Mayhaw Man
-
Posts
4,893 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by Mayhaw Man
-
-
Ok, so, for years, we had a house on Napoleon Ave and we had some big parties. We didn't invite a soul. The parades formed up down the street (have you ever had the Clydesdales dumping in front of your house in the middle of a lovely Sunday afternoon? No, I thought not. Pride doesn't even begin to explain it.) and people just started showing up. A 14 foot, wide body, aluminum skiff full of fresh beer didn't hurt, but it wouldn't have mattered much, as many of the guests brought lots of their own, easy to carry, natural grain or grape products.
We had some kind of great, bulk food (gumbo, jambalaya, ettoufee and rice, etc.) and usually the "guests" showed up with something or other-often whole sacks of oysters-and we would do stuff with the last minute food, as well. All you need in Louisiana is a kitchen, something (damned near anything, we eat it if it doesn't eat us first and we cook it way better than you) to cook, and some folks hanging around in the kitchen worrying about the parade timing and why the Jazz Fest schedule is so screwed up with carpetbaggers and out of town has beens, and you're all set for a great meal in the Gret Stet. There is never a shortage of folks here who are willing to show off whatever skill that they have with the pots, pans and grease; not only because they can really cook, but also because it gets them out of feeling guilty about not washing said pots and pans when it's all done.
One of the things that you could ALWAYS depend on, and still can, though, was a big box of Popeye's from the conveniently located Popeye's around the corner on Magazine St. That and lots of ice. If you can't do anything homemade in New Orleans and you KNOW that you SHOULD ALWAYS SHOW UP AT PARADE PARTIES WITH SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE in hand, Popeye's and/or Ice are two sure fire ways to not encourage ugly backtalk for the weeks to come.
Today, my friend Judy Walker has a nice blog chunk in the Picayune about just how true the "Popeye's home delivery by your friends" thing really is. We like us some spicy chikken more than you do. Alot more...
http://blog.nola.com/judywalker/2009/02/po...ats_and_mo.html
Fried chicken, as a general thing, and Popeye's, specifically, is great parade food. It's easy to carry around, piece by piece, easy to eat, the waste is mostly completely biodegradable (suitable for flying rats and feral cats-something that NOLA is showing no shortage of), and it's awfully tasty for the price.
I live a few blocks from there now, and, not coincidentally, got a call last night about 5. The caller was wondering about the parking chances in my drive. I offered to move my junky ass Oldsmobile, as there was still a spot in front of the house for me to park this aging icon of Detroit in, and to let them park there. The guy, who has 3 chirrens under the age of ten, was really grateful. I figured he would show up, want to let everyone use the can, and be on his way to the parades 3 blocks away.
Sure enough, I was right (hey, it happens) but it got better. His wife got out of the passenger seat of the inevitable SUV with a big box of Popeye's. It was hard to be ungrateful. Once they were done handling their bidness in my bathrooms and had grabbed cold refreshments(which, they had, but mine were handier at the moment of need. No hard feelings), he finally (I suppose he was mentally working up to it) asked if they could use the drive for the rest of the weekend. I thought about it a minute, and, did what I knew that I should do as a kind and decent human being. I handed him an extra key, gave him the door code, and told him that I would be requiring chicken on Monday afternoon. He didn't even hesitate. Chicken on Monday is a guaranteed deal.
Welcome to New Orleans. Bring a gift if you want a parking spot and a bathroom. If you have alot of friends, bring your own beer.
Now, hurry up, I can hear them turning the corner at St Chuck and Napoleon. We gotta go...
-
But hewing to the topic rules,I'd grab a couple of pots that remind me of good times.
Pots or pot? One burns easier than the other. This would be a better question, though easier to answer.
Assuming it's pots, I would grab one before all others, as it's really old and I don't think that it would make it. The Drip Drop Baster would go with me and as much artwork as I could grab (already have the list of art-it leaves for hurricanes, too).
-
I pretty much hack, but with a slicing motion. I learned the method watching old movies showing explorers struggling through the jungles and leading the way with their machetes. It's a bit showy and dangerous, but it works for me.
-
Thanks. That's just what I needed.
-
Preferably in Midtown if possible.
Any ideas?
-
I did not go out last night. I spend most of my time among folks in the bidness and, we have all said for years, New Year's Eve is amateur night. If I want to go out and whoop it up, I generally would rather do it with a much lower key crowd. In New Orleans, especially with the Sugar Bowl Crowd, sometimes it's better to just stay home. Besides, all of my buddies had to work, so, New Year's Day is a much bigger, and much more relaxed, deal.
