cookiesinheaven

Labels: Louisiana, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, YouTube

Labels: Chris Issak, Holidays, Louisiana, New Orleans, YouTube

Famed New Orleans chef and cook book author Susan Spicer has filed a class action lawsuit against British Petroleum, Halliburton, and Transocean, Ltd. Entered in New Orleans Federal Court, the suit asks for both compensatory and punitive damages - as yet unspecified -- for the harm that has resulted and will result due to the oil spill at BP's Deepwater Horizon undersea well, which occurred on April 20.

As quoted by the New Orleans Times-Picayune on its nola.com blog, the suit says "The massive oil slick created by the continuing discharge of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico has caused or will cause injuries and damages to the Class to the extent that the seafood industry will be closed and the sustainable natural resource of the fishery will be greatly harmed and/or destroyed. Simply put, the oil slick and continuing discharge of crude oil is an ecological and economic disaster for Plaintiff." - Village Voice and NOLA.com

Labels: celebrity chefs, Cookbooks, Lawsuit, New Orleans

Labels: Holidays, New Orleans, YouTube

Labels: Football, Music, New Orleans, YouTube

My Nepenthe weaves together stories and tales about the famous California restaurant perched on the majestic cliffs of Big Sur. It celebrates the magic and history of place through food and the Fassett family who started Nepenthe.

(Mark your calendars for a book signing with the Author, Romney Steele - December 7, 2009 @ 7:00)

"My New Orleans" will change the way you look at New Orleans cooking and the way you see World-famous chef John Besh. It's 16 chapters of culture, history, essay and insight, and pure goodness. Besh tells us the story of his New Orleans by the season and by the dish. Archival, four-color, location photography along with ingredient information make the Big Easy easy to tackle in home kitchens. Cooks will salivate over the 200 recipes that honor and celebrate everything New Orleans.

..A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Cafe Reconcile, a New Orleans-based non-profit organization dedicated to providing at-risk youth an opportunity to learn life and interpersonal skills, and operational training for successful entry into the hospitality and restaurant industries.

Crescent City Farmers' Market Cookbook

Poppy Tooker tells the story of the Crescent City Farmers Market through her distinctly New Orleans voice as one of a local food preservationist, Slow Food New Orleans founder, and longtime market collaborator. With a market tradition dating back to the late 1600s, the story of the rise and decline of New Orleansa city markets prior to the creation of the Crescent City Farmers Market is both educational and entertaining. Tooker recalls whimsical and wacky market events with both prose and archival photography.

Ad Hoc at Home

In the book every home cook has been waiting for, the revered Thomas Keller turns his imagination to the American comfort foods closest to his heart—flaky biscuits, chicken pot pies, New England clam bakes, and cherry pies so delicious and redolent of childhood that they give Proust's madeleines a run for their money. Keller, whose restaurants The French Laundry in Yountville, California, and Per Se in New York have revolutionized American haute cuisine, is equally adept at turning out simpler fare.

Melissa Gray is National Public Radio's Cake Lady. Every Monday she brings a cake to the office for her colleagues at NPR to enjoy. Hundreds of Mondays (and cakes) later, Melissa has lots of cake-making tips to share. With more than 50 recipes for the cakes that have been dreamed of and drooled over for a lifetime. (Listen to the NPR story about the book...here.)

You might be happy when you walk into a store and see a potential Christmas gift at a deep discount. But the American Booksellers Association is not, accusing three giant retailers of "predatory pricing." They've asked the Justice Department to investigate.

The group fears these "book wars" could close the book on many small, independent stores, - CBS News

Labels: Big Sur, Books, cakes, Chaucer's, Cookbooks, New Orleans, NPR

Labels: Cajun, Creole, Louisiana, Mardi Gras, New Orleans

Labels: Mardi Gras, New Orleans, YouTube

Avoid Chilean seabass. Most are caught using bottom longlines, which lead to bycatch of seabirds, most notably the endangered albatross. - Monterey Bay Seafood Watch

One of the worst kept secrets in New Orleans is that "Top Chef: New York," the hit reality series on Bravo,
was in town filming at various locations around town, including Commander's Palace. - NOLA

Labels: New Orleans, Sustainable, Top Chef

Labels: New Orleans, New Year, peace

Place potatoes, celery root and whole garlic cloves in large pot. Add enough cold water to cover vegetables. Salt the water and bring to boil. Cover partially and boil until vegetables are very tender, about 40 minutes. Drain.

Transfer vegetables to large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until almost smooth. Add minced garlic, mascarpone and butter; beat until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.)

Garnish with:

2 Tbsp. Fresh Chopped Parsley

Lemon Crème Frache or Sour Cream with Lemon zest

*Pumpkin Prep: Cut pumpkins in half, clean out, and bake with 1" water in covered pan at 350¾ for approx. 1 hour (until tender to fork), or wash, peel and seed the pumpkins and roast in the oven for about an hour at 350¾. Each method will impart a different flavor and slightly different texture.

Slightly saute chopped leek, onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in butter, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Turn to simmer, then add pumpkin, ginger, apples and sage. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring when needed.

