Last night I had the good luck of being able to attend Mudbugs Masquerade Party!
And what an enjoyable experience it was.
When you walk through their doors, they had changed all the tables around, covered them with white cloths, placed vases on the tables, placed covers over the chairs and there were people walking around with masquerade masks on. As it got closer to the time they were serving, Heather would come out and talk to you about the first or the next dish that was about to be served. And on each dish, she would give the historical background and then the twist that Chef Chris puts on it.
So, if you look at their menu for this evening, it starts with an appetizer that they call Crab Louie Iana. They take some Golf Coast lump crab and place it on a bed of lettuce, they top that with a spicy Choron sauce and some scallops. The sauce and the scallops added a little bit of depth and interest to that deliciously delicate crab meat. The salad was a hit!
Next up came there scrapple or as Heather described it the Chefs Twist on shrimp and grits. They start off by taking some grits, I believe she said they put in some bacon grease and cook it all up nice and delicious. They form it into that triangle that you see on the plate. Then they take some shrimp, big plump juicy shrimp prepared perfectly tender. And do you see that red sauce on that blue plate? That is referred to as" a southern broth reduction of tomati." That sauced contained all kinds of good yum-yums mostly in the form of andouille sausage. And I just love andouille! That red sauce had some heat in it, and it complimented greatly the grits and the shrimp.
After Scrabble they brought on the soup. It was a lobster bisque topped with a bit of Brie and some sun-dried tomato Mornay sauce. Hot, delicious, savory, and creamy smooth on the pallet! Completely delicious!
And then came their two entries. The first entry was a Surf Turf Scallopini. They took some roast beef and some Wester Ross Salmon and smothered it with a schiacciare and served Aragoste Thermidor Style. That sauce, and its crawfish, was incredibly delicious! The Salmon was delicious and so was the beef, tender and delicious.
The next entrée was Roulade de Poulet chicken stuffed with Portobello duxelles. It was served over vanilla bean truffle mashed potatoes. There was a good deal of spice in those Portobellos, and it really enhance the taste of that chicken. The mashed potatoes were smooth and creamy!
And then came dessert! It was King Cake "The taste of the New Orleans Tradition that's over 150 years old". It was my first experience with king cake and the first thing that came to my mind is what came first, king cake or cinnamon rolls!
And at the end of this dinner, they had taken our names, put them in a jar and one lucky gentleman went home with a full size king cake!
Well done, Chris, Heather, and the whole Mud Bug crew!
Well done indeed!
On a Saturday evening I'm enjoying a four-course meal the likes of which I've never had. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! read more