Recipes for Mardi Gras

This Tuesday is Mardi Gras and even though I will not be in New Orleans to celebrate, I take it as an excuse to whip up some NOLA inspired dishes since I am a huge fan on NOLA cuisine. I was really into New Orleans cuisine before I had even had a chance to go there and after finally getting the chance to visit a few years ago I came back with a long list of new recipe ideas to try recreating at home! Below you will find a list of some of my favourite New Orleans style recipes many of which are staples and pretty authentic (well as authentic as someone that did not grow up in New Orleans can make them) along with a few of my creative outtakes using the flavours of New Orleans cuisine. If you are looking for a way to celebrate Mardi Gras from home this Tuesday you cannot go wrong with one of these recipes!

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Quick and Easy Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

The Lunar New Year, often called the Chinese New Year, is next week and I take that as the perfect excuse to pull out some of my favourite Chinese recipes and to try some new ones. One of my favourite Chinese take out dishes is the hot and sour soup and a few years ago I shared a traditional Chinese hot and sour soup recipe but it required a few ingredients that you could only get on a trip down to Chinatown or a well stocked local Asian grocery store so I decided to come up with a more accessible or pantry friendly version. This version of Chinese hot and sour soup does not require any rare ingredients, it takes less 20 minutes to make and what's more is that it's still better than most take out versions! You really couldn't find a much simpler soup recipe than this one, you pretty much just throw everything into the pot, heat it, pour in the egg drop along with a few seasoning and you are done! If you are looking for a quick, easy and tasty Chinese hot and sour soup, this is it and it was perfect for me right now since it is far too cold out for me to head down to Chinatown to pick up some of those wood ear mushrooms and lily buds that are required for the more traditional version of the recipe!

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New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

Next week is Mardi Gras and even though I will not be in New Orleans to celebrate, I take it as an excuse to whip up some NOLA inspired dishes since I am a big fan on NOLA cuisine. Another one of my favourite dishes that I had when I visited New Orleans was the BBQ shrimp and I just had to try making it at home. Normally the BBQ shrimp is served whole with the shell and the head on but if you have any squeamish eaters feel free to serve the shrimp completely peeled. Other than the shrimp the the most important thing is the BBQ sauce which is a mixture of hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic and plenty of butter. The recipe itself is really easy, you just cook the garlic a bit in some butter, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the shrimp is cooked. Despite being so simple this New Orleans stye BBQ shrimp is so addictively good that you'll want to serve it with some crusty bread to mop up absolutely all of the BBQ sauce. If you are looking for a way to celebrate Mardi Gras from home next week this BBQ shrimp is a great way to do it. (To be completely honest with you, I didn't wait for Mardi Gras to enjoy this BBQ shrimp since it's great any day of the year, including say, today!)

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Miso Glazed Black Cod

This miso glazed black cod has to be one of my favourite dishes and since black cod is a little on the expensive side here I typically only use in on special occasions like Valentine's Day and it is alway an absolute please to do so! Black cod (aka sablefish) is a white fish that has a buttery texture due to the fatty layers that contain as much omega 3 fatty acids as wild salmon. My favourite way to enjoy black cod is in a super quick and easy miso marinade or glaze that takes 10 minutes to make the marinade and 10 minutes to cook with a marinate time of anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 days. That means that you can make the marinade a day or more ahead of time and you can have an amazing dinner ready in under 10 minutes! Although the recipe for this misoyaki black cod is nice and simple it's so good that it's sure to impress that special someone on Valentines Day!

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Chargrilled Oyster Pasta

When I made the chargrilled oysters I could not help but think about turning them from an appetizer/starter into a meal and the perfect way to do so was to use all of the flavours of chargrilled oysters in a pasta! Really the flavours of chargrilled oysters are very similar to those of shrimp scampi except with oysters in place of shrimp along with a few Cajun/Creole flavours. The sauce is pretty simple with a butter base followed by garlic, some wine or seafood stock, lemon juice and then some Worcestershire sauce, plenty of cheese and a hit of cayenne for some heat; it literally takes less time to make than it takes to cook the pasta. Since chargrilled oysters are grilled, I topped the pasta off with some more cheese and threw it under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese and get it all nice and golden brown. I served the chargrilled oyster pasta along with some actual chargrilled oysters and some bread to mop up any remaining sauce from the plate. This is definitely one tasty pasta dish and it's perfect for a special dinner for two like Valentine's Day!

Mardi Gras is next week and this chargrilled oyster pasta is a great way to bring a little bit of New Orleans into your home to celebrate!

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Chargrilled Oysters

Valentine's Day is this weekend and I have been testing out some new recipes for that special day and since oysters are a common food for Valentine's Day I started with some chargrilled oysters. I first had chargrilled oysters when I visited New Orleans a few years ago and they were one of the dishes that I ate while there that really stuck out in my mind so it seemed only natural to try to make them at home. Chargrilled oysters are basically oysters on the half shell that are filled with a lemony, garlicky, butter sauce, topped with cheese and chargrilled until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown. You really cannot go wrong with a sauce like that and they are usually served with bread so that you can soak up all of that buttery sauces goodness! If you don't have a grill, or you just don't feel like firing it up or if it's buried under 2 feet of snow you can charbroil them instead; they won't be quite the same but they will still be amazing and you can always add a touch of liquid smoke to the butter sauce to get that smoky/charred flavour. Although a bit decadent these chargrilled oysters are perfect for a special occasion like Valentine's Day and they make an amazing appetizer before the main event!

Mardi Gras is next week and these chargrilled oysters are a great way to bring a little bit of New Orleans into your home to celebrate!

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50 Valentine's Day Recipes

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and that means that it's time to start thinking about what recipes you want to make for that special person in your life. Homemade food is a great way to show that you care so I thought that I would take the opportunity to roundup some of my favourite recipes for Valentine's Day. This list includes tasty recipes for everything from breakfast in bed, to appetizers, dinners for two and of course plenty of decadent chocolate treats! Most of these Valentine's Day recipes are super quick and easy to make for all levels of cooking skills. No matter what you make, a homemade Valentin's Day recipe is bound to bring a smile to that special person in your life!

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