It’s time to pass a good time!
Welcome to the Big Easy
We may not be able to be in the same room but we can celebrate the season with a Mardi Gras spirit. Le Bon Temps Roule!
Baked Jambalaya
Like so many great things, jambalaya started with a problem. The problem? There was no saffron in south Louisiana in the 1700s, which meant Spanish colonists were unable to make their beloved paella so it morphed using ingredients available locally.
Louisiana’s famous sausages likely wouldn’t exist if not for German immigrants who brought their Old World sausage-making skills to Cajun country.
The adapted mirepoix came from the French, and Native Americans likely kicked in the cayenne pepper.
Jalapeno & Cheddar Cornbread
Cornbread has created a bit of a shit storm among historians. Who knew. Every good Southern cook has a favourite recipe for cornbread and there is huge debate if it should or shouldn’t contain sugar. Mine has sugar in it! Native Americans had been using ground corn (maize) as food for thousands of years before Europeans arrived in the New World. European settlers, especially those who resided in the English Southern Colonies, learned the original recipes and processes for corn dishes from the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek, and soon they devised recipes for using cornmeal in breads similar to those made of grains available in Europe.
Key Lime Pie w/ Graham Cracker Roasted Almond Crust
William Curry (1821-1896), a ship salvager and Florida’s first self-made millionaire (commonly referred to as rich Bill), had a cook that was simply know as Aunt Sally. It was Aunt Sally who created the pie in the late 1800s. Some historians think that Aunt Sally didn’t create the Key Lime Pie, but probably perfected a delicacy that was the creation of area fishermen.
Another theory is that Aunt Sally already knew how to make a lemon ice box pie which also uses sweetened, condensed milk and egg yolks. But instead of lemons, she used the readily available local key limes.
Hurricane
If you want to kick off the evening you can make a cocktail inspired by a drink often sipped along Burbon Street but we’ve made it your own Saskatoon Hurricane!
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons 3 ounces, 85 ml light rum
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons 3 ounces, 85 ml dark rum
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 Tablespoons orange juice (or Saskatoon syrup!)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons 3 ounces, 85 ml passion fruit juice
3/4 Tablespoons simple syrup*
3/4 Tablespoons Grenadine syrup
Orange slice and cherry for garnish optional
Instructions
Combine all ingredients except for orange slice and cherry in a pitcher. Stir to combine. Pour through wire mesh strainer into glass filled with crushed ice.
If desired, garnish with orange slice and cherry.
You can make your own simple syrup by combining equal parts of water and granulated sugar in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Cool completely.