PopsicleToze

The one time I made it with smoked turkey necks, it was very good. I think the key is to use a heavily smoked turkey neck and that's what gives it the pork taste. I had the butcher cut the necks (they were already smoked) into 2-inch pieces. Then, I added the meat to the pot the same time I added the beans; they cooked together. They developed the stock as they cooked. Then, remove the meat at the end of cooking from the bones and add the meat back to the pot. What I did not with this dish, but usually do, is add a handful of chopped parsley and green onions to the pot just at the very end of the cooking stage. This really perks up the flavor. Rhonda ETA I don't think smoking a whole turkey would work too well. If you smoke just the necks, those pieces can withstand a lot of cooking, add a lot of flavor and still be great. Not the same can be said for other pieces from the turkey. I bought the necks at Scallan's Meat Market in Baton Rouge. I'll try to get by there and take a picture for you. They're very dark -- almost as dark as the andouille sausage I posted earlier -- and they have an intense smoky flavor.

You are so right about that! Collards are tough. I hardly ever eat them.

Tim, that was toooo kind!!! My picture is not here because yours truly is the photographer, and I would really hate to mess up an otherwise okay picture! Oh, I talked to Ben, and he said, "Tim? The banker?" Anyway, he had some Zaya last night and said to tell you hello! Rhonda

AMITE OYSTER FESTIVAL The Amite oyster festival took place just this past weekend. Amite is about 10 or 15 miles north of Hammond, but that's still not far. On the way, I passed Independence, and I remembered about the Italian Festival. Dang! We missed that one by a week! Oh, well. There's always next year! Many people do not realize the Italian influence in Louisiana and think it's all about France and Spain, etc. Well, the Italians have been here since New Orleans' founding in 1718. Chef John Folse notes in his book The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine that, "By 1850, New Orleans' Italian population numbered 915, which was larger than that of any city in the United States, even New York, which was home to just 833 Italians." Ever heard of the famous muffuletta? (Hi, Kirk!) Well, we owe that to the Italians, too. Anyway, back to Amite and the Oyster Festival. When I first arrived I noticed a little girl having a snowball. She was so cute! One of the newest things is to have colorless flavors. For instance, I always have spearmint, and they are delicious! However, it's embarrassing walking around with a green tongue and teeth after I eat it, so I probably would have just passed it up. Now, with the colorless spearmint, yes, I think I'll have one. It's warm today, maybe 80 deg F or so, not too hot for now, but definitely hot enough for a snowball. You will see beer stands at just about all of the festivals; they are a big sponsor. Evidently, Budweiser sponsored this festival because Bud and Bud Lite were the only beers there. Wine? Daiquiri? Forget about it! It's in their contract. There was a lady in a back booth selling grating plates. She looked lonely so I started a conversation with her. I asked her how business was, and it wasn't great. She's in the wrong place to be selling this, but I didn't say anything. She said she sells them at home and garden shows all of the time for $22 (because that would be her audience), and she said that she was selling them for $10 at the festival and they still weren't selling. Yes, I bought one. And now we come to the most unfortunate booth of all -- Chocolate Covered Desserts. Did I mention it was 80 degrees outside, and this lady was selling cold food without any refrigeration. The chocolate was melted, of course, and it was one hot big mess. I didn't ask her how business was doing, because I knew. The band was just starting to set up when I had to leave. I would have loved to hang around for y'all, but it was Saturday and I had plans for that evening. Hope you enjoyed the tour! Rhonda

Jenni, that sounds fantastic, and thanks for clearing up the confusion. I thought you lived in India, but now I get it. Oh, and we must some common denominator in our food culture, because buttermilk is very much beloved here, too. Well, not by me, but by a lot of people! Rhonda

Gail! Thank you! It's so great to see you and to know you're here. Miss you, woman! Wish you were dropping by today in person... we could have a cup of coffee. Rhonda

Oh, yes -- especially in the deep south. They're typically served with corn bread and a big deal is made about the "pot likker" in the greens. Every drop is consumed. I didn't know they were cooked much in India. How do you cook yours?

That salad sounds really good. I love fruit in salads, too. Here is a salad I made a few weeks ago with blueberries, goat cheese, onions & candied pecans. Pecans are very big around here. Thanks for liking the fleur de lis drain. It was a Christmas present.

