Foodbuzz 24×24: Not A Masqued Ball

Being chosen as a Foodbuzz 24×24 Gulf Ambassador for Foodbuzz was really great. As it states on their website: Foodbuzz: 24 meals in 24 hours. Showcasing posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers, the monthly Foodbuzz 24 highlights unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period. “From San Francisco to Sydney, Feast on it!”

I did not know what to expect when I submitted my proposal and as this is the first challenge I have attempted I was so proud of myself to be chosen. Not only was I going to make three courses I had never tried before, I was going to be contributing to a greater good. This month, 24×24 is in aid of the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

My first challenge was deciding who to invite. We can only seat 4 people comfortably at our table and so could only invite one couple. Also, the 25th (today) is my birthday and I wanted the evening to be special. We also had to invite people who would eat the meal I was preparing, and who would understand the need for me to take photographs of each course!

The theme for the dinner was not a masqued ball. The reason for this is that even though I would love to have a masqued mall to celebrate the uniqueness of the Southern States surrounding the Gulf of Mexico, my husband is not partial to wearing a Tuxedo.

My menu to celebrate what I loved about Mobile, New Orleans and Mardi Gras was as follows:

Starter: prawn and spicy sausage Jambalaya.

Main course: Cajun marinated pork fillet served with sweet potatoes

Dessert: red velvet cupcakes

Before I started preparing my meal I looked in my Recipe Encyclopedia to read up about Cajun Classics and started by first making my own Cajun Spices, using the recipe in the book as my guide:

Mix together 1 tablespoon garlic flakes, 1 tablespoon onion flakes, 2 teaspoons white pepper, 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper, 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons dried thyme and ½ teaspoon dried oregano. Store the mixture in a jar and use as needed.

Once I had done that I made my own version of Cajun vegetables by dicing 1 large onion, 1 red pepper and 2 celery stalks. Traditionally one would use green peppers, but I do not eat green peppers and so chose the red pepper as the substitute.

As these were all meals I had not attempted before I made use of all the tools available to me. I used wikipedia to understand what a Jambalaya is.

Jambalaya is traditionally made in three parts, with meats and vegetables, and is completed by adding stock and rice. It is also a close cousin to the saffron colored paella found in Spanish culture. Well, this helped me as I make an awesome Paella. There are two primary methods of making jambalaya. The first and most common is Creole jambalaya (also called “red jambalaya”). First, meat is added, usually chicken and sausage such as andouille or smoked sausage. Next vegetables and tomatoes are added to cook, followed by seafood. Rice and stock are added in equal proportions at the very end. The mixture is brought to a boil and left to simmer for 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the recipe, with infrequent stirring. Towards the end of the cooking process, stirring usually ceases. I decided to only do prawns and spicy sausage as I did not want a heavy starter. We have a lovely source of prawns from a friend of ours who fishes them off the Mozambique coast.

I then looked up what ingredients to use for my pork and the list was quite long. Bay leaf, oregano, bell peppers, black pepper, cayenne pepper, celery, garlic, onion, flat leaf parsley, sassafras leaves, sugarcane and thyme. Bell pepper, onion, and celery used together are known as the “holy trinity” of Cajun cuisine. You can buy blended spices but as wikipedia says these do not suit every cook’s style because Cajun-style seasoning is often achieved from scratch, even by taste. Whole peppers are almost never used in authentic Cajun dishes — ground Cayenne, paprika, and pepper sauces predominate. I looked at the Cajun spices available and would not consider buying them which is why I made my own. One can use hot sauces, a seafood boil mix, persillade and marinades as well as rubs. Some meals will be served with pickled hot green peppers as a condiment.

For dessert I served red velvet cupcakes. My inspiration came from a recipe my friend Browniegirl posted and the original can be found here. According to wikipedia a red velvet cake is a cake with a dark red, bright red or red-brown color. It is usually prepared as a layer cake somewhere between chocolate and vanilla in flavor, topped with a creamy white icing. Common ingredients are buttermilk, butter, flour, cocoa, and red food coloring or beetroot; although beetroot is traditionally used, many prefer food coloring since it is seen as more appealing. The amount of cocoa used varies in different recipes. A typical frosting is a butter roux (also known as a cooked flour frosting). Cream cheese or buttercream frostings are also used. As Dave does not eat beetroot, my only choice was red food colouring. I used a modified version of my cup cake recipe which appears in my cook book Lavender & Lime

The meal was accompanied by Cajun Jalapeno Bread made in my bread maker. I opened my birthday present early so that I could make this bread – recipe in Breville ikon BBM600 Baker’s Oven Recipe Book

I also put a dish of Chopped Jalapeno peppers on the table for extra oomph. Before we even sat down to eat we had my adapted version of a Sazerac. In each Martini glass, over crushed ice, pour in ¼ teaspoon absinthe and one tot Jack Daniels. Add the juice of a quarter of a lime. To end I want to say thank you to Chantelle, Ewan and Dave for making this foodbuzz evening so special.

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