Then add the cider, cinnamon and allspice along with the salt and pepper. Taste before adding the salt, as some chicken stocks are saltier than others. Let all the ingredients meld. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Frontera's Chocolate Pecan Pie

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour (measured by scooping and leveling)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch bits
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening or rich-tasting lard, chilled, and cut into 1/2-inch bits
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk, beaten slightly
2 cups (about 6 ounces) pecan halves (make sure they're fresh and richly flavorful)
6 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (6 ounces) room temperature, unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/2 tablespoons Kahlúa or brandy
2 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 2 cups Sweetened Whipped Cream flavored with Kahluá, for serving

1. The dough. Measure the flour, butter and shortening (or lard) into a bowl or a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Quickly work the fats into the flour with a pastry blender or by pulsing the food processor until the flour looks a little damp (rather than powdery) but tiny bits of fat are still visible. If using the food processor transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Mix together the sugar, salt and 3 tablespoons of ice water. Using a fork, little by little work the ice-water mixture into the flour mixture. The dough will be in rough, rather stiff clumps; if there is unincorporated flour in the bottom of the bowl, sprinkle in a little more ice water and use the fork to work it together. Press the dough together into a flat disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a deep 10-inch glass pie pan (I find it easiest to roll the dough onto the rolling pin, then unroll it onto the pie pan). Decoratively crimp the edge and trim off the excess dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Prebaking the crust. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 15-inch piece of foil and lay it, oiled-side down, into the crust (heavy duty foil is too stiff to work here); press down to line the crust snugly. Fill with beans or pie weights and bake about 15 minutes, until beginning to brown around the edges. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Carefully remove the beans (or weights) and foil, return the crust to the oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes, until it no longer looks moist. (If it bubbles at this point, gently press it down with the back of a spoon.) Brush the beaten egg yolk over the crust, then let cool completely.

3. The nuts and chocolate. While the crust is cooling, spread the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and lightly toast in the oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Cool, then break into small pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Chop the chocolate into rough, 1/2-inch pieces and add to the bowl, along with the flour. Stir until everything is well coated.

4. The filling. In a food processor (or in the large bowl of an electric mixer), cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes in the food processor, 5 minutes in the mixer. With the machine still running, add the eggs one at a time, letting each be completely incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the corn syrup, molasses, Kahlúa or brandy, vanilla and salt.

5. Baking. Pour the filling over the chocolate and pecans and stir well to combine. Pour the mixture into the prebaked pie shell, set onto the lower shelf of the oven and bake until a knife inserted into the center is withdrawn clean, about 1 hour.

Cool completely on a wire rack. Serve slices of the pie at room temperature or slightly warm, topped with a dollop of Kahlúa-spiked, sweetened whipped cream.

1. Cut pumpkin in half crosswise and set cut side down in a 10- by 15-inch pan. Bake in a 350° oven until very soft when pressed, about 1 hour.

2. When cool enough to touch, scoop out and discard pumpkin seeds. Scoop pumpkin flesh from rind and discard rind. Smoothly purée flesh in a blender; you need 2 cups. Seal any extra purée in plastic freezer bags and freeze up to 6 months.

3. In a bowl, beat to blend the 2 cups pumpkin purée, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves. Stir in corn syrup and cream.

4. Set pie crusts in pans on a foil-lined baking sheet. Set baking sheet on the bottom rack of a 350° oven. Pour half the pumpkin mixture into each crust.

5. Bake until pie centers barely jiggle when gently shaken, 50 to 55 minutes. If crust rims start to get too dark, drape affected areas with foil.

6. Cool pies on racks. Serve warm or cool. If making ahead, cover and chill up to 1 day.

Labels: New Orleans, pie, Recipes, Thanksgiving

Labels: hurricane, Katrina, New Orleans

"I went to Dooky Chase
To get me something to eat
The waitress looked at me and said
Ray you sure look beat,
Now its early in the morning
And I ain't got nothing but the blues

—Ray Charles, "Early in the Morning Blues"

Labels: New Orleans, Recipes, Williams Sonoma

Labels: Mardi Gras, Music, New Orleans, NOLA, YouTube

Labels: hurricane, Katrina, New Orleans

Labels: Harry Connick, Music, New Orleans

With a $15,000 grant from Share Our Strength, the New Orleans Food and Farm Network created the Neighborhood Food Access Map, a project that identifies where to find food from grocery stores, farmers’ markets, restaurants and emergency kitchens. The maps, posted in New Orleans neighborhoods and distributed to community organizations where residents can easily find them, have been such a huge success that an online mapping tool has been added to make it even easier for people to access the information.

Learn more about Share Our Strength’s ongoing efforts to support relief in the Gulf Coast.

An NPR story on the lack of SuperMarkets in the Big Easy.

Labels: New Orleans, Share Our Strength, Supermarkets

without a little King Cake, chicory coffee and beignets and cajun/creole flavored blogs.....

Looka! (aka The Gumbo Pages)
Metroblogging New Orleans
Survival of New Orleans Blog
NolaCuisine
Do You Know What It Means (to Miss New Orleans)
Tim's Nameless Blog
Your Right Hand Thief
Third Battle of N.O.
Wet Bank Guide
Traveling Mermaid
Squandered Heritage
NOLA-dishu
Moldy City
Humid City
Building Big Easy
Da Po' Blog
Confederacy of Dunces
Gentilly Girl
The Katrinacrat
Yat Pundit
b.rox
Blagueur
and of course, NOLA.com (the Times-Picayune) with the infamous "Bourbo-Cam!"

Labels: blogs, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, NOLA