Bond Girl

Day 2 of the Jazz Fest: On my colleague, George's insistences we all piled into a taxi and headed for Uglesich's. Never mind that it was 2 pm and we have a reservation at August for 6:30. We are all going and that was that. The line was down the block when we arrived and as New Yorker's used to the typical 45 minutes to an hour wait, we all thought no problem. Standing at the sidewalk, I decided to take in the scenary. Uglische's stands on a street corner next to parking lot. Across the street, there is a boarded up house with rusted railing and broken stairs, which standing next to a very well kept house with gas lit lamp and chairs on the veranda. The restaurant itself is a shack with cement floors and bars on the window. The sinks were piled high with oysters packed in ice and mud. There was large plastic garbage can at the end of the counter with flies circling around it. While this is nothing for any New Orleander to raise an eyebrow at, for a high maintenance New York princess, it was disagreeing with my demanding sensibilities. As we approach the door, I discover that one of the reason there is a line out the door is that Anthony Uglische greets each guest individually and chit chats while taking down the order and signing his cookbook. By the time we sat down, George, who happened to like talkiing to strangers, had gotten the latest updates on the whole Uglische family, and I was having serious doubts on if the food was really worth it. And it was. Some of it, at least. The crawfish ball was a juicy delight of flavors heightened by the sauce it came with. The potato souffle was light an airy mousse with a homey hint of cinnamon and a full bodied flavor of vanilla. There was also crunchy and tangy cole slaw that cuts the dense flavor of the spices we had. While the three appetizers send us to high heaven, the BBQ shrimp fell flat reeking of garlic. The shrimp uggie was nice and spicy but it was swimming in a puddle of grease. We wanted to order Po Boys but they were out of bread, and we couldn't have oysters because they didn't have any sauces. But, somehow, you forgive all that, because Uglische has charm, history and character. And, when the dishes that were good, they were really great. As parting word, Gail Uglische said to me: "I know where you are going tonight. I had good meals there, but it is very very expensive." With those parting word, we all piled back into a cab and bounded for August.

So far so great. I blow into town on Wednesday with three colleagues on the pretext of a finance conference but everyone knew that the real draw was the Jazz Fest. Weather couldn't have been better, mild mid 80's with bright sunshine. My first dinner was at Herbsaint, a neat little restaurant on St. Charles. Herbsaint had modern decor with white panel walls and black and white photographs on the wall. The decor echos the modern twist on the classic cajun food. I had the seafood gumbo which was made with a dark roux that had a smoky flavor from the sausages and an intense but subtle spiciness that seemed to build as you go along. My colleague Evette had the shrimp bisque, which radiate the sweet salty aroma of a good seafood soup base, and the texture was velvety, again with a subtle spiciness. The classic shrimp and grits was also a winner, sweet sweep balanced with the hearty grits brightened by bits of Jalapeno. The entree special was a nut crusted halibut with corn, fava beans, and bacon. The crunchy crust on the halibut provided an interesting texture against the corn and fava beans. But the fava beans were slightly undercooked, although Jennifer, who ordered that dish didn't seemed to mind. The Salmon seemed to also be a crowd pleaser served with fried polenta and olive vinegrette. The skin on the salmon was seared to a perfect cracker like crunchiness, while the center was lovely and moist. But the polenta was too salty against the olive dressing. I was told that George's hanger steak with french fries was on the salty side, but Mark, who had the rabbit thought it was the best rabbit he ever tasted. Dessert at Herbsaint was good but not great. The chocolate baignets were unexciting against the food, and the chocolate pecan tart likewise fell in the good but not great category. Tomorrow: Restaurant August.

I went to the opening party, the food seemed like it's very solid attitude free American food. The space is visually stunning, although a bit too big for my taste. It's a good place to entertain clients in.

My henna is still pretty nice after two days..but the food at Monica's was exceptional. The fried okra was to die for, the lentil patties were tinly bites of delight, and there was also a lovely little snack made with chick peas and potatoes that has chutney on it. For a very picky eater, I've never eaten so well.

The smoked pasillas are good stuff. I got some from the Ferry Plaza market the last time I was in San Francisco. But, so far I only use them to flavor beans, or put them in my quesadilla. I will try stuffing them.

I can commiserate. I stopped cooking all together when I dumped the insignificant other for the upteen times recently. But, then I saw Ramps in the greenmarket and other signs of spring as well as other cute guys I can now feed....It's like a dark veil has lifted. So, here are some advices: -Cook everything you like but he/she didn't. In fact. cook everything the he/she is allergic to. -Go out and eat and take in the scenary, go to all the restaurants he hates but you always wanted to try. -Reconnect with all the friends you've missed by cooking and hosting dinner parties, cocktail parties or potluck. - Celebrate your freedom by eating whatever you want whenever you want.

