New Orleans part 4-Roadfood Crawfish Boil/Pig Roast

One of the reasons that we had gone to New Orleans was to take part in the Roadfood Crawfish Boil/Pig Roast. The past four years before, the Roadfood team took a bus around various foodie places to try local cuisines (previous ones had been Northeastern desserts and BBQ around Austin, TX). Chris had always wanted to try going on one of these tours, but we never made it. This year, the location was a place that we hadn't been and it was a different agenda. All the food would be in one place and there would be four buses instead of just one.

Before the 20-30 minute ride out to the bayou, they took us to Hansen's Sno-Bliz. This little building is in the middle of nowhere, but well worth the drive to get a refreshing frozen treat. If you go to their website, you can read about the history of the place. The owner's grandparents were the masterminds of this. Her grandpa actually invented the ice shaving machine that they still use to this day.



There are multiple flavors to choose from, but with the big group, they limited it to 3 flavors: cream of nectar, strawberry and satsuma (a tart citrus fruit) & you could add sweetened condensed milk to your flavor. Our friends thought this was a strange topping, but it's actually something that I was surprised to see in America. It's fairly common in Asia to see sweetened condensed milk on shaved ice and it's something that I grew up eating since I was a toddler. The best flavor was the satsuma with the milk. The combination of the tart with the sweet was a perfect blend and would be wonderful during a hot, humid New Orleans day.

After our pit stop, we headed out to the bayou where the crawfish boil/pig roast took place. There was a swamp full of small alligators swimming right by the picnic area (ugh) and plenty of mosquitoes that feasted on my blood.

We met the Roadfood team, Michael and Jane Stern, but we only got a pic with Michael. It was a little disappointing that we didn't get to chat with them for a longer period of time (it was probably 2 minutes before they had to run off) because they were busy talking with other guests who had attended previous ones (it was almost frat-like) and since they were playing hosts to everyone.

The whole pig.

Carving the pig. The meat was excellent, but Chris and I were bummed that the pig skin wasn't the super crispy skin that you see Anthony Bourdain eat on his shows all the time. The skin was tough and inedible, so basically just a layer to protect the meat while cooking.

A boat load of boiled shrimp. Not my favorite since the shrimp were small and hard to peel. A lot of work for little reward.

The rest of the spread: potatoes, corn, bread and two kinds of jambalaya--alligator or chicken with andouille sausage. Chicken jambalaya was definitely the best dish of the night.

Crayfish. I've eaten crayfish before, but usually in a dish already shelled. Too much work for me. But the males seemed to enjoy them.

Chris and I are undecided on if we'll do this again or not. It wasn't cheap at $95/person (all you can eat food and drink) and I am not sure that it was worth it. They did donate money to charity, so I feel a little better about spending that much. If we had gone to different restaurants on the tour like they had in the past, the experience would have been worth it. We'll have to see what's on the agenda next year before we decide.

New Orleans Part 5 (and the last one) will be coming soon :)

Mac & Cheese

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's page. We loved it, but a friend of mine made it and said it was only so-so. Not sure why that is.

I will give you tips on mac & cheese though. First, you MUST use good cheddar (not Kraft, buy the good stuff out of the deli case) and you MUST grate it yourself (bagged cheese will not work). Second, the roux has to be completely cooked or you will end up with grainy cheese, not a smooth one. Also DO NOT use lowfat cheese. If you need to use lowfat cheese, then this is not the recipe for you. I did use the whole milk that she suggested. I figure with things like this, we don't eat them all the time, so a little extra fat isn't going to kill us.

This is really best straight out of the oven. Leftovers are ok, but not as good as when it's first cooked. This makes A LOT, so make it for a big group (unless you are married to a mac & cheese loving man named Dave--haha!).

Macaroni & Cheese from the Pioneer Woman

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4 cups dried macaroni
1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 4 tablespoons) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
1 egg, beaten
1 pound cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*Optional spices: cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme


Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
In a small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in cheese and stir to melt. Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT. Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.

Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

New Orleans Part 3--Sucre

Before I left for New Orleans, I checked out the Serious Eats website for any tips for places to eat or visit. I came across Sucre while reading up on the city. It's an amazing sweets shop on Magazine Street (a very hip area of town with great little shops & places to eat).


The gelato counter. They had my favorite flavor, blood orange, which I had to have. Perfection.

April's dessert. Some sort of chocolate dessert with their famous macaroon on top. I ended up buying a box of 15 various flavors of macaroons (at $22, it was not cheap) to take home to my son. I was a little disappointed in how they didn't hold up well in transit and I am shocked that they actually ship them out. Some flavors were better than others, but not sure that I would buy them again.

