Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2016 i Louisiana Cookin'

TW has never once slapped his mama. To tell you the truth, he never even thought about it. While running the Walker family deli in Ville Platte, Louisiana, Anthony Walker (affectionately known by friends and family as “TW”), started his search for a seasoning that had a real Cajun pepper taste without the heavy salt content of the national brands. When he couldn’t find one, he went to work and dreamed one up. TW’s sons, Jack and Joe, were very young back then, and they loved rolling around and causing general bouts of mayhem, as kids of that age often do. So the Walkers put their boys to work rolling an antique glass pickle jar around the floor of the family deli for the express purpose of mixing their homegrown…

Check out Carnival New Orleans News blog (http://blog.carnivalneworleans.com) for updates about Mardi Gras, and some interesting short features about the season. If you need some irresistible eye candy to get you in the mood for all that cooking and eating you will do during Mardi Gras, check out the Mardi Gras Food Instagram page (https://instagram.com/explore/tags/mardigrasfood). My favorite is the purple, green, and gold cauliflower! George Graham’s Acadiana Table (acadianatable.com) is one of my new favorites. Beautiful photos of every recipe — Rum-soaked Coconut Bread Pudding anyone? Click.…

IN UPTOWN NEW ORLEANS, Mardi Gras is a family affair. Each year for the city’s most exciting parades, groups of families and friends troop over to their annual spots and enjoy a few days of reverie (and, of course, great music, dancing, and a whole lot of beads). For folks bringing a blanket and ladder, the Neutral Ground side (often called a median in areas outside the Crescent City) is the side of choice. Kids can run around, and there’s just generally more room to spread out. This year, we set up a parade picnic feast full of some of our favorite classic New Orleans flavors. The cold fried chicken sandwich, topped with a Creole mustard slaw, will become a fast favorite, and the chocolate-drizzled coconut hand pies (inspired by…

KING CAKES HAVE BECOME an obsession around Louisiana during Carnival season. In every grocery store and gas station you’ll find a dizzying variety from traditional tricolor versions to puff-pastry galettes des rois and everything in between. Over the past few years, bakers from around the state have challenged the perception of the king cake, and to great success. About five years ago, 2014 Chef to Watch LisaMarie White unveiled a particularly decadent king cake at Domenica in New Orleans. Her resplendent take on the classic Mardi Gras dessert is a feast for the senses: a tender cake stuffed with pastry cream, topped with a praline glaze, salted caramel, and even flecks of edible gold leaf. During the season, she and her team bake hundreds of them, which are available at…

HIDDEN AWAY IN THE HISTORIC BENTLEY HOTEL in Alexandria, The Mirror Room is a craft cocktail oasis. The barkeeps update the menu frequently, and with a location convenient to some of the downtown Mardi Gras parades, The Mirror Room is sure to be a Carnival hot spot. Stop by and warm up with one of these kicked-up hot toddies. CARAMEL APPLE HOT TODDY MAKES 1 SERVING Courtesy of Tara Coleman and Timothy McLin, The Mirror Room, Alexandria, Louisiana 3 ounces apple cider 2 ounces bourbon* ½ ounce fresh lemon juice Prepared caramel sauce Garnish: lemon twist 1. In a small saucepan, combine cider, bourbon, and lemon juice, and cook over medium heat until hot. Drizzle a heatproof glass with caramel sauce. Add hot cider mixture, and garnish with a lemon…

THERE WAS A TIME, NOT TOO LONG AGO, that there were really just two types of king cake: regular and filled. Sure, there were a lot of filling varieties, but it was essentially the same cake with a different jelly, chocolate, or cream. How lucky are we that this is no longer the case! With classics like Haydel’s and McKenzie’s, stunning showstoppers like the metallic sheened Sucré and LisaMarie White’s opulent, gold-topped Domenica King Cake (recipe on page 83), and bizarre wonders like the boudin king cake, we live charmed lives. That said, here’s the bad news: With Mardi Gras falling on February 9 this year, we have just 35 days of Carnival season. That means we have a lot of king cake eating to do, and not much time…

