Domenica

After a matinee performance of "Sister Act" at the Saenger Theatre yesterday, a group of us went to Domenica Restaurant, located in The Roosevelt Hotel. Our meal was fantastic!

To start, we ordered 2 small plates: the bruschetta with goat cheese & roasted beets and the roasted pork with pepper jelly.

Bruschetta with goat cheese and beets

Pork with pepper jelly

We also ordered for the table the wood-fired eggplant with olive oil, vegetables, and tahini. The perfectly roasted eggplant is topped with braised leeks, roasted carrots, dollops of tahini, and  fresh basil. It is served with toasted pieces of pastry chef Lisa White's delicious bread. It was divine!

Wood-fired roasted eggplant

For our entree, we ordered 2 pizzas:

The Calabrese - tomato, spicy salami, mozzarella, capers, and olives.

And the Roasted Carrot - with goat cheese, red onion, shaved brussel sprouts, beets and hazelnuts. What a wonderful burst of flavors and textures! I can't wait to get another one of these.

All pizzas and most wines by the glass are half price at Domenica between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., 7 days a week!  It's one of the best Happy Hours in town.

*Sorry for the poor picture quality. My group was starving and I had to move fast.

Mackie

Mackie

9 years ago I "rescued" this sweet boy. Turns out, he ended up rescuing me - we endured 3 evacuations, life on the road after Katrina, and all kinds of ups and downs together. He was my constant companion and just about perfect in every way. He brought love wherever he went.

Mackie 2007

Mackie loved our family and friends and was great with the kids.

Kathy, Carol, Rich & Mackie 2004

Mykah, Gabrielle, Ella & Mackie 2004

Mykah & Mackie 2007

Mackie & JJ 2008

Daddy, Lance, Blake & Mackie 2013

Mackie had a special bond with my dad and loved sitting on my dad's lap.

Daddy & Mackie 2004

Daddy &  Mackie 2013

Mackie was a good sport - and endured my holiday & Saints silliness.

Carol, Mackie, Santa, Rich & Colonel 2008

Me, Mackie & Santa 2008
 

 

Mackie & me 2006

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Mackie & me 2008

 One of his favorite past-times was sleeping - in his little bed and his big bed (aka my bed).

Mackie 2009

Mackie 2013

We moved into our new house in April 2013.

Mackie & me April 2013

He loved sitting on our new front porch for hours.

Mackie, August 2013

Mackie on the front porch with his buddies Colonel & Harry, August 2013

In June 2013, I adopted another Yorkie, Harry. He was Mackie's dog. But Mack, in the background, wasn't so sure about this new kid at first.

But, he warmed up to him and hopefully some of Mackie's perfection rubbed off on Harry. Time will tell.

Harry and Mackie, June 2013

Sadly, my sweet boy got sick in July and I lost him on August 19, 2013. He loved me with his whole being, and taught me so much about kindness, love, and joy.

As his final resting place, I put his ashes in his treat tin - I can't think of a place he would rather spend all eternity. Rest in peace, my sweet Mackie.

Amaizingly Sweet Corn

Summers in southern  Louisiana  bring the heat, humidity … and gorgeous bounties from the garden: luscious  Creole tomatoes; crisp & juicy corn; sweet watermelon. I can’t seem to get enough Creole tomatoes this year – so incredibly good!

A sometimes perk of being a food blogger is being solicited to sample products and write about them. I have never accepted those offers – till now. Why? Because this time I was asked to sample a new sweet corn to be sold at Rouses stores in the New Orleans area. 

According to it's web page, Amaize sweet corn is the "brain child of George Crookham and Bruce Hobdey. The pair began working on perfecting the taste and texture of Amaize sweet corn in 1989 after experiencing a type of corn with a crunch and a pop that differentiated itself from the textures of other corns, which tended to get mushy when cooked. In the 22 year development period, the duo tested well over 10,000 variations of corn and perfected the best sweet corn you’ll ever taste – Amaize_™ sweet corn!"

Recently, I received 4 ears of corn (for free) from Amaize. That same evening, I shucked the corn and placed the ears in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes, turned the fire off, and let the corn sit in the hot water a few more minutes. After we slathered the ears with butter, we dove in.

The corn is crisp, plump, sweet & juicy – in other words, simply perfect! Some friends like corn on the cob uncooked. Corn has to be very fresh and juicy for me to like it that way.  Amaize sweet corn is so sweet and crisp, it would be good uncooked, too.

