Over at The Kitchn!

Things have been moving and shaking over at The Kitchn, and I haven't even bothered to keep you in the know. Here's a look at what's been cooking! These low country shrimp and grits were a special request from Walt. They will definitely be making a repeat appearance at our table!

I made this classic Chocolate Chess Pie in celebration of National Pi Day. And then I made it two more times. Yum!

Walt and I literally ate hundreds of french fries in order to perfect this recipe for Beer-Battered Cajun Fries. Oh, the things I do for you.

I love all things New Orleans around here, and this Mardi Gras Milk Punch is no exception. It would probably pair nicely with this King Cake.

Lastly, these Oven-baked Barbecue Ribs are the perfect year round dinner. The barbecue sauce is delish on chicken, too.

From the Archives: Creole-style Jambalaya

This recipe is from the Dixie Caviar archives. I threw a dinner party this past weekend for some family and friends and needed a dish that could be made in advance as well as feed a crowd. I set out pickled Gulf Coast shrimp as an appetizer, paired the jambalaya with a beautiful romaine salad, and served chocolate chess pie for dessert. Perfection!

We have a new roommate at the Oxford suites, and with him came lots of new things. Too many new things, actually. His furniture was spilling into the garage, the yard and then some. What to do, we ask? But a yard sale of course. The most fun yard sale in the history of yard sales! An all-day beer-pounding, hot dog-slamming, people-watching kind of yard sale. In honor of the occasion, we created the loveliest of posters to advertise the affair (ha!). My boyfriend Walt even strapped on some roller blades and a whoopie cushion costume to help lure in unsuspecting customers. No joke.

As luck would have it, all of our friends wanted to come "help out", a.k.a. drink Pina Coladas and scream at passerby's. The day brought lots of interesting characters -- the kind you can only find in famed Venice Beach. One such example was a she-male Einsteen look-alike on a hot pink BMW motorcycle, and another was a strange man who inquired if we had a straw and some salt for sale (??!!). And you know it's a party when two fire engines pull over, buy all of the PlayStation games and let us crawl all over their trucks. I've got the photos to prove it!

To feed the masses after a day of binge-drinking and hard-bargaining, I decided to whip up a batch of authentic Creole-style Jambalaya. Okay, I didn't really whip it up. More like spent a few hours in the kitchen. But the result was well worth it. Extraordinary, actually. There are thousands of versions of this traditional Louisiana recipe to choose from, but I prefer this because it has ham, chicken, AND andouille sausage. I also love the tomatoes, which is what makes it "Creole-style" (Cajun-style does not include them). This recipe is perfect for adapting to your own taste, or whatever you have in the pantry for that matter,  and don't be afraid of the red pepper flakes. Just be sure to hide some away if you want any leftovers; this stuff is gone in the blink of an eye!

P.S. The yard sale was a grand success, so much so that we are thinking about doing it again next week. Feel free to stop on by ... I'm sure we'll have something else on the stove abrewin'!

CREOLE-STYLE JAMBALAYA WITH CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE
Source: adapted from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook
Yields 6 - 8 servings

My first word of advice is to taste the andouille sausage before you do any seasoning. Spiciness varies from brand to brand, so you want to know what you are working with. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
8 ounces (1 cup) cooked ham, cut into cubes
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks (about 1/2 cup) celery, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14-1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 - 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
3 cups hot, cooked white rice

In a large dutch oven, heat 2 - 3 tablespoons of canola oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with cayenne and black pepper (if desired) and cook until lightly browned, about 6 - 8 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add the sausage and ham to the pot and cook until lightly browned and heated through, about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove and set aside with the chicken.

Add onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pot and saute until tender, about 5 - 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute longer. Stir in chicken, sausage, ham, tomatoes, chicken stock, cajun seasoning, and thyme. Season with red pepper flakes and salt, to taste. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to cook for a minimum of thirty minutes to allow flavors to marry, or longer if desired.

Traditionally the rice is mixed in with the meat mixture, but we like to serve it over the rice. Do whatever suits your fancy.

Mardi Gras King Cake

My sweet friend Jenny's family hails from New Orleans, and every year during Mardi Gras her grandmother sends her a king cake from the famed Haydel's Bakery. So when she requested I post a king cake recipe here on Dixie Caviar, I was excited for the opportunity to impress.