If you’re in New Orleans during Mardi Gras weekend, get thee to The Irish House on St. Charles Avenue, the Irish pub and restaurant run by Chef Matt Murphy. Matt, the father of five (including quadruplets), is one of the nicest guys in the business. We sat down with him to find out what goes on there during Mardi Gras. The Irish House is one of the busiest spots on the parade route—what’s going on that attracts so many parade-goers? Everything! Outside we have stands for seating, and our whole parking lot area is filled with customers. We have bands playing between parades; we’ve got buffets, and everyone just sort of tailgates at their tables. They can go in and out as much as they want, and everything is very…

2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups chopped yellow onion 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic 1 pound Conecuh Hickory Smoked Sausage, chopped 3 quarts chicken broth 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained 8 cups chopped fresh turnip greens 1 tablespoon Conecuh Pork, Poultry, and Wild Game Seasoning 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 11/2 teaspoons salt 3 (15.8-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained 1. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Add greens, Conecuh Seasoning, vinegar, salt, and peas. Reduce heat to low; simmer until greens are tender, about 10 minutes. Yield: 10 to 12 servings FROM BACKYARD COOKOUTS TO TAILGATE PARTIES, IS A SOUTHERN FAVORITE AND…

BAYOU BOUNTY STARTING IN LAFAYETTE AND CONTINUING SOUTHEAST TOWARD HOUMA, HUNGRY TRAVELERS CAN FILL UP ON AUTHENTIC CAJUN CULTURE AND CUISINE. SUGAR CANE FIELDS, ROADSIDE BOUDIN VENDORS AND IDYLLIC BAYOU SCENERY WILL LEAVE VISITORS CRAVING MORE. WHERE THE BAYOU MEETS THE GULF From Louisiana’s earliest inhabited days, the waterways and fertile farmland of the Bayou Bounty Culinary Trail have provided chefs with raw material for the area’s famed cuisine. Here, the marshy streams called bayous meet the Gulf of Mexico to create the perfect environment for shrimp, crabs, crawfish and an array of fish and other wildlife found in Cajun and Creole cooking. From the rice farmers and cattle ranchers of Acadiana to the oystermen and fishermen of Bayou Lafourche, centuries of Louisianians have made their livings from the area’s…

FRY SOME CHICKEN, break out your most comfortable shoes, and count the days until Tuesday, February 9, 2016 – Mardi Gras! Carnival celebrations are now found nearly everywhere in Louisiana, and make no mistake—food is still one of the essential elements of a successful Carnival. NEW IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS The latest entrant to Chef John Besh’s ever-growing restaurant collection is Willa Jean in New Orleans. This time, James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef Kelly Fields and 2014 Louisiana Cookin’ Chef to Watch LisaMarie White collaborated to open a brightly lit, cavernous bakery in New Orleans’ developing South Paul A. Greenberg is an inveterate local diner who has been covering the New Orleans restaurant scene in local, regional, and national publications for 20 years. Market District. What makes Willa Jean unique is…

WITH MARDI GRAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, we’re busy planning menus that will impress our guests and spotlight all of the best seasonal Louisiana seafood. These baked oysters topped with a bright gremolata feature classic New Orleans flavors and look as good as they taste when plated in reusable ceramic oyster dishes (these are from Loftin Oysters). The beautifully handcrafted ceramic dishes also help save time in the kitchen, since you can use a pint of freshly shucked Louisiana oysters, rather than shucking your own. BAKED OYSTERS WITH GREMOLATA MAKES 1 DOZEN 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces ½ cup thinly sliced leeks 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic ½ cup white wine 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice ½ cup heavy whipping cream ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon…

TUCKED AWAY IN A HISTORIC BUILDING in New Orleans’ French Quarter, 2013 Chef to Watch Alex Harrell is producing refined Southern classics at his newest venture, Angeline. The restaurant, given a family name, is inspired by the character of his mother. “It’s the name of my mom’s great grandmother, whom she’s named after” Alex says. “I wanted the restaurant to have a family connection, and it sounds corny but I wanted the place to have a certain elegance and charm, and every time I said those words, I thought of my mom and the kind of person she is ” Alex has made his way as an emerging chef through a lifetime of experience working with seasonal and accessible products. Growing up in Alabama, Alex spent his childhood on his…