Shelby, Come on down! The figs don't ship well, and won't even sit around for very long without going bad. I've seen fresh figs at Whole Foods, however, and they were pretty good. Figs are so much better fresh eaten just after they have been picked. I like fig preserves okay (on biscuits for breakfast in the morning), but fresh ones are divine. Rhonda

A BIG MESS OF GREENS Mustard greens are my favorite. Many people mix mustards, turnips, collards, etc. for a mixed greens special. Growing up we had a garden and grew our own vegetables. Mustard greens were Mom's favorite, so that's what we had. We don't have a garden now, but friends and family will often drop by with a big box of greens to give you. Country neighbors are some of the best! I had an errand to do in Baton Rouge with about half an hour to kill, so I went to Fresh Pickins and took a little looksie around to see if they had fresh mustard greens. Here are all of the syrups, jellies, jams, etc. I thought you might want to see it. And here is fresh corn meal They also have frozen chopped trinity, but definitely don't buy that. Here's what we are in the market for today I usually get three or four bunches. Today I purchased three. You need to always buy a lot more greens than you think you need, because they cook down to practically nothing. You'll start with too many greens to fit in the pot, and before long you'll only have half a pot of cooked greens. Also, don't let these things fool you. They are very, very dirty, and there's nothing so bad as grit cooked in your greens. This is the underside of a leaf. Yuck! And they come with a few bugs, too! “Can I get the grit out of greens I have already cooked,” you ask. Nope. Just give up, and be sure to wash them better the next time you make them. They can be purchased these days in cellophane bags pre-washed, pre-cut, and ready to go, but I never buy them like that because I like the stems removed, and they just cut the greens right across the stems and everything. Here are my greens ready to be washed (stems discarded). Now, you have to wash them in the sink – not sitting in a colander or anything – just floating in the sink. Wash well and let the grit fall to the bottom of the sink. Remove the greens so you can clean out the sink and repeat the process several times. Look at the sink after soaking the first cleaning. Pretty nasty. Three times is usually sufficient, but these were particularly dirty, and I had the wash them four times. Also, since I noticed a few bugs, I did add some vinegar to the first washing to make sure they were gone. Now, after your greens have washed, you need to cook some seasoning meat. We use bacon ends and pieces. I like the taste of bacon with the mustard greens, but I don't like the flaccid pieces fat floating around it. The white fat turns a little greenish and I just don't like to look at it. Therefore, I buy Wright's bacon ends and pieces. I use the large chunks for seasoning meat, and I render the bacon fat. Then, you can brown the bacon in its own fat. Sounds like a lot of work, but I usually do all of that on a prep and stock-making day so that the bacon meat is in the freezer ready to go and my bacon renderings are cooked and stored in a mason jar in the refrigerator. So, on cooking day, it's a breeze. Here we have the bacon in the pot, which has browned enough to my satisfaction, so I've added some rough-chopped garlic. I should have minced it. I was being lazy. Garlic is great in greens! Most people saute an onion, too, and sometimes I add an onion, but I always add garlic. Add the greens that will fit in the pot. Cover the pot and let them steam a little bit. Now, when they have gone down a little, you can add the other ones. I use chicken stock; Mom adds water. Assertively salt and pepper the dish. Eat with Crystal hot sauce or pepper vinegar. Oh -- and don't forget the cornbread. That is on our list of things to make. We'll get to it. Also, one more thing, a lot of people around here will tell you to wash the mustard greens in a pillow case thrown in the washing machine. I only did that one time maybe around 1990 or so. My Uncle Carroll told me to wash them in the washing machine. He has a HUGE garden, so I figured he knew what he was talking about. Well, he is also a trickster, and he did NOT tell me about the pillowcase. So, I did it and then spent forever picking out the little green bits stuck inside the washing machine. This method MAY work, I don't know, but I'm not doing it again! Rhonda

I am also going to post their description of An Easter Decoration On Easter Sunday the dinner table should always be decked with flowers, or at least some bit of green indicative not only of the resurrection of all nature, but also of the most glorious festival of the year. A beautiful decoration for those who can afford it is to arrange a cut-glass bowl on a mirror and fill it with Maiden-hair Fern and Calla Lilies. Fill the center of the Caila Lilies with sprays of Maiden-hair Fern; garnish the edges of the mirror with bits of fern and smilax, and the effect of all will be a miniature pond, with the lilies reflected within and the banks overrun with smilax. If this decoration is beyond your means, the home gardens are filled at this season with hyacinths, and violets, and narcissus. Smailax runs wild in our Louisiana woods, especially around New Orleans, and is to be had for the gathering. A bowl of hyacinths or violets, or sprays of roses, mingled with Maiden-hair Fern, or even a simple bowl of smilax, young mint and rose leaf greenery, will make the table beautiful, and whisper the Easter message to the heart. It is really wonderful how a bit of green brightens up an apartment. One of the most beautiful and effective Easter decorations ever seen in New Orleans was at the home of the gentle poet, "Pearl Rivers" (Mrs. E. J. Nicholson), who so long directed the management of the Picayune. It consisted entirely of smilax. There were miles and miles of it around the rooms. Graceful sprays ran hither and thither in delicate tracery about the table, over the center of which there hung from the chandeliers beautiful clusters and sprays of smilax, which lit up with a wondrous glow, brightening the minds of guests with springtime freshness, and suggesting the green fields, the wooded forests and the beautiful spring of the year and of the heart. And all this beautiful decoration cost nothing but the gathering of the graceful smilax from the woods around New Orleans. Smilax on Fence Isn't that beautiful? Rhonda

