Рецепт Mardi Gras Florida Style!
Last weekend was one of my dear friend's birthday, great reason for a party! What better theme for a 40th Birthday Party than Mardi Gras, sorry, I cannot do all the black over the hill stuff! I like things bright, fun and cheery, just like me. But here was my problem, the friend I was having the birthday party for is the one who always decorates for my parties, she does an incredible job! Our "partnership" always works out perfect, she decorates, I cook, she stays out of the kitchen, and I stay out of her table scapes! We have had some great parties together, but for this one I was on my own. I did enlist the help of my daughter and son in law, but they could not come till the afternoon of the party and I am way too impatient to wait that long to decorate. So I did all I could before they came and then let Brie use her artistist touch to make everything look better while I finished in the kitchen.
I decorated the house with a lot of flowers in the colors of Mardi Gras; Purple, Green and Gold (not sure why in the pictures the purple flowers look blue?) And lots of masks and garland.
It was a beautiful evening for a party and we were all able to stay outside on the lanai.
We began the evening with crawfish, they were good and spicy. Everyone had their choice of eating them as is, or dipping them in melted butter or cocktail sauce. We could not convince anyone to "suck the heads out" even after a couple of beers.
We also had a raw oyster bar
Gordy and Rich could not shuck the oysters fast enough. We were topping the oysters with Frozen Champagne Mignonette. So easy to make and such a hit! The recipe is below
Of course we had to toast to her birthday!
For dinner we had Shrimp Etouffee, Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, Creole Rice and Mardi Gras Salad with Creole Mustard Dressing. For the Non-Spicy, a friend brought Mac and Cheese and I popped a ham in the oven.
For dessert, my daughter made the most incredible Chocolate Chip Cookies. She used a recipe she found on Savory Sweet Life.
Another friend brought brownies and a chocolate "to die for" cake. Just in case we ran out of desserts, I made my old standby, Southern Comfort Cake.
Even our Cigar Store Indian got into the party spirit.
It was a fun party, even the puppies were exhausteded
- Oysters with Frozen Champagne Mignonette
- 1/4 cup shallot
- 3/4 cup pickled ginger
- 1/2 cup champagne
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh ground pepper
- 3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chives -- chopped
In a food processor, combine shallots, ginger, champagne, sugar, pepper, and vinegar. Puree on med-high speed one minute. Pour mixture into a pie plate and freeze several hours.
Clean and shuck oysters. Place them on a serving platter. Remove champagne mignonette from freezer, and scrape one teaspoon of mignonette onto each oyster.
Sprinkle each oyster with chopped chives. Serve immediately.