Jump to content

lafcadio

participating member
  • Posts

    17
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  1. BIG Hominy & Little Hominy. About sixteen years ago, intrigued by Neal's recipes, I asked older friends who grew up in the Carolinas - "did your family eat grits?" The answer was "yes, but we called the dish, little hominy." "Big hominy" was also served frequently, according to my friends. Growing up in Central Louisiana I ate lots of grits, little hominy. Now, I prefer big hominy, especially combined with okra and tomatoes. The taste is nutty and the texture adds a firm counterpoint to the other vegetables. Big hominy is familar as pozole in Latin American markets.
  2. My favorite way to add okra to gumbo is: 1 to 2 cups sliced okra approximately 2 tablespoons corn oil or rendered duck or sausage fat. Toss okra with oil and spread in a single layer on baking sheet. Cook in slow oven (325 to 350) until the okra becomes slightly caramelized. Stir from time to time. Add to gumbo after broth is added. This additional process adds another layer of flavor and texture. I am in London this week. Stopped in at the "Big Easy", a pub/restaurant on Kings Road to check out menu. No gumbo and no Mardi Gras party on the agenda. What a waste of a good name! Great meal at Club Gascon on Saturday night. The amuse was a duo of shrimp. Chopped shrimp tartare?/seviche? on a spoon and a shot of spicy shrimp broth with foam. Intense flavors - possiblly the first paragragh of a deconconstructed gumbo?
  3. Hi Sara, Dante's Kitchen, Galatoires and Upperline are open on Sunday evenings.
  4. lafcadio

    Peristyle

    Chef Anne Kearney has sold Perisyle to Tom Wolfe of Wolfe's Restaurant. Chef Anne and husband, Tom Sands, are leaving New Orleans to be closer to family in Ohio. Chef Wolfe started in the kitchen on Tuesday. What a sad day for Peristyle's many loyal patrons. Chef Neal's untimely death was devastating and now Chef Kearney is going away. We will miss her!
  5. Jason I wish I knew! It was way too crowded to think about staying long enough for a table to be available; the bar runs almost the whole length of the room and people were 4 and 5 deep at the bar waiting for tables. My impression in regard to number of chairs ? 111 My guess at number of people standing up? 222
  6. Mardi Gras on Columbus at 77th. What a great opening for Jacques-Imo's in New York! We stopped by for drinks after the Sister Gertrude Morgan party at the American Museum of Folk Art. The place was jammed with New Yorkers and New Orleanians. Menu was a special prixe fixe for Fat Tuesday only (three courses for $45). Entrees were BBQ Shrimp, Blackened Redfish, Fried Chicken, Stuffed Pork Chop, Shrimp Creole, Grilled Amberjack, Duck with Sweet Potato Sauce, Mahi Mahi, Shrimp Salad and Roasted Acorn Squash with Mixed Seafood plus 7 appetizers and 6 desserts. There were quite a few media people (TV and print) so the buzz is on! Belle Epoque was jumping with a Mardi Gras party until the wee hours: masks, a lavish Creole buffet and real New Orleans music courtesy of Orange Kellin and his band. Vernel Bagneris sat in (actually danced in) for a few numbers.
  7. Mrs Woman Please consider adding New Orleans to the list. I could provide a space filled with local art for a signing and know several people who own indie book stores. I would be delighted to provide complimentary dinners and could help find reasonable lodging. April is a beautiful month to visit the Crescent City! Lafcadio
  8. After searching for about 3 months I bought a copy online in December. Paid about $40 plus shippping from UK. I was at the restaurant last summer and actually got to browse the kitchen copy which gave me great delight. Many modifications and smudges !!!
  9. Just read some witty verses by Peter Pindar "Now chefs devise surrealist dreams In homage to El Bulli, It's garlic swirls with crab ice-creams And squid with ginger coulis." in regard to Michelin's award of three stars to The Fat Duck in Bray, England. (>www.telegraph.co.uk< 01/18/2004) The site is free but you have to register. The Sunday Telegraph (02/01/2004) had a long piece about the recent awards entitled "Chefs with stars in their eyes fail diners, says Michelin chief" by Elizabeth Day. One of Hank Williams greatest hits refers to "Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie, File Gumbo". I would love to hear about other songs, poems or prose that celebrate Louisiana food and/or drinks.
  10. In the 1960's and early 70's the French Market in New Orleans sold "tree mushrooms" from across the lake. Irregular in shape and much thicker in the middle than at the edges they were very meaty and delicious. They varied in size (from 6" x 6" to more than 14" long by about 10" wide). The color was a light greyish brown in the middle, shading to lighter grey/beige at the edges. The owners of the produce stands always avoided saying exactly where the mushrooms grew. The season was usually about 3 to 4 weeks starting near 12th Night. I usually cooked them in the oven with chicken, thyme, oregano and lots of garlic. No one seemed to know what the real name was, they were just "the tree mushrooms".
  11. Shades of K-Paul's! Jacque Leonardi is opening a Manhattan version of his wildly popular New Orleans restaurant, Jacques-Imo's, in late Feburary or early March. Steve Manning, long time chef at Bayou on Lenox Ave, will head up the kitchen in this new venture. Julia Reed's story on her favorite Big Easy dining spots in Feb. Food & Wine gives kudos to Leonardi and his New Orleans staff.
×
×
  • Create New...