Celeste, Thanks for the info. That cookbook is great. The thing is -- I don't cook much from it, but it is the real deal and I love reading it. I'll bet you have this one, too! I found it in a used book store, and it is fabulous. I guess what amazes me most about this cookbook is how well people were eating in New Orleans in 1901. It is amazing! They even had truffles! It makes sense with New Orleans being a very major port city that they were able to get things shipped in that were unavailable to many places, and they just knew how to cook. There's also menus, little notes to the housewife with advice like what she should do if she's making turtle soup and the turtle possesses no eggs. I'm going to post their suggested Menu for Easter Sunday, because it's almost that time, and here we can see how the people of New Orleans were eating in 1901: BREAKFAST Strawberries and Cream. Small Hominy, Milk. Boiled Tenderloin Trout, Sauce a la Creme. Potatoes a la Parisiene. Cress. Radishes. Olives. Breakfast Bacon. Scrambled Eggs. Broiled Woodcock on Toast. Flannel Cakes. Louisiana Syrup. Cafe au Lait. The Daily Picayune. (Note: The Picayune is the City's newspaper, and they wrote this book.) DINNER Caviars sur Canapes. Oyster Soup. Crackers. Mangoes. Olives. Salted Almonds. Broiled Pompano. Sauce a la Maitre d'Hotel. New Potatoes aux Beurre a la Maitre d'Hotel. Pigeons Sautes aux Champignona. Ponche a la Cardinale. Roast Lamb, Mint Sauce. Green Peas. Cauliflower au Beurre. Asparagus. Salade aux Laitues et aux Cerfeuils. Teal Duck sur Canapes. Angel Cake. Brandied Peaches. Lemon Ice. Bouchees Glacees. Fruit. Nuts. Raisins. Roquefort. Cafe Noir. SUPPER Warmed-Over Lamb. Currant Jelly. Celery Salad. Waffles. Louisiana Syrup. Fruit. Tea. --------------- Whew! I'm exhausted just reading the menu. I believe it's safe to say that the ladies who served this menu had cooks in the house preparing it for them. Rhonda

And now a quick tour of one of the produce markets I visited. This one is in Denham Springs, and it is the one I mostly frequent just because it's the closest one to me. Many of the markets have wooden rocking chairs made out of cypress. When they are stained, the beauty of the natural wood really stands out. Here is the tasteless watermelon we ate yesterday. Here are the tangerines. Louisiana Satsumas are better, but this is what was available. The okra was huge and tough. If it would have been good, we could have had smothered okra and tomatoes. Yum! But it wasn't, so we passed. The new potatoes looked awesome, and we just happen to need a few! Crawfish season is upon us, and there are standard things needed when boiling them. I've seen this display in many of the markets. The produce and seasonings needed for the crawfish boil are arranged in a pirogue (old Cajun boat). Cute. Here is what we purchased.

Quick breakfast of frog in the hole. We never had this growing up. The first time I saw it was during the movie Moonstruck. They had a fantastic scene when the mother was cooking this while lecturing Cher. I thought, "Wow! That really looks good." She had some pancetta cooked and put on the top of it. I don't put bacon on it or anything -- just eggs, bread and butter. And no picture -- but apple juice. Unless I have enough oranges for fresh squeezed orange juice, I usually opt for apple juice.

Good morning, Roberta! No, it's not available, but I find a lot of out of print old cookbooks at garage sales, used book stores, etc. Rhonda

Yeah, but I don't want to bore everyone with it who doesn't want it. After this blog is over, I'll email you information.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think gators are primarily raised for their hides, which are more valuable than their meat. You are correct. On one of the shows a representative from an Italian design house went on one of the hunts. When he told the hunters that an alligator hide jacket from his company would retail about $25K, you should have seen the look on the hunters' faces!

Thank you, Jon. It's a lot of fun!

Thank you! I do love to write, but it's easy if you love the subject matter.

