Mayhaw Man

Audrey Petty, a brilliant and very funny speaker, gave a great talk on the meaning of chitlins and how they were handled in her family, the transcripts are not yet available, but I will link as soon as I get one. It was one of the best talks at this years Southern Foodways Alliance Conference. The upshot of the cooking description was dead on accurate-you can do anything, add anything, try to mask with anything, but no matter what-they are still going to smell like chitlins when you cook them. She also had great descriptions of the cleaning and slinging process. It was really a brilliant bit of speaking.

Well, so far this season I have been to a great small parade in Abita Springs, a really bad, bad, suburban parade in Covington (it was awful, but the party I went to was great and had a fabulous spread of cocktail fare), and now am looking forward to Chaos, Muses, Krewe D'Etat, Tucks and Iris, Bacchus, Orpheus, Zulu, and then some wild indians (yes, I will do all of these things in the next week). THe parade in Abita was fun, and has gotten bigger over the years. ANybody can join, as long as they play along with the theme. A remarkable number of Carnival hipsters now cross the lake and enjoy a day on the Northshore the week before Mardi Gras. It's fun. Lots of boiled crawfish and live music were available for the revelers after the parade. This year's theme was "What's that Smell?". My krewe looked like this The salmon roe is my son Miles and the BBQ'd eel is my son Graham. My wife Robin made these costumes (and a bunch more) for next week, but they are serving double duty by ourfitting kids this weekend. We will all be sushi on Mardi Gras day-except better outfitted than this motley krewe. Last night was a bad suburban parade but a great feast at a house on the route. Lots of grilled meats, salads, some awesome pecan shortbread pie like dish that I am now on the hunt for the recipe, cheeses, pepper jellies of various sorts, lots of drinks and good coffee. No pizza or Popeyes to be seen anywhere (not that I don't like that, I'm just saying....) As we go into the week we will be spending our evenings on Napoleon Ave. out in front of St Stephen's Church, neutral ground side, watching parades. I love a parade. Because we usually have lots of children in tow, we bring lots of food-they can run you broke quick buying from the Nuns vending beer, soft drinks and baked goods. And while there is a tangible pleasure in buying beer from a nun who is willing to give you a hard time for just buying one beer , at 2 bucks a can, for 5 or six days, this gets kinda pricey. We have a bunch of friends and pack lots of food that is good for travel. Small crawfish pies are a tradition, along with bread and pastries from Boulangerie around the corner on Magazine-the bread is often covered with headcheese that my dad makes around Christmas (yes, all of my children love the stuff) or some kind of BBQ meat brough with us to the parade. Many of our friends that we have known for years (we used to live down the block) will invite us in for spreads and the whole thing works out great. Night after night. It's tough work but I love it. What do you bring to parades? Or do you just depend on the "kindness of strangers?"

I'm in 1081 if anyone wants to come interrupt me. I tire easily of repeating myself over and over again. I could use a break. No shortage of stuff to eat here. You can graze for days (or daze, I suppose). Fascinating array of stuff. Good business, too.

What about Sam Cooke being attacked by a scorned lover with a pot full of hot grits? That's food violence if I ever heard of it.

This is complicated, and I do not even pretend to be expert in all matters pertaining to this, but I could probably get away with playing a gumbo expert on TV-so I'll give it a shot. Etouffee and gumbo are not the same thing. Etouffee is, essentially, a gravy (for lack of an easier to understand description). It is thick and designed to be served over rice. It is usually, but not always, a relatively spicy dish as things go here. Also, there will be lots of meat (whatever kind) in it, making it even thicker. Gumbo, on the other hand, is roux based soup. It will always have roux of some degree of darkness, onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic, and then, well, that's where the fights start. For example, the darkness and thickness of the soup is not the determining factor-Prejean's in Lafayette has what I consider to be the finest commercially made gumbo in the World. Thick as quicksand, loaded with stuff, black as the back of a well digger's pants. It's basically awesome and worth a very long drive from anywhere. People driving down I-10 who don't stop are just misguided souls lost in the darkness and deserve to eat at Waffle House (not that there is anything wrong with Waffle House-but it's not Prejean's). On the other end of the spectrum is the seafood gumbo at Black's Oyster Bar in Abbeville. It is not thick, but it is very black. It is much more about the stock than the meat and stuff. It is pretty much equally delicious as Prejeans, but completely different. You can actually SEE what is in it, without having to pick it out. Okra, file, etc. are all additions. If you are making shrimp and okra gumbo you might use all three. On the other hand, if you are making andouille and duck gumbo, you might not use any Okra or File at all. The roux darkness might vary and the thickness is usually determined by the personal taste of the cook, not by some hard and fast rule that demands a viscometer to determine proper thickness. You should either be enlightened or confused right about now. Let us know which. Edited to add: Since I just challenged you to stop at Prejean's next time you are driving across South Louisiana, I would highly reccomend that you get a bowl of their Artichoke and Shrimp Bisque. It's pretty otherworldly. Thick, buttery, but with an actual flavoring of artichokes ( as opposed to some washed out canned hearts being thrown in) and loaded with shrimp. You'll be glad you did.

