Mardi Gras 2015 {Meat Pies}

Only 20 days until Mardi Gras 2015.

Parades haven't started quite yet.
They don't start in New Orleans until Jan 31.  In Cajun country/Acadiana it's not until Feb 7.

My first event isn't until Feb 1...a Courir de Mardi Gras & Bal du Dimanche at Vermilionville in Lafayette, LA

Wanna know a secret?
I'm not feelin' it just yet.
I like a late Mardi Gras.   March is ideal.

I need a little breather after finishing 3 months of non-stop stuff.  Thanksgiving.  Christmas.  New Year's.  The Boy's 13th birthday.

Seems like other people feel the same way too.  Not many people I know have decorated yet or even had their first King Cake of the year.  (Ok...I've had King Cake already.  Two.  Who's counting?)

Maybe some festive food will jazz me up?

I've always wanted to try making Natchitoches Meat Pies.  Made famous in Natchitoches, LA--home of Steel Magnolias--these pies are filled with ground beef or ground beef and pork and are most often fried.

They make good "parade food"  since they're portable and can easily be brought out to the parade route.

I filled mine with a seasoned ground venison and pork mix.  Made some tasty dipping sauces too:
Creamy Remoulade (also like on Shrimp Po'Boys)
Creole Mayonnaise (like on pretty much anything)
Jalapeno Buttermilk Dip (was a little too thin)

Some pies were baked, others we tried fried.
Fried won the taste test.

It's Carnival Time, afterall.

Print It!

Natchitoches Meat Pies (Venison & Pork)

makes about 45  4" pies

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground venison
1/2 lb ground pork
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2-3 teaspoons hot sauce
3-4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 Tablespoons flour
splash of water

1 recipe pie dough (below)
1 egg, beaten

oil for frying

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add venison and pork to the pan and brown, breaking the meat into small pieces.  Stir in onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute for 5-7 minutes.  Add seasonings, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  Lower to medium heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Sprinkle the flour and about 1 tbsp water over the meat mixture and stir.  Cook for a few more minutes to help dry out the mixture.  Place mixture in refrigerator for about 15 minutes to cool.

Divide dough into 4 sections.  Place 3 back in refrigerator and the fourth on a floured counter top.  Roll out to about 1/4" thick.  Cut dough into circles with a 4" diameter.  Dough scraps can be rerolled.

Brush edges of each circle with beaten egg.  Place 1 to 1/2 Tbsp filling on each circle of dough slightly off center.  Fold the circle to make a crescent shape.  Seal by pressing with the tines of a fork.  Place pies on a lightly floured cookie sheet.

Repeat with all four sections of dough.  Using the full recipe of dough plus rerolled scraps should yield about 45 pies

Heat oil in a deep fat fryer to 350 F.  Fry the pies for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Pies can be frozen and fried without thawing.  They will take closer to 15 minutes.

Drain pies on paper towels and serve.

*Pies can also be baked at 350 F for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.


Meat Pie Dough
(from Real Cajun by Donald Link)

5 1/4 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice water

Add flour and salt to a large bowl.  Cut butter into flour with two forks, a pastry cutter, or your hands.  Work butter into flour mixture until it looks like small pebbles.  Stir in water with a fork until dough pulls together.  Knead until smooth.

Place dough on work surface dusted with flour; roll into a rectangle.  Fold the rectangle over itself in three sections--like folding a letter.  Repeat rolling into a rectangle and folding into a letter 4 times.  Chill dough until firm (at least 15 minutes).


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Creamy Remoulade

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 Tablespoon vinegar
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 Tablespoon Creole mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon green onions, finely chopped
1/2 Tablespoon parsley, minced

Thoroughly whisk the first 7 ingredients (through paprika).  Stir in the celery, green onion, and parsley.  Refrigerate--better if made ahead.  Makes about 1/2 cup.


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Creole Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayo
2 heaping Tablespoon Zatarain's Creole Mustard
1/2- 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

Combine all 3 ingredients in a bowl.  Makes about 1/2 cup.


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Jalapeno Buttermilk Dip

1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise or sour cream
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Dip will be thin.  Makes about 1/2 cup.

 More Mardi Gras...

Linking with:

Sweet and Spicy Venison Chili {and more Gretna Fest 2013}

Halloween is about the Three Cs.
Candy (You saw that coming).
Costumes (That one too).
And Chili.

 

I'm not sure why I associate chili with Halloween since we don't eat chili on Halloween.  I didn't grow up eating chili on Halloween either.

