Blog Archives
25
Nov 2014
Nov 2014
The Louisiana oyster season just recently began and already I've had more luscious Louisiana bivalves than I did during the entire season last year. That's a wonderful thing. My mass consumption has been due in large part to a mini sack the hubby and I had shipped up a couple of weeks back. Those 100 or so plump and briny beauties made for a pretty serious R&D session in my kitchen. Over the course of two days, I researched and developed fun new flavor combinations for slurping and shooting raw oysters and created several exciting new [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Oysters, Pork, Seafood
Tags: Oysters, Seafood Comments off
21
Nov 2014
Nov 2014
Oops! I revised this recipe on 12.24.2014 to correct an error–the pie shells should remain frozen until ready to bake. Otherwise, the bottoms could end up soggy. Sorry for the oversight!
With Thanksgiving less than a week away, now is the perfect time to share this seasonal treat with you all. This is a sweet, festive finger food perfect for holiday entertaining. And, in my opinion, it’s the best way to serve pecan pie. Not only do the individual pies make everyone feel extra special, each serving has that perfect filling-to-crust ratio and the baker never has to [ ... ]
Category: Desserts, Finger Food Fridays, New Orleans Classics, Snacks, Thanksgiving
Tags: Desserts, Finger Food Fridays, pecans Comments off
17
Nov 2014
Nov 2014
Larry and I have been deep frying turkeys for as long as we’ve been together and we take great pride in sharing this family tradition with others. Over the past 19 years, we’ve converted many of our Atlanta friends (who hail from all different parts of the country) from roast turkey to fried. And we delight in the fact that several have mastered this Cajun custom and adopted it as their own. The process is not complicated, but it can be risky if you don’t plan ahead and take the necessary precautions. Unfortunately, most of what [ ... ]
Category: Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Thanksgiving, Turkey
Tags: New Orleans Classics, Thanksgiving 2 Comments
07
Nov 2014
Nov 2014
Growing up, one of my favorite poor boys was a four napkin roast beef and Swiss dressed. Four napkins, because that’s what it took to wipe the gravy trails from my forearms. Dressed, because in my world a poor boy is not a poor boy without a generous slather of mayo and layers of crisp shredded iceberg lettuce and thinly sliced tomatoes and dill pickles I’m not a hundred percent sure when and where the Swiss cheese came into play, as the roast beef-Swiss combo is not a New Orleans standard. But I think Papa, my [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Beef, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, Po-Boys, Poor Boys, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Beef, Finger Food Fridays One Comment
02
Nov 2014
Nov 2014
This roast pork loin has Sunday supper written all over it. It’s one of those recipes that starts with a few everyday ingredients (well at least in my kitchen)—pork, rice and andouille sausage—and ends with a slight sense of occasion. What makes it Sunday supper worthy is the fact that the ever-appealing andouille rice is rolled into the pork. When the two cook together, the juice from the pork infuses the rice with an additional layer of flavor while the andouille and veggies in the rice keep the pork moist and amp up every bite. Roasting [ ... ]
22
Oct 2014
Oct 2014
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 [ ... ]
11
Oct 2014
Oct 2014
It all started with chicken and andouille sausage. That dynamic duo that saves many a day in this hectic household. Then there were the unused portions of a couple of sweet peppers, an already-opened carton of heavy cream and an obnoxious amount of late-blooming jalapeños. With a limited amount of time on my hands and just enough determination to pull together a reasonable meal, Creamy Chicken and Andouille Fettuccine was created. It’s a satisfyingly simple and slightly spicy pasta dish that appeals to all the Hogan palates. It’s also a prime example of how the [ ... ]
Category: Chicken, Main Dishes, Pasta, Pork
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06
Oct 2014
Oct 2014
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 [ ... ]
03
Oct 2014
Oct 2014
Garlic dip in its simplest form is a block of cream cheese and garlic. As much fresh garlic as you can stand. Back in the early 1970s, when I first mixed those two ingredients together, I knew I had found a finger food for life. I could devour an entire bowl of that dip in one sitting with the help of nothing more than a bag of chips. Or was it a tin of Charles Chips? Oh, and on those occasions when there were no chips to be found, a sleeve of saltine crackers worked [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Snacks Comments off
30
Sep 2014
Sep 2014
We just returned from our annual Destin trip. We’re so thankful our kids have Fall Break, because otherwise we would not have been able to fit that vacation in this year. And this momma needs her beach time and everything that accompanies it–sun-soaked, lazy days, powdery sand, emerald green waters, fresh Gulf seafood (lots and lots of fresh seafood), cold craft beer, the occasional rum-spiked something or other and a happy hubby and children. In case you’re wondering, September is an awesome time to visit the Florida Gulf Coast. Yes, there are the occasional hurricanes to [ ... ]
