Future Figs, Pretty Bodum Grill and My Mystery Tree

I've just had a power outage (whole block, neighborhood... whole city?) and with no interwebs to keep me busy, I ventured outside.  I mowed the lawn, pondered my mystery tree and wondered how long 'til I have fresh figs to eat.

Here is the mystery tree.  What is this?  It had yellow fruit on it earlier this year.  I came across a post at Apartment Therapy's cooking site that makes me think maybe it is loquat.  It looks very similar.  Can anyone tell me?

I'm thrilled to have a fig tree.  It's beautiful and I look forward to the day I can pick the fruit.  It straddles mine and the neighbor's yard, so I may have to fight for the figs, but I am completely prepared to do that.

Best of all, today my new grill was delivered.  I know that some of you are very fancy with your Big Green Eggs and your Serious Grill Business but I am lazy, prone to neglect and sloth and really just want something small and easy to bring in from the humidity and rain.  My last grill was a great little cast iron hibachi that did a really good job but was so heavy that I eventually slacked off on bringing it inside and it rusted away.

This time I knew what I needed.  I wanted a patio grill with enough room to make food for 2-4 people.  Sturdy but light weight.  Portable.  A friend pointed the Bodum Fyrkat Picnic Grill out to me and it fit the bill perfectly.  Plus: adorable.

It has little silicon clips to keep the lid on while moving it from place to place, along with a silicon covered handle.  Nicely enameled, seemingly well built and just the right size.  They come in an array of summer colors and are made by Bodum, of Bodum french press fame.  I know, strange right?  They seem to have branched out into BBQ this year.  I'm a little nervous just because they aren't an established grill manufacturer, but at $50 and given that my needs aren't hardcore grilling purposes, I'm sure it will be fine.  I'll let you know how it works out in practice.  I also bought a Weber chimney charcoal starter and am looking forward to having deliciousness tonight.  Just not sure yet, what to cook.  I have some fat little asparagus in the fridge, just waiting to hit the grill.  Meat is as yet undecided.  Anyone grill something nice lately?  I crave inspiration.

Read more...

Pozole! Chicken, Tomatillo and Hominy Stew

I don't remember where I got this recipe, and therefore can't vouch for it's authenticity, but I can tell you that it's very good, makes a huge batch and freezes well.  Perfect too, if you have a plethora of tomatillos growing in your garden (I'm looking at you, Bouillie). It's a great summer soup (stew?), full of smoky, spicy verde goodness and perfect for accessorizing with fresh toppings.  It is a bit high on the spice-ometer but removing the seeds from the chiles or reducing the amount will help if that is a concern for you.


1 lb fresh tomatillos, husks removed, or 3 (11-oz) cans, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
1 (29-oz.) can golden or white hominy, drained and rinsed
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes (I don't drain these)
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 lb cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

If using fresh tomatillos, bring medium saucepan filled with water to a boil.  Discard papery outer layer (if present) and add tomatillos to the pot.  Boil 5 minutes or until soft.  Drain.  Puree tomatillos in food processor or blender until smooth.

If you are using canned tomatillos, eliminate the boiling step and just puree the drained tomatillos.  I've done both and it comes out nicely either way.

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  This recipe fills my 4.5 quart dutch oven to the brim, so don't use anything smaller.  A 5 quart pot is ideal.

Add onion to the hot oil and cook 5 minutes or until soft.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add cumin and oregano; cook 20 seconds. Add pureed tomatillos, broth, hominy, tomatoes and chipotle chiles. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low to low. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until thick.

Stir in cooked chicken and simmer another 4-5 minutes until chicken is heated through.  Turn off heat and add chopped cilantro.

Serve with condiments for adding to the top such as chopped green oinion, cilantro, diced radish, sliced avocado, tortilla chips and crumbled queso fresca (I used crumbled cheddar and monterrey jack but only because I had forgotten to buy the good stuff and was too lazy to go further than the corner grocery for a replacement.  Don't be like me.  Get the real deal, it's a million times better).  Lime wedges might also be nice.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Read more...

Domenica Happy Hour

Domenica is getting lots of lip service right now for rolling out their pizzeria style order and pick up service, which is great, but I'm more over the moon about their Happy Hour.  From 3-6pm every day (even weekends) pizzas and cocktails are half price.  No kidding.  That makes their glorious pizzas $6.50 and your whole bar tab (excluding bottles of wine) half of what it would normally be.  Perfect.  So far, my favorites are the Margherita and the Spicy Lamb Meatball, but I haven't made my way through the entire menu yet.

My favorite cocktail at the moment is their Battle Of Pavia, consisting of Hendricks, limoncello and a bit of strawberry.

If you have any room leftover, the desserts (while not half off during happy hour) are nice too.  Not excellent, but nice.  Here is blackberry panna cotta with biscotti (foreground) and a ricotta cheesecake with blueberries, lemon and candied pistachios (background).

Read more...

Freret Street PoBoys and Donut Shop

I am rapidly becoming a big fan of Freret Street PoBoys and Donuts.  The Garlic Roast Beef Po-Poy is an excellent version, tender shredded roast beef dripping with gravy and made all the more delicious because of a hearty seasoning of garlic.  I'm sold.

The red beans and rice are creamy and flavorful, loaded with ham and sausage... really nice.

I've also had the Creole gumbo which included shrimp, crab (alittle light on the crab actually) and what seemed like at least 5 kinds of sausage or ham.  It's a slightly runnier gumbo, which is the way I prefer it.  Perfectly good gumbo.

Oh, and the bear claw donut was superb.  Prices are fair.  Portions are good.  All in all, a great little neighborhood spot.

