Crawfish Phyllo Triangles Appetizer

Crawfish Phyllo Triangles is a great crawfish recipe that I wanted to share with you. This recipe would be perfect to use with left-over crawfish from a crawfish boil. Spicy leftover crawfish tails are wonderful in recipes because they add a rich layer of seasoning and spice. In addition to the the crawfish, you could add in leftover andouille sausage or onions from the crawfish boil. C'est bon!

Doesn't the crawfish filling look yummy?

The food photography is beautiful. Thank you to the food blog, The Way The Cookie Crumbles for sharing the wonderful photograph and tutorial for this recipe.

I made a few changes to this recipe, adding in some creole seasonings. Here is my Louisiana version of this Crawfish appetizer recipe. Both versions are adapted from Emeril Lagasse's,  Cocktail Crawfish Turnovers.

Crawfish Phyllo Triangles Recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped green bell peppers

2 tablespoons chopped celery

1 1/2 teaspoons creole seasoning (Slap Ya Mama or Tony Chachere)

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole milk

1/2 pound cooked, peeled crawfish tails (coarsely chopped if large)

1/4 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry/phyllo (2 sheets), thawed in the refrigerator

2 egg yolks, beaten with 2 teaspoons water

Directions

Make filling: Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, bell peppers, and celery in the butter. Season with creole seasoning. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are slightly soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir until the mixture is lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add the milk, and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the crawfish tails, cheese, green onions, and parsley. Stir to mix well. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Phyllo dough. To make each crawfish appetizer triangle, set one sheet of phyllo on a clean lightly floured work surface and brush melted butter on half of the sheet lengthwise. Fold the phyllo on its long axis in half. Brush melted butter on half of the phyllo lengthwise again, and fold on the long axis once more. You should have a long narrow strip of phyllo with 4 layers.

Triangle Filing. Place a tablespoon of crawfish filling on the bottom corner of the strip and begin folding the dough over the filling. Continue folding until the dough is completely wrapped around the filling. Brush a little butter on the end to seal it down. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling. Brush the top of each crawfish triangle with egg yolk for a pretty shine when baked.

BAKE. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place the triangles about 1- inch apart on the sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Makes about 24 triangles.

Crawfish Cooking Tip- When cooking with crawfish tails- brighten up the flavor by tossing the crawfish tails in a splash of fresh lemon juice before you add them to a recipe.

We have even more crawfish, cajun and creole recipes to inspire you! Click here to see all of them

Mardi Gras King Cake Cupcakes

Mardi Gras and King Cakes go together like beads and parades, but sometimes it can be hard to get a traditional Mardi Gras King Cake. If this is the case for you, don't let that spoil the fun! Inspired by the current gourmet cupcake craze and our traditional Mardi Gras King Cake, we created a gourmet Mardi Gras king cake cupcake that you can enjoy no matter where you live.

With simple ingredients like, vanilla wafers and icing, you can create these tiny cookie Mardi Gras king cakes. They fit perfectly on top of a cupcake. With a tiny king cake and king cake baby on top, these Mardi Gras cupcakes are great for Mardi Gras parties any time of year. But with Mardi Gras just days away, these cupcakes are a great way to bring the Mardi Gras King Cake tradition to you.

While our king cake cupcakes are definitely more cake than traditional king cake (which is more of a cinnamon roll), they do contain a special surprise just like a traditional Louisiana style Mardi Gras King cake. A tiny plastic baby is usually hidden in a king cake. This surprise that awaits someone in a piece of king cake is supposed to symbolizes the baby Jesus. Tradition dictates that the person blessed with the king cake baby hosts the next king cake party or brings the next king cake to work, school or meeting. In our version, everyone gets a special King Cake baby (on top), but only one person gets the special surprise treat. In one cupcake is a chocolate candy center. How fun! Whoever gets the chocolate center cupcake can host the next party!

The tiny plastic king cake babies are not safe to bake in the king cake. They would melt. The king cake babies are traditionally added after the cake is baked by inserting them in the bottom.  A piece of candy or other edible treat is a better choice for cupcakes. For more information on the history and traditions surrounding King cakes and King cake babies see this post on, Twelfth night traditions or our About Mardi Gras page.

For even more Louisiana Recipes, visit our Recipes page.

Here is how we created these cute Mardi Gras King Cupcakes:

Use any flavor cake/cupcake batter you prefer. We chose a basic vanilla cake mix and added a touch of cinnamon to mimic the cinnamon flavor of a traditional king cake.

To create the "king cake" surprise, drop a chocolate "kiss" into one lucky cupcake. As it bakes it will sink so ideally you want it just on the top of the batter.

Our simple un-iced cinnamon cupcakes.

To create our tiny cookie king cakes, we used plain vanilla wafers.

