What a great meal Chef Jorg Schneider and Sous Chef Martin Miles made for the Staff and Crew on the ship last week. Not to mention the 110 turkeys they made for the guests. They fixed about 12 for the staff and crew and they were the best I've eaten. Chef also made a HUGE pumpkin Pie for the crew. They measured out the oven and had a metal disk made to the specifications to create the largest pumpkin pie they could fit in it.
Well, Thursday lunch was at our current favorite NOLA Grocery with Murray, and then a stop off to see Joe the Cat. Joe is a fixture at "The Foundry," a catering facility a few blocks over. Joe can be found sleeping most of the time. His friend Robin informed us that, amazingly, he HAD BEEN SLEEPING before we got there. Whew, that's a relief!
Joe and I took to being friends immediately, I guess since I am a confirmed cat-person and Joe smelled the smokiness on my boudin-stained fingers. At the NOLA Grocery I had a Ferdi special Po-Boy, this is roast beef debris with Chisesi ham. MMMmm, I loved it. Can't wait to go back for it and that lovely boudin. Oh, Murray is the only person I know that has Mexican imported Fresca to drink. It is a grapefruit flavored drink. I know there is an American version but it is awful in comparison.
I really appreciate Robert giving me permission to display a few of his pieces. The uppermost painting is of one of my favorite restaurants Galatoire's. If you love New Orleans, Robert's work will take you back there, right to the heart of the French Quarter! Be sure to go to this site and buy something original for your home, and if you own a restaurant you could feature these beautiful works in your dining area. 
Well, I was in a Book Warehouse and got a real bargain. I got the Galatoire's Cookbook by Leon Galatoire. It was published in 1994, and I guess some of them have found their way to the close-out racks, or book "Big Lots."
It seems that New Orleans eased by fairly unscathed form Hurricane Gustav on Monday. The storm made landfall 72 miles southwest of the city Monday morning. The levees held and the repairs, made in the last 3 years, seem to have been fairly effective. I, along with millions, had prayed and held our breath for days. I am so relieved and happy for all my friends in the area. I do worry about friends in Houma, hopefully everyone there is alright.
I love Steen's Pure Cane Syrup. I just recently discovered it in the last year, and I pick it up occaisionally and keep it on board. I use it in my barbecue sauce recipe, on bread, biscuits, etc. I even mixed a bit with some Creole Mustard to make a really tasty condiment.
It is great to cook with, and not as dark as molasses. Although I love molasses, they can be bitter sometimes. Steen's is smooth, dark, and almost buttery. You know, I don't make anything from these recommendations on this blog, I just want to pass these things along. It is products like these that make New Orleans and Louisiana unique. Enjoy Steen's and visit their WEBSITE.
Doug and his lovely wife Barb became my good friends over the years. He introduced me to Commander's Palace. We went there about 3 times, once when my wife was travelling with me. Most times we'd cook at Doug's house, where I created my Metairie Crab and Shrimp Bisque. We'd go by Whole Foods and buy seafood, or sometimes we'd fix steaks on his grill, and just relax and enjoy hanging around.
Upon the passing of Doug's Mother, a lovely woman and true Southern lady, Doug inherited his family home about a year or so before Katrina. I remember worrying Doug might not evacuate before the storm. He had mentioned before his resistance to leaving in previous storms, and would probably never leave for any, because the warnings were always dire and most times turned into nothing. I called him on Friday before Katrina and spoke to Barb and she told me they were reluctantly leaving, travelling to Texas.
During the storm, Doug and Barb were in Fort Worth with some of her family. After the storm, I had trouble reaching Doug and was a bit worried. Finally after a few weeks I heard from him. They were OK and he was heading back to New Orleans soon to see the damage. He later told me they were going to repair the damage and move. They eventually sold their house and moved to Fort Worth where they have a beautiful new home.
