Hollygrove Market and Farm Home Delivery

I've been a fan of Hollygrove Market and Farm for some time now.  They are close to my house, have Tuesday afternoon pick up hours in addition to regular Saturday hours and always provide really lovely produce, eggs, milk and more.  Despite the fact that I have often picked up some goodies from Hollygrove Market, it has always been from the Lagniappe tables, never the box itself.

I'm about to change that.  Because they will bring it to my door.  Yeah I know and yes, I really am that lazy.

Hollygrove Market and Farm recently announced their Produce Box Home Delivery Program, whereby you can get your nice locally grown fruits and vegetables, yard eggs and even Smith's Creamery milk (which I adore like crazy and deserves an entire post of its own) all delivered to your doorstep on Saturdays.  They will deliver to all neighborhoods within the city limits of New Orleans (excluding New Orleans East) as well as limited service to Metairie.  Boxes must be paid for in advance and there is a $2.00 delivery fee.  Well worth it, I say.

Initially, the packages were produce box only, produce box with half gallon of milk and produce box with a dozen eggs.  I wanted produce with half dozen eggs and a half gallon of milk, so I emailed asking if that could possibly be an option.  Wonderfully, it became one.  Thanks, Bill!

I'm excited about spending time on Saturdays to review the box and plan a week's menu accordingly.  And yard eggs for breakfast!

Does anyone else go to Hollygrove Market?  What have you cooked from their offerings?  Also, anyone have any great recipes for mustard greens?

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2010 Po-Boy Preservation Festival

I looove the Po Boy Fest.  I look forward to it each year, plotting out which po boys I want and never making it to the end of the list before I'm full and need to sit down.  This year was no different, except for one crucial thing. Apparently everyone else in the world decided to love it too, because Oh Mama, was it crowded.  I don't mean, really good festival crowded.  I mean, no room to breathe, let alone walk crowded.  Stuck in one particular human bottleneck, I started thinking rash thoughts about pushing and shoving and screaming, "Get OFF of me!!" just so I could have a tiny bit of space to take a breath.  I know the organizers spent a lot of time and effort in making the flow work better this year.  I think it was more the sheer volume of people.  I wonder how many attended...

Aaaanyway.  The po boys.  Kid Cayenne and I made it to the far end at Eagle Street so we could get to the Palace Cafe booth where I had the smoked duck po boy with citrus marmalade.

Kid Cayenne got the BLT po boy with Crystal hot sauce aioli.

The real highlight of our day though, was at the Blue Frog Chocolates tent, where we bough chocolate dipped Zapps Cajun Crawtaters.  Genius.  Mmmm.

I would love to do this for gifts at Christmas, but am concerned that they may have a very short shelf life in our humidity.  Do you think the chips part would go soggy within a day or so?  I might call Blue Frog and find out.

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Café Reconcile, New Orleans

Last week marked my first ever visit to Café Reconcile and it surely did not disappoint.  I had the pleasure of lunching with Celeste from Bouillie.  She is a wealth of information on Southern Louisiana food and food culture.  Learning more about the history of this remarkable organization from her was a treat.

Café Reconcile is non-profit restaurant that focuses on training youth (ages 16-22) from at-risk communities in the art of food service and restaurant management.  There are a slew of people, restaurants and organizations that contribute to this goal, including some of the best executive chefs in New Orleans.  The culinary training is outstanding but more than anything, the kids are amazing.  The energy in this restaurant is warm, positive, full of strength, pride and hope.  You can't not feel it.  It's infectious and wonderful.

And the food?  Fantastic!  Celeste calls it "your grandma's food" but my grandma isn't from South Louisiana and she didn't sure didn't cook like this.  We were lucky enough to come on a day when the special was Palace Cafe's signature preparation for Crabmeat Cheesecake.  It was absolutely lovely.  Celeste chose macaroni and cheese and stewed okra with shrimp as her side dishes

I had the Thursday special of shrimp and white beans with sides of potato salad and collard greens.  The main dish was packed full of shrimp, savory and with a gorgeous depth of flavor that has me smitten.  Everything was exactly as it should be.  Comforting and familiar while also being surprisingly nuanced and complex.  Beautifully prepared and served with enthusiasm, it was an excellent meal.  I don't know how it has taken me 11 years of living in New Orleans to go, but I have truly been missing out.

