WOHLFORD: 'Red beans and ricely yours' from New Orleans

Jazz legend Louis Armstrong was one of the greatest musical talents of the 20th century. He was also one of the greatest eaters of the 20th century.

Lucky for him, he called New Orleans home. In fact he often signed his record albums and ended his concerts with the salutation of "red beans and ricely yours."

In celebration of Mardi Gras (coming Tuesday -- hey, Mardi Gras is early this year!), my love of the city, the people and the food (I love almost everything about N'Awlins), I'm delighted to share with you a few recipes suitable for a Mardi Gras party or a simple meal of great Louisiana cooking without breaking the bank.

After all, save all you can and plan a visit to the Big Easy. You're gonna be spending all that savings on a "foodie adventure" as you plan your days of fun and sightseeing around three meals a day -- no kidding!

A note about one of my very favorite dishes, commonly known as Red Beans and Rice. I, unapologetically, take this dish for a different ride, one toward Cajun country. I prepare the iconic dish as a style of gumbo, flavoring the humble "stew" primarily with a deep, dark, intense roux.

A roux is simply a mixture of equal parts flour and fat that is cooked on top of the stove, to be used in cooking primarily as a thickener or as a flavoring agent -- or a bit of both.

The roux I make for my Red Beans & Ham Gumbo, however, is equal parts flour, fat and magic! It lends much more flavor than it does thickening.

Note: The lighter the roux (as when making a white béchamel sauce) the more thickening ability, but a far less pronounced flavor -- and vice versa. Serve the gumbo over rice, hence, Red Beans & Rice --Wohlford Style!

Without a doubt, New Orleans is where they let the good times roll ("laissez les bon temps rouler!") and my recipe for Hot and Crusty Mega Muffuletta Loaf, another New Orleans classic, is no ordinary sandwich.

It is like a sub, hoagie, grinder, etc., on steroids! And even though we don't have available to us the flat round loaves of sesame seed topped bread used in New Orleans to make the sandwich, we make do using a large loaf of French bread that we over-stuff with ham, salami, pastrami and both provolone and Swiss cheese.

But wait -- that's not all! A chopped salad of olives, artichoke hearts, mixed pickled vegetables, herbs and zesty vinaigrette gets piled on top of the layered meats and cheeses. Sandwiched together, wraped tightly in foil (to hold everything together) the sandwich then gets baked in the oven to warm through and let the cheese melt. Before removing from the oven, we open the foil and expose the bread, letting the bread get nice and crunchy.

This one large sandwich serves up to eight as an entrée and up to 16 as an appetizer.

And you know I'm not going to let you go without dessert. You might have never had Bananas Foster, fearing it would be too complicated and fussy. Nothing could be further from the truth -- just don't use overly ripe bananas.

After the bananas have cooked in that warm buttery caramel sauce, rum is floated on the top of the sauce and ignited -- flambé! Sprinkle the cinnamon in the flames and watch it sparkle. Dinner and a show!

Serve this decadent concoction over vanilla bean ice cream or poundcake -- or both! This sauce also makes a wonderful topping for pancakes or waffles. Instead of serving it with ice cream, serve with vanilla-infused, light and fluffy, and lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. Maybe sprinkle each serving with a bit of chopped roasted or candied pecans. Serve for a special breakfast or brunch. Somebody stop me!

Happy Mardi Gras y'all!

TEDDI'S RECIPES

Red Beans & Ham Gumbo

FOR THE BEANS:

1 pound bag dried red kidney beans

1 meaty ham bone

3 bay leaves

2 tablespoons Cajun & Creole Seasoning

FOR THE GUMBO:

1 cup vegetable oil or melted lard or a combination of both

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cups medium diced yellow onion

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1 cup medium diced bell pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Additional Cajun & Creole Seasoning, to taste

Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste

Serves eight to 10.

Make the beans: At least 8 hours before starting the cooking process, rinse and sort through the beans in a colander, removing any bits of debris or beans that don't look right. Place in a large bowl and cover the beans with at least 4-inches of water. Let stand at least 8 hours or overnight.

