Hungry for Louisiana An Omnivore’s Journey

Boudin, Cajun, Hungry for Louisiana, Local, Louisiana, Southern

Gameday boudin balls

September 14, 2015

Boudin links are great. We all know that. But boudin balls are better, because as we also know, what pork and rice really need is to be deep-fried.

This weekend, as LSU fans across the state prepare for the game against Auburn, many of them will stock up on Cajun charcuterie’s greatest guilty pleasure. Whether you tote your boudin balls to a tailgate party in a grease-stained paper bag, or on a behemoth disposable platter gilded with parsley, boudin balls are the pinnacle of gameday finger food.

Cooking with Kids, Creole, Easy, Fresh from the Gulf, Louisiana, Salads, Shrimp

Teaching my kids to cook: lessons in remoulade

May 20, 2015

It’s on.

This is the summer that my children, ages 13, 11 and 8, WILL learn to cook.

Yes, I should have done this before now. But like most busy moms, I’ve been more focused on slapping dinner on the table than about explaining how it got there.

I realize that my kids are only getting older, and one day soon they’re going to need to scramble their own eggs. And that, as you know, is not as easy as it sounds. The one thing that cooking requires, more than natural talent or creativity, is practice. And unless I invite them in to make some messes and slow me down, they will never learn.

Hungry for Louisiana, Louisiana, LSU, The Writing Life

About artist Betsy Neely, Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey illustrator

May 18, 2015

I’m so grateful to Louisiana artist Betsy Neely for creating the charming original black & white drawings that lead off each chapter in Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey. Betsy and I had a great time connecting over this project. Our process was to meet and discuss the tone and intention of each chapter, and in those meetings, I shared some of the things that stood out most during my research. As we talked, a single image would generally emerge between the two of us that seemed to sum it all up. Then Betsy would head off to her studio to start sketching.

Cocktails, Crawfish, Hungry for Louisiana

Crawfish wontons start with great étouffée

April 9, 2015

It’s étouffée season up in here!

After a cold and wet spring 2015 in South Louisiana, crawfish are now in great supply, and are on the table in many forms. I love to spot those familiar one-pound packages of tail meat sitting in jumbles of ice in local grocery stores. Impossible to resist, because they’re only around this time of year. Time to get your étouffée on.

My étouffée recipe, which I include at the end of the crawfish chapter in Hungry for Louisiana, is super decadent not because it calls for over-the-top amounts of butter, but because it uses double the amount of crawfish tails than most. I know, indulgent. But so good. Sooo good! And it’s really pretty quick to prepare, making it weeknight-worthy for busy families. This week, we 5 nearly polished off an entire recipe with just a little leftover. And that brings me to this post…what better way to use up a small amount of something yummy than to stuff it inside a wonton.