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Hansen's Sno-Bliz 2010: Four New Flavors!

WOOO!  Hansen's Sno-Bliz opened today for the 2010 season!  Hooray!  I hustled down fast to get my favorite Nectar Cream Sundae (I've been craving since last summer) and because I was so quick on the draw, I only had to stand in line behind one person!  I'm the luckiest.

What's more, Ashley Hansen gave me the scoop on four new, all natural flavors she is bringing out this year and gave me a sneak peek taste test.  The flavors are Vanilla Bean, Raspberry, Gingersnap and Cardamom.  I tasted the Raspberry (delightful) and the Cardamom.  When she first told me Cardamom, it was so unexpected that I didn't even recognize the word and had to ask her to repeat it a few times.

Ashley: "Cardamom."
Me: "Huh?"
Ashley: "Cardamom"
Me: "What??"
Ashley: "Cardamom!"
Me: "What is that?"
Ashley: "It's a spice."
Me: "OH, YOU MEAN CARDAMOM?!?"  

Yeah, I know.  I'm an idiot.  Anyway, cardamom does happen to be one of my all time favorite spices so I was thrilled to get a taste and guess what, it tastes exactly like cardamom!  Only cold.  And sno-blizzy.  It's utterly delicious.

On my way out, I stopped at McKeown's Books and picked up copies of Simple Cuisine by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop and Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichl.  Looking forward to some leisurely perusing this evening.

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A Half Dozen Raw at Casamento's

I absolutely love raw oysters and will eat them at any opportunity.  Casamento's on Magazine is my favorite spot for oysters for lunch (if I can make it there before their lunch hour ends at 2pm).  It's a great, old place with gorgeous original tile work everywhere.  Non-pretentious, but clean and welcoming.  The service is warm and friendly.  You can get serious advice about their excellent oyster-centric seafood menu.    I went today with the intention of having a half dozen raw and then following it up with an oyster loaf.  Unfortunately, I forgot they were cash only and only brought enough to have the half dozen (only $4.25!) and a side of fries.  It was fine.

I'm no oyster expert, but I do know that gulf oysters are different than any other oysters I've ever had.  First of all, they're HUGE.  Seriously, GIGANTIC oysters.  Next, not nearly as briny as other varieties, sometimes hardly briny at all, as was the case today.  Always sweet, plump, succulent... delicious.  They're great for cooking and perfect for lightly dipping, whereas I think that would be a sin with some of the more delicate and flavorful oysters of the world and wouldn't dream of it.

My dipping technique is to squeeze a slice of lemon in to the dipping dish, then add a nice pinch of horseradish and 2-3 drops of Louisiana hot sauce.  Spear the oyster on fork, quickly dredge in sauce, eat oyster, moan with pleasure, repeat.  What are the oysters like in your neck of the woods and how do you like to eat them?

Oh, Casamento's fries are great too.  Crrrisp!

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Have Crawfish, Will Travel?

I'm going to San Francisco this weekend and want to bring my friend a cooler full of crawfish.  I've never done this before, so am a little uncertain of the ins and outs.  I've just talked to Big Fisherman Seafood on Magazine, and they tell me that they pack for travel (on gel packs, so no trouble with liquids).

I'm hoping to bring 15-20 lb and would love to bring it as a carry on, versus checking it in.  Also, what should I bring with it if we want to replicate traditional crawfish boil in her kitchen?  I'm thinking that using the Donald Link recipe from the Real Cajun cookbook would be easiest.  Anyone have any experience with this?  Hep!