Drain beans and rinse well. Place in a large 6-8 quart slow cooker along with the meaty ham bone, bay leaves and seasoning. Add enough hot water to cover the beans by several inches. (I like to have plenty of cooking liquid.) Cook on low for 6-8 hours until the beans are very tender.

Drain the beans and ham bone, reserving ALL of the cooking liquid. Sort through the beans, discarding the bay leaves, any bits of gristle and bone from the ham. Break up the meat from the ham and combine with the beans.

Important note: Before you begin making the roux, have at the ready all of the components to be added to the gumbo at the precise time needed. Combine the onion, celery and bell pepper and set aside close by. Also, have the strained bean cooking liquid close by, as well as the previously cooked beans and ham.

Make the gumbo: In a clean and dry Dutch oven, whisk together the vegetable oil (or melted lard) and the flour. Cook over medium heat (not higher), stirring constantly, and continually scraping the bottom and sides of the pot using a long-handled high-heat resistant spoon, whisk, or spatula. Cook for about 8-10 minutes -- bringing the roux through the darkening stages from beige to milk chocolate.

Never stop stirring. Once you start a roux let nothing interrupt you.

Once the roux reaches the color of milk chocolate, immediately add the combined onion, celery and bell pepper. The roux will hiss and steam violently, so be careful. Stir the vegetables into the roux and continue to cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add the cooking liquid from the beans, stirring well.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the beans and ham and heat through. Adjust seasoning as desired by adding more Cajun & Creole Seasoning.

You can choose to amp up the heat of the gumbo with the addition of Tabasco or simply pass the hot sauce at the table, letting folks add their own to suit their preference.

Serve the gumbo over hot rice.

Hot and Crusty Mega Muffuletta Loaf

FOR THE ITALIAN OLIVE SALAD:

1 cup pimento stuffed olives, drained

1 cup ripe olives, drained

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1 (16-ounce) jar pickled artichoke hearts, drained

1 cup mixed pickled garden vegetables, drained

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil OR 2 teaspoons dried

2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano OR 2 teaspoons dried

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

FOR THE SANDWICH LOAF:

1 large loaf French bread (not a baguette)

8 ounces thinly sliced baked ham

8 ounces thinly sliced provolone

8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami

8 ounces thinly sliced Swiss cheese

8 ounces thinly sliced pastrami

Serves 12-16 as an appetizer or eight as entrée sandwich.

Make the Italian Olive Salad: In the workbowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients. Process in pulses until coarsely chopped. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Make the Sandwich Loaf: Slice loaf of French bread in half, lengthwise. On bottom half of the loaf, layer meats and cheeses in order of ingredient listing. On top half of bread loaf, heap on the olive salad, including the juices.

Sandwich the loaf together. Cut loaf in half and wrap each half securely in heavy duty foil. Place side-by-side in the center of a preheated oven set at 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes.

Open foil and expose the sandwich. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on a cutting board. Slice into servings, securing each serving with a tooth pick. Serve hot with plenty of napkins!

Note: This sandwich is also great served cold in the event that you do not have access to an oven.

Bananas Foster Flambe

1/2 lemon

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar

1/4 cup banana liqueur

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 medium slightly firm bananas, peeled, and thinly sliced on the diagonal

1/4 cup rum

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Serves six.

Spear the lemon half with a fork. In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Using the lemon-speared fork as a cooking utensil, stir in the sugar, banana liqueur and vanilla.

When mixture begins to boil, remove the lemon and carefully squeeze the lemon juice into the sauce. Add the bananas to the skillet. Cook gently for only 1-2 minutes, bathing the bananas with the sauce while cooking.

Add the rum, but do not stir into the sauce. Ignite the warmed rum and then sprinkle the cinnamon into the flame -- watch the sparks fly! Once the flame dies away, stir the sauce.

Let it cool a bit, then serve over ice cream, poundcake or both!

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 2:59 PM with the headline "WOHLFORD: 'Red beans and ricely yours' from New Orleans ."