A CLASSIC MARDI GRAS TREAT THOUGH A CLOSE COUSIN to the hundreds of s’mores I indulged in as a child, MoonPies always felt like a rarity to me. While I could find an excuse to secretly toast marshmallows over the gas stove in my kitchen at virtually any time of the year, MoonPies were only thrown, quite literally, into my life during Mardi Gras. Sure, the endless supply of bright pink bubble gum and Tootsie Rolls handed over by riders on horseback and Shriners in impossibly small cars was exciting for any kid, but there was nothing more exhilarating than the race to pick up as many MoonPies as I could hold in my arms before the other kids got to them. Years have passed since I risked my life…

Ask any Louisianian their favorite spot for gumbo and you’ll most likely hear some honor-bound version of “my momma’s house.” This melting pot of flavors is a diverse, highly personal dish that varies from region to region and, within the region, from stove to stove. There are as many different types of gumbos as there are cooks, with variations in roux, ingredients, and technique putting an intimate spin on each and every bowl. In the Bayou State, gumbo is a season of its own. The first hint of a chill in the air sends home cooks flocking to the kitchen, ready to recreate the heartwarming magic of hot gumbo on a cold day. Gumbo is often the main feature of social gatherings during this time with large pots of gumbo…

IF YOU’VE LOOKED AT YOUR COOKBOOK collection lately and decided it could use a little more taste and decency, you’re in luck. Fans of New Orleans’ most iconic novel, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, will find a delightful culinary companion in Cynthia LeJeune Nobles’ A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook: Recipes from Ignatius J. Reilly’s New Orleans (LSU Press, 2015). Filled with almost 200 charming recipes typical of 1960s era New Orleans as well as fascinating Confederacy of Dunces trivia, the cookbook is divided into chapters representing the various characters, locations, and businesses mentioned in the novel. A handy glossary and list of characters help bring the novel to life for those unacquainted with John Kennedy Toole’s comedic tour de force. In “Goodies from the German’s” you’ll find…

Spanish Town Mardi Gras February 6 • Baton Rouge MARDI GRAS IS A RAUCOUS TIME of celebration in many of Louisiana’s towns, but one neighborhood in Baton Rouge has been perfecting its Fat Tuesday festivities for over thirty years. Back in the day (way back in the day—1803) our Capital City wasn’t part of Louisiana at all. Not included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the burgeoning town on the Mississippi River was considered part of the province of West Florida. Around that time, a group of Canary Islanders settled along the street now known as Spanish Town Road. In the Anglo-dominated city, the tiny Spanish community kept to itself, and though the neighborhood’s inhabitants have changed many times over, the tradition of “otherness” still exists today. Its relative autonomy…

JANUARY 1 Allstate Sugar Bowl New Orleans allstatesugarbowl.org 9 Queens’ Pageant Lake Charles swlamardigras.com 8-9 Fur and Wildlife Festival Cameron lafurandwildlifefestival.com 13–17 Jewish Film Festival Baton Rouge brjff.com 15-17 Louisiana Marathon Baton Rouge thelouisianamarathon.com 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration New Iberia 337.369.2337 iberiatravel.com 20 Krewe Of Golden Years Lake Charles swlamardigras.com 20-27 Cinema on the Bayou Lafayette cinemaonthebayou.com 23 Vinton Mardi Gras Celebration Vinton swlamardigras.com 29 Krewe of Cork New Orleans kreweofcork.com 30 Mardi Gras Bash Shreveport-Bossier shreveport-bossier.org/mardi-gras City of Sulphur Mardi Gras Parade Sulphur swlamardigras.com Opelousas Gumbo Cook-off Opelousas facebook.com/thegumbocookoff FEBRUARY 2 Cajun Ground Hog Day New Iberia 337.365.6773 j.mp/CajunGroundhogDay 4–6 Southwest District Livestock Show & Rodeo Parade Lake Charles swlamardigras.com 6–7 Courir de Mardi Gras Church Point churchpointmardigras.com 5-9 Eunice Courir de Mardi Gras Eunice eunice-la.com…