My dessert was fraise mousse with white cake on the bottom. $6 a dessert. Not bad for the presentation.

There was also handmade chocolates and a small lunch menu (I believe sandwiches and salads). What a great find!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

When I decided to go pick some asparagus, I knew that I wanted to make some cream soup. I LOVE cream soups and I LOVE asparagus, so it was a no brainer when I found this simple recipe from Elise's wonderful website. I didn't have any vermouth, so I omitted it. I do see how it would have brought out more flavor though. It's probably not worth buying an entire bottle for just this, but use it if you have some in your liquor cabinet.



Creamy Asparagus Soup from Elise of Simply Recipes

Ingredients
2 lbs asparagus
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
5 cups chicken broth
Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp dry vermouth
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

1) Cut tips from 12 asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick. Reserve for garnish. Cut stalks and all remaining asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.

2) Cook onion in butter in a 4 or 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth, thyme, and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

3) While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling salted water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain.

4) Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth. If you want a very creamy texture, you can put the purée through a food mill or press it through a sieve. Transfer to a bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids), and return to pan. Stir in cream. Stir in vermouth and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with asparagus tips.

Serves 4-6.
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine

New Orleans April 2009 Part 2

I haven't been good at updating the foodie travel part of my blog. I am WAY behind on my New Orleans trip. I have downloaded the pictures, but just need to finish writing the posts. Expect them to be coming soon!

Cafe du Monde beignets. The famous beignets that everyone talks about. I can't say that I was that impressed with them. Give me a Top Pot or Voodoo Doughnut instead, but I did eat them and they weren't bad. I just didn't eat them multiple times like I thought I would.

Our friend, Jeff and Chris with Pat O'Brien's hurricanes--what you are required to drink when in New Orleans. It's some rum with artificial coloring/flavoring drink. It will turn your tongue red!

The second day that we were in New Orleans, we took part in the Roadfood Festival on Royal Street by the French Quarter. There was plenty of different restaurants that had booths. Too many things to choose from. We actually didn't eat as much as I thought we would, but here are the pictures from what we did eat.

First and most delicious thing that we ate during the festival. Shrimp Remoulade Po-boy. Remoulade is a mayo based condiment. This one had a little kick, but look just like plain mayo. I was never able to figure out what the spice was, but we loved it.

Alligator Etouffee over grits. Grits are one of my favorite things, so I couldn't pass them up. But the flavor was a little bland to me (needed some hot sauce which I forgot to put some on). It was also the last of the pot, so might be the reason that there was barely any alligator meat in it and it was cold. Chris also got the fried artichoke hearts, which were delicious. A picture wasn't taken in time before he had devoured them.

New Orleans part 3 coming soon!

Pendleton's Farm 04/24 and Farmer's Market 04/25

One of the greatest things about living in the Midwest is the proximity to farms. We are able to get great local vegetables at a decent price and that tastes better than anything you can get in the grocery store. At the outskirt of town, there is a wonderful place called Pendleton's, where you can pick your own asparagus during this time of year. I called up Megan to see if she wanted to join me to pick some (which was a lot more fun to have a friend around). For $2.50/lb or was it's $3.50? (I can't remember, but it was a great deal either way), we picked some delicious asparagus. So perfect that I picked 3 lbs of it. We also got some spinach (picking it was a big job since it was medium sized leaves) and I was thrilled to find fresh tomatoes up at the store when we went to pay. They also have great pots of flowers, plants and herbs for your garden, which I skipped this time (I have 150 bulbs that need planting as I type). They also should have morel mushrooms soon, but I am afraid that I might miss them while I am out of town for my honeymoon!

We didn't pick up a lot at the farmer's market this weekend since I had just gone to Pendleton's the day before. I did pick up a couple of pounds of ground pork (we have LOTS of beef still from our CSA subscription--we plan on continuing a smaller sized one when we eat through some of the meat), the carton of eggs that Chris forgot last week when I was out of town, green onions, cilantro (which wasn't very flavorful and very disappointing), some homemade potato & pea samosas (which were bland), a lb of bacon and a lb of grass feed meat bacon. Meat bacon? We'll see how it tastes, but I figured that we would give it a try. Since Amy's Meats hasn't had bacon lately, I have bought mine from the wonderful lady at Homespun Hill Farm.

This Saturday is the grand opening of the Farmer's Market, which also means that the Tuesday/Thursday markets will also be starting up next week. I am looking forward to buying minimal vegetables at the grocery store (even if I have become very fond of our local Co-op, mostly because a father of friends works there and it's nice to chat with him weekly) and will probably be making less trips to the chain grocery stores in town as the summer goes on. Hope that everyone is going to take advantage of their local Farmer's Markets this summer!

