February 21, 2025 We're all about Mardi Gras this weekend and I forgot to send the newsletter out yesterday. Better late than never, I guess. I have friends riding in Iris and Tucks today; I dropped off one batch of them uptown for their pre-ride party this morning, and will see them later today on the parade route. The weather's going to be beautiful; I need to remember to pack some sunscreen. For the recipes this week, first up, an easy recipe for crawfish pie, particularly if you use prepared pie crust. The in ...Continue Reading

February 21, 2025 Happy Mardi Gras! Parades begin in earnest this weekend in New Orleans, getting off to a chilly start today for the walking parades and the night parades. It'll be a little warmer this weekend. There are celebrations all over the state, but New Orleans is busiest, with more than a dozen parades this weekend. We'll get a break Monday and Tuesday, then start up again Wednesday night, going non-stop through to Mardi Gras Day on March 4. For the recipes this week, first up, an easy recipe for seafoo ...Continue Reading

February 14, 2025 Happy Valentine's Day, if you celebrate it! We're moving on from Super Bowl to Mardi Gras this weekend, with parades in the French Quarter here in New Orleans. For the recipes this week, first up, a Seafood Gumbo pie from the cookbook American as Apple Pie. The author states that he first had the dish in New Iberia; think gumbo with a biscuit topping. Next, flank steak with a parsley sauce; i used to make this a lot and need to get it back into rotation. And finally, a recipe for Black Bottom Pi ...Continue Reading

February 7, 2025 THANK YOU! to those of you who've ordered copies of my cookbook; we sold out the first printing in three weeks and ordered a second round. It finally arrived last week, after sitting in snowy limbo for a while. We shipped those orders out over the past week, in the midst of an abscessed tooth plus it's Super Bowl week here! Traffic is nuts, there's excitement in the air. I'd love to hear what you've cooked from it; drop me an email and let me know! For the recipes this week, first up, a crawfish ...Continue Reading

January 31, 2025 THANK YOU! to those of you who've ordered copies of my cookbook; we sold out the first printing in three weeks and ordered a second round. It finally arrived last week, after sitting in snowy limbo for a while. People are asking me what *I* regularly cook from it; the list is too long to write out here, but the answer is, A lot of them! Some only once or twice a year, some a lot more often. We had the Sweet Kale Salad on page 34 Wednesday night, with fried shrimp instead of a chicken cutlet. I ma ...Continue Reading

January 25, 2025 Tonight my friend Karen and two of her cousins will celebrate milestone birthdays, each a decade apart. I'm helping out with the food; I've made a big pot of my always-requested red beans and rice (the recipe is in the cookbook!), I have 3 pounds of poached shrimp and some spicy cocktail sauce, and have made hummus, baba ghanoush, and a roasted red pepper/eggplant/tomato/LOTS of garlic spread to go with freshly baked pita. And a veggie platter! It will be a fun evening. We sold out of the first p ...Continue Reading

January 17, 2025 I missed you last week- I was in Los Angeles (well away from the fires) for a bridal shower and spent the weekend with family. We sold out of the first printing of my new cookbook, My Louisiana Kitchen, and have just had a second batch printed. They'll be available for shipping early next week; reserve your copy before this round sells out! For the recipes this week, I started with a couple of recipes from Stephen Colbert's new cookbook, "Does This Taste Funny?". First, a sort of decon ...Continue Reading

January 3, 2025 Happy New Year. Our best thoughts go out to the loved ones of those killed, injured, and otherwise traumatized in the tragic attack on Bourbon Street in the early hours of the year. I've been shipping cookbooks all week and failed to muster up the enthusiasm to cook my usual pork roast, black eye peas, cornbread, and collard greens for good luck on the first. I think I'll freeze the ham hocks and sausage I bought, and make the ham bone soup out of the cookbook later this month. For this week ...Continue Reading

One of my favorite cookie recipes, perfect for Christmas, is linked at the bottom of this promotion. It's in my first cookbook, My Louisiana Kitchen, which will ship next week in time for Christmas. Details, a peek inside, and ordering information are below. It will make a great gift for you, and for all the foodies on your list. Order your cookbook by Monday and should arrive in time for Christmas! It finished out at 192 pages and has more than 140 recipes, each with full color photo, a combination of&nb ...Continue Reading

One of my favorite cookie recipes, perfect for Christmas, is linked at the bottom of this promotion. It's in my first cookbook, My Louisiana Kitchen, which will ship next week in time for Christmas. Details, a peek inside, and ordering information are below. It will make a great gift for you, and for all the foodies on your list. It finished out at 192 pages and has more than 140 recipes, a combination of new recipes and reader favorites from over the years. Many of them are my personal favorites, som ...Continue Reading