Icing transforms these cookies from plain vanilla wafers to mini king cakes.

Step1: Using white icing, create a circle around the edge of the cookie.

Step 2: With purple, green and yellow icing, add a rectangle section of each color icing.

Step 3: Continue around the king cake, mimicking the colored icing/sprinkles on a traditional king cake.

Step 4: Finish the cookie  off with some edible sprinkles.

With a small amount of icing, add the plastic king cake baby to the center of the cookie. Place your mini king cake cookie on the top of your cupcake.

Not only are these king cake cupcakes cute but the yummy cookie king cake is edible as well. And your guests will love breaking into their cupcakes to see who got the prized cupcake.

Create a new Mardi Gras tradition in your area! Host a Mardi Gras party and serve these King Cake cupcakes. You never know who will get the prize cupcake and host the next event. What fun!

Here are even more Mardi Gras Cupcake ideas:
Mardi Gras Cupcake Toppers
Striped Mardi Gras Cupcakes

Hot Beignets easily prepared at home with Cafe du Monde Beignet Mix!

There is no comparison for hot, fluffy beignets and a cup of cafe au lait in the morning. Sweet beignets enjoyed in the French Quarter are an integral part of the New Orleans experience. But we can't always make it to the French Quarter for this delicious treat. Luckily if you are not in New Orleans, you can easily make authentic Cafe de Monde beignets at home with Cafe du Monde's beignet mix. It is very simple. Add water, mix and then fry. Dusted with powdered sugar, it is hard to tell the home-cooked beignets apart from the renowned restaurant version.


Cafe du Monde Beignet Mix

 Here is how to make Cafe du Monde beignets at home:

Cafe du Monde mix. All you need to add is water. Mix to combine until moistened.

Sprinkle a flat surface with flour. Turn out the beignet dough onto this floured surface.

Roll out the beignet dough on a floured surface.

Cut the dough into square beignet pieces or any shape and size you prefer.

Pour a few inches of vegetable oil in to a stock pot or dutch oven and heat (high to medium). A good way to judge if the oil is hot: when a small test piece of dough rises to the top instead of sinking, the oil is ready.

Carefully drop your beignets in to the hot oil.

Only a few at a time to keep the oil temperature consistent. The beignets will puff out as they cook.

Turn the beignets over when they are golden brown on one side. Remove when golden brown on both sides. Drain beignets on a paper towel.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy. C'est Bon!

For more information on traditional Louisiana foods, click here.

Dirty rice for Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving meal in south Louisiana is not complete with out traditional Louisiana dirty rice. Made with your preference of meat or seafood, traditional dirty rice is a great accompaniment to a turkey dinner.  I prefer my dirty rice made with turkey (dark meat) and rich stock. How do you like your dirty rice?

I hope all of you enjoy your thanksgiving day, meal and family! No matter what you serve or where you are, remember to count your blessings. I am counting mine...thankful for each and every one...including you!

Red Bean Crostini Appetizer

If you love our Monday tradition of red beans and rice, then you are sure to enjoy this yummy recipe for Red Bean Crostini appetizer. This recipe presented by Louisiana Cookin, combines red hearty beans and a Louisiana chicory flavor into a great appetizer.  This recipe could be made with left over home-made red beans as well (instead of canned red beans.)

Red Bean Crostini
created by Holly Schreiber for Louisiana Cookin

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 14-ounce cans red kidney beans, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bunches fresh chicory, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper
16 slices French bread, 1/2-inch thick, toasted
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
 
Instructions:
In a large sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Cook, covered, until soft. Add the beans and warm through. Remove from the heat and pour into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until it forms a coarse purée. If it is too dry, add a little water or chicken stock to moisten it. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In the same sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicory and chicken stock and let wilt. Remove from the heat and drain excess liquid from the chicory. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls of the wilted chicory onto a slice of toasted French bread. Top with a dollop of red bean puréee. Repeat with remaining French bread slices. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Note: If you can’t find chicory, use dandelion greens.

If you try this recipe, let us know how you like it. Leave us a comment or send us a note at ideas@mardigrasoutlet.com.

Bon Appetite!

Fun Striped Mardi Gras Cupcakes

Striped Mardi Gras Cupcakes



Inside a striped surprise!

 Aren't these precious! Inspired by a rainbow version,  I decided to try a striped Mardi Gras cupcake in honor of our blogiversary. These cupcakes were easy to make and turned out so cute. This is a kid friendly baking project, too. The colored batter reminded me of bright play dough once it was mixed. What child would not love to play/bake with bright colored batter?

My version of these cupcakes is purple, green and gold for Mardi Gras, but any fun combination of colors would work. How about red and green for Christmas or purple and gold to support my favorite football team? Get creative! You can  swirl the colors together in the batter or just layer them like shown below in the tutorial. Swirling gives the baked cupcakes a tie-dye look.