Warm sesame seed bun. Bun bigger than the meat. Dressed. With good cheddar. With mustard, mayo, and ketchup. Kosher spear on the side

How about a Red Velvet Cake for the Red Hat Ladies?

Maybe this is Rocco's big chance to make a comeback.

Smith's Creamery makes some amazing products. David Rosengarten just listed them as the makers of " The World's Best Butter"

You might want to try to order some of this fine butter from Louisiana. The stuff is great, and I am lucky enough to be able to get all I want as it is made about 20 miles from my house. They are nice folks. You should try some.

There is something else that you should consider. Crabs are nasty. They live in the mud, or the sand or whatever and they eat dead stuff. Their shells, by their very nature, are giant piles of infection waiting to happen. They are delicious, but I wouldn't eat raw crab on a bet. One of the things that you are doing when you heave a crab in boiling liquid is sterilizing, to a degree, the shell. The chances of getting a painful infection from little crab cuts are a zillion times lower with a cooked crab than a live one. Alarmist? Nope. I live on the Gulf of Mexico.I have a couple of neighbors who make their living catching crabs and shrimp. They asked me, "why the hell would you want to do that? Why not cook them? The meats easier to get out and beisdes, crabmeat is too mushy to get out in any real pieces until you cook them somehow." I know crabs. I catch crabs, boil them, and eat them. I love crabs. But I would not reccomend fooling around with ones that have not been cooked in some way. I am sure that somebody somewhere does it, but if they do it long enough they will eventually find themselves eating antibiotics and wishing that their fingers would go back down to normal size. Of course, I am talking about Blue Crabs here, but I suppose this would be more or less true for all of them-but maybe not.

Okra and Tomatoes BBQ and slaw (or potato salad) Rice and Gravy Gumbo and French Bread Beignets and Cafe au lait Fried sac a lait and hush puppies Ham and Biscuits

Bavila, Why would you throw out Des Ami? Bad experience? I've never had one, and I'm kind of wondering.

Just follow the recipe. It's not hard. You will love the stuff. Also, not everything that comes out of a can is bad. Sometimes you just need to tough it out and follow the recipe. IF you are concerned that your culinary minded friends might see you with a can of something in your shopping cart, you can always drive to another town and buy it. Just make sure you check the parking lot for cars that you recognize, as your friends might be out looking for some useful, but embarrassing, inredients. There should be some kind of twelve step group for this kind of problem. Can Users Anonymous. "Hello, my name is Brooks and I am a canaholic-and I use cans by choice. Not all of the time, mind you-just some of the time. I can't help myself. I came here to get some help from others who have overcome this terrible affliction."

Here are a few more threads that will help you out, and I will be putting together a list (for another purpose, but you will certainly benefit) this week of places of interest. I will also reccomend, insist really, that you buy a copy of my friends Macon and Julie's fabulous book, Cajun Country Guide. If it's in there, you can trust the recs. Even if I had not known Macon for twenty years, I would still stand on a stump and scream to the masses about this useful guide to one of the most interesting and beguiling parts of the United States. Avery island New Iberia Cajun Country Thread Good Gumbo-some of it in Acadiana Boudin There are lots more, if you dig around. But this should get your tastebuds going.

OK Kids. This started off as an intersting thread and, minus the little dustup, it still can be. knock it off with the insults, quit making it all so personal, and get back to the original subject. I could repost, for the millionth time, the section of the user agreement, but there is no point. You have all seen it plenty of times. Read, Chew, Discuss, Behave Thanks for your cooperation, The Management

Not that there is anything wrong with a "big ass cinnamon roll"-they have their place-primarily airports- but he's right. A "real" king cake is pretty much brioche split into three ropes (filled or not-I have seen fights break out over this-go to Lousiana Form and you can see one from last year), braided, and baked. They are then covered with purple. green, and gold GRANULATED sugar. Icing is wrong. Keep that stuff for cupcakes and other stuff that Yankees eat. STRAIGHT GRANULATED SUGAR is the only thing that will get you moving in the morning after a long night of parading. That and some dark roast will get you to lunch, and then you are trying to get out of work anyway, so you don't have to go much more than that- You need to have the kids loaded up and be headed out to the parade by 4 on weekdays, so who needs a long day.