I've tried it with Strawberries, but may be it's the fertilizers, the berries was small and tasteless.

I've got everything from lemon verbena, rosemary and terragon to three different varieties of thyme, two marjorams and two oreganos on my window sill. Some die off in the winter like my lemon verbena, but rosemary stuck around and so did the oregano. Can't get lavender to bloom though and no luck with basil...but it could just be too much direct sun. My suggestion is get one or two from the greenmarket and ask what will survive the best, than keep your fingers crossed. Also, don't forget the insecticidal soap because white flies and mealie bugs are a pain.

How I fcook depend on my mood, if I really want something home made, there's usually enough in my fridge to create something decent. If I am exploring a recipe, however, I'd get everything ready and organized before I start.

Kristin, I am one of the pickiest person in town but the Chef Toby at the Amankila can give any of these guys in New york a run for their money. Also, check out the Lotus Cafe in Ubud.

I couldn't agree with you more, but then again, it's not my choice to live like that.

Elaborate, please. ← To cook or not to cook is a personal choice. It really doesn't matter if you are a man or woman. Would the article be written if it's about a man who doesn't cook? Would it be published? Just because cooking is traditionally a "woman's" role, a big hoopla is made of it. It's the sort of media perpetuated stereotype that I find very disturbing.

Okay, this could be off-topic, but doesn't this nullify everything women's movement stands for. Why is this article even written?

I am a regular of the angon delivery dinner. The vegetarian dishes are like the ones I would make at home if I had the time. Love this joint.

Cooking is what kept me sane through one of the most horrific jobs last year. I would come home after a 14 hour day, turn on Billie Holiday, and cook some of the most complicated recipes. It some how relaxes me and reminds me of the things that really mattered in life.

Cherimoya, thanks for the information. Now I can make my own falooda noodles.

Michael, I tyhink you are right. As a dessert fiend, it's the various textures that goes into a great falooda that tickles me pink. I think the main thing about Falooda is that all the elements have to be well balanced crunchy with the slurpy and creamy with tart. Much too often the falooda is reeking with rose water that tastes like you've just eaten a bar of soap. I've been playing with a combination of guava lime, sweet basil seeds and kulfi, topped with fried sweet vermincelli, although I've not made much progress....It's not very authentically Indian but then again it's the inspiration that counts here.

May be the quality of the fish you get is the real question. Supermarkets usually have stale fish, and even in NYC, I find many fishmongers disappointing. Go to a reputable guy or gal ( and I don't mean chinatown), and find a recipe that sounds good to you. Go with something normal first like Cod or sole then work your way into things like skate and branzino...Or, you can plunge head first into a lovely piece of Tuna and make a wasabi crust with it. You may find yourself loving it...Or you may hate it, then I say, go with what Busboy suggested about the capsules. A word of advice: Cook the fish the same day you buy the fish, don't let it sit in your fridge, don't throw it in the freezer and expect a gourmet cuisine a week later. Make sure you want fish that day, go get it and make it. As for preparation, the easier the better, I suggest pan roasting Cod or sole with some lemon morels and asparagus for beginners. Or Pan searing if you are aiming Tuna. Either way, you will learn something along the way.

Basically, I'd scrub and peel them, slice them very thin, and mixed them in with potatoes and make a gratin out of them (some gruyere cheese and bread crumbs). They are harder and take longer to cook than potatoes so I'd par boil them longer. Cook them in some stock and turn them into soups with an immersion blender. Slice them thin and make crisp out of them. I even braise them very slowly until they are tender and use them in my vegetable couscous. I can send you recipes in a PM if you like.

Paula, Thanks for the great direction. Just one more question...my souss tagine came with instructions that says it can with stand up to 300 degrees oven temperature. Since this recipe calls for more than 400 and even broiling, should I be using other oven safe dishes instead, or should I just make sure that the oven is cold when I put the tagine in?

You are absolutely right. I definitely wouldn't like shad roes done that way...I will check for doneness part way....But, will it still meld the flavors if the earthenware is removed from heat?

Ahh, the shad roes finally arrived. I am armed with my souss tagine and a copy of Paula's Coucous and.....Any tips before I began?

Smithy, if I remember it correctly, it's currently not in print. There's a french co-author on it besides Perry....and it's like a 500 page book. I remember seeing a used copy at the strand a year ago, but I didn't know enough to snatch it at the time.

Adam, what a lovely picture of all the spices! What else is this blend of spices used for besides lambs? Have you tried it on anything else?

There is a link on Pauls's website for Berber sources that organizes Moroccan trips. Vacationing in May would be too short a notice, but was I tempted.....I'm hoping my tagine arrive in time for the shad season. Water is still too cold in these parts.