Every Day's a Party: Louisiana Recipes for Celebrating with Family and Friends by Emeril Lagasse

From the Publisher

Emeril takes you through a year's worth of party and festival menus (divided by month) from Super Bowl tailgate to Mardi Gras, from the New Year's Eve to end the millennium to the New Orleans Jazz Fest. In the fun and colorful style that Emeril brings to his Food Network television show Emeril Live and to all his cookbooks, Every Day's a Party is filled with over 125 recipes and Emeril's signature "kick-it-up-a-notch" way of making every occasion an over-the-top celebration.

You've never had this much fun on President's Day.

Publishers Weekly

With restaurants in New Orleans, Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas, Nev., two shows on the Food Network and five cookbooks, Lagasse is a multimedia phenomenon. This manic, in-your-face cookbook collects Louisiana-style recipes for holidays and events, some familiar (Thanksgiving is to be celebrated with Emeril's Fried Turkey), some local (the New Iberia Gumbo Cook-Off, featuring Gumbo Ya-Ya with sausage) and some purely personal (Lagasse's parents' anniversary with his-and-hers entr es: Mr. John's Veal Chops with Smoked Gouda Cheese Macaroni and Hilda's Mahi Mahi with Seasonal Vegetables). There is no shortage of the heavy foods for which Lagasse has become famous: Andouille Corn Dogs and a Roasted Pork and French Fry Poorboy. Lagasse (who admits to being a native of Fall River, Mass.) also includes plenty of Louisiana shellfish, such as Crawfish Pies, My Way, and Marinated Crab Claws. There are nods to the trendy (Goat Cheese-Stuffed Soft-Shell Crabs with a Pecan-Pesto Butter Sauce) and the trashy (Frito Pie--basically chili poured into a bag of corn chips--and Sugared Popcorn). Desserts tend toward the goopy and cavity aching, such as his Chocolate Bundt Cakes with Peanut Butter Filling and Chocolate Glaze. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

From popular Food Channel staple Lagasse comes a new collection that offers a reason to celebrate at least twice a month. For the expected Christmas, Easter, and anniversary parties--as well as the uniquely Louisianian events of the Shrimp Festival, Jazz Fest, and the Sugar Bowl--Lagasse, Bienvenu, and Willett (Emeril's TV Dinners) offer menus, plain and fancy. Recipes vary from simple to complex, but precise instructions enable an experienced cook in a home kitchen to produce delicious results; dishes are well seasoned but not incendiary. Photos of family and friends add to the party atmosphere but don't illustrate the recipes. Personable notes on the events and recipes will inspire the reader to throw a party of his or her own. An attractive, cohesive collection; expect demand from fans, but even those who don't go for Emeril's television style will find his fourth cookbook worthwhile.--Devon Thomas, Highland Twp. Lib., MI Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Forewords & Introductions
• Read an Excerpt
• View a Recipe

Table of Contents

Forewords & Introductions

Read an Excerpt

Hot-Sauced Fried Chicken

Makes 6 to 8 servings

A picnic in Louisiana wouldn't be a picnic without crispy fried chicken. This rendition will knock your socks off. The chicken is soaked in a hot sauce and buttermilk mixture overnight before it's fried. Don't be uneasy about the amount of hot sauce. I promise a lot of the heat is cooked off during frying and the flavor is great.

Ingredients
1 fryer (about 4 1/2 pounds), cut into 10 pieces
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning

Preparation
Put the chicken in a large mixing bowl, add the hot sauce, buttermilk, salt, and pepper, and stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours, turning the chicken pieces several times.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. In a deep cast-iron skillet, heat the vegetable oil to 360 F.

Combine the flour and 2 teaspoons of the Creole seasoning in a large mixing bowl. Dredge several pieces of chicken at a time in the flour, coating evenly and shaking off any excess. Fry the chicken, 4 to 5 pieces at a time, in the hot oil until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Bars

Makes 2 Dozen Bars

As if you need a dessert for a halloween party, what with all the trick-or-treat candy that ends up at the house. Mr. Lou, the pastry chef at Emeril's, says these chocolate and sweetpotato bars are a must.

