Hi everyone. Christmas dinner was great this year (as always) and it was really easy too! Cajun/Southern USA was the theme. Let me break down what we served for you starting with the appetizers:
Pickled Okra
Shrimp with Spicy Remoulade
Meat & Cheese Platter
Mini Muffaletta Sandwiches
Cornmeal-Crusted Fried Oysters
All the appetizers were fantastic, including the oysters which I normally don’t like. We also had some marinated artichoke heats and really delicious sweet-hot peppers that we served on the meat & cheese platter. And now for the main dinner:
Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo
Fried Red Snapper with Cajun Rub
Steamed White Rice
Spicy Red Beans
Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms
Seared Collard Greens
Cornbread
Green Salad with Candied Pecans
The gumbo cooked all day long so it was really thick and hearty. We kind of cheated with the crab-stuffed mushrooms; we bought prepared crab cakes at Central Market and stuffed the mushrooms with those (a great shortcut to remember!) I’m so sad that Christmas is over and I already can’t wait for next year - we may do New Mexican food. That will be two regional US themes in a row…interesting. That also means Robert has to help with the planning and cooking which make it even more fun. OK, I need to go recharge my brand new iPod now. Hope you all had a great holiday and I’ll talk to you soon!