Here is the tutorial for these yummy, easy and festive Mardi Gras striped cupcakes along with a few helpful hints I learned along the way. If you make some, be sure to share your color creation with us at Ideas@mardigrasoutlet.com.

Supplies:

Boxed Cake Mix (along with ingredients for cake mix: oil, eggs,etc..)
Plain paper cupcake liners (plain, so you can see your fun stripes)
3 plastic zip-top bags
Gel food coloring (in your preferred colors, here purple, green and yellow)
Icing
Decorations/ Sprinkles



How To:

Preheat oven to temperature suggested on your box for cupcakes. ( 350 degrees for my cake mix)

Combine cake mix and ingredients needed for you mix in a large bowl (oil, eggs and water for my cake mix).


 Mix until combined as directed on your cake mix directions.

Fold over the top edge of the plastic bags. This is to help keep the top of the bag clean when you pour in the batter. Line the bags up in a row standing up. If you can not get them to stand up you can put the bag in a cup while you pour in the batter.

Add equal amounts of batter to each bag.

Coloring the dough:

I used gel food coloring to color my batter. Wilton's gel food coloring is pictured here in violet, leaf green and lemon yellow. (Gel coloring is usually available in a larger variety of colors and creates richer color depth, but regular food coloring will work, too.)

Add a small amount of gel coloring to each bag. Remember a little goes a long way. You can always add more.

Once you add food coloring, fold the top of the bag up and close each bag, sealing out most of the air. Mix the coloring into the batter by kneading the color into the batter. This is a great time for kids to help. Just make sure the bag is firmly closed.  Look how festive the batter colors up!

With the cupcake liners in the muffin pan, clip a small corner off your zip-top bag of batter with scissors.

Use this hole to pipe batter out of each bag into a cupcake liner. An easy and mess free to add each color batter.

*NOTE* I put too much batter in each cupcake liner when I made these. Remember, the batter will rise considerably and you have to get all three colors in. Again, less is more.

Repeat with each color batter. Pipe in the batter on top of  the previous color. I layered the batter in a circle when I filled them to keep the colors from mixing.

When all the colored batter is poured in, bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for the time directed on your cake mix. Be sure to use the time recommended for cupcakes (12-15 minutes for me).

  

Let the cupcakes cool. Then ice the top and decorate.

I decorated mine with bright yellow sprinkles and plain white icing to let the stripes of the cupcakes SHINE.

Simply STRIPED and so CUTE!

Bon Appetite!

Update:
We have made even more cupcake designs here at Party Ideas:
Mardi Gras Cupcake Toppers
King Cake Cupcakes

Red Beans and Rice...a Monday tradition!

Red beans and rice is a Monday tradition in Louisiana. Red beans and rice is a simple dish (everyone, everywhere eats beans), but southern style red beans and rice is full of Louisiana flavor and so evocative of home cooked Creole comfort food. It is both creamy and hearty with nice Louisiana spice!

All over south Louisiana, particularly New Orleans, red beans and rice is cooked and served on Mondays. I am sure it is served on other days, too. But tradition dictates it is served on Mondays. The plate lunch special around town and dinner at my house is sure to be red beans and rice on Monday.

The folk tale behind Red Beans and Rice:
“On Dit Que” (it is said that) the tradition of red beans and rice as the customary meal for Mondays evolved because of laundry day. Wash day, long ago, took all day (thankfully this is not always the case anymore.) For the mommas to be able to wash all day and have supper on the table that night, they needed hearty meals that could cook all day with little help from the chef. An easy solution was to use what they had on hand...a big pot filled with the favorite Creole seasoning vegetables (the trinity: bell pepper, onion and celery), the ham-bone from Sunday dinner and a pound or so of red beans. This pot could be left to simmer all day. TADA! Creamy, hearty Red Beans and Rice was born!

About Red Beans and Rice
This delicious pot of red beans is traditionally served over white rice with a portion of salted meat served either on top, mixed in or on the side. The beans in red beans and rice are said to have been brought to Louisiana from the Caribbean. The rice portion of this meal is easy to trace. South Louisiana is filled with rice fields. It is one of Louisiana’s core crops. A lesser known version of red beans and rice is white beans and rice. Same creamy bean dish served over rice, just substitute white beans for the red beans.

Red Beans and rice is made with salted meat used to flavor the beans. A big hunk of ham will work. A large ham bone is even better. Need something to do with the ham bone left over from Christmas? Making a big pot of red beans and rice is a great option. Sauteed down with simmering vegetables and water, a ham bone packs a lot of flavor. Sausage or pork chops are also served with red beans and rice. A common way to see red beans and rice served and the way I like my red beans and rice is with sausage (either whole links or slices.)

