No Monday is complete without Red Beans and Rice in New Orleans. The story is that this became a traditional Monday dish because women did their laundry on Mondays, so they needed something they could let sit on the stove all day without having to babysit it. My mom made red beans often when we were growing up, but honestly, she wasn't a great cook. As a result, I was never crazy about red beans until I had them cooked by someone other than her (sorry, Mom!) I realized the key was the texture, and since I never had before, I set out to make a nice pot of creamy beans.

New Orleans-Style Red Beans and Rice
(Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 pound boiled ham cut, into 1/2-inch cubes [I also threw in a ham bone I had saved in the freezer]
6 ounces smoked sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (1 cup)   [I used andouille instead.]
1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and sorted through, soaked overnight and drained
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
8 to 10 cups water
Steamed rice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, cayenne, black pepper and thyme for about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves, ham and sausage and saute for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beans, garlic, and enough water to cover the contents in the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours. 

Oooh, frothy.




Since it would be hours until the beans were ready, I cooked up the leftover andouille.



And then some onions...    (hmmm, the beans are getting a little dry..  check out that ham bone!)



Meanwhile...  the andouille and onions on a nice piece of French bread, a slice of provolone, and a little honey and mustard dashed together equals lunch:




Mmm, that was yummy.

Ok, back to the beans.

Add more water if the mixture becomes dry and thick. 
Use a wooden spoon to mash about half of the mixture against the side of the pot. (This is the key!!)  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the mixture is creamy and the beans are soft. Add more water if it becomes too thick. The mixture should be soupy but not watery.

Creamy.


Remove the bay leaves and serve with steamed white rice.



Don't forget the Tabasco!!

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Beans are all fine and good, but what we REALLY like down here is seafood.  You probably know New Orleans style Barbequed Shrimp have nothing to do with BBQ sauce. Or even a grill. But there's butter. Lots and lots of butter.

Barbequed Shrimp
(Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001)

Ingredients

4 pounds raw shrimp, heads and shells on, well rinsed and drained
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons fresh oregano
1 teaspoon crushed whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 lemons, cut in half and their juice
1 large loaf crusty French bread

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. 
Yield: about 2/3 cup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse the shrimp under cold running water and let drain. Spread in 1 layer in a large roasting pan or baking dish. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients, except the shrimp and bread, and stir to mix well. Remove from the heat and pour over the shrimp. 

Thanks, Dad, for getting us these gorgeous shrimp!  Ready for the oven:




Bake in the oven until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the shrimp from drying out. Remove from the oven and pour into a large serving bowl, or individual bowls to be peeled and eaten at tableside, with hot French bread for dunking in the sauce. 

Outta the oven:

 And into our mouths!  I served these with slices of French bread for dipping, a green salad and cold iced tea.



I poured most of the dipping sauce (read: butter) into that white bowl.  See how it looks like there's about an inch of butter on top?  That's because there is.  You have to be careful with the dipping.  Or use less butter (probably advisable.)  

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So we all say we're going to repent and make amends for our sins once Mardi Gras is over and it's the Lenten season. But we still manage to sneak in a few more parades. If there's anything better than eating food, it's having food thrown at your face by drunk people and little kids on parade floats. And so, at the St. Patrick's Day and Irish-Italian parades, everybody goes out to catch produce and beads.  It's tradition to throw cabbage, carrots, and potatoes to make Irish stew, but it has kind of evolved into a free-for-all, and our catches this year included Ramen noodles, an unopened jar of cloves, and an unwrapped piece of Popeye's Fried Chicken, which my friend ate in spite of it landing in the grass.  Craziness.

Here's just the beginning of our haul this year:



We ended up with over 10 lbs of potatoes, probably 5 lbs of carrots, 6 cabbages, some onions, lemons, gorgeous garlic, a couple of bell peppers, and some apples, oranges and bananas.  Where else can you get this much food for free and enjoy a vodka tonic at the same time??

So now, with my fridge overflowing with veggies and a new diet plan in place, I had to find a relatively healthy use for some of that cabbage.  I'm not quite patient enough for stuffing cabbage, but I found this Weight Watchers-friendly recipe:

Un-Stuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb extra lean ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
16 oz. tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
6 oz. Morningstar Farms Grillers Recipe Crumbles
1 16 oz. bag Dole Classic Cole Slaw Mix  [I used fresh cabbage caught at the parade.]
[I also added some Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, since it's pretty much the law in Louisiana.]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown the beef until no longer pink and drain if necessary.  Add the ontions, garlic, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, water, uncooked rice, and Morningstar crumbles.  Bring to a simmer and cook until the rice is partially cooked (about 10-15 minutes.)  Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Layer half of the cole slaw mix into the bottom, then spread half of the meat mixture on top of that.  Repeat layers.  Do not stir.  Cover tightly with a piece of foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the cabbage is tender.
Serves 6 (HUGE portions)

Stuffed Cabbage, Now With Fewer Toothpicks!



Nutritional info:
Per serving:  290 calories; 9g fat (27.4% calories from fat); 25g protein; 28g carbohydrate; 5g dietary fiber; 47 mg cholesterol; 983mg sodium.  Exchanges:  0 grain (starch); 1 1/2 vegetable; 0 fat.  Weight Watchers Points:  6.