Spicy recipes keep winter nights warm

Salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper and more Cajun spices, all to taste

1 package (16 ounce) linguini pasta

Place the butter into a skillet and melt slightly over medium heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning and stir into the butter. Add the chicken and cook over medium heat until the chicken is browned and nearly done, turning and stirring as needed. Remove chicken to a plate, leaving any of the spiced butter in the pan. Add olive oil, heat and add shrimp, peppers and onions. Sauté until shrimp and vegetables are lightly browned. Add chicken back to pan and toss. Add tomatoes and juice and simmer gently about 2 minutes until chicken and shrimp are cooked through and everything is piping hot. Add a little water if this gets too dry.

While you are making the Jambalaya, cook and drain linguini according to package directions. Serve Jambalaya over the pasta.

NOTE: This is festive over half white and half spinach linguini. Ronzoni makes a fettuccine that is packaged with a combination of plain and spinach pasta, but I could not find it where I shop. I found the spinach linguini in the health food aisle, but it is pricey, $3.89 for a 8-ounce box. I paid 88 cents for a 16-ounce box of the white.

Shrimp Creole

Serves 6

1/2 cup oil

2 pounds raw shrimp, shelled and cleaned

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup onion, minced

1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup flour

2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce

1/2 cup hot water

Salt, pepper and Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce to taste

2 cups steamed rice

Heat oil. Add shrimp and sauté for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, green pepper, parsley and oregano and sauté for about 2 more minutes. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir, then Increase heat and add water and tomato sauce slowly, stirring constantly until smooth. Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste, stirring to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve over steamed rice.

Red Beans & Rice

Serves 6-8

1 pound dried red beans

3 cups chicken broth

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cups celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup oil

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Salt, pepper and Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce to taste

2 cups steamed rice

Wash, sort and soak beans overnight, according to package instructions. Drain beans and place in a Dutch oven with 3 cups broth. Add garlic, celery, onion, bay leaves and oil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours, adding more broth or water as needed and stirring occasionally. Add sausage and parsley and continue cooking for about another hour. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste while cooking. Serve over steamed rice.

Hoppin' John

Hoppin' John is traditional favorite for New Year's Eve in the south as black eyed peas eaten at this time are thought to bring luck. It is also eaten for luck during the Mardi Gras season.

Serves 8

1 pound dried black eyed peas

1/2 pound salt pork, cubed

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 meaty ham bone

1/4 teaspoon (more to taste) crushed red pepper

Salt and black pepper to taste

3 cups cooked rice

Rinse peas and pick over, removing any small stones or foreign particles. Cover with cold water in a large pot, bring to a boil for a minute, remove from heat, cover and let sit for one hour. Drain and return to pot.

In a large skillet, sauté the salt pork to render fat, add onion and garlic and cook until the pork is crisp and the onion is soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add the salt pork/onion mixture, along with the ham bone and red pepper to the pot with the peas. Add enough water to cover the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until black eyed peas are tender but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over hot cooked rice. (Some prefer adding the rice to the pot and cooking it with the peas.)

NOTE: Cooking black eyed peas at a low simmer instead of a boil will keep the skins from bursting and give the dish a better appearance. Add salt after cooking to avoid making the peas tough.

Mardi Gras King Cake

King Cakes, a large part of Mardi-Gras traditions in the south, date back to the Feast of the Epiphany or Twelfth Night, which honors the three kings present at the Christ child's birth. Thus, the custom of hiding a tiny baby doll in the cake. The tradition is that whoever gets the piece of cake with the doll inside has to host the next Mardi Gras party. The tiny dolls can be purchased at a cake decorating supply store or a novelty store. Be sure the people eating your cake know about the doll inside so they don't choke or freak out when they find it.

The cake is actually a sweet yeast bread decorated in the traditional Mardi-Gras colors: Green, representing faith; gold symbolizing power; and purple denoting justice.

Cake

1/2 cups warm water (100-115 degrees)

2 tablespoons yeast

1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup warm milk

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup butter

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk)

Icing

3 cups confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

3-6 tablespoons water

1 tiny 1-inch baby doll

Sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar over warm water in a small, shallow bowl. Allow to rest for 3-5 minutes, then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm, draft-free place until yeast starts to bubble up and mixture almost doubles in volume, about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt. Combine yeast, milk and egg yolks with a mixer. Gradually add dry ingredients and softened butter, adding additional flour, as necessary to achieve a medium-soft ball. Knead, adding flour if necessary, until smooth, shiny and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Place dough in a covered, buttered bowl , in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Butter a large baking sheet and set aside. When dough has risen, remove from bowl and punch down. Sprinkle with cinnamon and form into a cylinder, then twist the cylinder into a circle, making a large ring. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack completely before hiding baby doll inside or icing and decorating.

Icing

Mix sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water until mixture is smooth, adding more water as necessary to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency. Spread icing over cake and immediately sprinkle colored sugar (green, gold, purple) in alternating color rows.

NOTE: To make colored sugar, mix sugar and a few drops of food coloring of you choice in a small covered container and shake until color is mixed evenly with sugar. To make green, mix yellow and blue; purple, mix red and blue.

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If you have any comments or any recipes to share, just e-mail me at gwhitten@svnmail.com or call me at 625-3600, extension 580.

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Tip of the Week: Make your own Cajun spice blend: 2 teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons salt, 2 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Place in a small shaker and keep with your spices.

What is Mardi-Gras?

Mardi-Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday is the celebration leading up to lent. Mardi Gras season officially begins on Twelfth Night, or the Feast of the Epiphany, and concludes on Shrove Tuesday, just before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of lent. Traditionally, it is a time of feasting and celebrations before the onset of the upcoming sacrifices. In the old days, and to many Catholics today, this mostly meant the eschewing of meat. Hence Mardi-Gras or Fat Tuesday, which in years past was known as Boeuf Gras.