Archive for the Category » Main Dishes «
27
Feb 2014
Feb 2014
Whenever I mention Creole Onion Soup in circles outside of New Orleans, I’m often asked how it differs from French Onion Soup. Well, like many New Orleans recipes, that depends on whose Creole Onion Soup you’re eating. If you’re savoring a bowl prepared by an old-school Creole or anyone carrying those traditions forward, the soup will likely contain some form of dairy and may even be puréed to a thick, velvety consistency. Several references to this style of onion soup can be found in various New Orleans cookbooks. The earliest references I discovered were in my mother-in-law’s 1901 edition of [ ... ]
Category: Beef, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Roux, Side Dishes, Soups, Stock, Vegetables
Tags: Beef Stock, Roux, Soup 4 Comments
12
Feb 2014
Feb 2014
Louisiana is known as Sportsman’s Paradise because of its many fertile waterways and dense woodlands. In this part of the country, hunting and fishing is a way of life for many and the number one extracurricular activity for the majority of those who don’t make a living off the land. If you grew up around these parts, chances are you were introduced to a wide array of fresh seafood and wild game at a young age. Both are regional staples on family dinner tables and restaurant menus. If you grew up elsewhere and did not have similar experiences, let me [ ... ]
Category: Main Dishes, Wild Game
2 Comments
16
Jan 2014
Jan 2014
For Christmas, the hubby surprised me with a special gift–a Besh Box. I was reading up on this latest endeavor by Chef John Besh in the weeks preceding Christmas and was contemplating buying one myself. But I don’t recall ever mentioning that to Larry. I shouldn’t be surprised, though, by his perfect gift-giving abilities. After 20 years together, the man can pretty much read my mind. He also follows the New Orleans food scene almost as closely as I do and knows that any food-related or New Orleans-inspired gift rocks my world.
So this Besh Box is really cool. It’s basically [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Chicken, Christmas, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, Pasta, Seafood, Shrimp
Tags: Appetizers, Chicken, pasta, Seafood, Shrimp Creole 2 Comments
31
Dec 2013
Dec 2013
Do you have your New Year’s Day menu worked out? I’m preparing my Black-Eyed Peas with Jalapeño Oil along with cabbage and pork. I just haven’t decided on what cabbage and pork dishes to make. On the cabbage front, I’m debating between Smothered Cabbage and Cabbage Casserole. Both call for sausage and cheese, but the Cabbage Casserole also includes rice and boat loads of cheese–it’s a meal in itself. The Smothered Cabbage is on the lighter side with its turkey sausage and tangy kick of feta cheese. As for the pork, I’m craving my [ ... ]
15
Oct 2013
Oct 2013
Looking to break out of your weeknight dinner rut? Then check this out. I’ve come up with a great little pork dish for the crock pot. Now I’m not much of a crock pot user. I bought mine solely to keep my gumbo warm during parties. But I have, on occasion, treated this apparatus like the efficient small cooking appliance it was intended to be. I just never felt like the sum of the parts I put in it were worth writing about. Until now. This slow cooked pork? It’s worth [ ... ]
Category: Main Dishes, Pasta, Pork
Comments off
07
Sep 2013
Sep 2013
A couple of weeks back, I pulled out of the freezer what will probably be my last soft-shells of the season. Knowing full well I may not get anymore of these warm weather treasures until next spring, I debated how to prepare them. Should I go for broke and introduce them to some bright new flavors and a bold cooking method? Or, should I play it safe with a tried and true recipe that would not disappoint? Because this batch was frozen, I knew I could approach them a tad more aggressively than I could fresh [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crab, Main Dishes, Seafood
One Comment
13
Aug 2013
Aug 2013
Back in 1991, three New Orleans chefs got together and created a unique, local restaurant chain called Semolina. Their concept paired classic New Orleans and international dishes with pasta. The original menu enticed diners with options ranging from Muffuletta Pasta and Jambalaya Pasta to Chicken Enchilada Pasta and Pad Thai Pasta. Curiosity may have lured many diners in. But it was Semolina’s delicious execution of these one-of-a-kind offerings, friendly service and pre-dinner Peach Bellinis (among other weekly drink specials) that kept them–and me–coming back. When I moved to Atlanta in ’95, there was a Semolina restaurant in every Greater New [ ... ]
Category: Chicken, Crawfish, Main Dishes, Pasta, Sauces, Seafood, Shrimp
6 Comments
05
Aug 2013
Aug 2013
Oysters Rockefeller is one of those legendary New Orleans French-Creole dishes that has wowed locals and visitors alike since 1899. The dish was created back then by chef and restaurateur Jules Alciatore of Antoine’s Restaurant to replace and somewhat mimic the restaurant’s popular Escargots a la Bourguignonne due to a shortage of French snails. The dish was named after the affluent John D. Rockefeller because of its profoundly rich sauce.
Although Antoine’s has never divulged its secret recipe, fifth-generation proprietor Roy Guste, Jr. devised a variation of the same to include in his cookbook, The 100 [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Christmas, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Oysters, Seafood, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving
Tags: Appetizers, New Orleans Classics, Oysters, Seafood 3 Comments
02
Jul 2013
Jul 2013
Some say it’s nothing more than a grilling gimmick, that beer can chicken. Those Negative Nellies complain that the beer does nothing to keep the bird moist, the can-filled cavity inhibits even cooking and a perfectly good brew goes to waste. I don’t know about all that. My beer can chicken always turns out super juicy (okay, I’m sure my herbed butter has a little something to do with that) and I’ve never had a problem with uneven cooking. I firmly believe the heat generated by the aluminum can actually helps the inside of the bird [ ... ]
18
Jun 2013
Jun 2013
Back in January, I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Evans at the foodblogSouth conference in Birmingham. Amy is an oral historian with the Southern Foodways Alliance, a not-for-profit institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. The organization studies the diverse food cultures of the ever-changing American South and records its findings through oral histories, photographs, documentaries and various publications. It then celebrates the regions cultural “creators and keepers,” as I like to call them, by sharing their stories with anyone and everyone through various festivals, field trips and an annual symposium. [ ... ]