Noodles with Pork From Shanxi

This recipe comes from Susanna Foo, a highly respected Chinese food chef in America (awards from Food & Wine magazine, James Beard cookbook award, etc). She also has a very interesting story (link here) on how she got into the food industry. I am disappointed that we missed out on eating at her restaurant in Philadelphia when we were there a couple of years ago, but her cookbooks are innovative.

I have had her first cookbook for years (it's well worn) and was able to pick up her other one at Half Price Books recently for about $10. This recipe is something that I make a lot. It's a comforting dish with the potatoes and pork. Susanna dices her pork into smaller cubes, but I am lazy and don't. It will work either way. I have yet to serve it with all the small accompaniments that she says to serve it with (mostly because I forget to), but I would like to one of these days!

Noodles with Pork From Shanxi from the cookbook Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine

serves 4-6

1 lb boneless lean pork, cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 tbs soy sauce
1 tb cornstarch
1/4 cup corn oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tbs brandy (do not omit this. I don't think that the flavor would be right if you did)
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 cups chicken stock
2 large tomatoes, peeled and dice (note--I don't peel them. It's up to you if you want to leave them on or not)
2 scallions, chopped
coarse or kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 lb fettuccine or linguine (she has a recipe for homemade noodles, but I have never made them)

Place the diced pork in a large bowl and mix in the soy sauce and the cornstarch. Add 2 tbs of the oil, mix well and marinate for a few minutes at room temperature while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion and the garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until the onion is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the pork, along with any marinade, and continue to cook, stirring, until the pork is no longer pink.

Add the brandy. Cover the pot, turn the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the potato and mix well. Pour in the stock, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the pork and potatoes are completely cooked.

Add the tomatoes and the scallions. Continue to cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes more, or until sauce is thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While sauce is cooking, cook pasta until tender, but still firm to the bite.

Spoon the cooked pork into a large bowl and serve, along with a bowl of the freshly cooked pasta. Allow people to help themselves to the pasta and sauce.

OPTIONAL GARNISHES
Present the pork and pasta along with small bowls filled with any or all of the following: balsamic vinegar, chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, julienned cucumber, chopped fresh basil, chopped fresh cilantro and julienned leeks.

Sorry!

I just noticed that I have been lacking in posts for longer than I thought. I am behind in posting about my foodie trips, cooking classes and multiple dishes that I have made lately. I'll be working on them this weekend and hopefully catch up this week!

Creamy Herbed Potatoes

I went to a potluck the other night and the hostess wanted me to bring a potato dish. I love Cheddar cheese with sour cream potatoes that everyone always brings to potlucks, but I figured that I would find something a little different instead. I came across this WONDERFULLY sinful potato recipe from Pioneer Woman. She suggests using any of your favorite fresh herbs. I only had thyme in my fridge, so I used that and worked perfectly (I used about a couple teaspoons worth). Adjust the herbs to your liking. This recipe is delicious and the leftovers were well received by my husband, who has already asked for me to make it again. And since I didn't get a chance to snap a picture, I'll make sure to make it again soon!


Creamy Herbed Potatoes from the Pioneer Woman

PW’s Creamy Herbed Potatoes
4 to 5 russet potatoes
1 stick (1/4 pound) butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
8 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk (half & half works, too)
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped sage


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice potatoes very thinly.Add butter to a large skillet over medium low heat, When melted, add diced onion. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream cheese to the pan and stir to melt.Pour in cream and milk, stirring to combine.Season with plenty of salt and pepper, then add chopped herbs.Place potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Pour contents of skillet over the top.Top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes, or until bubbly and…bubbly. Allow potatoes to sit 15 minutes before serving.

Tip: Do not try to transport this dish unbaked unless your dish has a good seal. I learned this the hard way and ended up with about a half cup of liquid (cream, milk & butter) all over my car (luckily most of it on the floor mat).

French Apple Tart

I was watching the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network the other day and saw her making this. It looked so good that I had to make it. The recipe is in her latest cookbook, which is one of my favorites (I want to make just about all the recipes in there). Make sure that the sugar is not close to the edges or it will burn the sides. I had a little bit of burnt edges, but I just cut it off. For the glaze, I used rum instead of Calvados since it costs almost $30 for a 1/5 of the apple brandy. I am sure that the Calvados would have added a great complexity to the apples, but I thought that the rum was tasty enough and I already had it in my liquor cabinet. For a little added extra, a dollop of sweetened freshly whipped cream would be a great addition to this. She was really fancy with her cutting of the apples, but I didn't have a melon baller and didn't cut them like she did. It was still delicious, so I am not going to judge if your apples aren't perfect!

