Meats, Soups, Weeknight

Meatball madness

Lately, I’m in love with meatballs. All kinds, not just in spaghetti. You can toss them in soups, serve them on skewers with a variety of sauces or slide them between crusty po’boy or hero bread. They’re great with all sorts of ground meats including veal, lamb, pork, turkey, beef, sausage or chicken, and are further enhanced by different cheeses, bits of ham or prosciutto, pesto or fresh herbs. You can roll meatballs in breadcrumbs and pan-fry them in a skillet, or you can bake them on a cookie sheet to save calories. I find that meatballs in any form are appealing to most kids — mine included — and they’re great for making ahead and freezing. I like to work them into the weeknight line-up and save myself some time and grief.

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Cajun, Soups

Chef Jeremy Langlois – bisque of curried pumpkin, crawfish and corn

Chef Jeremy Langlois is one of south Louisiana’s shining culinary stars, and he was nice enough to share his recipe for bisque of curried pumpkin, crawfish and corn with me. It’s one of the top sellers on the menu of Latil’s Landing at Houmas House, where he serves as the restaurant’s original executive chef. It’s an amazing place to have dinner.

I featured Chef Jeremy and his bisque in a recent story in 225 Magazine on greater Baton Rouge’s diverse soups. There’s a lot more going on in the Capital City than just gumbo, including this gorgeous bowl, traditional pho and yellow lentil from one the city’s latest Middle Eastern eateries. Check out the story to see the others we included. Recipe follows….

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Breakfast, Citrus, Healthy, Kumquats, Local

Kumquat smoothie a healthy way to start the day

Kumquats are everywhere in South Louisiana right now, and guess what, they’re great for you.  LiveStrong has posted their impressive nutritional content, which includes lots of fiber and Vitamin C. Here’s a smoothie formula using kumquats that will stave off colds and make you feel great. If you’re a fan of orange marmalade, you’ll love this flavor profile.

1 large or two small servings

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup kumquat purée*

8 oz. can pineapple (any type) with juice

1 banana

1 tablespoon Agave nectar or honey (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a juicer or blender and serve immediately.

*To make 1 cup of kumquat puree, slice and seed 2 cups whole kumquats (about 15). Puree fruit, skin and all, in an food processor. Use in smoothies, quick breads, sorbet and other recipes.

 

Breakfast, Citrus, Kumquats, Local

Kumquat banana bread

At a certain point in the Deep South, it seems like kumquats that will not away. They’re everywhere, from gift baskets to supermarkets to local trees heavy with ripe fruit. The two in my herb garden are putting out a shocking number of kumquats this year, and they’re at their sweet peak right now. And because I’m a crappy gardener with minimal success in growing edibles, I hate the thought of letting any of them go to waste.

A few weeks back, I posted a kumquat honey sorbet recipe that was a big success. This time around, I’ve got a formula for kumquat-banana bread.

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Healthy

New Year’s Resolutions? Deprivation gets ya nowhere.

Life is short. Terribly, painfully short. So instead of approaching a fresh new year with all kinds of self-flagellating proclamations, I like the idea of embracing the new, the tasty and the challenging as a way to keep my soul in check. I’m not suggesting that health-related goals aren’t important – God bless the person (me, included) trying to be fit or stop a bad habit. But repackaging the annual New Year’s Resolutions into a positive bundle gives them an undercurrent of adventure. I like to think Louisiana culture invites this sort of perspective, and yes, you have to work past our indulgence, high obesity rate and so forth to see this point of view. But hey, let’s not forget that a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research last year revealed that six of 10 of the happiest cities in America were in Louisiana due in part to our relaxed, life-affiming way of doing things. From this Euro-centric, food-friendly backdrop springs my Resolution Template. Fill it in as you see fit and let me know what you think. Mine follow.

New Years Resolutions, 2015

Restaurant I want to try: 

Ingredient, preferably weird, exotic or nostalgic, to incorporate: 

Dish to master:

International cuisine to play around with:

Something I’m way overdue in making that I promise to prepare this year:

A food I/my family need(s) to eat more of:

Okay, now here are mine:

Restaurant I want to try:

The list is long and spans the country, but for starters, there’s a new Central American spot called La Guanaquita way on the other side of Baton Rouge. Pupusas are hard to find here, and I love them. 

Ingredient, preferably weird, exotic or forgotten, to incorporate:

Chervil, because nobody uses it anymore.

Dish to master:

Homemade steamed dumplings.

International cuisine to play around with:

Israeli or Korean. 

Something I’m way overdue in making that I promise to prepare this year:

My great-grandmother’s eggnog with rye, among other whiskeys. I can’t believe I’ve never made it as much as I love Christmas and booze. 

A food I/my family need(s) to eat more of:

Fresh fruit at breakfast.

New Year's, Southern, Vegetables

Cabbage or greens for NYD? Both.

The South agrees that black-eyed peas are required eating for good luck in the New Year, but there’s variation in the region about which greens are best for shoring up your chances for prosperity. Do you cook up a mess o’ collards, a pot of mustards or is cabbage front and center on your New Year’s Day plate? Louisiana leans toward cabbage – displays holding huge heads of Savoy alongside dried Camellia brand black-eyed peas and boxes of Jiffy corn bread mix are fixtures in local supermarkets. I love cabbage, and this New Year’s at our house, it takes the form of coleslaw with a homemade orange-celery seed dressing.

But my family likes other greens, too, and I can’t get away with keeping them off the January 1 menu. This year, it’s mustard greens. They’ve found their way into a variation on tomatoes Provençal. No, it’s not exactly tomato season, but I did find hothouse tomatoes from a regional farm in one of my favorite local grocery stores. Using Julia Child’s recipe as a springboard, I combined fresh white breadcrumbs with slivered and sautéed greens and a little grated Parmesan cheese. Here’s how:

New Year’s Day Tomatoes Provençal

Serves 6

1 strip bacon, diced

2 cups chopped mustard greens (wash and remove thick stems before chopping)

3 medium tomatoes

1 1/2 fresh white breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400. Slice tomatoes in half and carefully scoop out pulp. Season inside with salt and pepper and invert to allow remaining liquid to drain. In a medium to large skillet, render bacon pieces until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet, leaving behind about 1/2 teaspoon rendered fat. Place bacon on paper towels to drain. While pan is still hot, sauté greens in fat for about three minutes. In a medium bowl, toss bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, bacon, salt and greens. Combine thoroughly, then fill each tomato half with mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.