Archive for » 2011 «
09
Sep 2011
Sep 2011
Let’s talk wings, shall we? Crispy, juicy ones dripping with spicy Buffalo sauce. Many a weekend night revolves around them, especially during football season. And we all have strong opinions on who makes the best. Me? I’m a Hooters girl. No. No. No. Not a “Hooters Girl.” I don’t work there or anything. What I mean is I prefer Hooter’s wings “hot naked” over all others. Honestly, that’s how I order them. If you’re unfamiliar with their menu, let me explain. “Hot” refers to the heat level (they also come mild, medium, 3 Mile Island and 911). “Naked” means without [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Chicken, Finger Food Fridays
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08
Sep 2011
Sep 2011
FINALLY!!!! After a long, drawn out off-season that had many people questioning whether we would even have professional football this year, we’ve made it to opening day. To make it even better, my New Orleans Saints kickoff the season tonight against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.
The New Orleans Saints came to be on November 1, 1966, which was, coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally) All Saints Day, a Roman Catholic holiday. Having been created on a Holy Day of Obligation in a predominately Catholic city, the owners felt compelled to call the team the Saints. But they didn’t [ ... ]
Category: Miscellaneous
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02
Sep 2011
Sep 2011
Labor Day is upon us. Already. There’s no pushing back the clock. It’s here. The unofficial end of summer. That’s okay by me. I’m ready for football weather and everything that goes along with it. But before I pull out the soup pot and the snuggie (don’t laugh), I would like to enjoy one last, long weekend in my “white” jeans grilling outdoors with family and friends. My contribution to the grill is going to be Skirt Steak Fajitas. I like cooking this hearty finger food when I have a lot of mouths to feed. It’s also a welcomed [ ... ]
26
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
Happy Finger Food Friday! I’m worn out today after a marathon week of work, homework, test prep, after-school activities, Curriculum Nights, cooking, cleaning and everything else that a mom does to make the “ship run smoothly.” But I don’t want to start the weekend in a fog. So I’m breaking out the chips and dip. This may sound like funky therapy to some, but it’s the perfect remedy for me. And this Warm Blue Cheese Dip has got it going on (as does anything that contains cream cheese and a splash or two of liquor). I’ll be serving the dip [ ... ]
19
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
One of the ultimate finger foods has to be the good old American sandwich. And it dawned on me last week, while working on my banh mi appetizers, that I have never posted anything on the muffuletta (pronounced “muff-uh-LOTT-a”)–one of the greatest and most generous sandwiches New Orleans has to offer. The muffuletta was created in the early 1900s by the original owner of Central Grocery, a small family-owned Italian grocery store/lunch counter in the French Quarter. This unique sandwich is made on a soft, circular Italian bread loaf piled high with cured meat, Swiss or provolone cheese and olive [ ... ]
19
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
I have never made olive salad from scratch, until today. I’ve figured the jarred varieties made by a couple of New Orleans grocery stores would be better than anything I could ever pull together. However, olive salad has always been one of those items on my make-it-from-scratch-at-least-once list. So I did. And like most of the things that get scratched off that list (no pun intended), I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The texture was the most notable difference. The olives had more bounce. The cauliflower more crunch. The overall freshness of the olive salad was a huge [ ... ]
18
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
This recipe is the perfect example of what happens when you don’t have a plan. The boneless chicken breasts were defrosted, the kids were starving and I was bored with the same ol’ same ol’. So I hit the fridge hoping to get the creative juices flowing and dinner on the table in less than an hour. What I found, thanks in great part to my kids’ lunch habits, was deli ham, salami and string cheese. Stuffing immediately came to mind. I continued to root around the refrigerator shelves for one more ingredient. Something that could perhaps shape a [ ... ]
12
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
New Orleans is known for lots of wonderful food stuff, including sandwiches. The two most popular being the poor boy and the muffuletta. But there’s another sandwich in town that’s gotten a lot of attention over the past few years. It’s “banh mi” (pronounced bun-me). The word refers to both a Vietnamese-style baguette loaf and the sandwich that’s made with it. The story behind the New Orleans-Vietnamese banh mi goes something like this.
Way back when, the French introduced a baguette smeared with liver pate to the Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese called it banh (biscuit/cake) mi (flour/wheat). The French-style baguette was [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Poor Boys, Pork
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Po-Boy, Pork One Comment
11
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
I grew up eating sweet potatoes one way–candied. My mom prepared them every Thanksgiving and Christmas with brown sugar, cinnamon, a little Karo syrup and lots of butter and marshmallows. To this day, that’s still my favorite way to eat them. I’m sure it’s partly because that dish is tied to so many fond memories of my family gathered around the holiday table and partly because sweet potatoes baked with a heavy glaze of sugar and spice and everything nice are so doggone good! Over the years, I’ve discovered other delicious ways to prepare them–ways that [ ... ]
Category: Salad, Side Dishes, Vegetables
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05
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
Better Cheddar is a coveted prepared food item in New Orleans sold at a couple of local grocery stores. Langenstein’s, one of the oldest family-run institutions in the City, has arguably the best with Robért’s Fresh Market’s version running a close second. This addictively delicious spread is made with white cheddar cheese dotted with walnut pieces, green onions and garlic. It’s perfect served on crackers. Yet, it also makes a delicious topping for baked potatoes. And it’s a great inspiration for other dishes such as “Better Cheddar Burgers”! I crave it often, which is why I had to start making [ ... ]
