Comfort Me

I'd recommend Fiorello's (really close, but it could be Fiorell's) on Decatur near Ursulines or Esplanade. Look for the big dumpster in front. The place looks like it is falling down, and it probably is, but inside it is clean and the food is inexpensive. I'd recommend going on Bean Day -- Monday -- for red beans and sausage. Theirs are delicious, and the best price in the Vieux Carre. (Trust me -- I walked until I found something reasonable. I wasn't about to pay $9.50 for a plate of beans. Theirs were $6.50 with a big piece of sausage and absolutely delicious.

Would they keep all that time without refrigeration?? The staff at Central Grocery quote a 20-hour shelf life unrefrigerated.

I actually didn't put up with the cuisinista gracefully. I pointed out to everyone assembled that in college he used to eat mac and cheese without milk and butter because he couldn't afford it, once passed out and vomited ripple on my kitchen floor, and refreshed everyone's memory about the good old days when he would dress up in his mother's clothes and call himself Doreen. (That's the point where my wife laughed so hard she had to leave the room.) Oh, and I regailed all assembled with stories about his mom -- a decent, hardworking Baptist woman who worked two jobs to send money so he could go to NYU. He never told her that he dropped out after one semester, and he let her keep working to send him checks for tuition, books, rent, etc. I'm resolving right now to keep better company.

I really, really want to get invited to a party SHE's going to. So much better than the Junion League drones ("I always take my League directory with me when I'm purse shopping, because if it won't hold the directory, I don't want it!") or affected cuisinistas ("I could have died with laughter! Christopher said he couldn't find white truffles for the recipe -- we all know he couldn't AFFORD them -- so he used this horrible truffle oil. His risotto tasted exactly like shoe polish! If you could have seen the look on his face! Jon and Michael both were gagging on the Two Buck Chuck! Can you imagine? I feel like we should take up a collection and buy this boy some Taste!") or consultants ("ON Monday I'm in Vegas, on Tuesday I'm in Savannah, on Wednesday and Thursday I'm in Mexico City. Try calling me on Friday. I might be in Toronto, but if I'm not, I'd love to do lunch.") I want to know if the pasties chafe.

I spent a horrible evening -- not a date -- with a mamzer who probably helped set the stereotype, so I certainly know the type. In the mid-80's, when I was still in New York, I had as a dinner guest (he was the escort of a lovely woman I knew) a "wine expert" -- a true legend in his own mind -- who was so boring and insulting that a guest who had brought dessert left before it was served! (She later told me she vandalized the guest's vintage Jaguar, which he had spoken of at length, parked in front of my building!) The guests of honor that night were my cousins from Germany, and I had designed the dinner around the wines they had brought from the vineyard they own. I still remember the Spaetlaesse paired with the vanilla poached pears stuffed with frangipane. The "Expert" was so horribly insulting about every wine, I found myself saying things like "I'm terribly sorry. Do you think you could keep your opinions to yourself?" He was oblivious. My cousin Hans, then in his 70's, who can be droll in both German AND in English, said the the man as he was leaving, "Meeting you was quite an experience. I never thought I'd say this, but you made me wish that Hitler HAD killed me." After the asswipe left, the remaining guests all relaxed, we broke out several other bottles of wine and spirits, and we parodied the horrible man's ascerbic comments. I'll never forget my cousin's immitation, saying in impecable snooty English "How disappointing. The bouquet has one anticipating something lovely, but then you taste it. So this is what the inside of a pig's nose tastes like."

I spritz the knife with a bit of pam then wipe it with a napkin. If it looks like the knife blade is losing it's slickness, I rub it down with the greasy napkin. Blovi: Great tip. I'm a doofus who has been using multiple napkins all these years! Sometimes it is good to be slapped in the face with you own stupidity! As for the 'cots, I like using them, with some prunes, raisins, dried cherries, etc. in a compote. A little, warm, over ice cream or pound cake can really warm a winter's night. It also adds an amazing amount of dietary fiber! I've posted my compote recipe somewhere, but I can't for the life of me, find it. It was probably in a PM, if it isn't in a post. If I find it, I'll put it here.

Even if you aren't breakfast people, you really should go to Cafe du Monde in the French Market. It was actually an everyday event for us. The cafe au lait is pretty good (one day the milk tasted a tad bit scortched) and I couldn't get enough of it, and the beignets were almost, but not quite, better than sex. (Which is exactly how New Orlinians, er, New Orleanians, um, People in New Orleans like it!) Oh -- and I would plan on Central Grocery for at least a snack sandwhich much earlier in your trip. "Cuz if you are like everyone else, you are going to wast to return for more. (Many people buy one on the way to the airport and eat it during that horrible 1 1/2 hour mandated wait!) One tip: If there are touristy grills or "local eats" places you are planning to go to, call ahead. We had read lovely things about the Hummingbird Grill in a guidebook, and when my son and I walked there for lunch, we found that it was an abandoned building. (But then we walked to see what we could find and happened upon La Boulangerie Bakery on St. Charles, I think the 700 block. Without a doubt the very best iced cafe au lait I have ever had in my life. I have had more than one dream about it! Beans roasted to an almost chocolaty perfection, brewed strong to accomodate melting ice, and whole milk that provided just the right mouth-feal without sticking to the teeth. I think I'm going to cry, now. (I've probably PM'd Brooks with this place, but I can't help but repeat myself.) Enjoy!!!!!

