If you ever see the Spicy Creole Tomato ones, buy every bag. They are Tabasco-tomato flavored deliciousness.
@Kat - It's actually the Faded Rose. I am hooked on their half-and-half poboy (fried shrimp and oysters) or roast beef poboy with a side of fries and buttermilk dressing. I grew up eating their frog legs and fried artichoke hearts, but when I moved back from Louisiana I was hooked on poboys and fell for the ones at the Rose. Thank goodness they use the right bread!
I will have to try the one at CBG though!
By itself, or with figs or fig spread.
@RegrettableFoodie - I wouldn't say it's impossible to get a poboy elsewhere. My favorite restaurant here gets Leidenheimer bread brought in and they are exactly like what I get when I'm back in NOLA. I do think the vast majority of restaurants don't go that far though...
@deglazer - When I want a poboy, I want a drippy roast beef, a fried shrimp/oyster, or even a crabcake poboy from Johnny's in the Quarter. One of my absolute favorite poboys is a Creole meatloaf poboy, which is very typical of the Italian influence in NOLA. But really, the poboy is constantly changing. I think the poboy has just become a vehicle for "fusion," just like we now see Korean tacos and the like. I personally prefer the usual poboys you see on menus in NOLA, but just about 80 years ago poboys were nothing more than potatoes and gravy on French bread and nobody probably thought it would become one of the quintessential foods of NOLA - it was just a way to feed poor workers on strike. It's an evolving food.
I love green chile cheese grits! I add a beaten egg and then bake them and they puff up and are so light and fluffy. Yum.
@redfish - We say po'boys because New Orleanians often don't pronounce the "R" at the end of a word, and over time it just got shortened as a result. It's just part of the accent. If you don't like it, then call it a poor boy.
And I'm okay with random things being in a poboy so long as it's on the correct bread - NOLA-style french bread (i.e. Leidenheimers), crusty on the outside and super airy on the inside. The bread is the determining factor between whether it's a poboy or just a plain ol' sandwich. My neices went to the festival and one of them had a thanksgiving poboy with dressing, cranberries, turkey, etc. and said it was really delicious. I just really want that BBQ shrimp poboy... that sounds heavenly!
@Kat - is Grav okay? I hope it was a minor reaction.
The no-bake pumpkin chocolate mousse pie and the cranberry walnut pie are both going on our dinner table for Thanksgiving. That orange chocolate hazelnut tart looks amazing too, but I did a chocolate cashew ginger tart last year so I think I need to branch out...
@Regrettablefoodie - I have the same memories. My grandmother always had cans of TAB in her pantry. She died when I was 16, and I've never, ever seen TAB that it didn't immediately make me think of her.
@Kenji - RC Cola is available all over the South I think. It's in several groceries here. It's pretty delicious actually, though I haven't had it in a long time.
You have to order them scattered and CRISP (with onions, whatever that is) so each little potato shred gets lovely brown and crispy. Best way!
I used to love these kinds of creamers and would drink a lot of them. Then, I read the ingredients. Blech. I have been drinking So Delicious plain coconut creamer, and it is pretty dang good. No weird chemically taste like the other non-dairy creamers.
This is brilliant... however, if I had roasted bone marrow it would never make it into the pan. My hubs and I would eat all of it before I had a chance to cook with it I think. The marrow is really the best part of osso bucco.
Another Louisiana vote that I've never, ever seen or even heard of okra in jambalaya. Okra is delicious, but I'm not sold that it has a place in jambalaya. Interesting idea though and I'd be willing to give it a shot.
@missfishhooks is right, there is a widespread debate about tomatoes in jambalaya. I personally don't use them and generally don't like jambalaya with tomatoes. I was always taught to make good jambalaya, use a cast iron dutch oven and cook the andouille and dark meat chicken pieces until they are deeply browned and the bottom of the pot has lots of yummy dark bits all over it. That's what gives it the brown-ish color and good flavor. I definitely think it needs a bay leaf too.
I love my electric pressure cooker. Just set the timer, and it senses when there is enough pressure to start the count down, and then it automatically shuts itself off when it's done. You also can't open it without releasing the pressure, so it doesn't risk blowing everything up when you take off the lid. No worrying!
I'll have to try this recipe, I am always looking for new recipes to make with my pressure cooker.
@Lauren - could I use almond meal in place of grinding my own almonds? I have some in my freezer that I use in gluten-free recipes that would save a step.
