar.

Cook the duck in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes, then at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let the duck rest for about 15 minutes.

Cut apart and shred the meat.

Duck Nachos, This recipe from Emeril is very similar to the way that I made our nachos.

Easy Duck Confit on Simply Recipes, Great instructions with really good picutres to guide you

D'Artagnon, information on the kind of duck that I bought

(Photos: me)

Roasted Chickpeas

by Jess M

Like many people (most? it seems), now that January is here, I am trying to eat better, healthier, and exercise more. And as I've mentioned in other posts, I have a bad habit of eating terrible, convenient things during the day. It's very filling and super easy.

Roasted Chickpeas

1 can of chickpeas
1 T olive oil
1 t soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Mix olive oil, soy sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper, then toss with the chickpeas. Spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until crispy on the outside, still tender on the inside. (You may have to taste test a couple)

I first used this recipe for roasted chickpeas and here on Tasty Kitchen there are several different variations. 

You should probably share these; they make a great happy hour snack with a beer. They are also a really great alternative to plain chickpeas on top of a salad. However, I sometimes just eat them all for lunch. And if you eat a whole can of chickpeas for lunch you likely won't be hungry the rest of the afternoon.

(Photos: me)

Pigs in a blanket and other upcoming appetizers

by Caitlin

Notice how I cleverly avoided titling this "Holiday appetizers," "Christmas appetizers," or "New Year's appetizers"? But consider this the ole bait & switch. I do love a good hors d'oeuvre, and I think this can be considered the season of the appetizer. And the season of the cocktail, cookie, baked good, giant meal, and anything else you want to justify indulging in.

I've got a few menus and meals to plan for, and I can't stop thinking about pigs in blankets. A few years ago on a whim I decided to make some (for the first time ever) for a party my husband and I were throwing. He'd just made his own duck breast prosciutto, was plotting a fancy cheese plate, and didn't see a place for pigs in a blanket on our snack table. Guess what was the first to go? Apparently people just can't resist processed meat products wrapped in processed pastry, especially when you offer them something to dip them in. They've become a favorite once-or-twice-a-year indulgence for me ever since, and this is the perfect time of year for them. 

Photo: me

Last year I felt much more virtuous buying cans of crescent rolls and Morally Superior Hot Dogs* at Whole Foods. They didn't have Humane L'il Smokies* at the overpriced hippie grocery store, so I bought regular sized Virtuous Hot Dogs* and cut them into L'il Smoky size. It worked great. Press some poppy or sesame seeds on the top to show you mean business. 

*Not the actual names.

Photo from browneyedbaker.com

In the past I've also had great success with buffalo chicken dip (again using Virtuous Chicken because chicken in a can = ew), and I am currently contemplating Things That are Wrapped in Bacon. Contenders: water chestnuts, scallops, dates stuff with goat cheese. 

Photo from sheknows.com

Yep, I think we've got a winner.

Do you have any fun appetizers planned? What are your feelings on pastry wrapped meat products?

For Your Holiday Entertaining: Dinner Shrimp

By Ariel

A couple months ago my husband and I were making our monthly pilgrimage to Sam's Club and they had the sample carts out in full force. One sample we both loved and bought is the Daily Chef Dinner Shrimp:

We are HUGE seafood lovers. We like the ocean more for the cuisine than the view (although the view is great with a lobster tail!) and love trying new seafood recipes we can make at home. Something I've never mastered and pretty much have given up on is fried shrimp. I love fried shrimp, but I just don't know if I'll ever be able to recreate it in my own kitchen. This Daily Chef shrimp is perfect. It tastes like the fried shrimp you order when you go out and the sizes are large and terrific for parties or dinner.  

The only downside is I really cannot recommend baking them, they need to be fried. I get away with using a skillet and think it works just fine. We're having people over for New Year's Eve, and I'll be frying these up ahead of time and keeping them warm in the roaster oven for snacking throughout the night.  

I've tried many, many, many different kinds of fried shrimp, including working in a restaurant, and this is the best, hands down. Go grab some for your holiday get together!

(Photo from Samsclub.com)

Aloha from Oregon Pepper Jelly FTW!

By Dani

I discovered Aloha from Oregon products last week in a wine company tasting room, and they are now my snacking obsession.

My favorites are the Apricot Pepper Jelly and the Raspberry Pepper Jelly--a scrumptious blend of sweet, savory and crisp--the perfect compliment to rich cheeses or dips. If you're going to a little Christmas party and need a hostess gift, I think they'd be great for that, and who doesn't need more food at the holidays? (Kidding. Kinda.)

Anyway, order online or try your local gourmet market for Aloha from Oregon products... you won't regret it.

(Photo credit: Aloha from Oregon)

Party Food: Chicken Taco Bites

By Erica H.

Welcome to December, aka Party Season! Are you ready? Are you ready for the cocktails and the decorations and the music and the this-outfit-was-really-cute-before-I-started-eating-my-way-though-Party-Season? And most importantly, the beautiful, terrible outfit-tighteners themselves, tiny bites of food that taste like regular meals but are way more adorable? Good. Because I'm going to help you out with that last one right now.

For my contribution to Book Club last Saturday I followed the basic structure of these Chipotle Chicken Tostada Bites from Apple A Day, but easied it up a bit by using store-bought guacamole and throwing some taco chicken in the slow cooker (2.5 lbs chicken + jar of salsa + packet of taco seasoning + 6-8 hours). These adjustments were in order to 1) save time and 2) create a bunch of leftover taco chicken, respectively. Success on both counts!

These were very easy to put together and taste like wee bites of Tex-Mex happiness. If you are feeling less lazy than myself you could always throw together Elsha's guacamole and Elisabeth's taco seasoning, and if you want an alternative slow cooker chicken flavor, Sarah has had good luck with green chile enchilada sauce.

A couple of caveats. As noted in the original recipe, these will get soggy pretty quick, so assembly needs to be last-minute. (Though slightly dispiriting in terms of presenation to the public, this sogginess will certainly not prevent certain motivated individuals from going after the leftovers with a fork the next morning.) And while delicious, the shredded chicken might look vaguely like very classy cat food. A jaunty cap o' cilantro leaf helps provide cover and doubles as a way to ferret out weirdo cilantro-haters. Everybody wins!