If you love music, and/or routinely attend Jazz Fest, point your browser to WWOZ (click the "Listen Now" button at the top of the screen), or local radio station here in New Orleans. They're streaming Fest in Place all weekend, with a great line-up of musicians: here's the schedule. 

Jim and I have been entertaining a bit and it feels wonderful. My adopted "nephew" med student is getting ready to move away for his residency and I'm having him over with some friends for a pizza dinner Saturday night, and Sunday night it's boiled crawfish and barbecue with some other friends. Good times.

For this week's recipes, I selected a very simple pasta recipe using crawfish or shrimp (by all means put it over rice instead if that's your thing!); an Instant Pot recipe for Pork Carnitas that I love, particularly because the finished product is so versatile; and a decadent, creamy shrimp & grits. 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

P.S. If you are due to renew your magazine subscription or gift subscriptons we have emailed you a courtesy reminder. Renew Today!

In the Mail:

Creole Shrimp & Grits

From Chef Keith Frentz, chef and co-owner of  LOLA in lovely downtown Covington, this is an easy recipe that yields big flavor using mainly pantry staples. They say the dish was originally a much simpler preparation, made for breakfast by shrimpers out trawling the waters for catch. This one is fine dining-ready.

Insta-Pot Pork Carnitas

As pictured here, we used finished carnitas to build a platter of nachos, with black beans, queso, sour cream, and plenty of fresh salsa. Use them to make tacos, fill burritos, tamales, and enchiladas. Other delicious garnishes are guacamole, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, chopped white onion, minced or sliced jalapeños, etc. In the unlikely event of leftovers, freeze them in freezer bags with as much of the air as possible squeezed out of the bags.

Pasta with Shrimp or Crawfish

If you stock crawfish tails or shrimp in your freezer and drink half & half in your coffee, odds are you have everything you need to pull this dish together in less than 30 minutes. Make a green salad while the seafood thaws, and you'll have a delicious meal in a hurry.