NM red and green chile sauces have no match... they are amazing! I am so happy that you are writing about them, because not enough people know of their deliciousness. We make red chile sauce from whole dried chiles, and I think it turns out better than making it with the powder. Either way, make a massive batch, it freezes exceptionally well. We're actually having enchiladas with red chile sauce for dinner tonight!
When you drink the Shocktop pumpkin beer, be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle about how to pour it out. If you drink it straight from the bottle it's terrible. When you pour it out following the instructions, it tastes better (though not great). But honestly, I don't want a beer with instructions.
@jotthedot - Arkansas also has its own state fair. The OK/AR border towns just also have one combined, probably because the other state fairs are so far away. The AR fair isn't for a couple weeks I think.
Link sells this sandwich at Cochon in NOLA, and it's truly something to behold. We've made this sandwich before, and it's pretty amazing. I need to make one soon.
Knife skills. And salting/tasting along the way.
You can order fabulous andouille from Creole Country Sausage Company in New Orleans. We happened on this place last time we were in NOLA and got bunches of andouille, tasso, boudin, head cheese, and chaurice to bring back home with us. When you order, order all of that stuff because it's delicious! We grilled the chaurice (think Cajun version of smoked chorizo - influence from the Spanish rule over Louisiana) and it was fabulous. I'd never even heard of it before but my NOLA-born father-in-law asked us to track some down for him on our trip. I was so glad we did!!
@JGordon - Ro-tel is easy to find across the South.
I know most people down here make cheese dip with just Velveeta and Ro-Tel, but it's honestly really boring and you need to add cumin and chile powder to make it delicious.
My favorite cheese dip is much like this - sauteed poblano/jalepenos/onions, can of stewed tomatoes, roux, can of evaporated milk, monterrey jack cheese - cooked down then put under the broiler. That burnt-cheese crust that forms is the best part.
Pimento cheese on really soft white sliced bread is a bit of heaven on a plate.
I made this for Cashew Coconut Tart for Thanksgiving last year and it was amazing. It is super ginger-y and delicious!
Holy gracious. Did anyone else watch this disaster tonight? While the food was interesting, Marcel proved that he is still the arrogant jerk that he was on both seasons of Top Chef. He was rude to that girl working for him, and I really hoped that party planner was going to tell him off when Marcel started acting like a petulant child.
Please, surely someone else was as annoyed with him as I was??
On the brand loyalty thread, there was a big discussion about 6 in 1 tomatoes. What is so great about them? I've never heard of them at all, and before I order them I wanted some more information. Sounds like people are pretty hooked on them.
My husband lived in Chicago for four years and has traveled Canada extensively and always talks about poutine and how awesome it is. I'd like to try to make some, but I don't know how to get my hands on the right cheese curds for poutine.
Can you make the cheese curds? If so, how? If not, can someone recommend a good place to order the curds from?
So my husband and I visited NYC over the summer and had real Sichuan food for the first time and he's now addicted to Sichuan peppercorns.
I bought some peppercorns from our Asian grocery but I don't know if I need to do anything to prep them for use. Do they need to be toasted at all before use? Is there anything I need to do to bring out their flavor and tingly-ness before I cook with them?
I hate throwing food away. I always find a way to incorporate leftovers into another recipe/meal, make soup with the scraps of things, etc. However, I did all the food for a bridal shower this weekend and was told there would be 50 people there and the bride wanted cucumber sandwiches. Well, only 19 showed and now I have a 12-oz container of cream cheese with fresh mint left over and at least two whole cucumbers sliced thinly left. Any ideas on what to do with them? Obviously neither will freeze, which would have been my go-to idea if I couldn't immediately cook with them.
The only recipes I've found so far are to blend artichoke hearts with minted cream cheese for a dip, or a variation on pasta with mint, cream, and peas.
This is my new favorite expression of the chocolate and peanut butter combination. The chocolate layer, which is not quite a ganache but not quite a pudding, complements the light, airy peanut butter mousse perfectly. The graham cracker crust provides a crunchy contrast, and the whole thing feels very adult. Or maybe, more accurately: adult, with a nod to childhood. More
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I made this for dinner and it was outstanding. Such a fabulous, easy dinner. I used pre-made pesto and it worked great. The only thing I would change is that the beans/pesto needed more salt before serving.