That's just the kinda gal I am.
And that would be one who makes no sense at all.

When I make chili, there are a few recipes I rotate.  He-Man Chili (another Halloween post, coincidentally) is The Husband's favorite.  But I think I like this Sweet & Spicy Chili more.


Now about those costumes...and making no sense...
These aren't Halloween costumes.

These are Mardi Gras Indians.

I came across the Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians at Gretna Fest a few weeks ago.  In all the years I lived in New Orleans, I never once saw Mardi Gras Indians.

There are Uptown tribes and Downtown tribes that parade through the back streets of New Orleans on Mardi Gras day, with seemingly no set route.  They are elusive.
Like Sasquatch.
Only prettier.

Their costumes are elaborate--meticulously planned, created, and hand sewn by the Indians.  These costumes are so ornately crafted they typically take an entire year to create.  Starting right after Mardi Gras and working right up to the next.

The headdresses are huge and I imagine very heavy.  I thought it was tough running around in my Cajun style costume, capuchon, and mask all day chasing chickens.

Can't imagine walking the streets trying to hold these up all day.

Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Wild Magnolias Gretna Fest 2013



More Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Wild Magnolias
More Gretna Fest

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Sweet & Spicy Venison Chili

Olive oil
2 ½ c chopped onion
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 lbs ground venison (or beef)
5 cloves garlic
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced (or to taste)
2 tsp adobo sauce from chipotles
1 (8 oz) can tomato paste
2 T chili powder (or to taste)
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1-2 heaping Tbsp brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, do not drain
Water
Parsley, green onion, chopped red onion, and/or cheese for top

Pour olive oil in large pot to cover the bottom.  Heat oil.  Sauté onion, celery, and bell pepper until soft.  Add ground venison (or beef), garlic, and chipotle peppers and brown.  Drain excess grease if needed.  Add adobo sauce, tomato paste, and seasonings.  Sauté until fragrant (a few minutes), stirring.  Add diced tomatoes (undrained) and enough water to cover the meat mixture.  Simmer about 2 hours, adding water if needed.  Skim grease from pot.  Serve, adding desired toppings to individual bowls.

Linking with:

A Big Hot (Tasty) Mess {Rabbit w/ Mushrooms and Wine}

Now that Easter has been replaced by thoughts of shorts and flip flops, beaches and BBQ, I feel like I can put this out there.

Because it's rabbit.  And it seemed a little off to have a rabbit recipe front and center when everyone was gung-ho on the Easter Bunny.

Ok.  Look.   You don't have to sugar coat it.  I know this dish looks like one big hot mess.  Or is it a hot big mess?  Most likely both apply.

But it was good.  The epitome of Frenchy food good.  Rich and full bodied from the wine and mushrooms.  If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought I was eating beef bourguignon.

So why rabbit?  It was in the freezer and beef wasn't.

Besides, rabbit is very lean, low in cholesterol, and high in protein compared to other meats & poultry.
~~~~~~~~

Notes:
To dress this up a bit (because it looked so terrible), I decided to toast panko breadcrumbs in olive oil and sprinkle them over the top.  Not necessary, but it did make for a nice textured hot mess.

The preparation is similar to how we would prepare Cajun rice & gravy and so is the base flavor (onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic), but the wine and mushrooms take it in a completely different direction.

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Rabbit w/ Mushrooms & Wine

2 1/2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 pound boneless rabbit pieces
flour for dredging
salt & pepper
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red wine (funky not fruity)
3/4 c chicken stock
small rosemary sprig

Optional topping:
2 Tbsp panko breadcrumbs
a drizzle of olive oil

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium to medium high in a shallow, wide pan.  While the oil heats, dredge the rabbit pieces in flour and season with salt and pepper.  When the oil is hot, brown the rabbit pieces all over.  Remove from pan.

If the pan looks dry, add another 1/2-1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Turn the heat up.  When hot, add the sliced mushrooms and sear until browned on the edges.

Lower to medium and add the onion, celery, and bell pepper.  Saute for about 6-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for about 1-2 minutes more.  Pour in the wine and chicken stock and simmer for a couple of minutes, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the rabbit back to the pan along with the rosemary and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Topping:
While the rabbit simmers, toss the panko with a drizzle of olive oil.  In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast the breadcrumbs until golden.  Set aside until serving.

When ready to serve, top with the toasted panko.  Serve as is or over cooked rice or wide egg noodles.


Linking With:
Food on Friday: French Food @ Carole's Chatter