Although Doug doesn't seem to miss New Orleans, I know I miss Doug when I am there. I associate him with it so closely, it feels strange. This post is just a note to tell you about my friends and how I miss them. I know Halloween It'll be doubly so. I can never thank Doug for all the hours he spent driving me around, not to mention the gas. I do hope to see him again, either in Texas, or my home in Tennessee. Fix something good to eat.
Doug and Barbara Ferguson - displaced by Katrina, but come out on top.
My second time I ever went to New Orleans, I was on a tour with a show that included a clown (yawn), World class juggler, Tommy Curtin, and myself doing ventriloquism and magic. We did shows all through Cajun country, New Iberia, Houma, Alexandria, Thibodeaux, Slidell, Baton Rouge, etc. and finally New Orleans.
While in New Orleans we stayed at Magician Ralph Fountain's house with his lovely wife Laura, and their banjo playing poodle, Frankie was his name I believe. If the name sounds familiar, he was the cousin of Pete Fountain the legendary New Orleans jazz clarinettist. From what I gathered, they were raised as brothers by one of their mothers. I am not sure of the exact relationship.
Ralph was the consummate host, feeding us on crabs, crawfish, and shrimp, piled high on newspaper layered tables. Ralph taught me about Cajun and Creole cooking. Of my favorites, he made white beans in the same spirit as red beans. His white beans were phenomenal. I still make them from time to time.
I stayed in touch with Ralph over the years and saw him last about 10 yrs. ago when I first came to NOLA to work on a ship, the Celebration. He picked me up at the airport and we went and had soft-shelled crabs, somewhere in Metairie. He took me to his home in Arabi and gave me a huge bag of fresh figs from the trees in his back yard. We sat for a few hours and talked about magic a passion we both shared.
After Katrina, I could not find where he had been moved to. All the area magicians I asked knew nothing as to how to contact him. I did read online that he was OK, but had been declining in health in years even before Katrina. He and area magicians had a falling out years before and none of them had much to do with him anyway. He had become a bit reclusive, all the while his health was failing. I still loved him and missed him. I even attempted to contact Pete Fountain to no avail.
I heard recently Ralph had passed away while living in Florida. I was very saddened, not so much about his passing, he was after all in his late 80's and I have a feeling he went somewhere glorious. What made me sad was the fact I had never located nor spoke to him again. Ralph would always get all teary-eyed whenever you'd be leaving after staying at his home. He was a sweet man who I really miss. I will try to contact Laura, and send my condolences. For now though, here's a little goodbye to Ralphie-Boy.
He was a magician, entertainer, great cook, and good friend. I will miss him and think about him whenever I cook white beans or eat crawfish over a newspaper draped table. Farewell and adieu old pal.
If you want to know about his career, click here!
Ralph Fountain - In Memorium - September 14, 1924 - March 02, 2008
If you are serious about cooking Cajun or Creole Food, you need some serious cookware. Serious doesn't mean expensive necessarily, I mean well made cast iron is what I recommend for your cooking. Lodge, I understand, is the only American made cast iron you can buy now. I own their 7 qt. Dutch Oven and it is marvelous. Nothing makes a roux like cast iron.
I use it for everything I cook nearly, gumbos, jambalayas, red beans, etouffée, and it's great for deep frying. Lodge skillets and kettles come pre-seasoned and are ready to go, right out of the box. The have factory outlet stores here and there, I found the best bargain, if you'd like the dutch oven, is buy it on-line from Walmart, pick it up at the store and pay no shipping.
Their chicken fryer is a great product as well. It's like an extra deep skillet with a lid. They still make corn bread molds and all sorts of skillets and griddles. This cast iron will last you a lifetime and can be passed on to your children or other family when you kick off.
Roux-B-Doo
I was hoping to buy some rice before they move. I know you can buy rice anywhere, but they had some nice pecan rice as well as the popcorn rice, which is my favorite. This rice is so tasty on its own. I find plain rice boring usually, but the speciality rices they carry, are nutty and mellow tasting. I believe most of these rices they sell come from Louisiana.
