10:29 AM EST on Wednesday, February 2, 2005

BY GAIL CIAMPA
Journal Food Editor

Mardi Gras comes early to Woonsocket, with four feasts showcasing cuisine with a definite New Orleans flair.

On Saturday, The Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts welcomes revelers for the 11th year with a night of music and food. For $28 in advance, $30 at the door, Mardi Gras buffet dinners will be served from 6 to 8 by The Catering Collaborative at The Holiday Inn Express; Uncle Ronnie's at the Elks Hall; Fine Catering By Russell Morin at the CYO Center; and The Coachmen's Lodge in Bellingham, Mass.

At the Coachmen's Lodge, chef Ken LaFountaine will serve French Quarter rolls, Dirty Rice, chicken jambalaya, scrod Creole with peppers and onions in tomato sauce, cheese tortellini in a cream sauce with cracked black peppercorn and scallions, vegetable, salad and for dessert, bourbon bread pudding.

The Catering Collaborative and executive chef Rick Wilson offer wild mixed greens with herb vinaigrette dressing and Cajun croutons, French loaf and jalapeno cornbread, New Orleans Southern meatloaf with tomato glaze, Creole chicken gumbo, Cajun blackened catfish filets with cool cucumber sauce; rice pilaf with vegetables and roasted red potatoes with garlic and caramelized onions. Dessert is French Quarter-style warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.

Russel Morin's Cajun menu includes seafood jambalaya, salad with French mustard dressing, mini corn muffins, Parisienne bread, baked ham, rice pilaf, roasted chicken, red bliss potatoes with caramelized onions, and zucchini and yellow squash casserole. For dessert, New Orleans bread pudding is on the menu.

Uncle Ronnie's dinner will have a barbecue theme with baby back ribs, barbecue chicken, oven roasted potatoes, and for dessert, bread pudding with warm bourbon sauce. Vegetable, salad and rolls will also be served.

Following dinner at 8 p.m., entertainment will begin at each spot and 5 shuttle buses will operate between all four locations allowing guests to visit each one, said Mardi Gras chairman Susan Tessier MacKenzie.

At the Holiday Inn Express at 194 Fortin Drive, entertainment will be by Steve Smith and the Nakeds. At the Elks Hall at 383 Social St., music is by Planet Zydeco and the Creole Cowboys. At the CYO Center at 53 Federal St., music is by Slippery Sneakers and T. Broussard. At the Coachmen's Lodge, 273 Wrentham Rd., Bellingham, Mass., music is by the Adam Go Quartet and Soul Ambition.

The evening's entertainment ends at midnight.

Tickets are available by calling (401) 762-9072.

Here are some recipes shared by the chefs.

***

CHICKEN JAMBALAYA

9 chicken thighs

1 pound smoked sausage (andouille)

8 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 cups water

1 onion, chopped

4 ribs celery

5 cloves garlic

2 bell peppers

1 (8-ounce) can tomato paste

1 (16-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

Dash of cayenne pepper

Dash of chili powder

Dash of fresh parsley

1 splash of Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of rice

3 bay leaves

In a large skillet, brown chicken and sausage quickly in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add water. If 2 1/2 cups aren't enough to cover the chicken and sausage, add enough to do just that. Poach until tender. Reserve liquid. Saute chopped onion, celery, garlic and bell peppers in remaining olive oil. Add cut up chicken and sausage, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir in seasonings to taste. Cook for 40 minutes on low heat. Add rice along with 2 cups reserved liquid. Cook, covered, until rice is tender. Serves 8.

-- From the kitchen of Coachmen's Lodge

***

CAJUN BLACKENED CATFISH FILETS WITH COOL CUCUMBER SAUCE

4 catfish filets, boneless and skinless (about 8 to 10 ounces each)

1/4 cup Durkee Cajun Spice Blend

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Salt and pepper to taste

Cool Cucumber Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large, dry cast-iron fry pan over high heat until it literally begins to smoke -- about 10 to 15 minutes. (You can't get the pan too hot.)

Brush filets on both sides with oil. Sprinkle Cajun seasonings generously on both sides of filets.

Place filets into heated pan and pour melted butter directly over filets. Be careful here, as the butter may flare up. If so, cover pan with a heavy lid. Otherwise, cook for a couple of minutes (2 to 3) on each side until nicely blackened.

Place pan into preheated oven and roast for about 5 minutes until fish pulls apart easily with a fork.

***

COOL CUCUMBER SAUCE

1 cucumber

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon wine vinegar

1 cup sour cream (see chef's note)

2-3 tablespoons minced fresh dill

Peel cucumber, halve it lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut the halves into quarters and the quarters into crosswise pieces 2 inches long. Finally, cut the quarters into matchstick julienne, stack the julienne and cut into dice.

Toss the cucumber in a bowl with the salt, sugar and vinegar. Let stand 5 minutes or so, then fold in the sour cream. Season carefully to taste, and fold in the dill.

Chef's note: You can replace the 1 cup of sour cream with 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 1/2 cup sour cream mixed.

Serves 4.

-- From the kitchen of Catering Collaborative and executive chef Rick Wilson

***

SEAFOOD JAMBALAYA

2 whole bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/4 teaspoons white pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

2 1/2 tablespoons chicken or beef fat

4 ounces ham, tasso preferred, chopped

4 ounces andouille sausage, chopped

1 1/2 cups onion diced

1 cup celery, diced

3/4 cup green pepper, diced

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1 quart seafood stock (see note)

1/2 cup scallions, chopped

2 cups uncooked rice

8 ounces medium shrimp, cooked and drained

8 ounces frozen crawfish tails, cooked, thawed and drained

1/2 cup oil as needed

Seafood or shrimp base, optional (see note)

Combine bay leaves, salt, cayenne pepper, oregano, white pepper, black pepper and thyme leaves in a small bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan, melt the fat over medium heat. Add the ham and andouille sausage and saute until crisp, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onions, celery and peppers and continue to saute until vegetables are al dente.

Add seasoning mix, garlic and tomatoes, and continue to saute, stirring ingredients frequently.

Add half the seafood stock to the pot and bring up to a boil. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Cook rice in the other half of the reserved seafood stock, and hold until ready to serve.

Saute shrimp and crawfish tails briefly, until hot. Add half jambalaya sauce, and half of the rice, and mix well. Bring up to a simmer and serve immediately.

Garnish with the chopped scallions.

***

Chef's note: If you want to make your own stock, use poaching liquid from shrimp and crawfish to start. Then add seafood or shrimp base to flavor the broth.

Serves 6.

-- From the kitchen of Fine Catering by Russell Morin