Celebrations – Hungry for Louisiana

Appetizers, Celebrations, Hungry for Louisiana, Latin American Cuisine, Super Bowl

Super Bowl Snacking: Pulled Pork Tostadas with Chipotle Crema

February 3, 2016

Ahh, the pork butt.

Few cuts of meat are as reasonably priced and versatile, and cooking it to fork tender perfection requires almost no culinary skills. Sure, you can show off your grill prowess and smoke it low and slow, painting on a tangy baste until the butt falls off the bone. Or, you can get smart and lazy and lock it the oven overnight at 250 degrees. While you’re sleeping, the fat-strapped butt is agreeably roasting away, preparing to fall apart in the morning as you carve it with eager forks. Your stupid-easy pulled pork is perfect for all sorts of applications, including barbecue sandwiches, pulled pork pizza, spicy pork wontons, the pork stew posole and these super delicious pulled pork tostadas with chipotle crema. I’ll be posting additional pulled pork recipes soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this hearty game day dish.

Celebrations, Christmas, Corn, Crab, New Year's, Seafood, Soups

Succulent and creamy Emeril’s corn and crab bisque just right for New Year’s Eve

December 29, 2015

There are two kinds of New Year’s Eve participants: those who go out, and those who stay home.

I’m generally planted in the latter camp….have been for years….and if you’re like me, there’s a good chance you’re casting about for something special to serve for dinner, something that screams romance, friendship, family or just final decadence before resolutions come home to roost.

I’m here to recommend one of my all time favorite soups, Emeril’s corn and crab bisque. Done right, with its perfect balance of dairy and stock, its tender corn and succulent jumbo lump crabmeat, this soup delivers elegance in a way that others don’t. I’ve served it as a main course and as a starter, and each time I’ve placed it on the table, it’s earned rave reviews.

Appetizers, Celebrations, Christmas, Hors d'oeuvres, Local, Louisiana, New Year's, Seafood, Southern

Marinated seafood: West Indies salad and pickled shrimp perfect for parties

December 28, 2015

The best party dishes are ones that fit two criteria: you can make them ahead and serve them at room temperature. And marinated seafood, like classic West Indies salad and southern pickled shrimp, fits them both. Think of them as a sort of Gulf Coast ceviche, even though you’re beginning with cooked seafood.

The Mobile, Alabama favorite, West Indies Salad, is made with crabmeat, minced onions and an oil and vinegar solution, and Charleston-born pickled shrimp, involves fresh boiled shrimp riding it out in a tangy marinade for a couple of days before serving. They’re delicious crowd pleasers that offer a refreshing counterpoint to party buffets where the rest of the line-up can be heavy.

Celebrations, Christmas, Citrus, Fruit, Healthy, Kumquats, Local, Louisiana, Salads, Southern, Thanksgiving

Ambrosia revisited: Southern holiday fruit salad goes all natural

November 24, 2015

For the record, I’m a big fan of the mini-marshmallow.

Big fan.

One of my greatest food memories is cozying up to a marshmallow-y fruit salad — classic Southern ambrosia – that someone brought to my maternal grandfather’s after funeral gathering. I’ll never forget the way the baby marshmallows melted into the citrus juice, creating creamy goodness and a perfect comforting texture. I couldn’t stop eating it. Years later, I similarly fell in love with something called Green Stuff, a congealed cottage cheese and marshmallow fruit salad made by an old boyfriend’s mother and always served at his family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Yum. I love a bowl of trashy.

But as much as I savor marshmallows, and as much as I bow down to tradition, this year, I wanted an all-natural version of the classic holiday side….

Celebrations, Holiday, Thanksgiving, The Writing Life

My secret date with cornbread dressing

November 11, 2015

Ahh, the holiday rotation. Years ago, my hubby and I put a system in place that divvied up the holidays as fairly as possible among the grandparents, none of whom live here in Baton Rouge. I won’t bore you with the drama (you can probably relate), I’ll just share the result. For the last 15 years, the system has pretty much had us traveling to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving, while we host Christmas. I love planning and hosting the Christmas meal, but I have to admit, I miss the opportunity to cook — really cook — traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Sure, we bring stuff. But it’s minor. The main meal, and especially the dressing, is claimed by our family’s various Thanksgiving hosts. And you gotta respect territoriality, especially where cornbread dressing is involved.

Appetizers, Celebrations, Louisiana, LSU, Tailgating

LSU-Bama: Embrace your inner corn dog

November 5, 2015

Somehow, we earned the corn dog nickname. There are so many other things we creatively devious LSU fans could have been called, so many other foods we’re obsessed with and probably smell like…but corn dogs…hmm. Always been a head scratcher. Alrighty. Let’s just go with it. Here’s to embracing your trashy, Bama-hatin’, carnival lovin’ corn dog self this weekend over fine specimens made in the comfort of your own home. It is an away game, after all, robbing LSU fans of the opportunity to cook up elephant-themed delicacies outside Tiger Stadium, which have actually been known to stump aghast internet columnists.

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