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Making Donald Link's Fried Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Gumbo making is stressful business for me.  I didn't grow up with a Southern Louisiana mama to show me the ropes, so I've had to figure it out on my own, with only vague recipes and the occasional video on making roux to assist me.  To be honest, I spent the first seven or eight years of living in New Orleans making gumbo from a box of Autin's Cajun Cookery gumbo mix.  When I finally decided that I really wanted to learn to make it from scratch, I realized that I was a complete idiot at making roux.  I didn't understand how long it was supposed to take to get dark brown.  Didn't know just how much to stir to keep it from burning.  Didn't understand how to get it from that medium caramel-y brown to the dark chocolatey brown it is supposed to be for gumbo without having a coronary in the process.  Still don't.  However, I persist.

For the Saints game on Saturday, we had our lovely neighbors over for gametime and dinner.  I decided to try the Fried Chicken and Andouille Gumbo recipe from Donald Link's Real Cajun.

Also made a side of his potato salad since I love a scoop of potato salad in the bowl alongside my rice.

The first thing I did wrong was grossly underestimate how long it would take to cook.  I skimmed the recipe a few times and settled on 2.5 - 3 hours in my mind.  It took much longer than that.  Probably closer to 6.  Making the roux took me an hour.  Is that right??  The book says that the process should take about 40 minutes, but I stirred and stirred and fretted and frowned over it and still didn't have the dark brown I needed until 60 full minutes had passed.  When I finally gave up and threw the onions in, it had just barely reached a dark brown and could easily have gone darker still, but I was so exhausted by the effort at that point that I decided good was good enough.  I don't know what I do wrong.  Maybe I stir too fast.  Maybe I'm too timid with the heat.  Whatever the case, making roux makes me feel like I'm going to have a panic attack, every time.  I've got to master this.  Any suggestions are welcomed.

Oh, the gumbo?  It was excellent.  Best gumbo I've ever made.  The poblano pepper and jalapeno made it lip tinglingly hot in just the right way.  The potato salad was a perfect accompaniment.  Donald Link mentions that he likes it in seafood gumbo, but it was delicious in the chicken andouille as well.  When all is said and done, I think that if I spend the next few years of my life figuring out how to perfect my roux technique on this gumbo recipe, it will be time well spent.

p.s.  I didn't use chicken on the bone for my gumbo, even though the recipe calls for it.  Kid Cayenne wouldn't have eaten it.  While I'm sure that using only boneless, skinless breast caused it to sacrifice in flavor, we didn't feel one bit deprived.  It was truly delicious.

p.p.s.  WHO DAT!

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The Best of 2009

Despite the fact that I am a blogger-come-lately and have not been blogging all year, I am determined to do a year end wrap up of the best food I have eaten in 2009.  I wish I would have blogged it all, but I didn't and it's too late now, too bad.  We forge ahead.

My best meals this year are distinguished by the cities I was in at the time, so I will separate them as such.

My first trip of the year was to San Francisco, where I enjoyed:

1. Jamón Ibérico - good grief, glorious stuff.  This is the first year it has touched my palate.  How did I live so long with out it?  My friend was cooking dinner that night and served it as an appetizer.  We peeled it off the wax paper and it just melted in the mouth.  Afterwards, there was a bit left and she said "please, someone, finish that." No one stepped forward. I could not let it go to waste. Clearly. I finished it all. Glorious slice after slice of it. This is why I have a fat roll that defies my waistbands.

2. Dinner at Contigo, a new (at the time) Spanish restaurant that was already doing a very brisk business.  I had cava and my friend and I shared several small plates. I will try to remember them:

* coca de txistorra: catalan flatbread with housemade basque sausage and raddichio

* calamares a la plancha: squid with harissa and arugula (so very perfectly cooked, was fab)

* sardinas fritas: fried sardine filets, fried sardine bones, fried slices of meyer lemon (so good!)

* croquettas de buey: crispy beef fritters and mizuna

We finished with a cup of thick, perfect Barcelona style chocolate caliente into which we dipped churros that were so crisp and so fantastic, I kept eating them until I was well past the point of pure enjoyment and more into the territory of embarrassing overindulgence with chocolate dripping off my face and sugar coating my blouse. Unattractive, yes.  But so worth it.

