Gumbo Weather and Christmas Eve Open House

Being from South Louisiana you can expect that gumbo is one of my go-to meals.  It is great on cold, wet, dreary days or any day.  It has also become part of a tradition I began about 15 years ago and that was to host a Christmas Even Open House for family and friends.  Gumbo is the main attraction.  Not just one gumbo, but three different kinds.  I wanted to provide an opportunity for extended family and friends to come together in a low stress environment.  I host it all day so that people can just stop by on their way to and fro on that busy day. 

The three gumbos that I do are:  Chicken and Andouille, Turkey, Sausage, and Shrimp, and Seafood (with shrimp and oysters).  My chicken and andouille is based on the Mr. B's Bistro Gumbo Ya-Ya recipe: http://www.mrbsbistro.com/recipes_gumbo.php. 

My Seafood gumbo is based on this recipe:  http://www.gumbopages.com/food/soups/seafood-gumbo.html.  One thing that I do special for the Christmas Eve gumbos is to make the roux by hand and the stocks for each gumbo.  Other times of the year, I use shortcuts like pre-made roux and chicken stock.  Let me know a favorite gumbo recipe of yours and I may decide to use it at next year's open house.  Also, feel free to stop by next Christmas Eve from 12 noon to 12 midnight. 

Food and Friends

The next best meals (after meals made by mom and eaten with family) are the ones eaten with friends.  If you know me, you know that I am an educator - over 30 years.  Although a challenging job, it is can be very rewarding.  Most people go into the field of education, to make a difference in the lives of children.  Helping a person learn and reach their full potential is one of life's greatest gifts.  The best gift you can give a teacher is to let them know the difference you made in their life.  Well, a former student of mine and Key Club president (I am the Key Club advisor), Parker Layrisson, has taken that appreciation to another level.  Not only does he and his beautiful wife (Brandie) attend my Christmas Eve open house, but they also offered to take me out to a restaurant of my choice.  Although I don't solicit invitations like this, I am smart enough not to refuse them.  I immediately knew which restaurant I wanted to try, one that Parker had mentioned to me before as his new favorite and one that was getting lots of national attention, Peche.  http://www.pecherestaurant.com/ 

It was also nice to go with Parker and Brandie since they had been before and enjoy eating as much as I do.  They knew what to get and we ordered lots of food.  Began with some raw oysters.  I don't normally order raw oysters but Parker was getting some and I told him I would eat one - so he only got a half dozen.  They were wonderful.  Fresh, salty, great sauce....and I ate three. It is probably the menu item I still think of the most often.

We also had the smoked tuna dip as a appetizer.  It was very good.  It is actually something can make at home.  Just have to figure out how to get the smoked tuna.  I ordered the grilled tuna with olive salad.  Another revelation of a dish.  The tuna was fresh and grilled perfectly, but the olive salad with the green olives - not like you get in a jar - made the dish special.  The side of sautéed kale was also delicious.

Grilled Tuna with Olive Salad

We also had a side of fried Brussel sprouts. My final revelation.  They were amazing.  I had tired them before and wondered why people like them so much.  It really depends on how they are cooked but these were delicious.  I have since tired to duplicate it at home and came close.  

My grilled tuna and their whole grilled fish and our fried brussel sprouts.

Since we were pigging out, we got dessert.  The pineapple upside down rum cake was also very good.  All in all a great meal.  Look forward to going back, but it would be hard not to order the same amazing food I had this time.  Thanks Parker and Brandi for a wonderful afternoon.