This week on Mardi Gras afternoon, my neighbor Erica called to suggest some spur of the moment Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the Good Times Roll). She left a message on my answering machine inviting me (and my two kids, who play well with her kids) to whip up some Jambalaya to take home for dinner and some Hurricanes for the cooks.
We had a great time, making a shrimp and andouille sausage Jambalaya, Ham Biscuits, and Corn Bread, all while snacking on Crab Dip and the festive Hurricanes decorated with paper umbrellas. The kids put their paper umbrellas in cranberry juice and ate most of the Corn Bread (cooked in Erica’s grandmother’s cast iron corn bread pans) before we could pack it up for home.
Long-planned cooking dates can often be cancelled for weather, sickness, you name it. I love the quick phone call and “What have you got in your kitchen?” to bring us together.