3. Dim sum. OMG. Dim sum! What could be better than spending Saturday morning in a dining room surrounded by hundreds of Chinese people (I was literally the only caucasian person to be found) and dish after dish after dish of dumplings (pork and shrimp, shrimp, shanghai, shark fin) and sliced meats (five spiced beef, cold sliced pork with vinegars) and buns and rice porridge with thousand year eggs and just endless cups of jasmine tea?  What could be better than the heavy clink of crockery, the sweet steam wafting from towers of bamboo steamers being wheeled around the room on carts, the steady sound of Chinese being spoken and contented, happy, yumyum sounds all around me?  Nothing.  Really, nothing could be better.  Afterward, I was full for a week.  I don't remember the name of the restaurant now, but it was truly a pleasure and  joy.  I wish I could go every weekend.

Next trip was to Berlin, where I had:

4. Life changing bouillabaisse at KaDeWe in the Feinschmeckeretage.  KaDeWe is a huge, high end department store (similar, I suppose, to Harrods in London) with a floor devoted to gourmet delights... and folks, it is truly a sight to see.  Food stalls as far as you can see, run by some of the best gourmet purveyors in all of Europe.  In addition to food of every variety, one can belly up to the many bars and enjoy exquisite culinary examples of cuisines from around the world.  We went to the bouillabaisse bar and there, I learned what fish stew is supposed to be.  I'm not the same since.

5. Facil - At the Mandala Hotel in Berlin, the restaurant Facil serves a "refreshing combination of elegantly light fare accented by purist luxury and modern avant-garde since July 2001. Facil is the perfect place for unconventional gourmets seeking a culinary experience, people who prefer casual clothes to formal dress codes and simply want to relax and spend an enjoyable evening downtown." which is a well-worded way of saying that if you eat here, you will have beautiful, incredibly lovely haute cuisine served, paradoxically, in the most blissfully un-pretentious way, all the while being treated like royalty.  Your handbag, should you have one, will have a stool of it's own, so that it needn't be sullied by resting on the floor.  Your waitstaff will smile at you so fondly and with such a glitter in their eye, that you will believe, for a minute or two, that somehow you are not only their favorite person ever, but also are in on a very, very special secret and that just you and these lovely people know it.  The wine will be perfect, the food will be perfect, the dining room will be minimal and serene and gorgeous and the entire experience will make you wonder why you were not born much, much richer and much, much more interesting so that you could live life surrounded by such perfection all the time.  At least, it did me.  I have no notes or photos of the food at Facil.  I was too busy soaking in the experience to do anything other than LIVE it.

6. Hot chocolate and apple strudel at the original Café Einstein on Kurfürstenstrasse.  Here, your hot chocolate arrives in its own small pitcher, accompanied by a dish of dense cream and a cup.  You spoon the cream into the cup and then pour the rich, thick chocolate over the top.  Then, you die a little.  And then, you eat the same fabulous Apfelstrudel that has been eaten by artists, authors, philosophers, musicians, intellectuals and the bohemian gliterati for decades.  And you die a little more.  *sigh*  Oh, Berlin.

Back in New Orleans, I had some wonderful meals this year.  Highlights included:

7. The tasting menu at Restaurant August on my birthday. Spectacular. Five courses of decadence, 5 glasses of lovely paired wines.  Also, a beautiful vegetarian tasting menu for Kid Cayenne that rivaled my dinner in deliciousness.  Absolutely wonderful.

8. A food lover's trip through Acadiana, which included a stop at Richard's Seafood Patio in Abbeville, where I ate 3 pounds of boiled crawfish and a bowl full of grilled oysters in butter with bread for the sopping up.

You remember that fat roll I told you about?  A lot of it was made eating the above.

9. Duck, duck duck.  I love duck (as I'm sure I've mentioned ad nauseum) and I've had some very nice duck dishes this year.  Two of my favorites were were the roasted Muscovy duck breast with Tuscan kale, butternut squash, sage, and satsuma coriander jus at Lilette and smoked duck and chestnut pasta (below) at the Green Goddess.

I should try to round this list out to 10, but I feel like these 9 truly represent my best eating experiences of 2009.  May the new year bring many more for all of us.  Happy New Year!

