Mardi Gras: The Logistics

The Recipes

Jambalaya can be a tricky thing to make - specifically the roux. I use Isaac Toups’s recipe with a few adjustments but I highly recommend his video if you’re nervous to embark on this culinary adventure: Isaac Toups’s Jambalaya

Yield: 4 Servings

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Jambalaya

Adapted from Isaac Toups

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
• 4 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour 
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced 
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups chicken stock 
• 1/4 pound andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4" thick half moons
• 2 cups rice 
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Season chicken with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Heat  2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat
2. Add the chicken, skin side down into the pot and cook for 5 mins. Then slip and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside
3. Add remaining 1/2 cup of canola oil into the pot. Then add flour and using a wooden spoon, stir frequently until the flour oil mixture turns dark brown, about 8 minutes over medium-high heat
4. Add andouille sausage to the dark brown mixture. Cook for 3 minutes. Then add celery, bell pepper and onion and cook for 2 minutes. Then add minced garlic and cook for a minute more. Then add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Season with remaining 2 tablespoons of salt
5. Simmer for 1 hour over medium-low heat. Then preheat oven to 350 degrees
6. Stir in rice and then nestle in chicken on top. Cover and bake in the oven for 30 minutes
7. After 30 minutes, remove the pot from the oven and serve with scallions on top. Optional: remove chicken from the bone and cut into pieces. Then stir chicken into rice mixture. Otherwise, serve whole chicken thighs

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Tip: if you have leftover celery stalks, chop them up and freeze in a resealable bag for future use in soups or other recipes!

Yield: 1 Serving

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Sazerac

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 ounces rye whiskey
• 1 sugar cube
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• Lemon peel 

Instructions

1. Muddle a sugar cube with Peychaud's bitters in a mixing glass. 
2. Add in rye and ice. Stir well. Strain into an Old-Fashioned glass and garnish with lemon peel.

Notes:

A Sazerac is often made with a drop of absinthe but my bar is not stocked with it so I omit it.

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King Cake

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 cups all-purpose flour 

• For the filling:
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

• For the frosting:
• 1 cup powdered sugar 
• 2 tablespoons whole milk 
• Purple, green and yellow sprinkles 

Instructions

1. Combine water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Let sit for 5 minutes until it foams. 
2. Mix in the butter, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and nutmeg, using the paddle attachment. 
3. Mix in flour. Then switch out the paddle for a dough and knead until the dough forms a a ball, about 5-7 minutes. Remove dough from the bowl and oil the bowl. Add the dough back to the bowl and cover with saran wrap. Allow to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size. 
4. While the dough rises, combine the filling ingredients.
5. After 1 hour, lightly flour a surface and roll out a rectangle, 24" by 10". Then spread out filling, leaving a small edge on the long end of the rectangle. 
6. Roll the rectangle, from the long end. Then coil the log into a spiral, pinching at the end to form a seal. 
7. Cover the coil with saran warp, lightly and allows to rise for 45 to minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Bake cake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly browned on top. 
9. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack. Once it has cool, hide the plastic baby in the cake by pushing it somewhere into the bottom of the cake. 
10. In a medium mixing bowl, sift powdered sugar. Then add milk. Add more as needed to create desired consistency. Pour over cooled cake and top with sprinkles. 

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The Timeline

Don’t forget to set your table the night before and make your cocktails as requested by your guests!

The Lists

Grocery List

1 pound chicken thighs, bone in, skin on

¼ pound andouille sausage

6 cups chicken stock 

2 celery stalks

1 yellow onion 

1 red bell pepper

8 garlic cloves

1 bunch scallions 

Lemon peel 

2 large eggs

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk 

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups long grain rice

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

4 sugar cubes (or 4 teaspoons of sugar)

2 tablespoons of sugar 

1 cup powdered sugar

⅔ cup light brown sugar

½ cup + 2 tablespoon canola oil

4 tablespoons + ½ teaspoon kosher salt

3½ cups all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

Purple, green and yellow sprinkles

10 ounces Rye whiskey

Peychaud’s bitters 

Equipment List

Large Dutch Oven

Wooden Spoon

Large Mixing Bowl or Stand Mixer

Small Mixing Bowl

Medium Mixing Bowl

Parchment Lined Baking Sheet

Wiring Cooling Rack

Glass Cocktail Shaker

Serveware List - for 4:

4 Shallow Bowls

4 Spoons

4 Dessert Plates

4 Dessert Forks

4 Old-Fashioned Glasses