Supper Club- Welcome to the French Quarter!

So if you didn't already know, I started a supper club with some friends a few months back.  My original idea that I had been pining to do for years was to be a gourmet club, much like my neighbors growing up held.  A group of adults getting together and taking turns who hosts each month.  The host would be in charge of the gourmet dinner the friends would get together, great company, delicious food & if you weren't the host a night off from cooking and cleaning.  Well, you cant always get what you want...and I guess I ended up feeling like no one really wanted the responsibility of putting on the entire affair other then myself.  So it has turned into a lovely monthly pot luck gathering where the host gets to decide the theme of the party and guests bring food accordingly.  The host simply hosts, picks the theme and makes their own dish.  It is a wonderful thing.  We have so far held a Mediterranean night, where I made Fried Kibbeh with Turkey burger & a delicious tahini dipping sauce (this recipe was off the hook, so I will make sure to post the recipe on here real soon!); Tapas Night, where I made individual calzones & polenta with blue cheese and portobellas; Iron Chef Coconut Night, where I made Coconut peanut noodles; and finally the party I recently hosted was a New Awlins' Cajun Throw down.  At our Cajun party I provided Mardi Gras beads and flapper feathers for the ladies to get in to the Cajun spirit.  I decided to Make Bananas Foster Bread Pudding & Shrimp Jambalaya & Rosemint tea w/ champagne....Oooooh eeeeeeh, there was some delicious eating that night.

The E-Vite

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 loaves French bread, each 12 inches long

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 cups light brown sugar

6 egg yolks

1-1/2 large bananas, diced

1/2 cup rum

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Fresh mint for garnish

Slice French bread and dry in a 200-degree oven for 20 minutes. Combine remaining pudding ingredients in a large bowl and blend well with a hand mixer. Thinly slice dried French bread and place in an 8- by 8-inch pan. Pour pudding into pan and mush all bread by hand so that the liquid is absorbed and the bread becomes very soggy. Be sure to flatten all of the lumps.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cover pan with foil and bake for 2-1/2 hours, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the pudding comes out dry. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Foster Sauce

2-1/4 cups unsalted butter

2-1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup golden rum

1 cup banana liqueur

4 bananas, sliced lengthwise and in half

Melt butter in a saucepot. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Add the rum and ignite. Allow the flames to subside. Then, stir in the banana liqueur. Add fresh bananas and simmer over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until the sauce coats the spoon.

To Serve: Cut bread pudding into 3-1/2 inch squares. Top warm bread pudding with Foster sauce and garnish with mint leaves

Rosemint Tea w/ champagne

In 2006, Sheila Owens, who named Rosemint Tea after her mother, shared the recipe for the drink she developed more than two decades ago, one of the signature beverages sold at the Jazz Fest.

It's surprisingly simple. To duplicate Rosemint, steep Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea until it's strong, then add unfiltered Louisiana honey. Owen's ratio is 1 cup of dried tea per 1 gallon of water, plus 1 cup honey. The unfiltered honey, which is darker and more flavorful than regular honey, is the secret ingredient.

Like a Mimosa, pour champagne and top off with rosemint tea.

Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Andouille Sausage, Diced
1/2 Cup Onion, Diced
1/2 Cup Bell Pepper, Diced
1/2 Cup Celery, Diced
2 Tbsp. Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup Tomatoes, Diced
1/4 Cup Tomato Sauce
1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
3/4 Cup Enriched Long grain Rice
2 Cups peeled deveined shrimp
(Seasoning Mix: 1/2 tsp Cayenne, 3/4 tsp White Pepper, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme, 1/2 tsp Rubbed Sage, 3 Bay Leaves)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter, saute the Andouille until slightly browned. Add 1/2 of the trinity (onion/b.pepper/celery) saute until tender. Add tomato cook about a minute, then add the tomato sauce, cook 1 minute more. Add the garlic and rice, cook 1 minute. Add the stock, seasoning mix, bay leaves, other half of the trinity, and Shrimp. Stir well and bake uncovered for about 30-40 minutes, or until the rice is cooked, but still has a little bite. Top with chopped parsley, and sliced green onions. Put on some Zydeco and enjoy!

Yield: 2-3 servings

The Southern Sassafras