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Espresso, Panettone and My Soapbox

I am just back from La Divina on Magazine Street, where the Society of New Orleans Baristas (S.N.O.B) were preparing for the South Central Regional Barista Competition coming up in January in Austin, TX by offering free, beautifully pulled espressos to one and all.    I got a chance to talk to Drew Cambre (a New Orleans barista) and Kirk Knipmeyer (of Coffee Roasters of New Orleans) about S.N.O.B. and their endeavor to better the coffee scene in New Orleans.  Their goal, they say, is to improve the quality of coffee and espresso everywhere in New Orleans, so that you can be sure to get an excellent cup no matter where in the city you go.

As I sipped a stunningly lovely shot of espresso, pulled on a Cimbali machine by talented barista Anderson, I learned more about S.N.O.B. and the Barista Competition.

S.N.O.B. is an independent collective of baristas from many local New Orleans coffee houses who share a passion for the art of coffee and are "preaching the gospel of espresso".  They meet weekly at Dee's Coffee on Baronne.  Baristas from the city's best coffee spots are represented including Dee's, Z'otz (on Oak St), La Divina (with locations on Magazine Uptown and on St. Peter in the French Quarter) and Tout de Suite Cafe in Old Algiers.  2010 will be the first time that more than one barista from the entire state of Louisiana will compete in the South Central Regional Barista Competition.  This is strange, considering that New Orleans is the largest coffee port in the nation, with 14 warehouses, more than 5.5 million feet of storage space and six roasting facilities in a 20 mile radius.  S.N.O.B. is hopeful that if they can get enough baristas from Louisiana to compete, the next competition will be held in New Orleans.

S.N.O.B. believes that New Orleans should demand more from their local coffee houses and I have to wholeheartedly agree.  The coffee culture in New Orleans is far from where it could or should be.  Drew says that the key is to communicate our expectations to the baristas and management at our favorite haunts.  Don't accept sub par espresso.  Do something about it!  Tell your barista when your espresso is bitter or doesn't have the beautifully caramel colored head of foamy crema that it should.  Speak up when you are served coffee that lacks depth and flavor or has been sitting past its prime. If you aren't sure whether you are getting quality brew or not, just visit any of the excellent establishments listed in this post for an example of what you are missing.  Then, go back to your favorite coffee house and let them know what is lacking.  Tell them that you expect better.  Tell them that the bar is higher than what you are getting.  We expect good ingredients, prepared properly.  This is not too much to ask!  Communicating these expectations is crucial and even more valuable than simply avoiding the establishments that can't meet them.  It tells them that their customers care and what they can do to improve.  Complacency is an epidemic in our beloved city, affecting everything from coffee and cuisine to politics and crime.  Only we, the average, every day citizen, can do anything about it.

Phew!

Now that I've got that off my chest, I've also got to say that if you are looking for excellent coffee beans for brewing at home, La Divina is a great spot to get it.  I've been getting my espresso beans and their Windsor Court roast (they use it for their French presses) from them for quite a while and couldn't be more pleased.  They also have panettone, a Milanese Christmas bread, from Flamigni, one of Italy's top panettone makers.  These small, rustic cakes are housed in charming cartons designed to be hung on the Christmas tree and then eaten on Christmas Day with coffee or tea.  I sampled some while I was there and had to get one for my own tree.

Now, I just have to convince myself to wait til Christmas to open it!

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New Orleans Po Boy Festival

We took the streetcar down to Oak St...



...and followed the Parkway signs...



...to where the bread was stacked a mile deep...



...ordered roast beef po boys with Zapp's Crawtaters (only $2!) and Blue Moon beers...



...then followed the Second Line band...



...with it's legions of Leidenheimer Bread second liners...



...proudly brandishing our own loaves of New Orleans finest po boy bread...



...down the street...



...dancing all the way...



...trying to work off that po boy...



...til the fragrance was heavy in the air...



...and the target was in sight...



...Drago's charbroiled oysters with garlic, butter, parmesan and herbs over an open fire...



...heaven!...



...on the halfshell...



...believe it or not, this is a look of bliss...



...followed by apprehension...



...and then resignation...



...finally a walk through the cool, damp air...



...back to the streetcar and home. The end.

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