St. Joseph’s Day- and Old Fashioned Spaghetti and Meatballs
The many Sicilian immigrants to New Orleans brought with them the celebration of the Feast Day of St. Joseph, which was readily embraced by a city that loves to party.
read moreVisiting Kendall Jackson – and Caramel Corn with a Late Harvest Chardonnay
A visit to Kendall Jackson’s new tasting room, kitchen and culinary gardens in Sonoma County, and recipe for Caramel Corn.
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Beignets- for Mardi Gras or Anytime
There are few treats more closely associated with New Orleans than beignets, and these are the best beignets I have ever had.
read moreMeet SoFab – aka Southern Food and Beverage Museum
About a year and a half ago, I became involved with the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFab) when they published my story Slow Cooking, Jazz and Political Acts, on chasing down a recipe for Okra Gumbo et al, in OKRA, their online publication. The involvement escalated, and a few months after that, I was asked to write monthly articles for OKRA. Philip Dobard, vice president and director of their media projects (SoFab Media)- and fellow NOLA expat living in Los Angeles, saw the articles and looked me up. We met at a coffee shop in Hollywood one afternoon last summer, and Philip laid out the big plans he and the others have for SoFab projects. Last spring, when I was in New Orleans, I visited the museum, and had a chance to meet Liz Williams, director and founder of the museum, and Joe Sunseri, its business manager and archivist. And, of course, since I now write a monthly column at OKRA, I have developed an online relationship with Stephanie Carter, OKRA’s editor- lovely, food obsessed Southerners, all of them. Last weekend, I invited a few of my food obsessed L.A. friends over to meet Philip, and hear him speak while sharing a luncheon which included some favorite dishes from local southern cuisine eateries. Philip Dobard We dined on gumbo from Bourbon Street Fish (I once described this place as a dive, for which I quickly tried to apologize, when my mother said to me “that’s all right, dives are a good New Orleans tradition!”), and macaroni and cheese from Ms. B’s M &M Soul Food, in Inglewood. There was fried chicken from Popeye’s (hey, for the price, you just can’t beat it!), and Norwood Clark- owner of Uncle Darrow’s in Marina Del Rey sent over a pan of his much beloved by me potato salad. Norwood is a good friend and another New Orleans expat, who’s always willing to help out causes having to do with our hometown. He was an active participant in our LAHelpsLA fund raising event in 2010. And finally, I fried up yummy Gulf oyster and shrimp, sent from the Louisiana Seafood and Marketing Board (big thanks to them!), for po’boys (that quintessential NOLA snack) assembled in my kitchen. Oh, and to wash it all down, there was an assortment of wonderful wines brought by Nancy Fishgold, PR rep for Kendall Jackson, who I met last year at the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience. Philip gave us a brief history and overview of SoFab, currently housed at the Riverwalk, but about to move to its much larger new home along Oretha C. Haley Boulevard, which was once home to Dryades Market- a bustling open air market established in the 19th century and surviving into the mid-20th century. The boulevard is now home to a growing culinary district, with upscale groceries, a dairy, a bakery, Café Reconcile (a training ground which prepares at risk youth for careers in the restaurant industry) and numerous restaurants. Some of SoFab’s programs and exhibits- well, there are a lot of them- their interests range from food history and culture,to issues of hunger in America, as well as food sustainability and justice- but I’ll give you just a few highlights: They’ve recently acquired the Frances Kuyper...
read moreWinter Fruit Gratin
This delicious, yet simple, fruit gratin with Lovoka Caramel Liquer is a perfect ending to rich meal.
read moreMushroom Bread Pudding
It’s appropriate that the first time I taste Mushroom Bread Pudding, was in New Orleans, at Commander’s Palace, over 10 years ago. After all, New Orleanians are thrifty people who live to eat well, and loathe to waste good French bread.
read moreSo Long 2012- Hello 2013- and Recipe for Vintner’s Salad
2012 year was filled with trips- big thanks to all who invited and/or hosted me in both NOLA and California.
read moreSalads for a Holiday Dinner Part 1- Roasted Beets with Burrata and Pickled Onions
Caprese Salad (with hard pink tomatoes) in winter is a big pet peeve of mine, but replacing the tomatoes with roasted beets makes a wonderful winter salad.
read moreMom’s Tiny Tim Fruitcakes
Tiny Tim Fruitcakes One of the regular holiday treats Mom made during my childhood were what she called Tiny Tim Fruitcakes. Sounds perfect. I mean, really- one bite of fruitcake is about all most people want, right? So I thought it would be an ideal treat to include here this month. When I went looking through her boxes and notebooks of recipes, though, the mini-fruitcake recipes (Mom had at least two- up to several recipe versions of almost everything she clipped) I came across ingredient lists of things like packages of spice cake or date nut bread mix, canned applesauce and even canned mincemeat filling- yuck! I don’t know if I will eventually come across more fruitcake recipes, or if Mom improvised her own. That’s what I decided to do (having never made a fruitcake before), taking a basic tea bread recipe and adding raisins and candied fruit to it. So here it is, my first attempt. Not bad, and a couple of people told me I liked it, although next time I will add more candied fruit, and perhaps some molasses or honey. Try coming back next year, but until then, my Tiny Tim Fruitcake recipe 2012 follows on the next page… Tiny Tim Fruitcakes 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons bourbon, plus more for brushing fruitcakes 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup milk 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup mixed light and dark raisins, soaked in bourbon overnight 1 1/4 cup mixed candied fruit, diced 1/2 cup candied pineapples and cherries, diced fine 1 cup chopped pecans, plus additional toasted pecans for topping fruitcakes @ 1 cup Ateco 482 16-Ounce Fondant Mix Stir together with a whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, bourbon and vanilla. Alternately add flour and milk in three additions. Stir in raisins, candied fruit and nuts. Scoop into mini muffin cups. Bake for @ 25-30 minutes at 325 degrees. Brush the warm fruitcakes with about 1 cup of bourbon, and allow the cakes to cool completely. You can do this again on the day if you like- extra bourbon always helps! Heat the pouring fondant over a low temperature, adding a bit of simple syrup if neccessary to thin. Pour one about one teaspoon of fondant over each fruitcake to ice, then top with a toasted pecan quarter. Happy New Year! ...
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