Category: Food & Drinx
Editor B’s Pineapple Chili
Pineapple by Marj Kibby / CC BY-NC 2.0 David and Nicole came over for dinner a couple nights ago before heading back to Canada. I whipped up a batch of my famous chili, and Nicole asked for the recipe, so here it is. This is a vegan recipe but could easily be carnalized. 1 large […]
Read More → Editor B’s Pineapple ChiliCilantro Kick
photo by Michael Lehet I recently read that cilantro may help the body detoxify from heavy metals. I don’t know if it’s really true or not, but Xy and I both like cilantro, so we’ve been on a bit of a cilantro kick lately. I fixed a creolized risotto in a cilantro reduction the other […]
Read More → Cilantro KickSeasoned with Blood
Today I took it upon myself to season up a cast-iron grill-plate which we’ve had for a long time but never used. It was a gift from my father-in-law many moons ago. After washing the thing with warm soapy water to remove the factory coating and accumulated crud, I began coating it with some bacon […]
Read More → Seasoned with BloodTales of the Cocktail: Day Three
If my second day at Tales of the Cocktail seemed to focus on the art and science of mixing drinks, my third day was more about the history and tradition and cultural aspects of mixology. My day began with a panel presentation on “Jazz and Cocktails: The Music and Drinks of Storyville.” As a New […]
Read More → Tales of the Cocktail: Day ThreeTales of the Cocktail: Day Two
Day Two got off to a rocky start. Xy wasn’t feeling well, and I thought I might have to stay home to take care of her and the girl. But she rallied after a nap, I hopped on my bike, and got down to Tales of the Cocktail for a second day of spirit-stirring activities. […]
Read More → Tales of the Cocktail: Day TwoTales of the Cocktail: Day One
Somehow I wangled a press pass to Tales of the Cocktail. I’ve always wanted to attend this event, and if you have even a passing familiarity with ROX you’ll understand why. Tales of the Cocktail is without doubt the world’s most important conference on the subject of the mixed drink. And since mixed drinks are […]
Read More → Tales of the Cocktail: Day OneIntroducing the Michael Dee Cocktail
Here’s a light and refreshing summery citrusy cocktail, invented by my father-in-law, and tested rather extensively by yours truly over the last couple days. In a rocks glass full of ice, mix 1.5 oz of light rum, a splash of limeade, a splash of lemon-lime seltzer, and the juice from a quarter lime. Float 1.5 […]
Read More → Introducing the Michael Dee CocktailCoffee Reduction #6
It’s time for me to go off coffee again. I enjoy breaking this habit as spring edges into summer. I try to make it a part of my yearly routine. However, last year I never got around to it, what with the girl being born. I haven’t gone off caffeine since 2007. I feel like […]
Read More → Coffee Reduction #6Retoxify Me
Sobriety has been fun, but it’s not for me. There’s less than 48 hours ’til my arbitrary self-imposed abstinence regimen comes to an end and I allow myself to enjoy a drink. Or two. I was thinking of starting with a Campari and soda before dinner, then maybe a glass of pinot noir with the […]
Read More → Retoxify MeDear TrueNorth
Dear TrueNorth, I picked up a bag of your Pecan Almond Peanut Clusters at the store the other day, and have found them quite delicious. In fact, they are alarmingly habit-forming. Upon examining the nutritional information on the back of the package, I was pleased to see a list of only six simple ingredients, instead […]
Read More → Dear TrueNorthMâche
Mottes de mâche by Une vallée dans la lune, licensed under Creative Commons Our latest culinary discovery is mâche, a green leafy valerian, also known as corn salad or lamb’s lettuce. For years we’ve been devoted mainly to spinach in our salads, because of Xy’s conviction that spinach is healthier than lettuce. Spinach is supposed […]
Read More → MâcheEd’s Sandwich Shop
A new restaurant has opened on Bienville at N. Rendon, just a couple blocks from our house. Of course Xy and I went to check it out as soon as we noticed, and as it turns out we were there on opening night. Ed’s Sandwich Shop is nothing fancy. It’s down-home cookin’ on the real […]
Read More → Ed’s Sandwich ShopXy’s Chicken Soup
Perhaps I spoke too quickly yesterday. This is feeling like regular full-blown cold. I stayed home again today, but I think I am over the worst of it and expect to be back tomorrow. By special request, here’s instructions for making chicken soup, Xy style. This is simple, crude and effective. Take a bunch of […]
Read More → Xy’s Chicken SoupScadalina
Herb and Jenny are spending the night, along with their kids Marlon and Leroy, as they pass through New Orleans. We walked up to Venezia for dinner, then over a block to Bracato’s for desert. Leroy fell asleep and had to be carried. As always, I had to get some scadalina at Bracato’s. It’s a […]
Read More → ScadalinaXmas Shorts
My co-worker Jim has said there’s been many a warm Xmas Day in New Orleans throughout his life, Xmases where he finds he’s quite comfortable wearing shorts. But I think this is the first such Xmas I’ve experienced here. I was hanging out in shorts all day. Warm summery weather. Loved it. I did not […]
Read More → Xmas ShortsHappy Thanksgiving
Today we gathered with friends and family — well, really it was just our little minimalist nuclear family and our friend James. We thanked Dame Fortune for the health of our new child, for all our friends, and for gainful employment in these grim economic times. We had a fantastic meal. I made the smoked […]
Read More → Happy ThanksgivingPomegranate Season
Pomegranates are back in season. I picked up a couple at the store this past week and peeled one for breakfast this morning. Delicious. Of course I wanted to share with Persephone, so I devised a method. I take a kernel between thumb and forefinger and squeeze it inside her mouth. The kernel explodes and […]
Read More → Pomegranate SeasonWhat Cool Breezes Do
Fay was a killer storm. Yet now she’s disintegrating over land somewhere to the north and east of here, and we’re being gently lashed by cool breezes and mild drizzling rain. It doesn’t feel like August in New Orleans, not by a long shot. This is a dark time of the year here. August used […]
Read More → What Cool Breezes DoSuperfine
For the last few days I’ve been mildly obsessed with locating some superfine sugar, also known as bar sugar or castor sugar. This stuff is often called for in drink recipes. It dissolves faster than common granulated sugar — which, incidentally, is often labeled “extra fine,” but don’t get confused. Superfine is finer than extra […]
Read More → SuperfineEat-Well Food Mart
The “Eat-Well Food Mart” has been under construction at the corner of Canal and Broad for some months. Google knows nothing about “Eat-Well Food Mart” so I was intrigued. Today, I saw that it was open, so I stopped in. Could this be some kind of health food store in my neighborhood? Wouldn’t that be […]
Read More → Eat-Well Food Mart