November brings Día de los Muertos to Tucson.  To commemorate the event, Ann & Jason invite you to join them in an All "Souls" Procession of Louisiana Soul Food!

Pimm's Cup:  Katie & Denis

If you've ever been to New Orleans, you know that drinks are not hard to come by.  But when selecting a Soul-filled Louisiana drink for Culinary Couples, Denis wanted to make something a little off the beaten track.  He succeeded with the Pimm's Cup!

Although originally of British origin, from London bartender James Pimm, the Pimm's Cup has become a New Orleans favorite.  And we definitely understand why!










This will surely become one of my go-to summer pool-side cocktails here in AZ!

Recipe:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10279-pimms-cup

Oven Baked "Fried" Pickles:  Heather & Eric

A healthy version of the well-loved Southern fried pickle!  Heather & Eric chose to make it with pickle spears instead of slices which made the presentation even nicer and the pickles more fun to eat! 

If you love pickles these are a must!!!

Recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/oven-baked-quot-fried-quot-pickles-488437

Gumbo and Collard Greens:  Ann & Jason

Thanks to our good friends Patrick & Lacey, we made a Soul-filled Gumbo of true Southern origin.

Described by Patrick as a "labor of love" this Gumbo took several hours to make.  Thankfully Jason made it home from work early today, just in time to get comfortable in his hour-long stirring position!  Thanks to the other Culinary Couples for feeding Jason "fried" pickles and Pimm's cups while he manned the roux!

Dinner is served!  Apparently MJ is the only one who got the memo we were taking a picture :)

Recipes:

Gumbo:

Gumbo is a labor of love.  It basically has three parts that need to be assembled together:

1. Stock - Put some chicken and water in a pot and simmer for an hour or two with the tops of celery and parts of onion you don't want to cut up.  Add a few garlic cloves, bay leaves, black pepper, and cayenne.  When the chicken is falling off the bone, strain out the solids and keep the stock.  Pick the chicken off the bone and replace into the pot.  Toss the veggies.

2.  Roux - While the stock is going, cook a roux with equal parts flour and oil.  Probably need at least 1 cup of each.  Make more than you think you could ever use cause this takes an hour of labor.  SLOWLY cook the roux for about 45 minutes with near constant stirring.  Don't let it burn.  It needs to get dark brown however.  Not quite coffee black but getting close.  Slowly stir this a spoonful at a time into the broth until you get the consistency and color you're looking for.  There's no right amount here and it is to taste.

3.  Veggies and sausage - Cook 1-2 pounds of smoked sausage in a skillet.  Add 2 finely chopped large onions, 5-6 chopped ribs of celery, 6 garlic cloves, a bell pepper (sub some local chile for a south by southwest gumbo).  Cook until soft and add to the pot of broth as well.

Serve over white rice with hot sauce.  If you know the audience likes some heat, add a few diced cayennes to the veggie mixture.  Gumbo means okra.  I don't like okra that much and don't include it but some purists will have you add 1/4 to 1/2 lb of diced okra to the veggie mixture.  

Collard Greens:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Billys-Favorite-Smoky-Collard-Greens/

Banana Cream Pie:  Ryan & MJ

What better way to end a Soul-filled evening than with a homemade Banana Cream Pie!  This was a perfect dessert, light and cooling, to go with the entire dinner.

If I were dead I would have risen from my grave just for this dessert!




Overall, a fantastic Day of the Dead All "Souls" Procession!

Recipe: 
http://visualrecipes.com/recipe/banana-pudding-pie/