A First Birthday Party- and Italian Cream Cake
In May of 1994, my father celebrated his 70th birthday at a grand party. It was the first and last birthday party of his life. I made this wonderful Italian Cream Cake, a recipe I thought it would be perfect for a New Orleans crowd, chocked full if pecans and coconut, and as I suspected, it was a hit.
read moreChicken Piccadillo Chiles Rellenos
I will often take the time to make chiles rellenos con queso for Cinco de Mayo. This year, I took the opportunity to do something a bit different by stuffing my chiles with a chicken piccadillo, inspired by the wonderful Lindsay Naturals green olives.
read moreIn Praise of the California Avocado-and a Recipe for Chunky Guacamole
Guacamole is a dish much beloved by So Cal dwellers who grew up eating Cal Mex food. It should never be made in a food processor, never whirred to a smooth paste- in fact, ideally it should be mashed in a bowl (or a molcajete to be really authentic) to a nice, slightly chunky consistency, and it should never be stretched with sour cream. The taste of the avocado itself should shine prominently.
read moreSweet Potato Brioche- Part 2 in a Series on Sweet Potatoes
On a visit to Bayona, a the bread basket containing little rolls of Sweet Potato Brioche appeared. I devoured them immediately, and I never forgot those wonderful little rolls, so was very happy to see that Susan Spicer’s cookbook included the recipe for them.
read moreMaking Shrimp Stock and Remembering Momí
I always have a quart or two of shrimp stock in my freezer. I don’t remember exactly when it was I started reserving and freezing the shells of shrimp I peeled until I had enough to make shrimp stock. I do know that it’s been at least 20 years since my father started dropping bits of information to me about how Momí, his mother, cooked as he watched me begin my journey of becoming a professional culinarian.
read more
Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill- and how LA Helps LA
Every disaster we face brings with it hard won life lessons, and even silver linings.
Here are a couple of lessons I have learned, and which I have observed that the people of coastal Louisiana have learned in the past 5 years.
read moreFive years after Katrina-New Orleans Night at the Hollywood Bowl
Looking over the last 5 years, there’s no doubt that the two main engines fueling the restoration of New Orleans post-Katrina, are the food and the music. As I began to mull over what I would write, I knew I had to write about this concert.
read more
Reflections in the Wake of the Gulf Coast Spill -Part 2
It’s ironic that the BP spill happened the week that we were celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. 40 years ago a dreadful oil spill washed up on the wide sandy shores of southern California. That will not be the case on the Gulf Coast.
read more