French Apple Tart from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients

For the pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water

For the apples:
4 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water

Directions
For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Sunday lunch

I love goat cheese. If I had my way, I would probably eat it every day and at every meal. I had come across this recipe the other day on foodnetwork.com, but realized that it was in one of my cookbooks that I haven't used for my blog yet.This is a salad that you would find in a fancy restaurant, but it's not hard to make. I used my own version of a mustard vinaigrette instead of hers since I didn't have all the ingredients. But I have no measurements for my own vinaigrette (I just throw in some fancy mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper to taste). If you love goat cheese, give it a try.

Salad with Warm Goat Cheese adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties!
serves 6

1 (11-ounce) log plain or herbed Montrachet (or any good goat cheese)
2 extra-large egg whites, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Fresh white bread crumbs (I used panko crumbs since that's what I had)

2 tablespoons good cider vinegar
2 tablespoons good Champagne vinegar
Pinch sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 extra-large egg yolk
1 cup good olive oil
Enough mixed salad greens for 6 servings
Olive oil and unsalted butter, for frying

Slice the Montrachet into 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices. (The easiest way to slice goat cheese is to use a length of dental floss.) Dip each slice into the beaten egg whites, then the bread crumbs, being sure the cheese is thoroughly coated. Place the slices on a rack and chill them for at least 15 minutes.

For the dressing, place the vinegars, sugar, salt, pepper, and egg yolk in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and blend for 1 minute. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube until the vinaigrette is thickened. Season, to taste.

Toss the salad greens with enough dressing to moisten, then divide them among 6 plates.
Melt 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat until just under smoking. Cook the goat cheese rounds quickly on both sides until browned on the outside but not melted inside. Top each salad with 2 warm rounds and serve.

Opening of Farmer's Market 2009

First of all, this is my 200th post. Wow. That's a lot.

The farmer's market had a soft opening today (grand opening is the first Saturday of May). Even with the weather being in the 40's, it was a great day to get out to see some of the farmers back in the swing of things. I was thrilled since it meant that I will not be spending all my time in the grocery store anymore. To me, the farmer's market means six months of great local vegetables and that spring is really here (finally). While the selection was pretty limited still, I was able to pick up some great stuff.

Here is the list of what I picked up today: salad mix, rosemary, arugula, green onions, spinach, curly parsley and honey.

Everything looks great. I am also hoping that I'll be able to go asparagus picking at one of the local farms next week. Their estimated date of picking is April 15, so I am hoping that they are right on the date. I have plenty of asparagus recipes ready to go!

I am heading out to Kansas City today to hit the Asian markets, so that I can finally make some of the incredibly yummy recipes that Chef Nancy made in her last cooking class that I took. Also, I know that I am behind on my New Orleans posts---I'll work on them soon!

Bolognese Sauce

If you don't know who Alice Waters is, please do me a favor and google her right now. Her Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook is one of the most wonderful cookbooks that I own. The illustrations for the book are gorgeous colored block prints by David Lance Goines and her cookbook is filled with stories and explanations. I have owned this cookbook for a couple of years now, but I had never used it for recipes--only to read the delightful stories and ogle the illustrations. This recipe takes hours to cook plus prep time, so it's not something that you can just whip up quickly and the ingredients aren't cheap. But it's so worth the extra time and effort. Trust me, it's a good one.

Alice Waters' Bolognese Sauce from Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

Yield: Serves 8

1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms
Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, diced fine
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
4 ribs celery, diced fine
1 small carrot, diced fine
Salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1½ pounds skirt steak (or chuck), cut into ¼-inch cubes
4 ounces lean pork shoulder, coarsely ground
1 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
2 cups Basic Beef Stock or Basic Chicken Stock
1½ cups milk
3 tablespoons double-concentrated Italian tomato paste
¼ cup chopped parsley, for garnish
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pepper

Cover the dried porcini with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the porcini from the water, reserving the liquid, and chop the mushrooms fine. Heat a wide heavy-bottomed pan; pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the diced pancetta. After the pancetta has released some fat, add the onion, celery, carrot, and a little salt. When the vegetables have softened somewhat, add the garlic and porcini, and cook until the vegetables are soft. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.