Let me check that off of my list of things to do when we meet. I always thought that everybody loved it.

A classic from the 70's? Whaaaa? Cream cheese and Pickapeppa never went out of style among most of my bachelor friends. Instant food when someone is brave enough to wade into your wreck of a bachelor pad. I know several people who, chances are, have nothing in their ice box BUT cream cheese, Pickapeppa, and beer of varying sorts-depending on finances and organizational skills.

Depending on what you decide on, you will most likely want, at the least, a sport jacket and a decent pair of slacks (dockers should do it). When you make reservations you will want to confirm this. You do not want to end up wearing the "jacket of shame" provided by some places for patrons who are a bit under the dress code. Most places are not as strict as they once were, but it's always good to check. Also, the weather this time of year is notoriously unpredictable. Today it's in the seventies, but we are supposed to be back into the thirties by Friday, so plan to bring at least one jacket that will keep you warm and dry. New Orleans, with it's humidity level, can be damn cold when the wind is blowing off of the river, even when the therm. reads in the mid 40's-kind of like San Francisco, so I am sure you know what I mean.

OK . . . Maybe it is one of those trailer trash things that seem to endure. ← Don't forget Rotel Tomatoes. I know that this was just a temporary oversight.

It's not just American high-end restaurants. Take a look at any group of European wine wholesalers and you will find the same thing, expecially among the Italians. They are beautiful, they are well thought out, but mainly they are just annoying as hell. Most of the time when people are on a rest. website, I believe that they are trying to do just a couple of things-location, hours of operation, menu, history, and cost. These things need to be covered well and also they need to be easy to locate and navigate. Aside from those things, not much else is needed, I don't think. Also, I am running music on my pc most of the time when I am at home or at work (Musicmatch, XM, KGSR, WWOZ) and extra sound just messes up whatever I am listening to. No music on the restaurant sites, if you please.

Thanks again for taking the time. It has been an fascinating travelogue and some of the photos have been hypnotizing. The one of the child in the basket in this installment is wonderful.

Here is a good thread about cooking contests. Good Luck! Let us know about developments as the process moves ahead.

Boulangerie. It is not what you are thinking about, king cake wise, but it's the best bakery in New Orleans (no contest-it's far and away the best) and there is nothing, nothing I tell you, that comes out of those doors that is not pretty damn swell. Short of that, you might try Antoine's on Freret (you can take the Freret Jet!) as they are reputed to make a pretty dependable king cake. Here is what I would do if I were you: (here I am giving advice again, but the world would be a better place if ya'll listened more) Go to Gambino's and get the cake. It'll be an advencha for ya since you seem to fear Metry, Kennah, and the da Parish. Here's how. It'll be great. Trust me! Go out of your house (or your hotel or your friend's house, whatevah) and walk over to St Chuck and get on the streetcar going uptown. Ride it until it won't go no mo. Get off and continue up Carrollton Ave for 8 blocks (one block past the Notre Dame Seminary). You will find a Gambino's right there! You've gone to alot of trouble at this point, so take a break, buy a couple of napoleons and maybe a couple of those maccaroons and a biscotti or two, and rest your feet. Enjoy a coffee or maybe a carton of milk. Then grab a couple of king cakes and head back the same way that you came. On the way home you could stop for a break at Cooter Brown's and enjoy a beer with Larry. He hates king cake. Actually, he hates everything-but he's really funny about it. Thusly refreshed, you can then climb back on the streetcar and ride it down to the Columns Hotel and enjoy a gentleman's drink, as you will, no doubt, be approching cocktail hour at this point. I forgot to mention that all the while you are taking this little jaunt, you should be spreadin hunks of that cake around like you are on the way to grandma's house. You can do it. You make fast friends with people when you are drinking heavily and sharing your baked goods. Try it. You'll see. I get all of my friends that way! Of course, if you are staying downtown you could always take the Elysian Fields Bus (catch it at Canal and Decatur or at Chartres and Elysian Fields if you feel like walking through the Marigny a bit) to the location there. Either way would be an adventure, but I reccomend the scenic route with the streetcars and the drinks.