I went to my friend Sue and Mario's house around the corner from mine. Sue's a big deal pastry chef and so the desserts were laid in advance of any annoying appearances of sto' bought ice cream (then again, she's not a snob. She's the one that named my Coconut Cake "Crack Cake."
We also had some killer breakfast egg and cheese casserole, black eyed peas with andouille, cabbage and vinegar (German style, delicious) , Boudin brought in from my newly returned friend, Pableaux Johnson (real jobs suck, as P just found out)and a ton of other stuff.
I spent the day, yesterday, smoking 43 pounds of butts and shoulders on the pair of twin Webers. They all finished up at around 185F and were cooked, completely, over pecan wood. Apparently, I didn't screw it up. You would have thought it was 1983 and I was dishing up Peruvian Marching Powder to an admiring bunch of Disco Freaks. There was none left. Not even the grease. I was very pleased.
She had done up a bunch of flute with sugar around the rim, and so those that were into it had cava mixed with various fruit juices and stuff. I didn't do any of that (allergies in this bizarre weather are killing me) but they seemed to be going down pretty well.
There were also a large ice chest full of Black Bay Oysters for those that knew what to do with them. Oh Boy! I did. Thanks Mike.
Tonight, I'm going to yet another " Lord, I'm glad that we have the day off" crowd. Looking forward to a good meal and good company, though it will be hard to top the Ceravalo's shindig.
Happy New Year to All.
-
I've tried it with a few different flours types -- rice was a disaster, all-purpose white is best.
This brings up an interesting question to me as I occasionally cook for gluten intolerant friends: What other grains CAN you make a roux with?
Does rice flour work outside the microwave? (white or bown?)
What about corn or potato or amaranth or chickpea?
I'm sure that wheat is the best but are there acceptable alternatives?
Consensus on my stretch of the bayou points to rice flour as an acceptable substitute (browned in the oven or on the stovetop, not in the microwave). Several gluten-insensitive older people have mentioned it to me. I don't think I've run across any folks using chickpea, potato, or amaranth.
Cornstarch's qualities are so utterly and completely different--both physically and chemically--I can't see it browning at all, and it imparts a distinctive mouthfeel quite objectionable to traditional cooks. In fact, the use of cornstarch as a thickener will get you talked about--and not in a good way. As in "what a waste of seafood--they put CORNSTARCH in their crawfish etouffee. Eat before you go to visit them!"
After The Thing, I ended up cooking pretty regularly for someone who has celiac. We used rice flour all of the time for roux (we ate alotta home stuff for a while, as it just seemed right and there weren't that many places open yet). It works fine, though the ratios seem to be a bit different than with a.p. flour. It seemed that I had to use a bit more than one to one as the flour thinned out differently than a.p. Worked fine though.
-
I bake alot of cakes. I love cakes. More than pie.
I am a giant proponent of parchment usage. With the cake linked to above, I actually put butter on the UPSIDE of the parchment. It browns a bit, but always gives me a smooth takeaway. Additionally, I regularly butter the sides of the pan (9 inch rounds, in this case) and never have any issues with sticking.
-
Cajun Kate's (which is still our favorite gumbo)
Mine too. Granted Don has four years in as saucier and then sous chef at Emeril Lagasse’s NOLA, but can his gumbo really be as good as any found in the New Orleans?
If I were to be passing through New Orleans in early November, where might I pause for a worthy comparison?
Edited to add: painfully alluring pics throughout this thread.
OK, a question on Gumbo's. So far I've had two this trip to New Orleans - Seafood gumbo from Casamento's and turkey and alligator sausage from Parkway. These were ok, but totally different from Cajun Kates in PA. Both were in a broth, and more like soups. Totally different from Cajun Kates, which is much richer and complex.
Is this lighter, broth-like base representative of the gumbos I'll find in New Orleans, or does it just depend on where in New Orleans that I order my gumbo?
Edit: Maybe answering my own questions. Gumbos are either thickened with okra or file. Both the ones I've had so far in New Orleans had okra.
Why am I never in town when you are? Hell, I would make you the real thing.