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds medium-size sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 cups milk
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups pecan pieces
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Rub the sweet potatoes with the vegetable oil and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until fork-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool, then peel and mash in a large bowl.

Add to the mashed potatoes the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla, eggs, and 2 1/2 cups of the milk and mix well. Set aside.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and pecan pieces in a food processor and process for about 1 minute, to make a fine meal. With the motor running, gradually pour the melted butter through the feed tube and process for 1 minute. Transfer the crumb mixture to a 13 X 18-inch baking pan and, using your fingers, firmly press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Pour the sweet potato mixture into the crust and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.

Put the chocolate morsels and the remaining 1/2 cup milk in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Spoon the chocolate in three rows, about 2 inches apart, lengthwise over the sweet potato mixture. Then, with a knife, make a zigzag pattern to marbleize the chocolate and the sweet potato mixture.

Bake until the edges are browned and the filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. To serve, cut into bars.

View a Recipe

Gazpacho, a cold tomato-based soup, originated in the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Creole tomatoes give it an extra zip and sometimes I add boiled shrimp or chunks of cooked lobster to it when serving. Marcelle tells me that she serves the soup often during the summer in big wine glasses and splashes in vodka right before she brings it out -- a kind of Bloody Mary soup, if you will. Gazpacho will keep in the refrigerator as long as a week.

One 6-ounce can tomato juice
4 cups chopped vine-ripened tomatoes
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 cups chopped assorted green, red, and yellow bell peppers
2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped cucumbers
1/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup chopped green onions or scallions (green part only)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to mix well. Chill for at least 6 hours before serving.

Makes about 14 servings.

Shrimp Stew

Shrimp stew is practically a staple dish in the area of Louisiana known as Acadiana, in the southern part of the state, and, of course, is a popular item served at the Shrimp Festival. Old-time cooks garnished the stew with chopped hard-boiled eggs, which I think is a nice touch.

If you can, purchase the shrimp with the heads and shells intact so that you can use them to make a stock, but in a pinch you can substitute 1 quart chicken broth.

2 pounds medium-size shrimp, shells and heads on
6 cups water
1 medium-size yellow onion, quartered
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup bleached all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and finely chopped

Peel the shrimp and reserve the shells and heads. Refrigerate the shrimp and put the shells and heads in a large saucepan. Add the water, quartered onion, bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard the peelings and set the shrimp stock aside.

Combine the oil and flour in a large cast-iron pot or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly, make a roux the color of peanut butter, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the chopped onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook, stirring, until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the shrimp stock and whisk to blend with the roux. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours.

Add the shrimp, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cayenne and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Ladle into individual soup bowls, garnish with the chopped eggs, and serve hot.

The stew can also be served over white rice.

Makes about 6 servings.

Chocolate Bundt Cakes with Peanut Butter Filling and Chocolate Glaze

Bundt pans are tube pans with fluted sides. Felicia found some 1-cup Bundt pans to make these chocolate cakes so that picnic guests could each have their very own. They can be packed in an airtight container to put in the picnic basket.

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
2 cups peanut butter chips

For the Glaze:
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Grease 6 individual 1-cup Bundt pans with 2 tablespoons of the butter.

Into a small mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the remaining 1/4 pound (1 stick) butter and the granulated sugar using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment set on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and beat to mix. Add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the milk beating until everything is incorporated.

Fill each tin about half full with the batter. Place some of the peanut butter chips in the center of the batter in each cup, then pour in the remaining batter to fill the tins. Bake until the cakes set, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on wire racks, then flip out of the tins.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, and as much of the remaining milk as needed to whisk into a smooth glaze. Set the cakes on a wire rack and spoon equal amounts of the glaze over them. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Makes 6 individual cakes.

_{Recipes from Every Day's a Party, copyright © 1999 Emeril Lagasse. All rights reserved.}