August 13, 2021 Tammany Taste of Summer is going on on the beautiful Northshore--there are so many wonderful restaurants participating this year, it's hard to choose. If you find yourself in that part of the state, though, you should spend some serious time perusing the list, and pick something delicious. For the recipes this week, I decided to ignore the fact that it is monsooning most afternoons, and go ahead and include one of my favorite ways to cook fish outdoors, the delicious blackened redfish. You can use ...Continue Reading

August 6, 2021 I wrapped up the fall edition of the magazine earlier this week and am looking forward to a brief respite before plunging headlong into the annual Holiday Food Guide, one of my absolute favorites. I'd love to hear from you if you have some family favorites you always make and serve over the holiday season, particularly if you're willing to share a recipe with me! Drop me a note any time. For this week's recipes, I'm keeping it really simple. The Devil Crab recipe is an old favorite, and one you don ...Continue Reading

July 23, 2021 I'm on deadline for the next print edition of the magazine, and have things pretty well in hand. We have some great food slated, lots appropriate for tailgating and other social gatherings. I passed off leftover pasta salad and quinoa and black bean salad to a friend earlier this week, and she's reporting back that they're both delicious. They both pair well with anything off the grill. For this week's recipes, I dug into the archives for any easy recipe with catfish--much as I love fried catfish, t ...Continue Reading

July 16, 2021 I'm on deadline for the next print edition of the magazine, and have things pretty well in hand. We have some great food slated, lots appropriate for tailgating and other social gatherings. I passed off leftover pasta salad and quinoa and black bean salad to a friend earlier this week, and she's reporting back that they're both delicious. They both pair well with anything off the grill. For this week's recipes, I dug into my cookbook collection and selected a recipe with a new way to cook a perfect, ...Continue Reading

July 9, 2021 It's been a week for dining out. Jim's birthday was Wednesday and he wanted to get out of the house; we went to El Gato Negro in Lakeview for an excellent meal and a great pineapple margarita. If you go, don't miss out on the El Gato Soup, grandma's secret pinto bean and pulled pork delicious concoction. I ordered a bowlful to go and will probably have it tonight for dinner. Then yesterday, I had lunch at Susan Spicer's wonderful Mid City restaurant Rosedale with my friend Karen (after more ...Continue Reading

July 1, 2021 We're hosting a neighborhood potluck Sunday afternoon, rain or shine... I've got a pork butt seasoned and marinating in the fridge, and a strawberry pound cake to make as a base for strawberry shortcake with lots of whipped cream for Jim's birthday celebration. I've got a fruit salad, a pasta salad, and a summer succotash on the list to be considered-- my neighbors are all good cooks, and we're all looking forward to a feast. I selected this week's recipes with holiday weekend potlucks in mind.& ...Continue Reading

June 25, 2021 The rain has been unrelenting here in south Louisiana, and there seems to be no end in sight. I am looking ahead to July 4th weekend next weekend, which is also the beginning of Jim's "birthday week", and hoping it dries up enough for us to have people in the back yard for a barbecue. Right now, it's a mud pit, and between the 3 cats who know nothing of wiping their feet, plus the adult who's not diligent about it, my floors are, well, not white sock proof. For this week's recipes, I've se ...Continue Reading

June 18, 2021 My sister leaves tonight-- we've had a nice visit. Friends came over for a casual dinner last night, bringing boudin that we put on the grill, I made a loaf of my good Italian bread, and we feasted. I made the chilled tomato platter linked below, except I added come sliced cucumbers to the mix, and we grilled some corn, then finished up with a ripe cantaloup. My idea of a perfect light supper for a hot summer day-- and Monday is the first day of summer, so appropriate. The colossal grilled shrimp wo ...Continue Reading

June 11, 2021 Earlier this week my sister flew in--we'd not seen her in a year and a half. We haven't done anything particularly exciting besides catch up, although we did make a trip down to Plaquemines Parish to stock up on Creole tomatoes. A platter of those with sliced pickling cucumbers, avocado, quick-pickled onion, etc. have been on the table every night. Our brother and his family will be over this weekend; I think pizza is on the agenda, because it's easy and we have a lot of catching up to do. Looking fo ...Continue Reading

June 4, 2021 Earlier this week I attended a reception for the New Orleans tourism and hospitality industry at the brand new Higgins Hotel, part of the burgeoning National World War II Museum complex in the central business district here in New Orleans. It was great to catch up with old friends I've not seen in 18 months, and meet some new ones as our industry rebounds post-pandemic. I strongly suggest you put the museum on your itenerary the next time you're in town, and check out the Higgins as a potential ...Continue Reading