It's grey and chilly in New Orleans this week, and I scored a PERFECT bunch of collards yesterday. I intend to put them on the stove this afternoon with plenty of ham and smoked sausage; I've got some leftover smoked pork stock in the freezer and will add half a pound of black eye peas for the last hour or so. I'll bake a pan of cornbread loaded with lots of sharp cheddar and jalapeños, make a pot of rice, and call it dinner. DELICIOUS dinner! What time y'all stopping by?? There will be plenty.

I have to sit down this weekend and plan something for Christmas dinner; it may be as simple as some homemade raviolis- I'm thinking a lush ricotta filling, a seafood filling, and a rich meat filling, with a marinara sauce. What are your plans for your Christmas meals this year? Whatever you and your family plan for the season, please stay safe. I lost a mentor and good friend to COVID this week and it is roaring through every state.

We're sending out subscription renewal notices and gift subscription renewal notices, so keep an eye on your mail box and your email inbox. Enjoy the recipes below, 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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November/December 2020 In the Mail; if you're a PAID subscriber and would like a link to the digital edition, email me.

Pepper Tomato Shrimp

I learned my love of a wide variety of dried chile peppers in cooking from this cookbook by Chef Paul Prudhomme. This is from his cookbook "Fiery Foods that I Love" and this is a favorite of his; if you don't have dried arbol chiles, leave that out or use more cayenne.

Savory Seafood Stew

If you're planning a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner for Christmas eve, this dish should be a contender for the menu. It's from Lidia Bastianich's classic cookbook Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen. It contains 5 different seafoods and I'd argue that you could put some crab in there, and use 2 different kinds of fish, to hit the number in 1 dish.

Oyster Pasta

From George Graham's excellent new cookbook Fresh from Louisiana: The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking. Once the prep work is done, this dish can be on the table in about half an hour, and almost all the prep work can be done in advance, so this is definitely a weeknight and/or dinner party contender.