New Orleans Eating

Welcome home to me!

I just returned from New Orleans where the air is thick with humidity, the streets are full of jazz, the clip clop of the donkey drawn carriages, and the smells of amber and sandalwood coming from the voodoo shops. And at night - you'll see a little bit of everything, from properly dressed couples heading to dinner, to a cross dresser in fishnet tops and heels. So with the mix of creole, Cajun, traditions and excesses, one must talk about the food.

There is a lot (A LOT) of fried food in NOLA. Beignets, po'boys with fried oysters, fried seafood on every corner. But there is also a lot of wonderful seafood and raw oysters to be enjoyed. Even on Bourbon Street....the Brennan's restaurants, whether formal or casual, represent one of the best of southern hospitality and superb preparation. We started our tour of the city at Ralph Brennan's Red Fish Grill on Bourbon Street. A fun, casual restaurant filled with large metal fish hanging on walls and from the ceilings. Very tropical and light inside with friendly attentive staff.

Our dinner started with 6 perfect oysters - fresh, cold and paired with a wonderfully spicy cocktail sauce. Delicious! This was followed by Pasta Jambalaya filled with Louisiana shrimp, roasted chicken and andouille sausage tossed in a rich tomato sauce with Creole seasonings, and Sweet Potato Catfish baked with a sweet potato crust served with braised turnip greens that were sweet and tender, and drizzled with an andouille cream sauce.

To end this wonderful meal, we had Key Lime Pie that was light, creamy, dense and luscious. You could taste the egg yolks in the lime curd, and feel the tang of citrus in the light lime sauce on the side. Is it rude to lick the plate?

Another night we went to Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House Seafood on the corner of Bourbon Street and Iberville. Elegant, yet far from stuffy. We were served and pampered by 4 separate servers who took very good care of us without being overbearing. Fried Alligator tossed in a Crystal honey butter sauce topped with crumbled blue cheese started our meal, perhaps inspired by the swamp tour we did earlier that day. Spicy, tangy, tender and delicious....and yes, it really does taste like chicken. Their Spinach Salad With red onion, spiced pecans and feta in a pecan molasses vinaigrette was delicious too.
Redfish on the half shell ( see the recipe at http://www.bourbonhouse.com/recipes-bourbon-house/9-redfish-on-the-half-shell.html) served with new potatoes, balsamic glazed red onions and lemon butter proved light, not too lemony, and amazingly good. Even the potatoes had a rich flavor to them without adding a single thing. Pan Seared Tuna served over warm local tomato panzanella salad with seasonal greens, basil oil and balsamic reduction proved a great choice with a nice thick piece of tuna seared perfectly. Home made croutons added a nice touch to a very fresh tomato salad.

For dessert we splurged on the best pecan pie I have ever had. Not the icky sweet pie we all know, and often love. No. This was full of pecan flavor, with a nice dense curd that tasted liked bourbon and brown sugar, not corn syrup. The touch of vanilla ice cream was a perfect partner to the caramel sauce on the side.

I not only admire the Brennan family, but also Emeril, Paul Prudhomme and Arnaud among other New Orleans legends. Arnaud's offers a very formal restaurant, jazz club with cafe and a very casual bistro called Roumelade. We had a good meal here of turtle soup, boudin and a natchitoches meat pie which is a jazz fest favorite of ground beef, ground pork, vegetables and seasonings fried in pastry. A little crawfish etoufee to finish. YUM!

Good thing the French Quarter is a walking city, full of sights, sounds, and of course more wonderful food than anyone can eat. But it was fun trying!

CREOLE VS CAJUN - What's the difference?

As I start packing for a trip to New Orleans to attend the USPCA conference, my mouth starts to water just thinking about all the great flavors and fresh seafood I will experience. Oysters, po'boys, muffaleta, and gumbo. But is it Cajun or Creole that I need to focus on?

Creole food is not Cajun Food. It is a traditional New Orleanean style of cooking that incorporates the blending of cultures from the French, Spanish, African and American Indian. The Creoles remained in the city limits, and are typically of Spanish and or French descent. The food is traditionally mild in flavor and elaborate to prepare. Creoles pride themselves for their sauces, herbs and Creole spices and often use turtle meat in their dishes, though don't advertise that.

Cajuns on the other hand lived in the bayou (swamp lands). They were exiled from Nova Scotia, Canada by the British and chose to relocated in New Orleans. The Cajuns were fishermen, trappers, and hunters while the Creole were the city dwellers. Cajuns generally like their foods hot, spicy, and/or blackened and specialize in the preparation of game meats such as alligator, possum, turtle and the like.

The boundaries between city and country became the unwritten laws of demarcation and separation between Creoles and Cajuns. Both Creoles and Cajuns are known for their cuisine and have battled for centuries over dishes such as File' Gumbo, Crayfish (pronounced Crawfish), Etoufee' and Jambalaya.

Spicy is the way to go for my tastes, so I guess the Cajuns win! But the French Beignets and chickory coffee may be a morning exception....Cafe du Monde, here I come! Add a little Zydago (not to be confused with jazz) and for certain, there will be a BAM! from Emeril, and a "Nawlins" kind of mood at the conference.

Laissez bon temps roule! (Let the good times roll).