The grower for the New Orleans market is WP Rawl, based in South Carolina. Here is their website: www.rawl.net.

Amaize sweet corn is available exclusively at Rouses stores in the New Orleans area. Go get ya some – before the season is over! 

Recipe | Tujague's Brisket

Tujague's beef brisket with creole sauce

Opened in 1856, Tujague's Restaurant is the 2nd oldest restaurant in New Orleans. A longtime menu staple is its beef brisket with creole sauce. You can sample the brisket at the French Quarter Festival, too. Here is their recipe: 

• 4 to 6 lbs. choice brisket, preferably the butt end
• 1 large onion, cut into eight pieces
• 1 medium turnip, cut into chunks
• Leafy tops of 1 bunch celery
• Stems of 1 bunch parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
• 2 bay leaves, broken in half
• 2 cloves (not essential, but it makes the kitchen smell good)
• 2 Tbs. salt

• Sauce:
• 1/2 cup Creole mustard
• 1/2 cup chili sauce (or ketchup)
• 1/2 cup prepared horseradish

1. Bring two gallons of water to a boil in a large stockpot.

2. Trim all huge slabs of fat from the brisket, but don't be too severe about this. Cut it if necessary into two or three pieces to fit your pot. (It's okay if it sticks out a little bit.) Put it into the water (no need to wait for it to boil). Add all the other ingredients. Cover the pot.

3. When the pot comes to a boil, lower it to the lowest possible temperature. Simmer for four to six hours, or whatever it takes for the brisket to pull apart when clutched with tongs. Skim off the scum that may rise to the surface.

4. Remove the brisket and set aside. Strain out the vegetables and discard, but save the beef stock for other uses--notably vegetable soup. The stock can be kept in the refrigerator for about a week, or it can be frozen almost indefinitely.

5. Slice the brisket it or serve it in large cubes, but cut against the grain with a sharp, non-serrated knife. The meat will be falling apart and easy to eat. Serve with boiled cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.

6. To make the sauce, blend the three sauce ingredients. Serve cool.

Serves 8.

Tujague's Restaurant is located at 823 Decatur Street, New Orleans. Reservations are recommended - 504.525.8676.

Christmas Brunch | Ralph's on the Park

I love eating out in New Orleans this time of year. Restaurants are decorated and diners are celebrating. There's definitely a festive feel in the air.

Today I joined some friends at Ralph's on the Park for Sunday Brunch. We started with cocktails ... Sazeracs and such.  None of us chose the prix fixe brunch menu. Instead, we all ordered appetizers and entrees. 

I started with the cane glazed shrimp fried with corn meal tempura batter and served with a pickled peppers, jalapeño and lime crème fraîche. The combination of textures and flavors worked perfectly. 

Cane glazed shrimp

Other appetizers included the blue crab beignets with pepper jelly cream.

Blue crab beignets

Pickled beet salad with baby arugula, red onion, and creamy feta cheese. 

Pickled beet salad

For my entree, I ordered the eggs Sardou with browned buttered artichoke hearts, creamed spinach, poached eggs, tomato hollandaise, topped with lump crab meat. 

Eggs Sardou

Other entrees included steak and eggs: a blackened bistro steak served with brabant potatoes, wild mushrooms and topped with a brandy butter sauce.

Steak & eggs

And, the fried chicken liver omelet with roasted corn grits, mixed mushrooms, and a chicken reduction sauce. 

Fried chicken liver omelet

A good time was had by all! Merry Christmas!

A Saint & A Killer Walk into a Bar

Historically, bar food in the French Quarter consisted of burgers, nachos, and cheese fries. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But two relatively new spots have, ahem, raised the bar.

Saint Lawrence NOLA

Saint Lawrence NOLA,  named for the patron saint of cooks,  is owned by Brendan Blouin and Jeff James. It is located at 219 N. Peters, between Iberville and Bienville Streets. St. Lawrence's web site claims their mission is to "... humbly present a seasonal approach to elevated, epicurean bar fare."

