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C & P Queen
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lan astaslem !
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these are family staples at holiday meals. Posting a few variations for you ...
Mirliton & Shrimp Casserole
The Chayote squash or vegetable pear, as some may know it, is known here in South Louisiana as mirliton. It was brought here by the Spanish from the Canary Island in the 1700s. Today, it is the premier vegetable of the Cajuns and Creoles. This casserole blends mirliton with another Louisiana favorite, shrimp making it a traditional Cajun meal.
6 Mirlition
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 lb. butter
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup garlic
1 lb. 70-90 shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1/2 cup green onions
1/4 cup parsley
2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
Cut mirliton lengthwise and peel. Remove seed. Boil in lightly salted water until fork tender. Drain and set aside. In a Dutch oven or large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and brown for 12-15 minutes. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic and sauté 3-5 minutes. Add mirliton and blend into meat mixture. Cook until mirliton is well blended and meat is tender about 30 minutes. Add shrimp, green onions and parsley. Cook until shrimp are pink and curled, 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in breadcrumbs, ¼ cup at a time to pick up excess moisture. Do not make mixture to bready. Place in casserole dish and top with remaining breadcrumbs and bake until heated thoroughly and lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes. Serve as side dish or entrée.
Crabmeat- and Shrimp-Stuffed Mirliton
6 mirlitons, sliced lengthwise
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
1 pound (70-90 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 pound butter
1 cup onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup red bell peppers, diced
1/4 cup garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 cups seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
12 pats butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Boil sliced mirlitons in lightly salted water until meat is tender enough to scoop from the shells but shell stays intact, approximately 30-40 minutes. Once tender, remove from water and cool. Using a teaspoon, remove the seed pod from the center of the mirliton and gently scoop all meat out of the shell. Since so much water accumulates when scooping the meat, discard excess liquid. Take extra care not to break or tear the outer shell. Reserve meat and save shells for stuffing. In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Sauté 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Add shrimp and blend well into the vegetable mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes or until shrimp are pink and curled. Add the reserved meat from the mirliton to the skillet, blending well into the vegetable mixture. Chop the large pieces and cook 15-20 minutes, stirring until flavors develop. After most of the liquid has evaporated, remove from heat and season to taste using salt, pepper, hot sauce and parsley. Fold in crabmeat, being careful to not break the lumps. Sprinkle in approximately 1 1/2 cups of breadcrumbs to absorb any excess liquid and to hold the stuffing intact. Divide crabmeat mixture into 12 equal portions and stuff into the hollowed-out shells. Place stuffed mirlitons on baking pan and sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs. Top each mirliton with 1 pat of butter. Bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Serve 1 mirliton half as a vegetable or 2 as an entrée.
Crabmeat & Shrimp Stuffed Summer Squash
[i]Once again, we take a traditional vegetable of Bayou country and incorporate a different twist to create a dish that will certainly give the cook something to experiment with. Try using some of your local vegetables in this recipe.
1/2 pound lump crabmeat
1/2 pound small shrimp
3 medium size yellow summer squash
1/4 pound butter
1 cup minced zucchini
1/4 cup minced onions
1/4 cup minced celery
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
1 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Slice yellow squash lengthwise into two equal halves. Remove neck from squash and finely dice for recipe. Place squash halves in pot of boiling water and cook for eight to ten minutes, or until skin is tender. Remove from water and allow to cool. In a heavy bottom sauté pan, over medium high heat, melt butter. Add zucchini, yellow squash, onions, celery, garlic and bell peppers. Sauté approximately three to five minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Add lump crabmeat and shrimp and fold gently into mixture. Add lemon juice and cook one additional minute. Remove from heat and season to taste using salt and cayenne pepper. Add bread crumbs, a little at a time, until squash mixture is held together, but not too dry. Using a metal spoon, scoop seed section from center of yellow squash and discard seeds. Divide stuffing equally between six halves, stuff and place on baking pan. Sprinkle with additional breadcrumbs and bake ten to fifteen minutes until squash is golden brown.
Holiday Carrot Soufflé
Piccadilly Cafeterias, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, first created this wonderful recipe. Over the years it has become one of the most sought after recipes in the history of cooking. Although it may be prepared year-round, it is exceptional on the holiday table.
2 pounds carrots, chopped
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 tbsps all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch cinnamon
3 eggs beaten
1 tbsp confectioners' sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain carrots and then place in a large mixing bowl. Mash carrots and add melted butter, white sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon and eggs. Using a wire whisk, blend well and transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve as a side dish to any main course or use as a filling for pies, tarts or turn-overs.
Baked Cushaw Squares
Cushaw, the striped crooked neck pumpkin, is commonplace along the highways of Louisiana. Although this pumpkin is normally peeled, boiled and cooked casserole-style with brown sugar for the holiday table, this simple recipe is good all year long.
1 medium cushaw
5 cups sugar
1/2 pound butter
1/4 cup cane syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp allspice
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
candy corn for decoration
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place 5 cups of sugar in a stockpot with approximately 1 gallon water. Using a wire whisk, dissolve the sugar and bring the water to a rolling boil. Using a very sharp butcher knife, cut cushaw in half and remove the seeds and stringy pulp. Cut each half into three inch squares, leaving the hard shell intact. Place cushaw squares in boiling water and cook until tender but not mushy, remembering that the pumpkin must still be baked. Using a fork, test for tenderness. Once tender, remove and place the squares on a large cookie sheet or pan. Set aside. In a heavy bottom sauce pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add syrup, brown sugar and spices. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly until a bubbly syrup is achieved. Do not scorch. Top the cushaw pieces with the sugar mixture. Bake until thoroughly heated. When eating, scoop the sweetened meat from the shell as a snack or serve as a starch accompaniment to any entree. The cushaw squares may be further decorated with the candy corn once they have been removed from the oven.
Baked Corn Casserole
1 (15-ounce) can cream-style corn, no salt added
2 (15-ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained and no salt added
3/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup low-fat Swiss cheese, grated
1/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1cup green onions, sliced
1 tbsp lite margarine, melted
salt substitute
cayenne pepper
vegetable spray
1/4 cup reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream-style corn, whole corn and egg substitute. Using a wooden spoon, blend well to incorporate all ingredients. Add Swiss cheese and corn meal, mixing well after each addition. Fold in bell pepper, parsley, green onions and margarine. Season to taste using salt substitute and pepper. Pour contents into a 2-quart casserole dish coated with vegetable spray. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake, covered, 40-45 minutes. Remove cover and brown slightly
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Laissez les bon temps rouler!  Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT!  Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?
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sounds gross but.......
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