Gumbo is a soup. I like it that way. The roux, used to thicken and flavor, is an enhancement. When you get a gumbo that's thick like glue, you might enjoy it, but it's not what you might commonly find in NOLA or South La. The game here is that you don't want to overwhelm the ingredients that, especially in the case of seafood gumbo, you paid alot of money for. A good gumbo should be a balance, not an example of one flavor dominating the rest.
Call up Dooky Chase and see if they are open tonight or tomorrow. Get a bowl of "Gumbo Z'Herbes" and a bowl of seafood (and chicken and sausage if Leah has it on the menu). You'll get a range of great stuff in a really historical locale.
Have a great trip. You scored on the weather today. Really nice.
Best,
B
-
Ok, so here's the thing.
Tonight, because of a car in the shop, a miraculous victory for the Saints, and alot of yard work, I didn't make it to the grocery.
No big deal, you say? Well, maybe not to you. But, for me, it was huge.
I had a giant pile of leg quarters, some onions, bell peppers, and some celery, and not much else. Especially no BUTTER.
What I wanted for dinner was simple. Stewed chicken with biscuits. Now, this might have been easily attainable, excepting the butter shortage. I looked in the icebox and found a GIANT can of chicken fat left over from some former project. I decided that "fat was fat" and went ahead on with the biscuits.
Turns out, I might have been making a mistake all of these years. Chicken fat makes swell biscuits. As I type, I am mowing through a plate of them and they are light and delicious. Stunningly so. Just look at the recipe above, replace the butter with chicken fat, and you're on your way.
SO, disregard previous instructions and freeze some chicken fat. You'll be glad you did.
-
Thanks to the inspirational discussion on this thread, I just enjoyed a roasted chicken sandwich.
I made it in the broiler on my totally cheap, and remarkably well made, Kenmore oven.
It consisted of
Roasted chicken
Blue cheese from John Folse sprinkled with some outstanding, freshly great parm
thinly sliced red onions (on top of the cheese)
thinly sliced cherry tomatoes covering the other piece of bread
A ton of fresh ground black pepper
Once it was cooked, I put a bit of homemade, basil mayo and some Zatarain's mustard on it.
I then consumed it, and decided, correctly, that another was in order so I did it all over again.
I paired this with Golden Flake Potato Chips, some of Brooksie's pickles, and a hunk of leftover coconut cake for dessert.
Thomas Keller did not eat a better lunch. Too bad for him.
Now I'm off to plumb a new kitchen for a friend with a big house that needs a real plumber (as opposed to that Joe guy).
-
Randi,
I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I told you that there was a reason that my friend Sue calls the thing "crack cake."
And, judging by the number of people who looked me up and figured out my email address, you weren't alone in your holiday baking extravaganza. I write stuff with recipes all of the time, but I have never gotten the volume of email that I got off of this thing. Most of them were in love with the cake, but a few got into the middle of it and realized that it was a whole bunch of work and complained mightily (though they mostly finished it and loved it).
-
My husband's relatives either don't cook much or are vegetarians. We go to a family house at the beach for Thanksgiving, but my husband and I make the turkey and the stuffing and we have no competition for the carcass. If we couldn't have it I would refuse to go! When we got back home on Saturday afternoon my husband found my neighbors had thrown their carcass in the green bin. I was ready to retrieve it, that's how much I covet a carcass. I didn't, but we did tell my neighbors to save their next one.
MayhawMan: where's a recipe for turkey gumbo? Do you need a lot of leftover turkey meat? Our carcass doesn't have lot of meat by the time it gets back home.
I'm not MayhawMan, but I did make this Leftover Holiday Turkey Gumbo from Gumbopages this year and it was fantastic. I halved it and used a little under 3 quarts of turkey stock and I still have a lot of gumbo left since there's only two of us.
Well, you can always look at this, though the photos, sadly, don't show up because of the nightmare of a website problem, but if you need any help, please shoot me an email. I would be happy to help.
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=567233
Best,
B
-
Bought a ton of meyer lemons for .99/lb from Economical on Vets in Metairie...
Will begin preserving shortly..
Don't just preserve! Make some Lemoncello! The stuff is great. Those thin skins, mmmmm>
Delivered a bunch of jars to DC this weekend (Oh, did I mention that Homeland Security is annoying as Hell?). For a late night palate cleanser, this delicious elixir is hard to refuse and impossible to beat.
-
I made stock from two carcasses. I froze some of it and the remainder, as I type, is busy becoming turkey and andouille gumbo. I'll score some big points tonight when the bowls hit the table. I love doing this.