Read more...

Big, Bad May and Easy Vegetable Soup

May was a tough month for my wrist and consequently my kitchen and my blog.  I have something going on in my right wrist and hand that has caused quite a bit of pain, lack of stability and range of motion and the inability to exert any pressure on it.  This made typing, mouse clicking, stirring, chopping, hell even brushing my teeth or turning a doorknob very, very challenging.  Thanks to the wonders of a steroid shot, I am in much better shape now and can start to catch up.

May was tough in other ways too.  Incomprehensible amounts of oil are pouring, unabated,  into our beloved Gulf of Mexico since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill that began on April 22, 2010 .  Like everyone else on the Gulf Coast, Kid Cayenne and I  have been watching it happen with developing levels of horror, helplessness and fury.

Like hundreds of others, we gathered in the French Quarter on Sunday, May 30th, to rally against the terrible injustice and demand intervention.  I don't know that it helped anything to show up, listen and nod to the speakers.

More than anything, we just wanted our presence felt... two more standing up against what is wrong and terrible and devastating. We wanted to reject complacency and to somehow represent the self respect and self worth that Louisiana deserves, to support those who were voicing their outrage and their positive ideas for ways we could all help.

Now, it's June and though the oil still spills, I have been able to do the dishes, make a nice vegetable soup (O, meditative chopping, how I missed you) and otherwise try to grasp some amount of order from the unruliness that was last month.

For the soup, a mixture of fresh, frozen and canned to make things really quick and easy...

3 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 ts cayenne pepper
1 ts salt
2 TB olive oil
1 yellow squash, diced
1 zucchini, diced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
1 can cannellinni beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 1 lb. bag of frozen vegetables (I use a mixture of corn, peas, lima beans, green beans and more carrot), thawed
1 quart of very nice homemade chicken broth if you have it, or a carton of premade if you don't
1 cup orecchiette, shell or other small pasta
1 tomato, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan Reggiano to grate over the top

In a large, heavy bottomed pan, heat olive oil and sauté shallots and garlic until soft.  Season with salt and cayenne pepper.  Add carrots and sauté until beginning to go golden.  Add squash and zucchini and sauté until just beginning to soften.  Add cannellinni beans, frozen vegetables and broth.  If your broth isn't very flavorful (I had made mine with thyme and a few other herbs originally) consider adding whatever dry herbs please you at this time.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Raise heat slightly to get a high simmer.  Add pasta and cook for amount of time directed on the package.  Salt and pepper to taste.  At the end, add diced tomato and stir in to heat.  They should warm but not cook down.

Serve with plentiful amounts of shaved Parmesan Reggiano over the top and bread or crackers.

Read more...

Balsamic Succotash and Vom Fass, New Orleans

Ever pull a hail Mary, 5 minutes before you need to start cooking, and just punch a couple of random ingredients into Google, hoping someone, somewhere has learned how to make them into a tasty dish?  I do... probably more often than I should admit.

Last night, it was because I had pork chops and a bag of frozen lima beans and it just didn't feel interesting enough so I tried to think of what I had on hand to spice that up.  The only thing that came to mind was the new bottle of beautiful balsamic vineger I bought at Vom Fass over the weekend.  Balsamico and lima beans didn't sound like a likely match to me but just in case, I googled them together and what I found was a recipe for Balsamic Succotash that I had all the ingredients for and just enough suspension of skepticism to try.  Good thing, because it was really nice!

Here's how I made mine:

Balsamic Succotash

2  tablespoons  butter
1  cup  chopped yellow onion
2  garlic cloves, minced
1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper
1 small fresh zucchini, diced
2  cups  frozen corn kernels(thawed by running under cold water)
2 cups frozen baby lima beans (also thawed)
1/2  cup  chicken broth
1/2  teaspoon  sugar
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
2 TB chopped fresh basil
1  tablespoon  balsamic vinegar

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes or until onion softens, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini and sauté for one minute.  Add corn, bell pepper and beans; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add fresh basil, broth, sugar, salt, and black pepper; cook 7 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Remove from heat and top with balsamic vinegar, stirring gently.

.....

Speaking of balsamic vinegar, last week was my first time finally getting to Vom Fass, the shop at Magazine and Nashville that specializes in a wide selection of oils, vinegars, wines and spirits.  They have whole walls of casks dedicated to each and you can taste anything you like.  Kid Cayenne and I tasted at least 3 or 4 Aceto Balsamico di Modenas before deciding on a small bottle of thick, delicious "Maletti".  What's wonderful about this is that you can get whatever amount you like, from 40ml to several hundred, allowing you to try special things without wrecking your grocery budget on a large bottle.  Perfect for us.   We also tasted and purchased some lovely olive oil.  Nick, the General Manager, was infinitely patient and informative as I searched for an olive oil that had just the right balance of flavor for my taste.  Vom Fass has a modest selection of wines and a much wider selection of spirits and liqueurs.  I noticed grappas, absinthe, brandies and whiskeys (a few of which we also tasted).

On a shady corner with not much signage, Vom Fass might be going un-noticed by many.  It's worth a visit (or several) and could certainly use the word of mouth.  Go!

Read more...

A Small Lull

I have been out of state on business and just plain busy lately, hence the radio silence.  I don't have anything new to expound upon, but I will say that last night I went to Kanno California Sushi Bar in Fat City for the first time and it was the happiest thing to happen to my tastebuds in weeks.  Freshest, loveliest sushi I've had in New Orleans (well, Metairie) ever.  Can't wait to go back.

Read more...