Celebrate the heart of New Orleans cuisine

Mince celery, green onion, parsley, and yellow onions in a food processor. Add ketchup, tomato puree, Creole mustard, horseradish, red wine vinegar, and Worcestershire. Begin processing again and add oil in a slow drizzle to emulsify. Add paprika and blend.
Chill for 6-8 hours or overnight. Correct seasoning with additional horseradish if desired after the ingredients have had the opportunity to marry.

Almonds
Pre-heat the oven to 300°. Place the almonds in a pan and roast them for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. When they become a light golden brown, remove from the oven and set aside.

Trout
Whisk eggs and whole milk, and season with salt and pepper. Season the trout fillets with salt and pepper and dust in flour. Submerge the floured trout in egg wash. Remove the fillets from the egg wash gently and allow the excess to drip off. Put the fillets back into the flour. (In the restaurant, we would say flour, wash, flour.) Gently shake off excess flour and fry in oil, heated to 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes. (Note: Test the readiness of oil by sprinkling a pinch of flour over it. The flour will brown instantly when the oil is the correct temperature.) Remove fish from oil when crust is golden brown.

Meuniere Butter
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, whisking continuously until the milk fats begin browning and the sauce becomes a dark golden brown. Off heat, continue to whisk slowly, adding lemon juice and vinegar to the brown butter. The sauce will begin to froth until the liquids have evaporated. Once the acids have been incorporated and cease to froth, stop whisking and set aside.

Carefully carve the peel from the orange in a continuous coil fashion. Cut the lemon into 1/4 inch twists and set aside. Stud the orange peel with the cloves and set aside.
Note: While not as striking a presentation, the home cook may simply cut the peel from the citrus fruits and remove the pith, instead of cutting peel into elaborate coils. The pieces of orange peel may then be studded with the cloves.
In a small saucepot, combine all ingredients, except coffee, over low heat to allow the ingredients to heat (this will help with igniting the liquor) and the flavors to marry. Once the ingredients are heated, pour them into a brulot bowl or a stainless steel bowl that has a flat bottom. Using a fork, hold the studded orange coil (or speared pieces of orange rind) over the brulot bowl. Ignite the liquor by holding a match to a ladle full of the liquor. Once the ladle is lit, slowly lower it to the liquor in the bowl. Stir the flaming liquor with the ladle and ladle the liquor over the orange coil (or pieces) you are holding over the bowl. The flame will spiral down the coil of orange peel and cloves back into the bowl. Slowly pour in the coffee while stirring to extinguish the flame. Ladle small amounts of the aromatic coffee mixture into demitasse cups.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon and whip until well blended. In a non-stick oversized muffin pan (for 12) place two slices of the bread into each muffin hole. Pour the egg and milk mixture into each muffin hole. Allow the bread to absorb the mixture, and repeat the process until the bread is saturated and the muffin hole is full (it may take 3 or 4 fillings to totally saturate the bread and fill the hole). Bake the pudding mixture for 35 minutes or until the pudding has turned golden and is set in the pan.
While the pudding is in the oven, melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepot over medium heat. Add the light brown sugar to the melted butter, whisking over the heat until smooth. Slice the bananas and add to the sauce. Lastly, add the praline liqueur to the sauce and keep warm.
When the pudding is finished, remove from the oven and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes. Invert the muffin pan to remove the puddings. Place each on the center of a plate and ladle the sauce onto the pudding.