Enjoy! I went last month, and I still haven't goten over the place. I ache for New Orleans -- not just the food...the people, the palm trees, the odd man in the top hat and cape on the St. Charles Streetcar who politely recited poetry to himself. I am pining away. Galitoire's is an experience you will never forget. Don't miss it if you can help it! The one thing I will say which will be controversial -- and probably bring me hate mail -- is that I would never again go to the Camelia Grill. We had been told that it was a "don't miss" place, so we went, stood in line for an hour, and then sat down to the most dreadful meal in the dirtiest place I have ever experienced. The waffles are made in advance and reheated on the grill before service. They charge by the cup for inferior coffee. Their grits are watery and flavorless. And the place was just nasty dirty. It led my wife to ask if New Orleans actually had a public health department.

A bench knife! I think I own six, since I use them for everything -- kneading a wet dough, portioning dough, moving chopped veggies to the wok, scraping dried dough off of the counters...

Lisa: Julia Child, Madeleine Kamman and Anne Willen do the same thing.

Here's are a couple of questions that need to be asked. Why is it that people like Sandra Lee have television shows, magazines, and product lines, but the people with real talent and knowledge -- Paula Wolfert comes to mind -- don't? Paula Wolfert could cook circles around Sandra Lee. (As a fan of her cookbooks, I feel qualified to say she has never, ever started a recipe by saying "Open a can of frosting.") And why do people like Ina Garten feel compelled to Ooh and Aah with disingenuous ferver? I suspect there is some corporate-culture producer sitting down and telling her that she's not testing "homey" enough and telling her they are inserting editorial comments into her script. Maybe people from this forum should start visiting the FoodTV forums and demanding better from the Food Network. I think the show producers really pay attention to the content -- I think the forum participants were instrumental in getting co-host Lynn Koplitz replaced. Maybe we need to start demanding better quality in shows. And, to paraphrase Margaret Meade, don't think that an intelligent, committed group of foodies can't change food television. It's the only thing that has. Unless you count the sponsors.

This is an area where Brooks and I disagree. I am not a big fan of the brioche-based King Cake, preferring instead the traditional French gallette. This is a rarity in the Crescent City, but an excellent example can be found at La Boulangerie on St. Charles -- near that lovely square with the statue of Benjamin Franklin. La Boulangerie's Gallette is beautifully brown, crispy crunch puff pastry filled with a delicious frangipane cream. While you are there, try the iced cafe au lait. It was like drinking velvet. It was so perfect, even my coffee-hating six-year-old thought it was delicious. (And, to my considerable delight, identified the chocolate and butter notes correctly.) I'm missing New Orleans a lot right now.

In a network populated with Sandra Lee, Emeril "Bam" Lagasse, Rachael "30 Minute Shit" Ray, Paula "Droolin' Hillbilly" Dean, And the gastronomic authorities, Dweezil and Lisa, I find Ina Garten's program to be among the best. Her Oohs and Ahs don't bother me in the least, because the woman can cook. Ina Garten doesn't make crap, she doesn't spank herself while shouting "Pork fat rules!" in front of a studio audience, she doesn't take make beef bourguignon in 30 minutes, she doesn't make Aunt Bea look like a carpetbaggin' yankee, and she knows more about food than anything else. The woman likes things with flavor. The woman can cook. Plus, if you want really annoying personality in the kitchen, I could always recommend you go visit my mother-in-law. My only beef with Nigella is with her high-priced line of kitchen equipment. Totally impractical. The cup measures aren't scoop and level -- there is a fill line on the inside. So a 1/4 cup measure holds more than 1/4 cup, if scooped and leveled. And who could whip cream or whisk egg whites in her Zeisel knockoff mixing bowls? They are sperm-shaped. Oi!