Not one to allow me to fly blind, she brought this year's cake over for me to taste as inspiration. You see, there are hundreds of variations of king cakes, and everyone likes "theirs" best. So I needed to know what her ideal king cake was before I set about developing a recipe. (And Jenny, I have a strange suspicion you slipped that baby into my slice when I wasn't looking. I'm on to you!)

The dough was a wee bit dry, and not at all sweet like I expected. The cloying glaze though, overcompensated for the lack of sugar in the cake. I'm talking tooth-achingly sweet. Okay, well now I at least had the flavor profile to go off of. After pouring over recipes both online and in my massive library of Southern cookbooks, I found a recipe for the actual Haydel's Bakery recipe (well, so they said). At first, I thought I had hit gold, but after reading the recipe further I realized it was a train wreck. Had I not had an ounce of culinary training, the results would have probably resulted in epic failure. (And I don't handle failure in the kitchen very well. Trust me, it is not a pretty sight.)

Moving forward, I kept the basic flavorings the same as the Haydel's version and then adapted it to my favorite cinnamon roll recipe, which I know is delicious. The results seemed to work out perfectly. I also made a confectioners sugar glaze t0 add after the cake was baked, as opposed to Haydel's pure sugar topping, which was cooked directly into the dough. Another good choice if I do say so myself.

In the end, I loved my king cake in all of its trashy-looking glory. I think some people don't really know what to expect when they try it -- none of my coworkers had even heard of king cake before! And I live in Georgia! Get it together, folks.

Now as they say in N'awlins, "Laissez les bon temps rouler." Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone!

JENNY'S KING CAKE
Source: inspired by Haydel's Bakery
Serves 12

For the dough:
1 cup milk
2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (1/2 stick)
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon almond flavor
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the glaze:
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
Splash of pure vanilla extract
yellow, gold, and purple sprinkles

FOR THE DOUGH: Microwave milk on high in 15 second increments until milk is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F (approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute and 15 seconds). Stir in yeast and allow to dissolve.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together sugar, salt, and shortening until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing. Add lemon zest, almond, vanilla, and yeast mixture and continue beating. Lastly, add flour and beat on low until flour is absorbed and the dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. If dough is too wet, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of bowl.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into a ball. Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Tip: Since it's winter and a little chilly, I tucked the bowl into the oven with the light turned on. Cozy, warm, and draft free.)

After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll and shape it into an 18- x 10-inch rectangle. Spread the butter on the dough and top with the cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough, jellyroll fashion, starting from a long side. Place the dough roll seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Wrap the roll around a greased can (I used a can of black beans). Bring the ends together to form a ring, moistening with milk and pinching edges together to seal. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375°.

Once the dough has had its second rise, place in the oven, uncovered. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until light golden brown (mine was still just a tad doughy in the very center when I removed it, but I like it that way. Call me crazy.)

FOR THE GLAZE: Beat together confectioners sugar, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla, adding more milk in teaspoon increments as necessary. Drizzle the glaze over the cooked king cake, then immediately coat with colored sprinkles. (The glaze dries very quickly. I found that dipping my fingers in a small bowl of milk and re-wetting the glaze helped the sprinkles to stick better.)

Recipe: "Best Dip Ever" ( a.k.a. Heath Bar Toffee Dip)

I'm sorry. I really really am. I know I shouldn't be giving you things like this. There's nothing classy about it. Nothing nutritional. And for that, I apologize. But I have a funny feeling you'll forgive me. You must make this for the Super Bowl if nothing else. It's the one day of the year where you can get away with eating anything.

"BEST DIP EVER" (also known as Heath Bar Toffee Dip)
Source: Neighbor Mike

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (or to taste)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup Heath toffee bits

With a stand or hand mixer, blend together cream cheese, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in toffee bits. Serve with sliced apples and graham crackers.

Ham and Linguine Casserole at "The Kitchn"

It's casserole week at The Kitchn! Do you realize how excited this makes me? Except for the fact that Walt is out of town for two weeks, and my assignment involved creating a dish that serves 10 - 12. Well that actually wasn't a requirement, but in my mind all recipes should feed an army, especially a casserole. What can I say? I have a big appetite. So you see, I've been left alone in my house with what may be my best recipe yet -- the incredible Ham and Linguine Casserole. This is bad. Very, very bad. Seriously, it's calling my name from the refrigerator. Hopefully I can find someone to pawn it off on before it's all gone. Any takers?

P.S. if you're looking for some other tasty casserole ideas, try my King Ranch Casserole or Chicken Divan. You can thank me later.