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It's gray and rainy at the beach this week, good weather for staying inside. I did go back to the King Arthur Flour Mardi Gras King Cake recipe earlier this week and made a pretty darn good King Cake. I made a brown sugar/cinnamon filling instead of the cream cheese filling in the main recipe, and plan to make another one with an almond filling, maybe for my birthday next month. I face-timed with my girlfriends back in New Orleans over the weekend; they were decorating specialty throws for the parades they'll ride in, while drinking champagne and eating fried chicken and King Cake. I sure do miss them!

For the recipes this week, I'm starting with a bacon breadcrumb crusted oyster dish from my friends Al & Sal at P&J Oysters. You will find many uses for that bacon-infused breading. The final two are glow-ups on food my mother cooked on repeat when I was growing up. I've gussied up her ham steak with Creole mustard and cane syrup, and I'm sure she would approve. Serve it with slow roasted sweet potatoes. For the last one, fried pork chops with a rich tomato gravy; buttermilk biscuits required! Add some steamed green beans or broccoli for a little greenery.

Enjoy these recipes, stay safe and healthy, and, as always, let me know what's on your mind.

Best regards,

Susan Ford, Publisher and Editorial Director
Louisiana Kitchen & Culture

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P.P.S. The cookbook is getting rave reviews, check out the table of contents on the order form. Makes a perfect gift!

Previous recipes:

 • Instant Pot Chicken and Sausage Gumbo • Shrimp and Scallop Tostados • Shrimp and Corn Fritters

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Bacon-Crusted Oysters

This recipe is from the old P&J Oyster (P&J Oysters is the go-to source for many chefs in New Orleans) and the twist is to use a food processor or blender to blend bacon with breadcrumbs and some herbs. I suggest you make a big batch of the breadcrumbs and freeze some; use leftovers to bread most anything that would welcome bacon.

Creole Mustard Glazed Ham Steaks

In my opinion, a glazed ham steak and a baked sweet potato slathered with butter and generously seasoned with black pepper and salt make one of the best meals you can have on a chilly, rainy winter night like we had last night. Bake a sheet pan of sweet potatoes at 375-400F for about an hour; the sugars will caramelize until the potatoes collapse in their jackets.

Fried Pork Chops and Tomato Gravy

It took a while to bring my Italian husband around to the idea of tomatoes in a brown gravy made with drippings from some kind of floured and fried protein; he still doesn't like it as much as I do, but he does like it. You pretty much have to have biscuits to go along with this. Pure country comfort food.