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).

How to Make Any Meal Special: Homemade Popovers

by Elissa

I like to make a nice meal on New Year's Eve (this was true even before I had young kids). This year I tried out a collection of recipes from the Wall Street Journal for steak, celery root puree, sauteed cabbage, and popovers. Even though the meal had multiple components, the prep was relatively simple. I didn't care for the cabbage (cumin just didn't fit, in my opinion), liked the steak, and loved the celery root puree. But the popovers definitely put the meal over the top and made it worthy of a celebration.

I'm sure they would be more photogenic if I had a popover pan (I just used a regular muffin pan), but hopefully you can see how puffy, golden, and delicious they were. Although they are at their best hot from the oven, we kept our leftover popovers in the refrigerator and they were still awfully tasty when reheated in the toaster oven the following day. The batter is not complicated to make and can be made a few hours in advance.

The next time you want to transform an ordinary meal or wow some guests, add these to the menu and watch them disappear.

Orange Poppyseed Dressing: Vegan, Paleo, Whole30 Approved!

by Caitlin

Have you heard of the Whole30? In a nutshell (mmm, nuts, Whole30 approved!) it's 30 days of clean eating and whole foods; essentially just produce, meat, seafood, and certain nuts, oils, seeds, and fats. No wheat, no dairy, no legumes, no grains, no alcohol, no added sugar -- not even natural sugars like maple syrup. Fruit and sweet potatoes are okay, but no white potatoes. Zach and I are doing it January 2 - February 2, along with half the internet. 

At first glance you'd think the focus would be restriction, but there's just so much delicious food you can eat. And having done a strict allergy elimination diet earlier in the year, this seems easier in some ways. It's certainly a bit healthier (I miiiiiiiiight have turned to sugar to cope with that diet). Grassfed pot roast, smoothies, salads, shepherd's pie, grilled salmon, crab cakes, avocado on everything, lots of green vegetables, sliced pears with cashew butter: All things my body is thrilled to see after the past two months Zach and I have had of holiday indulging and stress, long hours, surgery, and too many convenience foods. It has actually been fun for me not to have an excuse to take shortcuts as it's forcing me to come up with things I've been meaning to try for a while. Like this orange poppyseed dressing.

I first made this for New Year's Eve (pre-Whole30), wherein I tossed it with mesclun/baby greens and added red grapes, toasted pecans, feta, and dried sour cherries. For Whole30 I think this would be delightful tossed with mixed greens, grilled chicken, avocado, and some grapes or fresh orange segments. Maybe cucumber and red bell pepper, too. It came together quickly and was fun and different from my normal default of olive oil & balsamic vinvegar.

Whole30 Orange Poppyseed Dressing

Juice & zest of an orange
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra light olive oil
small-medium shallot. (I had a huge one and used a quarter of it.)
1 T good mustard. (If doing Whole30 it should be free of sugar and wine.)
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons poppyseeds. (I added a little at a time until it looked right.)

Wizz everything but the poppyseeds in the blender or food processor. When it's emulsified, add the poppyseeds and pulse once, just to mix. Taste it, add more salt and pepper and poppy seeds if necessary. If it needs more brightness or acidity, add a sploosh more red wine vinegar. With natural ingedients, your mileage may vary.

Chocolate-Covered Cherries

By Ariel

I know! No one wants to hear about more sweets, but this little gem I found floating around on Pinterest from KraftRecipes.com is too cute and delicious not to share with the world.

Last year I got all googly-eyed for Oreo Truffles. This year I stuck a cherry in them.

Traditional chocolate-covered cherries are my absolute favorite. I just used normal Oreos for these, no fancy peppermint to be found this year. I didn't use any of the food coloring or sugar. I dipped the Oreo balls in regular milk chocolate (chocolate-covered CHOCOLATE). The red icing is melted cherry morsels, which are really hard to swirl prettily over chocolates:

Yeah. Working on the pretty part. Red accent aside, these were gobbled up and feedback was great. For how easy they are to do, simply flatten an Oreo ball and wrap around the cherry, you can't go wrong when you want to impress. 

And that's it! I promise to be more health conscious for at least a week or two! Anyone still have leftover sweets hanging around?

Note: January 3rd was National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day, so you can have a belated celebration!

Champagne Flutes Revisited (Cast Your Vote!)

By Jennie

In October, I mentioned adding two different champagne flutes to my holiday wish list. Then I went and added "buy new champagne flutes" to my 2013 to-do list. Then an awesome friend gave me a Crate & Barrel gift card for my birthday, so I'm thinking the latter will help fund the former. 

Unfortunately, one of the sets of flutes I first posted about is no longer available (darn!), but there are plenty cute sets of flutes where those came from. I thought I'd toss a few sets your way, so you could tell me which is the most fabulous.

Top to bottom, left to right: Verve Flute; Paloma Flute; Cora Sparkling Wine Glass; Bellisima Flute.

Which would you buy with a gift card in your pocket?

Holiday Staple: Chex Mix

by Jess M

Every Christmas pretty much my entire life has included Chex Mix. We have always made it from a recipe my mom cut out of a magazine sometimes in the 80s. I'm pretty sure that piece of paper still exists, in the green metal recipe card tin my mom kept in the cabinet. For my bridal shower, my sister included a copy of that recipe for my own collection. Over the years the recipe on the boxes has changed but I stick very closely to my own version of the snack.

For reference: "The Original Chex Mix" recipe from Chex.com (picture those quotation marks as air quotes from me because it's not *actually* the original from the 1950s).

Also the Wikipedia article, with a link to the original ad for Chex Mix which appeared in Life Magazine in 1952.

Jess's version of Chex Mix (based on a circa 1980s magazine cutout, with my own modifications)

1/2 c melted butter

3 T Worchestershire sauce

2 t Season All seasoned salt

8 c any Chex cereal (I prefer corn and rice)

1 c pretzels

1 c peanuts

Measure out cereal, pretzels and nuts in a gallon ziploc bag. Melt butter, mix with the worchestershire and seasoned salt, and pour over the cereal mixture. Seal the bag and shake it until all the pieces are evenly coated.

Microwave: Pour contents into a large microwaveable bowl, cook on high 5-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. 

Oven: Heat oven to 250 degrees. Spread the mix onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Cook for 40-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Cool on paper towels.

It freezes well, so if you can make a whole bunch at a time, you can put it away for later, but it doesn't really last all that long in my house.

~~~

 Last year, Caitlin's dad shared their family's recipe for Cereal Mix.

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?

Hot Chocolate in the Crock Pot

By Ariel

I told you my work does a lot of snack days. In honor of our team Christmas party today, one of the girls came up with doing a hot chocolate bar with all the fun trimmings. While we were skeptical, she totally rocked us all with an amazing hot chocolate brewed (do you brew hot chocolate? mix? create?) in a crock pot.

(Picture courtesy of Target.com, as well as my damask-loving wish list!)

Ginny's Crock Pot Hot Chocolate:

1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
1 14oz can condensed milk
2 cups milk chocolate chips
6 cups milk
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

That's it! Mix it all together over low in a Crock Pot, stirring every few minutes to melt the chocolate chips and to keep them from sticking. This was a HUGE hit at work and I'm pretty sure some other coworkers who were not on our team snuck a cup or two. I plan on making this for a New Year's Eve gathering with Bailey's and Whipped Vodka on hand, but this would also make a charming Christmas morning treat. If you're feeling extra ambitious, why not throw together a few Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallows?

This is the last you'll here from me in 2012. I hope everyone has an AMAZING holiday season filled with delicious food, spiked hot chocolate, and of course, PLENTY of champagne!

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)