Do people where you are from get in fights at holiday meals over the possession of the carcass. In South Louisiana, or in this case, expat Louisianians in DC and Virginia, certainly do. I won, but I'm sure that it won't be forgotten anytime soon by the small minded and stingy hosts of the various meals that I enjoyed over the holiday weekend.
Too bad for them.
-
I love deviled ham.
When I was growing up there were several things along this line that came in kind of a pecking order.
1) Potted Meat-This is a finely ground mixture of whatever is not good enough to go into cut rate hot dogs. Very smooth, very salty, and very good on saltines. It doesn't make much of a sandwich, as it's a bit much for that, but it's great dipped out of a can with a half of a premium saltine. I ate mound of it over the years, usually sitting on the tailgate of a truck in the back of a cotton field or as I rode, for miles and miles and miles, 6 rows at a time, in fields that were a square mile in size (that's 640 acres for you keeping score at home). It's pretty hard to beat, but, as was said above, everything I am mentioning here may well be an acquired taste, and this would probably be at the bottom of the pack for neophytes.
2) Vienna Sausages (pronounced, correctly, as "VIE-eena)- now these are delicious, though, perhaps, an acquired taste. Happily, I acquired it in the front of a 12 foot boat being piloted by my grandfather as we FLYFISHED (believe me, this alone, made the whole thing odd. Flyfishing for bass, especially in the 60's as your only method of catching, was beyond unusual and it still is today. He was a well known master of the craft. I'm sure it was especially nightmarish for him, as having a kid slinging a 14 foot rod with a very heavy popping bug around is not exactly approved by the National Fishing Safety Association. Then again, we had stuff to drive that went as fast as cars when we were 12, so I guess it's all about degrees of safety and choosing your moments). We would have Vienna's and Tom's Peanut Butter Cheese Crackers as a side dish. I would wash them down with Delaware Punch, a highly underrated drink, IMO) and he would have some coffee out of his cool, state of the art for back then, stainless thermos (which, as I type, is behind me on the top of the kitchen cabinet and still works like a champ-cork stopper and all). All of the fish went into an aluminum Jax Beer cooler (that I still have, and, while fishing, served as my seat in his junky ass boat) and, later that morning, the bounty was split between us and my other grandparents (who conveniently lived next door to them). Lunch would be, always, fried bass and a selection of fresh vegetables. I would give up 10 years just for one more long morning like that. And I'm not kidding one bit. I knew they were special then, but today, 30 years later, I know exactly what they were and I miss them more than I will ever be able to express in words. That kind of thing only comes around once in life.
3) Deviled Ham-Now, I have a great appreciation for the canned product. It's kind of the classier cousin of potted meat. Not nearly as smooth and full of spices that, I gather, are a bit much for the potted meat crowd. This stuff, on light bread with a thin sliced tomato, some thinly sliced sweet pickles, and a slather of Blue Plate Mayo, makes a fine sandwich. A really fine one.
But it gets better when you make your own out of some smoked ham, homemade mayo, red onion, celery, alot of black pepper, a little salt, and a little cayenne. If you take this, put it on some really good, crusty bread, with a homegrown, fully ripe tomato and some bread and butter pickles, even some food geek like Thomas Keller or Steven Shaw would be axing for mo'.
And that's the story. I'm sticking to it.
-
Just got back. Was certainly just as crowded as last year, and that really led to lessened enjoyment for me. Decent selection of restaurants, good prices. Being shoulder to shoulder with everyone else there, constantly milling about, really was not fun.
I got a little excited about Squeal-- a new "BBQ" joint on Oak, but I had a pulled pork sandwich and the excitement evaporated. No smoke, tons of gloppy sauce, more slaw than pork. No go.
I went down for just a bit, wanting to see some music, more than anything else. That didn't exactly work out. It was entirely too crowded to wade into, and, trust me, I'm not afraid of, nor do I dislike, crowds. But, they do make it hard to do something casual, free or not, without trying much harder than "casual" should require. I just wasn't into it today.
I'm afraid that this thing needs to move to expand to the point where they are using more than the area they currently occupy. Entirely too tight. I went to meet some folks and just generally run into some people I know, but I ended up getting back on my bike and going for a long ride on the levee, even though that's not exactly what I had in mind when I left my house.
On the other hand, congrats to everyone involved. It's nice to see things that work, especially in this place that has so many things that don't work. I hope that everyone had a great time. It looked like they were to me.
