Archive for » 2012 «
31
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
Have you planned out or begun to prepare your “health and wealth” meal for the New Year? I made my spread last week and froze everything since I knew we’d be on the road. All I’ll have to do tomorrow is defrost a few containers and bake some rice while the hubby and I unload the car and get situated (a catch-all phrase I use quite often around here when I have plenty to do in a short time).
This year’s good fortune grub will consist of my old faithful Black-Eyed Peas with Jalapeno Oil and Cabbage Casserole. [ ... ]
Category: Beef, Main Dishes, Pork, Sauces, Side Dishes, Vegetables
Tags: Beef, Pork, Vegetables 3 Comments
28
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
I’m counting down the days to 2013 with great anticipation. Although 2012 was a good year, there are a couple of things I’m happy to leave behind. I also love new beginnings and the prospects of better this and improved that. But what I don’t particularly care for this time of year (at least not anymore) are those big New Year’s Eve bashes that involve mass quantities of food, over-the-top drinks, glittery garments and fireworks. Maybe it’s my age or maybe it’s because by the time that event rolls around, I’m already battling [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Chicken, Finger Food Fridays, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Chicken, Finger Food Fridays, Snacks 3 Comments
21
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
Don’t ask me why, but lately I’ve been in the mood for caponata. It may have something to do with the cold temps and rain and wind and rain. Although that doesn’t make good sense because this spread is usually not eaten hot. No warming-of-the-bones-association here. Maybe I’m just longing for home and all the comforts that come with it. After all, the only caponata I’ve ever eaten aside from my own is Josie Manca’s. I’ve told you about Josie. She, her brother and her sister were dear friends of my grandmother’s and a big part of our family. None [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Side Dishes, Vegetables
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Vegetables One Comment
20
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
New Orleans is predominately a Catholic city. As such, many of us who were raised there attended Catholic school from kindergarten through twelfth. Most of the elementary schools were coed, but the majority of high schools were same sex. The boys had their schools and the girls others. Several coed Catholic high schools exist today, but they’re few and far between.
My sister Giselle and I attended the same Catholic high school. It was one established by the Sisters of Mount Carmel. By the time Giselle and I were both there, only a few [ ... ]
13
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
Remember last week when I was talking about brown gravy and how I used to resort to the store-bought stuff when I didn’t have any pan drippings to work with and before I discovered beef base? Well, I also used to pair that store-bought gravy with, among other things, meatloaf made with a store-bought seasoning packet. Then I finally set aside the time to make a few different versions from scratch and have never looked back. Best part is, this scratch version takes only a few extra minutes to make. It all starts with equal parts ground beef, veal and [ ... ]
Category: Beef, Main Dishes, Poor Boys, Sauces
Tags: Beef Stock, Home Cooking, Homemade Stock, Sauces One Comment
07
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
In New Orleans, we love our hot sauce. The trinity of top local brands includes Tabasco, Crystal and Louisiana Hot Sauce. Each has a loyal following. My dad’s dad Beau, for instance, carried Tabasco everywhere he went and always had an emergency bottle stashed in his glove box. I think he put it on everything but dessert. The hubby is also a huge Tabasco man. Me? My favorites are Tabasco and Louisiana Hot Sauce with very specific uses for each. Tabasco has more heat than Louisiana Hot Sauce and because of that it’s a must in my cocktail sauce and [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Beverages, Finger Food Fridays, Poor Boys, Seafood, Shrimp
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Shrimp Recipes Comments off
06
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
Hey guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a jam-packed week back home in New Orleans. We spent the first half with my parents and my sister’s family on the Northshore and Turkey Day and the remainder of the week with the hubby’s family and some of my additional relatives on the Southshore. We brought the kids to play laser tag and to feed the animals–very large animals–at the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom (great family outing by the way), snuck in a date night at Chef Susan Spicer’s Mondo restaurant in Lakeview, spent an afternoon frolicking [ ... ]
Category: Beef, Sauces
Tags: Bechamel Sauce, Beef, Beef Stock, Chicken, Chicken Stock, Sauces 3 Comments
21
Nov 2012
Nov 2012
Hey! Got a few minutes to talk about Black Friday? Not shopping. Cooking. I know you’re busy finishing up your Thanksgiving menu, planning that inevitable last minute grocery run and cooking make-ahead sides and sauces. And the last thing on your mind is what’s for dinner on Friday. But this is important, especially if your Turkey Day celebration extends through the weekend like ours does. If you need to plan additional meals for visiting family and want to make the most of leftovers, then save that turkey carcass (or beg the hostess for it) [ ... ]
Category: Gumbo, Pork, Roux, Soups, Stock, Thanksgiving
Tags: Finger Food Fridays, Gumbo, New Orleans Classics, New Orleans Cooking, New Orleans Recipes, Pork, Roux 5 Comments
19
Nov 2012
Nov 2012
Every year around this time, I get the urge to experiment with canned pumpkin. I like working it into both savory and sweet dishes. This year, I took the dessert route and ended up cranking out this Pumpkin Pound Cake. In true pound cake fashion, this version is dense and subtlety sweet. Those are the two things I love most about pound cakes. I did, however, drain the pumpkin first because I was afraid the cake might otherwise end up too firm. The texture turned out perfect as did the seasonally spiced flavor. [ ... ]
Category: Breakfast, Desserts, Thanksgiving
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16
Nov 2012
Nov 2012
Since this is the last Friday before Thanksgiving, I thought this recipe for Mini Blue Cheese Popovers would be a good one to share since it works well as a finger food and can also fill in nicely on Thanksgiving Day as a pre-meal snack, a salad course escort or a petite dinner roll. The crisp edges, airy insides and punchy blue cheese bite make these popovers extra-special. You know I’m not much on baking and I’ve never made traditional popovers. But I do like to occasionally play around with these types of recipes and I somewhat understand what makes [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Thanksgiving
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays Comments off
