Tag-Archive for » Seafood «
22
Apr 2014
Apr 2014
While most of the country is welcoming the arrival of spring, New Orleanians are welcoming the arrival of crawfish. In my hometown, the two are a package deal. And when Mother Nature messes with the calendar and cool temps linger, both spring and crawfish season get delayed. That was the case this year (and last, if I recall correctly). Although there were a few sightings of crawfish before Mardi Gras (which was also late), the temperamental crustaceans didn’t start running consistently until a couple of weeks ago. Now everyone’s going crazy. Finally, seafood markets [ ... ]
Category: Crawfish, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Seafood, Side Dishes, Soups
Tags: crawfish, Seafood, Soup 2 Comments
13
Mar 2014
Mar 2014
Hello Shrimp and Okra Gumbo! What do you think of the new photo size? Too big maybe? I can’t decide. I told the hubby I wanted bigger photos on the site, but I just don’t know if they should be this large. Please, tell me what you think! The gumbo, on the other hand, it’s a keeper. No indecisiveness there. This recipe is awesome through and through–oh how I wish I could hand you a spoon and invite you to dig it. It’s earthy and aromatic and an essential part of [ ... ]
Category: Gumbo, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Roux, Seafood, Shrimp, Vegetables
Tags: Gumbo, Roux, Seafood, Shrimp Recipes, Vegetables 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
27
Dec 2013
Dec 2013
Every year I approach the holidays with what I believe to be a good balance of excitement and caution. Excitement over the magic of the season and making the most of all the food, fun, family and friends that come with it. Caution not to overdo it. This year, let’s just say I got overly excited and threw caution to the wind. Put another way, I ate and drank too much and stayed up past my bedtime more often than not. It’s left me tired, bloated and a tad cranky. And with New Year’s [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Fish, Seafood, Snacks
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood 4 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
03
May 2013
May 2013
The hubby and I have been together almost 20 years (I was really, really young when we starting dating. Wink! Wink!). And while we’re not the perfect couple, we do pride ourselves on working hard at keeping our relationship strong. A big part of that is carving out time for each other. We frequently schedule lunch dates and sneak in the occasional night out. But all those outings combined don’t come close to measuring up to the kidless weekends we share each year at the New Orleans Jazz Fest! We’ve been enjoying these date [ ... ]
Category: Crab, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, Po-Boys, Poor Boys, Seafood
Tags: crab, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood 2 Comments
04
Apr 2013
Apr 2013
Here’s the Finger Food Friday that wasn’t. As I mentioned on Facebook at the end of last week, I had planned to make Crawfish Mac and Cheese Bites for that day’s post. But, well, let’s just say the recipe in my head was flawed for this purpose. The creamy mac and cheese, which I spooned into muffin tins and baked, didn’t set up enough to produce the nifty little single-serving, hand held morsels I was hoping for. I knew going into it there could be problems considering I choose a sauce base void of either [ ... ]
15
Mar 2013
Mar 2013
In New Orleans, dining out on Friday nights during Lent at any restaurant that serves seafood is, for lack of a better term, a sport. That’s because the crowds are large, the waits are long and the weather is oftentimes questionable (a big issue when you’re forced to wait out in a shell parking lot). A finely tuned playbook, complete with the abilities, expectations and limitations of each person in your party, is a must. So are sandwich bags full of Cheerios (if you have little ones), cell phones with fun games (if you have middle ones) and a padded [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Oysters, Poor Boys, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Oysters, Seafood 2 Comments
15
Feb 2013
Feb 2013
Frogs, those hopping, croaking creatures, creep me out. I avoid their exhibits at zoos and aquariums and can’t bear to look at them on TV or in print. When we first moved to Georgia, I was haunted by them. Literally. You see, we have this pond behind our house where, at the time, many, many, many frogs lived. I suppose several of those momma and daddy frogs were feeling a little overcrowded so they started venturing away from the busy pond with their “army” in search of more comfortable living conditions. Those improved conditions [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Main Dishes, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood One Comment
22
Jan 2013
Jan 2013
It’s been said by the master of chargrilled oysters himself, Mr. Tommy Cvitanovich of Drago’s Seafood Restaurant in Metairie, that this is the simplest dish to cook at home but the most difficult to duplicate. Well, from an ingredient standpoint I get that since Drago’s has never published its exact recipe (although there are apparently some very close versions floating around). And that’s understood. But I have to say, once you nail down the cooking method I think it’s pretty darn easy to recreate those sizzling-hot, sexy restaurant oysters at home. Here’s how I make them.
I start [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, New Orleans Classics, Oysters, Sauces, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, New Orleans Classics, Sauces, Seafood 3 Comments