Tag-Archive for » Appetizers «
02
Dec 2015
Dec 2015
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was exceptional. This year we celebrated the holiday at my sister-in-law’s house with 34 of the hubby’s closest relatives—his parents, siblings, their families and his double first cousins and their families. I think I’ve mentioned Larry’s double first cousins before. Remember? One of his dad’s brothers married one of his mom’s sisters. They had four kids who are now all grown up with kids of their own. Cool, huh? I think so. Anyway, as you might expect, this group—which currently spans three [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crab, Main Dishes, Salad, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, Crabmeat, salad, Seafood 2 Comments
09
Oct 2015
Oct 2015
This dip is the epitome of a “pantry recipe.” You know, one of those quick, easy and yummy dishes prepared on the fly with ingredients found in, well, the pantry. A last-minute meal if you will to sate eleventh hour invitees, unannounced guests or a hungry husband and three ravenous teens. Most of the time, I make a pantry recipe once and never recreate it because I fail to write down anything. And my vague recollection of what I created the first go-round never tastes the same despite repeated attempts. But fortunately with this dip, [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Beans, Beverages, Craft Beer, Finger Food Fridays, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Beans, Finger Food Fridays, Snacks Comments off
02
Oct 2015
Oct 2015
My first born, Chandler, is on a ceviche kick. Her enthusiasm for all types of seafood marinated in lime juice started a couple of months ago when my sister-in-law made an amazing batch for a party. Chrissy’s ceviche was full of sweet, juicy shrimp and creamy bites of avocado marinated in the perfect amount of acid and seasonings. Since then, Chandler has also tried two restaurant versions which she deemed good–just not as good as Aunt Chrissy’s! More recently, I had the good fortune of getting my hands on several pounds of straight-off-the-boat Louisiana Gulf shrimp [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood, Shrimp, Side Dishes, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood, Shrimp Recipes 2 Comments
31
Jul 2015
Jul 2015
While I’ve never ordered the classic soul food combo chicken and waffles while dining out or jumped on the “midnight train” to the world-famous Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles Restaurant right here in Greater Atlanta to seek out what is said to be the best representation of its kind (south of the Mason-Dixon line, that is), I’ve always loved the idea behind this dynamic duo. And whenever I look at the dish, I always step back and think about how I could put a New Orleans spin on it (or, in the words of Ella Brennan, “Creolize” it). [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Craft Beer, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, Sauces, Shrimp, Side Dishes, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Sauces, Shrimp Recipes 3 Comments
05
May 2015
May 2015
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 [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood, Vegetables Comments off
17
Apr 2015
Apr 2015
I introduced you all to this salsa last May when I was celebrating Cinco de Mayo South Louisiana-style. Remember my Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Tostadas? This salsa was one of the garnishments. But since it’s finally spring and one of the sweetest signs of spring in the GNO (Greater New Orleans Area) is the appearance of fresh, Louisiana strawberries at local farmer’s markets and grocery stores, I thought it was only right to give this salsa its own time in the spotlight. Because besides being the perfect sidekick to shrimp tostadas, Ponchatoula Strawberry Salsa is also [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crab, Craft Beer, Crawfish, Finger Food Fridays, Fruit, Main Dishes, Salad, Sauces, Seafood, Shrimp
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood, Shrimp Creole, Snacks Comments off
25
Mar 2015
Mar 2015
Preserving family recipes goes beyond collecting and deciphering faded handwritten notes or stained and splattered index cards and patching together these bits and pieces of the past into legible lists of ingredients and sensible instructions. The process also includes the more meaningful task of tracing the recipe’s origin back to a special person or place in time then tying all the elements together with a string of well-told stories punctuated with lots of passion and pride (as well as the occasional reference to a crazy relative or catastrophic kitchen mishap). It’s these associations that remind us of experiences [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crab, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Sauces, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, Crabmeat, Finger Food Fridays, Sauces, Seafood Comments off
27
Feb 2015
Feb 2015
If you’ve tuned into the Weather Channel at all since my last post, you’re probably privy to the fact that it’s still cold up here in the Northwest Quadrant of the ATL. Yes, we were among the “lucky” ones—those above “that ridge.” So since Tuesday, we have been dealing with snow and ice and snow and ice. And although today is absolutely gorgeous and all the snow and ice has melted (at least on our side of the street), the kids are enjoying their fourth snow day this week (lest you forget, they were off ALL last [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crab, Crawfish, Finger Food Fridays, Roux, Sauces, Seafood, Shrimp, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Crabmeat, crawfish, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood 2 Comments
23
Jan 2015
Jan 2015
My passion for guacamole is similar to my passion for gumbo to the extent that I’m always searching for the best version of each every time I eat out. Granted, I’ve never found the two occupying the same menu (although in New Orleans that cross-cultural thing may occur somewhere). But you know what I mean. Every time I visit a new Mexican or other type of Latin restaurant, I begin my meal with guacamole. And every time I visit a typical New Orleans joint back home for the first time I order some version (usually seafood [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Cocktails, Craft Beer, Finger Food Fridays, Salad, Snacks, Vegetables
Tags: Appetizers, Craft Beer, DIPS, Finger Food Fridays 2 Comments
30
Dec 2014
Dec 2014
Oysters are extremely delicious this time of year–especially those sweet, lightly briny Louisiana Gulf Oysters. If you’re looking for something impressive and easy to pull together this New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, try these turnovers. They’re perfectly portioned riffs on the classic Oysters Rockefeller less the time and mess associated with shucking your own. These turnovers can be pulled together quickly with a pint of shucked oysters and a package of frozen puff pastry. They can also be assembled ahead of time and baked just before serving. Oh, and they reheat nicely too. [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Christmas, Cocktails, Finger Food Fridays, New Orleans Classics, Oysters, Seafood, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, HOLIDAY, Oysters 3 Comments
