Archive for the Category » New Orleans Classics «

Chicken Sauce Piquant

I wanted to let you all know that last week I was invited to do a guest post on my friend Shea’s blog, Dixie Chik Cooks. Shea is “a Southern Belle” (Birmingham to be exact) “who thinks about what’s for dinner while eating lunch.” Sounds like a native New Orleanian, doesn’t she? I’d love for you to hop on over to her site and check out my recipe for Chicken Sauce Piquant.  Once there, I hope you’ll stay awhile and get to know Shea through all her wonderful stories and recipes.  Happy Tuesday! Genêt //

Dirty Rice

I consider Dirty Rice to be one of several endangered New Orleans family dishes.  Poppy Tooker, local food personality, culinary teacher and author, uses that term to describe South Louisiana foods and food traditions on the brink of extinction.  We both agree that to prevent those culinary treasures from being lost or forgotten, we need to continue to cook, eat, share and, in some cases grow, them.  This week, I did my part by preparing this incredibly aromatic and homey rice dish. Dirty Rice is similar to Rice Dressing.  The main difference is Dirty Rice calls for ground pork along with [ ... ]

Finger Food Friday: Pizza Bordelaise

In New Orleans, we have this sauce called bordelaise.  It bears the same name as, but is much different than the classic French sauce.  The French version is all about red wine and bone marrow.  Ours is garlic-centric.  We like to toss it with pasta, spoon it over sizzling seafood and steaks and splash it on steamed veggies.  Believe me when I say, this sauce is delicious on everything and anything … including pizza!  Yes, pizza.  I use it as both the sauce, in place of the traditional red gravy/marinara base, and to amp up the flavor of my mild [ ... ]

The Turtle Soup

I’m sharing a special love letter with you on this Valentine’s Day. This is not your typical mushy, make-you-blush kind of letter. No, the love letter I’m posting for all the world to see is actually my great-grandmother’s recipe for Turtle Soup as written by her son, my grandfather. I cherish this piece of paper like I would a love letter because it captures not only a special family recipe but a part of my Grandma Kirn who, more than anything, loved to feed us. It’s also the only item I have in my possession with [ ... ]

King Cake Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce

Let’s talk desserts. As in classic New Orleans desserts. Two in particular: Creole Bread Pudding and King Cake. Both have storied histories, are deeply rooted in New Orleans tradition and are equally delicious. Creole Bread Pudding is what I consider an everyday, homey dessert prepared by thrifty New Orleans cooks and restaurant chefs who have plenty of day-old French bread on hand. The stale bread is given new life when soaked in a creamy, cinnamon-infused custardy bath. The pudding is then baked plain or embellished with raisins, nuts, canned fruit salad or even [ ... ]

Super Bowl Recipes 2012

The big game is upon us! So I’m sharing my most successful playbook from the Raised on a Roux recipes archives. These tried and true crowd-pleasing favorites are sure to have your guests cheering for more. PREGAME Cajun Egg Rolls and Corn Dip FIRST HALF Andouille Baked Brie and Crescent City Sliders HALFTIME Chicken Andouille Gumbo SECOND HALF Crawfish Baskets and Oven Roasted Boudin POST-GAME Brownie Trifle Here are a few more game-worthy recipes from some other incredibly talented food bloggers: Spicy BBQ Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders from Dixie Chik Cooks, Sweet Potato Nacho Fries from Lauren’s Latest, and Queso Fundido from Annie’s Eats. With so many good eats, you better hope for [ ... ]

Jambalaya-Stuffed Bell Peppers with Smoked Sausage Gravy

I’m settling back into the grove after what turned out to be a fantastic weekend in Birmingham attending the Food Blog South 2012 conference. This was my first food blog conference and one that I won’t soon forget. To be surrounded by people who eat, drink and sleep food is a wonderful thing. Their passion is undeniable, their knowledge unsurpassable and their willingness to share incredibly generous. I learned so much and made plenty of new friends. I feel refreshed, re-energized and psyched about the future and what it holds for food bloggers and anyone [ ... ]

Jazzy Crawfish Pasta

In case you missed my tweets yesterday, the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival daily schedules have been posted.  The lineup is crazy good this year.  Almost as crazy good as this Jazzy Crawfish Pasta–my take on Crawfish Monica.  Crawfish Monica has been a festival-goer favorite for some 30 years now.  It consists of a mesmerizing bowl of rotini pasta drenched in a deliciously spicy crawfish cream sauce.  This dish became so popular at Jazz Fest that back in 2009, its creator Chef Pierre Hilzim (who named the seafood specialty after his wife Monica) trademarked the name and began [ ... ]

Finger Food Friday: Spinach-Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms with Creole Bechamel

Since today is not only Finger Food Friday but New Year’s Eve Eve, I thought I’d make something that could transition nicely between a casual Happy Hour and a fancy New Year’s Eve bash. These stuffed artichoke bottoms do just that. The filling consists of a humble combination of greens and pork, in this instance spinach and pancetta, that get dressed up with a rich-tasting (I avoid the calorie bomb here by using skim milk) Creole Bechamel thickened with Parmesan cheese. The artichoke bottoms? Yet another fun vehicle to transport all that creamy filling to your [ ... ]

Finger Food Friday: Miniature Oyster Patties

‘Tis the season to share another one of my favorite holiday recipes with you, Miniature Oyster Patties.  These savory little bite-size pastries have been making the rounds at New Orleans Christmas parties and weddings for as long as I can remember.  And once you taste them, you’ll understand why they’re so popular.  Now when you read through the ingredient list, you’ll probably notice similarities to my family’s Oyster Dressing recipe.  The two are actually so close that I had to call my mom prior to making the Oyster Dressing for Thanksgiving to help me figure out which one was which.  [ ... ]