I walked over there for lunch yesterday. The menu is surprisingly sophisticated: Roasted Beets, orange, shaved fennel, goat cheese, arugula, & Steens cane vinaigrette; Crispy confit wings, pepper jelly glaze & goat cheese dressing; Reuben Spring Rolls - corned beef, chowchow, Gruyere & 1000 Island; Turducken Burger - trinity of birds, green apple remoulade, duck cracklins & dirty rice; Fried Chicken - apple cider brine, mashed potatoes, & chicken demi gravy ; Pork Chop - Duroc Pork, apple butter, braised greens & crispy onion; and  Lamb Stew with shoestring potatoes & Bearnaise. This is only a sample of the menu items offered. Not like any bar menu I've ever seen.

Alas, I was in the mood for the burger: Two Run Farm grass-fed beef on a brioche bun served with hand-cut fries. The brioche bun was just firm enough so as not to fall apart - a big plus in my book. And the fries were thin and perfectly fried. It was delicious.

Two Run Farm burger

Killer PoBoys

Killer PoBoys  is located in a small space at the back of Erin Rose, a bar at 811 Conti Street, between Bourbon and Dauphine Streets. Killer PoBoys is owned by Cam Boudreaux and April Bellow.  It is a tiny operation, but they are serving terrific food. The limited po-boy menu offers: Roasted seasonal vegetables with red bean puree & chimichurri; Coriander lime gulf shrimp with marinated radish carrot, cucumber, herbs & a special sauce; the "Dark & Stormy" with NOLA Rum braised pork, lime slaw & garlic aioli; the Moroccan spiced lamb sausage with tzatziki sauce, sumac carrots & torn mint; and the Guinness & garlic braised beef with horseradish aioli & pickled onions. All are served on perfectly delicious french bread from Duong Phong Oriental Bakery in New Orleans East, and range in price from $8 to $12.

Today I enjoyed the Moroccan spiced lamb sausage po-boy. I have to say, Vietnamese french bread, made with rice flour, is far superior to other local french bread. One: it doesn't fall apart. Two: it is crispy but doesn't tear up the roof of your mouth.

Moroccan spiced lamb sausage po-boy

Next time, I'll try either the "Dark & Stormy" pork or the Guinness & garlic braised beef. And I'll likely get it to go -- smoking is allowed in the bar which is only a few feet away.  (By the way, Killer PoBoys is cash only).

 

Sunday Supper at Lüke

In 2007, Chef John Besh opened his 3^rd restaurant, named after his 3rd son, at 333 St. Charles Avenue. Lüke is a brasserie in the Franco-German style, typical of New Orleans neighborhood restaurants of years gone by. 

The Executive Chef at Lüke is Chef Matt Regan who worked at the Victoria Inn in Lafitte for seven years. In Lafitte, Chef Regan learned about our local seafood, “whether from the softshell crab factory right down the road or finding the best picked crabmeat at Higgins Seafood.” Prior to taking the reins at Lüke, Chef Regan worked at other Besh restaurants including American Sector and Besh Steak.

One Sunday a month, Lüke hosts its “Sunday Supper,” a 4-course feast served family style for $45 per person. I’ve been to Sunday Supper twice, and both times it was delicious. On my most recent visit, I was the invited guest of the Besh Group.

The menu:

1^st course:

Plateaus of P&J oysters both raw and baked with persillade crust.

Alaskan King crab thermidor.

Confit chicken gizzards, spicy local greens, & yard eggs. (Sorry, no picture).

Jambon persillé, ham terrine in rich parsley aspic, country bread and mustards.

2^nd course:

Covey Rise Farms winter squash and shrimp bisque.

3^rd course:

La Louisianne Coq au Vin: local roosters slow-cooked in red wine, bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions with roasted root vegetables, buttered handmade noodles.

4^th course:

Baba au Rhum: rich brioche cake soaked in spiced rum and local citrus syrup.

The food is served family style to diners seated at long tables.

We had a wonderful time breaking bread with new friends.

Lüke is a CBD gem, always buzzing. Lüke’s Happy Hour features discounted raw oysters as well as cocktails. Recently New Orleans Magazine voted it Raw Bar of the Year for 2012.

Some of my menu favorites are: anything from the seafood bar, the Prince Edward Island mussels steamed with garlic & thyme with house-made fries, the Lüke burger with Allan Benton’s bacon, caramelized onions, tomatoes, Emmenthaler Swisscheese with house-made fries, and the Flamenkuche –a thin Alsacien onion tarte, with bacon & Emmenthaler cheese.

Lüke is located at 333 St. Charles Avenue. It is open daily from 7 a.m. – 11 p.m., for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The phone number is 504. 378.2840.