An enormous amount of rice comes out of Louisiana, 520,000 acres, generating about 200 million dollars. The rice is grown in some areas in cooperation with growing crawfish. The crawfish are raised in the same rice fields, or patties, along with the rice, but at different times of the year. Part of the year rice is grown, then in June the fields are drained for the rice harvest. While the fields are drained, the "mudbugs" burrow down into the mud and grow fat and happy eating the bits of rice the harvesters miss.
The crawfish reproduce in the spring, then the crawfish season is around February I believe. Y'see, grains and crustaceans working hand in claw for a better world. Now wasn't that informative! I just hope I got it all right. That's about all I know about it, except the part when it comes to eating them, which I really enjoy any time of year. My dear wife, who loves lobster and shrimp, considers crawfish to be insects. For some reason she will not eat one at all. I think it is the "mudbug" reference. Oh well, more left over for me.
Well, I got off topic there, but any conversation you can steer toward crawfish logically, is worth having. Let's hope they get the river open and the oil is cleaned up soon. New Orleans has had more than her share of misfortune, and as I said in a post a few days back, it needs to properly recover from Katrina first, and the only way that will happen is when the tourist come back and their numbers are back at pre-Katrina levels. Let's hope that day is soon.
See you later!
Timmy
Roux-B-Doo-B-Doooooooooooo
I went into Mulate's in New Orleans last July with my family, Melanie, Martin and Sarah. When I saw they had a band I said to myself... "oh, great... a band to try to talk over while I am eating." We ordered and the band started, and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this band.
The band was Lee Benoit and the Bayou Stompers. Now, I am a bluegrass and Irish music guy. I do appreciate other types of music, but it has to be good! This guy is awesome. His wife. family and others make up this band and they are equally tremendous.
In the left hand column of this page, toward the bottom, I have linked a pic of his new CD "Ma Petite Femme" to his website. Don't take my word for it, go over there and hear his music. Buy something and tell him I sent you. I get nothing in return but satisfaction I have promoted a man and his band that work really hard and produce great music.
Wish I could say the same about the food that night at Mulate's... oh well, hope it's better in Breaux Bridge.
Timmy
Roux-B-D00
Worried about going to New Orleans? Don't listen to Anderson Cooper on CNN, to hear him New Orleans was completely destroyed. Not so. The downtown areas, especially the French Quarter and surrounding areas like the Garden District, Warehouse District, etc. are fine. But they desperately need tourism in New Orleans.
Yes, the devastation was great, I saw some of the results of it today coming in from Mobile. For some reason though, the news media seem to want to misrepresent where it took place, and that has frightened off tourists. I am there every week and the city seems to be waiting. Things are getting better, conventions are coming and there are some great hotel deals to be had as well, but it hasn't bounced back yet.
The tourist areas are in great shape, (except 6 Flags) all the restaurants are open and hotels are welcoming. If you've never been, you are missing a truly original American icon. The music, food, and culture are really unique.
So, go to New Orleans and have a beignet, or some Etouffée and "Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler” or Let the Good Times Roll!
Roux-B-Doo
Poppy's one of my favorites and her gumbo looks incredible, almost as good as mine! She seems like she'd be a hoot to get to know.
The clean-up is steadily going on in New ORleans, but it was all up and down the Mississippi. Might take a while. BTW let me know if you like my blog, it is my first.
Sitting in the NOLA airport, Delta, CrownRoom, needing sleep!
Timmy-Boy
While on vacation, at home with his family, my little buddy Adam Weber cooked a full Cajun meal for a little family get-together. He used a copy of my recipe book, made gumbo, jambalaya, and not sure what all else. He said it went over huge with his family.
Adam and I worked together on the MS Fantasy where he was a videographer. He will be a great director someday. Maybe he'll be reassigned to our ship again, and we can cook together. Hopefully Chef Jorg will let me cook Cajun food again. It was a big hit last time, and I had a blast.
It turned out really well, I was so relieved that everything turned out well, I am not used to cooking 6 gallons of anything!
See you after your much deserved vacation, Buddy!
Photo by Mrs. Fury