When I was preparing for this blog, I decided to make some pickled eggs. You can still find them in grocery stores around here, and pickled quail eggs can be found at just about every farmers market. The first time I heard of them was in jr high school when we had to read the Diary of Anne Frank. On one of the pages the story told how Anne's mother knew hard times were coming, so she pickled two huge jars of eggs to make sure they had food. Later, when their house was searched, the eggs were taken from them. I can't tell you how much that broke my heart just imagining what she went through, and I think about her every time I make them. If you go to New Orleans, you might want to stop by the D-Day Museum, or click here for more information on it. I use the recipe from the Prudhomme Family Cookbook. Now, we're making another jar because someone told me that you could use canned beets and they would taste the same. I knew they wouldn't be the same, but what the heck? I went ahead and bought a can just to experiment. Look at the difference between the jars, and the color of the ones made with real beets was even more vibrant after a few days. The only place around here who serves eggs like this is Fleur de Lis Pizza, and if you go there, you had better like pizza and/or pickled eggs, because that's the only things they have! If you want a salad, eat one before you leave home. I think we're going there to eat tomorrow night. I'll post some pictures. How long do you let them sit until they are ready to eat? Prudhomme says the aging period is 3 weeks. The guy at the pizza place says he sticks them in the cooler for 2 weeks before eating them. Me? I start eating them the day after they're made. Rhonda

No, there was no tour of the fig trees. My Aunt Toni has huge fig trees in her backyard, and I go there to pick them. I only have one little fig tree. The poor thing was struck by lightening and almost died. He's real little, but he's a fighter. I maybe got 24 figs from it last year. Rhonda

Well, I hate to break it to you -- but the two specific photos you mentioned just happen to be two photos from the Louisiana Dept of Tourism. Don't worry; I do have their permission to use them for this blog. They work hard to promote Louisiana; tourism is a big industry here. Rhonda

Soba, thank you for that wonderful compliment! I'm happy that you like it. Rhonda

And now onto today's dessert. I tried to think of what would be a typical dessert for us when we were growing up. We didn't have dessert much; it was more of a special occasion when desserts were served. I don't eat too much dessert even now. Most of the time after dinner, a cup of coffee is served. However, one of my favorite desserts is watermelon! I don't know if you know it or not, but it gets hot down here. Watermelon is just the thing to cool you down. It's always eaten outside sprinkled with just a little bit of salt. Does anyone remember Nathalie Dupree? She used to have a cooking show years ago. She messed up all of the time. Seriously -- every single episode. It was so funny. Every time she would mess up, she would say, "Well, if we lived in a perfect world," or "In a perfect world, this wouldn't happen," etc. Well, in a perfect world, if we wanted to eat watermelon, this would be July and that watermelon would be from Washington parish. They have *the* best watermelons in the world. This little watermelon? Ahhh -- it's alright. It's from Mexico, and it doesn't have a lot of flavor. I knew not to buy it, but I thought it would be alright. It would be an example of a traditional dessert we had, PLUS I wanted to make you watermelon rind pickles. Then, I just opened it this afternoon, and the rind is so small that it's not worth fooling with. (Scratch that off the list.) I do like canning, and both of my grandmothers canned. Mom? Not so much. Bread and Butter pickles are one of our favorites, and the one time she canned them, she peeled the cucumbers. Anyway, I learned how to do it from my grandmother. Here is a batch of last year's bread and butter pickles. Also, fig preserves are big around these parts. It's not fig season right now, but I kept some pictures of some I made last season. The thing about picking figs is that you have to get up early in the morning and get to them before the bluebirds get them!

The last of the field trip -- fried catfish. After we left Kliebert's, Daddy was hungry, and this place was right down the street. It has good catfish. The other food is alright, but it's not a great place. However, Daddy wanted fried catfish, and this place was convenient, so we stopped. The special of the day was catfish (who knew?) with gumbo on the side. Daddy doesn't eat too much these days, and I knew I wasn't going to like anything there too much anyway, so we just had one plate of the daily special. He ate the catfish, and I had the gumbo. Was the gumbo any good? No, not too much. It tasted like they made it with dried shrimp and then added some boiled shrimp to it when it was time to serve. When I walked outside to the deck, there were a whole lot of turtles sunning, and I was able to take this picture. It's very hard to get pictures of turtles sunning because as as soon as they hear someone coming, all you can hear is PLOP PLOP PLOP and they jump in the water. However, this was taken from behind a glass window so the turtles didn't hear me. Then, when I opened the door a duck was there to greet me. And that concludes the field trip! Rhonda [edited for typo - oops]