How to make Red Beans and Rice
No matter what meat you choose, the key to good red beans is a creamy texture. Crunchy beans are a No-No! The key to this creamy texture is cooking them for a long time. An option to help reduce the cooking time is to soak the beans overnight. Even if you only have time to soak  for a few hours, the beans will soften considerably. I usually soak the red beans for most of the day and then put the beans on to cook in the early afternoon. Cooking red beans (the cooking time) is not an exact science. Some beans need longer, others cook faster. This is a dried product. As with most Creole dishes, the longer it cooks, the better it will taste. You are aiming for the beans to be creamy, but not so mushy they disappear. This sounds complicated. Please don’t be intimidated…after all this dish was invented for hard work laundry day. It is definitely easy enough for modern cooks! So here is how I make my red beans and rice...on Mondays of course.

Ingredients
1 medium onion-finely chopped
1green bell pepper- finely chopped
2-3 stalks celery- finely chopped
garlic- finely minced
Parsley
White Rice
Creole Seasoning
Bay leaves
hot sauce
1 pound smoked sausage/ham
1 pound New Orleans style Red Beans

Directions

Sort and rinse the red beans. (This just means to sort through the beans and throw out anything other than red beans. Also cull any beans that look bad.)

Put the beans in a large bowl. Cover the beans with ample water. The beans will expand and soak up water as they sit so make sure there is enough water in the bowl to keep them covered.

Let the beans soak over-night or all day. Add more water to the bowl as needed.

When you are ready cook, drain and rinse the beans again.

In a large dutch-oven style pot, turn the heat on medium high on stove top.

Saute your preferred meat. Your goal here is to have the meat render some of its fat and seasoning. I like sausage as my seasoning meat. I slice about half of the sausage and I save a few longer link pieces of sausage to serve on top of the red beans. All of the sausage is sauteed until browned. The links are removed from the pan; the slices stay in. If you are using ham, leave it in the pot to flavor with beans.

Add finely chopped vegetables (garlic, onion, bell pepper, celery) to the pan. Saute until tender and softened. The vegetables will continue to cook with the beans.

Add bay leaves, red beans, creole seasoning and enough water to cover these ingredients in the pot. Lower the heat down to medium-high. Boil gently for 1 1/2 -2 hours or until beans are tender and creamy. Add water as needed while cooking to keep beans covered.

When beans have been cooking for 1 1/2 hours, add chopped parsley to red bean mixture. If the liquid the beans are cooking in is not creamy enough and the beans are cooked, take a few beans out of the pot. Mush these up. Add them back to the stock to help thicken the sauce.

Cook the white rice.

When both rice and beans are done, remove bay leaves from beans and serve red beans over a pile of white rice.

Corn bread and a simple green salad are a great accompaniments to Red Beans and Rice.  My husband likes his corn bread crumbled on the top.

Don't forget your favorite Louisiana hot sauce, to spice red beans up for those who like it hot!

Extra red beans can be frozen if you have left-overs. This recipe does makes a large pot!

Bon Appetite!



For fool-proof red beans and rice, try Mam Papaul's Red Beans and Rice seasoning blend. The box contains all the secret ingredients for a good pot of red beans. You just need to provide the beans, salted meat and cooked white rice!

Football Rice Krispie Treats

All the tiny tailgaters will love these little football rice krispie treat. Actually, the adults will  like them too. Who can resist a rice krispie treat?  These football themed chocolate treats are sure to be a hit at your tailgate or football theme party! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

3 tablespoons Butter

1 (10 oz) package marshmallows (I prefer the small ones but you can use large)
5 cups Cocoa Rice Krispie cereal
White frosting




Directions
In a microwave proof bowl, melt butter. Add marshmallows to bowl and microwave until melted. All microwaves are different so I would recommend setting it for 1 minute increments. Test to see if the marshmallows are melted after each minute. Be careful not to scorch the marshmallows.

Grease a large bowl with butter (so the mixture will not stick to the sides).  Add the cocoa krispies. Pour the butter/marshmallow mixture over the top of the rice cereal. Stir to coat all the cereal. Let cool slightly.
Use buttered hands to shape the rice krispie mixture into mini footballs. Make the footballs about 3" long. This makes 16-24 depending on how large you make them.

Decorate each football by piping white icing on them for stitches and strings. I use a small Ziploc bag as an icing piping bag. To do this, you fill the bottom of the bag with the icing. Snip a small hole in the bottom corner and squeeze the icing out of this hole. Easy and less mess.

Down, set, HIKE! You are ready for kick-off with these tasty football rice krispie treats!


Update:
We have even more blog posts with football decorations and beads:
Football Door Decoration How-To
Team Sports Beads Guide