Put the pan back on the heat (you don’t need to wash it), pour in 2 more tablespoons of oil, and when it is hot, add the skirt steak, pork, and a little salt. Cook over medium-high heat until the meat begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the cooked vegetables, wine, bay, and thyme. Adjust the heat to maintain a low simmer and let the sauce cook until the liquid evaporates and the contents begin to brown. Deglaze with 1 cup of the stock and a few tablespoons of the milk; add the tomato paste, making sure to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and stirring the sauce well to incorporate the milk. Continue to cook the sauce gently, adding a few tablespoons of milk and stock now and then. Reduce the sauce until the liquid evaporates and everything begins to brown again; this gives the sauce depth and color. Deglaze with the rest of the stock and milk, stirring and scraping well. Skim the fat that rises to the surface of the sauce. The sauce is done when its texture is velvety and the meat is completely tender, in about 1½ hours. Cool and refrigerate for up to 4 or 5 days.

Reheat and serve over pasta, garnished with the chopped parsley, and pass Parmesan cheese and the pepper mill.

Variation: This basic recipe can be used with other kinds of meat and even poultry—guinea hen is especially good. Another variation worth trying is to add sautéed fresh wild mushrooms at the end of the cooking.

P.S. This is cookbook #31 which means only 120+ to go!

Thai One-Pot

I have been eyeing this recipe for years, but I hadn't gotten around to making it. I finally made it last night to a rave review from my husband. We even ate the leftovers for lunch today, which was just as delicious as it was last night. It's a very simple recipe where you throw everything into one pot, so who can complain about that?

Thai One-Pot from Food & Wine's Quick From Scratch One Dish Meals cookbook

serves 4

1 tbs cooking oil
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips (I chopped them into smaller pieces)
1 red bell pepper, cut into same size as green bell pepper
1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 teas salt
1 1/4 pounds lean ground pork
3/4 cup short grain rice
2 1/2 cups canned low sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
3 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tea cayenne pepper
4 scallions including green tops, chopped
10 radishes, cut into thin slices
5 tbs chopped cilantro or fresh parsley
2 tbs lime juice (from about one lime)

1. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the bell peppers, shiitakes, and 1/4 teas of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove.

2. Add the pork to the pan and cook, stirring, until it is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Spoon off the fat from the pan. Stir in the bell peppers and shiitakes, the rice, broth, soy sauce, the remaining 3/4 teas salt, and the cayenne. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, without removing the lid, until the rice is just done, about 20 minutes.

3 Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in scallions, radish, cilantro, and lime juice.

New Orleans April 2009 Part 1

Right before our trip to New Orleans, I received my April issue of Gourmet in the mail. In the Roadfood section (Roadfood will come up again later), there was an article about roast beef po-boys in New Orleans. There were two restaurants for them that they mentioned and we tried Parkway Bakery and Tavern for our first meal of the trip. It ended up being my favorite meal of the trip. This amazing little place has a bar on one side and sells po-boys on the other.

My surf and turf po-boy. That's a small sized sandwich! Inside was lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, fried shrimp, roast beef and gravy.
It was loaded with so much roast beef and shrimp that I ended up having to eat most of it with a fork! So delicious!

Chris' sandwich was the special of the day called swamp thing. Alligator sausage with gumbo. We also ordered cheese fries. They give you a choice of cheeses too! Perfectly crispy fries with cheese that wasn't hard and crusty.

We almost ate here again the last night of our trip because our first choice was closed on Sundays and we were having difficulties thinking of other places not in the French Quarter to eat at. But Chris' friend ended up suggesting a Spanish restaurant instead that we met up with him at, so I didn't get to eat another one of these incredible po-boys. I am starting to kick myself a little bit about that. Guess I just need to go back!

Saturday Morning Breakfast

This is not something that you should eat everyday, but it's pretty tasty. I had been eyeing this recipe for years now, but having to deep fry things early in the morning isn't always very appealing. I finally got around to trying this out one Saturday and it was well worth the wait! Everyone loved it!

Terrier Toasters from Neiman Marcus' cookbook No Jacket Required

1 loaf Kings Hawaiian Bread or Challah
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teas vanilla
1 tbs maple syrup
cooking oil for deep frying
whipped butter to top toast
powdered sugar to top toast
cinnamon to top toast
sweet ground chocolate to top toast

Cut bread into 2 inch cubes, discarding the crust. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, milk, vanilla and syrup. Pour oil 2 1/2 inches deep into a deep pot. Slowly warm oil until it reaches a near boil. Quickly dip the bread cubes into the batter (do this quickly or it will soak up all your batter!) and submerge them in oil, using tongs. Fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and place on a serving tray. Smother with whipped butter and top with powdered sugar, cinnamon and chocolate.

Note: Nathaniel just used syrup and powdered sugar on his--yummy!