Tag-Archive for » Vegetables «

Stuffed Artichoke Soup

If you spend anytime at all on social media, you’re probably familiar with the trend where someone takes a popular main course and transforms it into a soup. On any given day, you can find the likes of Cabbage Roll Soup, Cheeseburger Soup, Chicken Potpie Soup and even Lasagna Soup flooding Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram feeds. The pictures are drool-worthy and they all sound deliciously inviting. But they pale in comparison to my recent discovery of a local obsession of the same kind—Stuffed Artichoke Soup. As the name implies, this soup brings together all the garlicky, [ ... ]

Stuffed Peppers

People always joke that when you visit New Orleans your vegetable intake will be limited to the curly parsley decorating your plate or the pickled okra bobbing about in your Bloody Mary. Depending on how you choose to spend your time here, that could very well be true. But as the locals can tell you, there are plenty of beautiful, fresh vegetables to be had in these parts all year long. That’s one of the many fringe benefits of living in a subtropical environment. And because we have a great variety of veggies with extended growing seasons, [ ... ]

Creole-Italian Baked Cucuzza

“Hey googootz!” If you grew up in New Orleans, chances are you’ve heard that phrase or have been the recipient of that term of endearment. I’m not sure how much it’s used these days, but when I was little it was expressed often and usually by older women addressing relatives or close friends. Oh, and you may also recognize the word if you were a Sopranos fan. I never watched the show, but have learned that Tony occasionally called his son A.J. “Googootz.” The word stems from cucuzza (pronounced “ku koo za”), an edible Italian [ ... ]

Blackened Scallops with Grilled Corn Guacamole

Scallops are not a popular household ingredient in New Orleans and they’ve only been a noticeable part of the local restaurant scene for about 15 years. Honestly, had I not moved to Atlanta, I probably would have never cooked them for my family. Nothing against scallops. It’s just that in New Orleans scallops are, as local food critic, radio host and author Tom Fitzmorris points out, “exotic.” They don’t come from local waters. But there are so many other amazing, fresh seafood options that do, which is why scallops don’t get a whole lot of local attention. Here in the [ ... ]

Creole Collard Greens

So we’re back on “the road to routine” following an incredibly fun and fast-paced week in New Orleans. Fortunately this year, the kids’ winter break coincided with Mardi Gras. So we spent last week back home frolicking about. It was awesome! But, as expected, we all ate too much and spent way too many days going to bed late and waking up early. Such is the life of a bunch of New Orleans Carnival revelers. Now that we’re settled back in Atlanta, we’re all craving normalcy and lots of veggies (after eight days, “dressed” poor boys are simply not enough). But [ ... ]

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Italian Turkey Sausage and Spinach

I’m a big fan of spaghetti squash but I don’t like it as a low-carb, pasta substitute—which is how it’s typically marketed this time of year. When I crave foods like Meatballs and Spaghetti, I want to have traditional Meatballs and Spaghetti—beefy meatballs simmered in a rich red gravy and served over some sort of “enriched macaroni product” like angel hair or thin spaghetti. Same for dishes like Baked Macaroni or Fettuccine Alfredo. I can’t and won’t do the swap out thing just to save a few calories or reduce my carb intake. Doing so will leave me cranky and [ ... ]

Cajun Black Bean Soup

Whenever I’m home, I always make time to visit one of my favorite grocery stores to stock up on local staples. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine to sneak away from the family and traipse down the aisles collecting food stuff I can’t find in Atlanta and discovering new homegrown goodies. When we stay with my in-laws in Kenner, my typical stops are Dorignac’s, Zuppardo’s and Langenstein’s. These are the old guards of family-owned, neighborhood grocery stores. Crossing the threshold of one of these well-respected establishments is like stepping back in time. The aisles are [ ... ]
Category: Main Dishes, Pork  Tags: , ,  4 Comments

Grilled Potato Salad with Onions and Jalapeños

Here’s the recipe for the potato salad I made last week to go along with my Grilled Skillet Steak. The potatoes, like the steak, are cooked twice. They are first parboiled then grilled making this side dish just as flavorful and exciting as the main. If you plan on serving the two together like I did, put the potatoes on to boil right before you throw the steaks on the grill. After you remove the steaks from the grill, place a grill pan next to the preheated cast iron skillet and finish both the steaks and the potato medley at [ ... ]
Category: Salad, Side Dishes, Vegetables  Tags: ,  Comments off

Crab and Corn Bisque

While a warm bowl of bisque may not appeal to many of you this time of year, I can’t think of a better way to bring together two of the summer’s most appealing ingredients, Louisiana blue crab and corn. Each serving just screams, “ Sweet sunshine!” And if you already have some rich seafood stock socked away, it will come together quickly. Like most soups, this Crab and Corn Bisque will improve in the fridge for a day or two. And because it can be successfully frozen, I highly recommend doubling the recipe so a few months down [ ... ]

Broccoli Salad

I often make big batch salads on the weekends to kick off Sunday suppers with my family and feed me lunch throughout the week. In order for these types of salads to work, they need to be made with tasty and tough ingredients. You know, foods that won’t wilt or spoil before I’ve reached the bottom of the bowl later in the week. Pastas and potatoes are obvious choices for these types of salads, but they tend to leave me sluggish–a feeling I’d rather not fight every afternoon. So I lean more towards hearty greens and [ ... ]
Category: Sauces, Side Dishes, Vegetables  Tags: ,  Comments off