Ummm...heating up beer? THe thought of it makes me want to hurl. Is this a folk cure where you come from? I believe the adage is to starve a cold and feed a fever. But that's an old wive's tale -- a bubbemysah. What you need -- and I am a Jewish Little Old Lady (just ask my wife) -- is a good hot bowl of chicken soup. I am not an absolutist, so you can decide if it is with noodles, kreplach, matzah balls, or shredded chicken with carrots and celery. But if you don't have chicken soup, you'll certainly die. I hope you feel better soon. Ess gezunterheyt!. Aidan

Alas, I pity he who has not discovered the eternal truth. What a friend we have in celery... Dorothy Kalins, former editor of Saveur, wrote a lovely piece, Crunch, which pays homage to the ubiquitous vegetation which is so much a part of our collective culinary experience. Alas. I lived happilly under the assumption that celery knew no enemies. It is, after all, friend to the sad and lonely dieter. I myself have relied heavilly on the rumor -- never substantiated by a nutritionist, of course -- that celery was considered negative calories because it requires more energy to digest than it contains. It is friend to those not concerned with their daily coloric intake. Think of those spicy, golden chicken wings -- they wouldn't be the same if not accompanied by the pungent, silky, lemony blue cheese and the slender, crunchy celery sticks. Celery is friend to school children! Who among us did not happilly gobble up a plate of ants on a log offered as an after school snack? And, to those grown and blessed with children of their own, I ask, have you not made this same snack for your child, thinking fondly back across the ages to your own youth? My dear son, Noah, prefers red ants on a log -- substituting dried cranberries for the traditional raisins without loosing the picturesque quality of the name. I can't help but ask the anti-celery zealots this: What possibly could this humble vegetable have done to warrant you animous and scorn? What did celery ever do to you, save offer you nourishment, comfort, and dietary fiber? Repent, and cease your rueful slander. Edited to get my freakin' plural nouns straight!

Lucille: I really need to get my eyes checked. I read it twice befor figuring out it didn't say "I really like hot italian sausage in my jeans." Hold on a sec -- I have to clean coffee off of my monitor. .... For the party, I'm making Brooks' red beans, chicken and sausage jambo, cornbread and King Cakes. A friend is bringing greans with smoked turkey. I'll also have spicy candied nuts around the house for people to nibble on with their beer. (The beer is all Mexican -- left over from my poker game.) As for the whole rice thing? I'm going with plain, long grain white rice. I don't have an Uncle Ben, so I wouldn't even consider eating his rice. Laissez le bon temps roulet!

I'm definitely in the minority here. We were members of Sams Club for years, and almost a year ago switched to Costco on advise from friends. We haven't bee happy with it at all. Yes, their meat and salmon are nice and well priced. And many people love the ice cream and pizza in the "cafe". But the store doesn't offer nearly the variety of everyday stuff we use. You can't buy Grape Nuts there. They only have vanilla ice cream. And there isn't continuity. One trip we find a lovely mango pineapple salsa we liked to use for parties. The next trip, they weren't carrying it anymore, and the only place I could get it now is at Sams! So my wife did a month long study -- she priced meats and fish and the staples like cereals -- in our local grocery stores -- both regular and sale prices. She figured out the unit prices, and compared them to the unit prices at Costco. And what she figured out was that sale prices at Jewel and Dominicks were lower than the regular prices at Costco. I don't think we'll join anything when our membership is up next month.

That was WAY more information than I needed. Really. I would send that one to Readers Digest "Towards More Picturesque Speach".

I'm going to endorse chicken cacciatore, only I say serve it with a soft roasted garlic polenta, garlic bread, and room temperature roasted root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, and onions. Or Moroccan chicken with lemon and olives, couscous with sultanas and pine nuts, carrot salad, and pita bread.

Guinea Pig pot pie a la Baby Jane! (It is a rodent, after all! And cooks are all so skittish about rats these days!)

Vosges is nice, but I prefer Peron Belgium Chocolates from Evanston, Illinois. Words can't do them justice. It's like art and sex, only edible.

I'm looking forward to your recipe, Mayhaw. But tell me -- how much sugar does it take to make 1200 pralines? Also, where do you buy your pecans? I've been buying from a place down your way, H.L. Bergeron, for about 10 years. (Caution: name dropping....Martha Stewart recommended them at a wedding.) They don't have a web site, and ordering took a long time. I'd like to find a good pecan farm grower with a good reputation and a good web site.

I pipe a levee of buttercream aound the edge of the cake and fill the center with lemon curd. I also made a large batch of coconut jam with chopped almonds using Joan Nathan's recipe from The Foods of Israel Today, and used that as a filling. It worked really well. I also like the preserved pineapple recipe from Levy's The Cake Bible.

I have a jar on my counter that I made last summer. I used some after a month or so and they were perfect, but I'm afraid now. Is there any way to determine if they are lethal without resorting to eating one?

As a sophmore in high school I was assigned a senior girl as a lab partner in physiology. She was really strikingly beautiful, and I spent as much time as I could taking in her delicate beauty without being noticed. One day, as I peared over my book at her across the room while the class was supposed to be reading an assignment, I saw her, engrossed in her reading, stick a finger half-way up her nose, then pop it into her mouth. After that she wasn't quite as beautiful. I guess she was a pica picker.