Mardi Gras Dinner!

Ah, I miss the South. And I really miss Southern cooking. I remember the first time some friends made Shane and I crawfish etouffee. I thought I'd died and gone to culinary heaven.

This weekend I thought I would try my hand at a little Louisiana cooking in honor of Mardi Gras. Looks impressive, but was really easy. And seriously delicious.

Golden jambalaya stuffed peppers, haricot verts sauteed in caramelized onions, fluted cornbread and spring greens with red wine vinaigrette. 

I tried to use the colors of Mardi Gras: purple, green and gold. Notice the purple in the salad :) Golden stuffed peppers are a cinch if you use the Barefoot Contessa Saute dinners - Jambalaya. (This isn't a sponsored post. They are just really good. You can find them in the freezer section. Two packs filled 6 peppers.) I blanched the peppers in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then filled them with the prepared jambalaya. It takes about 10 minutes to saute the jambalaya straight of of the pouch.

I placed the filled peppers in a dutch oven with about an inch of water at the bottom. I used some of the blanching water. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the peppers are soft, but still holding their form. Sprinkle with fresh parsley. Ooo, and maybe scallions.

Haricot verts (or very thin french green beans) are steamed until just tender. Then saute in a large pan of already caramelized onions and olive oil, lots of salt and pepper. I use garlic salt to avoid burning fresh garlic.

Cornbread for this meal should be barely sweet. Not the cake like stuff we get out West. I use this easy recipe and its always good. Fluted pan optional :)

For the salad I make a basic red wine vinaigrette with dijon mustard. It gives it a nice gold color that fits the theme.

I'm already planning a holiday version with red peppers! YUM!!!

Happy Mardi Gras :)