-
-
OK, here's the thing. I just spent two days making cakes. This cake only.
I have a party to go to tomorrow night and have to bring dessert, but I was mainly making it for some photos required by the crazy demanding Calipoutine (an unaplogetic fan of coconut cake). I'll post them shortly, as right now it would be a pain on this connection.
At any rate, if you can tell me that some pan full of goo is better than this cake, and convince me that you are right, we'll work something out for a home baked cake. I like to travel, so what the heck?
It's about 5 recipes bound into one and, well, damned tasty. Give it a try. It's not easy, takes some time and some not easy to find components, but it's worth the trouble. There is, truly, a reason my friends call it " crack cake".
And if you want to see the better photos, you can probably find them at this month's
"Southern Living" site and for sure in the magazine (I'm not really that bald-they were just trying to make us into everymen".
Pie? feh.
A good cake whomps a good pie any day of the week. Period.
I'm still waiting for the pics!!
As I type, I'm baking six rounds. I promise that I will send you finished results when I am all done.
-
OK, here's the thing. I just spent two days making cakes. This cake only.
I have a party to go to tomorrow night and have to bring dessert, but I was mainly making it for some photos required by the crazy demanding Calipoutine (an unaplogetic fan of coconut cake). I'll post them shortly, as right now it would be a pain on this connection.
At any rate, if you can tell me that some pan full of goo is better than this cake, and convince me that you are right, we'll work something out for a home baked cake. I like to travel, so what the heck?
It's about 5 recipes bound into one and, well, damned tasty. Give it a try. It's not easy, takes some time and some not easy to find components, but it's worth the trouble. There is, truly, a reason my friends call it " crack cake".
And if you want to see the better photos, you can probably find them at this month's
"Southern Living" site and for sure in the magazine (I'm not really that bald-they were just trying to make us into everymen".
Pie? feh.
A good cake whomps a good pie any day of the week. Period.
-
A friend whose opinion I respect recently went to Delmonico, and enjoyed it, so maybe I should give it a shot.
I am a flat out fan of Delmonico. My SO is nuts about it, and she knows her way round restaurants all over the world, both as an operator and a diner, and it's gotten to be a habit. The tartare is as good as it gets and the "12 oz" beef filet generally is about the size of an elephant filet and perfectly cooked. Whatever the grilled fish is has never disappointed either.
I like the service, alot, and I wish that they were busier on a regular basis. I seem to end up there on weeknights and it's never very busy. Certainly this helps out with really good service (though not overattentive-which I appreciate. That whole " two sips of water and a refill is immediate" thing kind of drives me nuts). Both of the wine stewards (#2 is a relatively young man who knows his stuff really well. He has a particular like for big Spanish reds, one of my old favorites) know what they are doing and don't attempt to oversell. Also, they don't overpour just to see if you will cough up for another bottle. Nice touch.
It's also conveniently right on the streetcar route, so for Downtown tourists, it's really convenient.
Also, given the food and the service, it is not overpriced in the least. A good bargain, overall, and somewhere I highly recommend.
-
Steven , I couldn't agree with you more.
I recently cooked a meal at someone's home. They have a "trophy kitchen" and don't cook a lick. The knobology drove me nuts, though I got through it ok.
One of the nicest things about my house is that the stove is as basic as it gets (gas Kenmore) and has nothing but knobs. Once I figured out the actual oven temps, I love the thing. I wish that it had six burners, but beyond that, it's doing just what I want it to do at all times. I do miss my old O'Keefe and Merritt, though. That thing was a 1930's rocket ship. I'll get another one for this house at some point.
-
Judging from the crowds, or lack of them, that I am seeing around town, I think that this will not be the only place to close if things don't pick up quickly this fall and for the holiday season.
It's not just here, it's all over. High end dining is taking a hit at many levels. People will go out to eat, but places that make big money selling lots of high end wine, desserts, after dinner drinks, and other luxury items are seeing declines all over. People have to eat, and they will, but they don't have to kill a couple of hundred bucks worth of highly marked up wine while they do it and the certainly don't need 15 dollar cocktails.
-
Be up there at the end o' the month. Lunch? Commonwealth? for a number of reasons, I've become a fan.
We like us some Popeye's at the parades
in Louisiana: Dining
Posted
Holly, if you would just call me when you are in town, I would be happy to hook you up with some keys and directions.