The Next Food Network Star

I received this letter about auditions in New Orleans.

To Whom It May Concern:
 
I am a Casting Assistant for The Next Food Network Star, Food Network’s hugely successful culinary reality series, which is currently casting for its 2011 season. We would like to inform you and your readers that we are holding an Open Casting Call in New Orleans, LA on Monday, August 16, 2010.  This is the first time we are coming to New Orleans for an open casting call and we can’t wait to meet all the potential candidates there!
 
We are looking for people who are full of life, passionate about cooking, and knowledgeable about food to meet us in person at our open casting call. Please help us spread the word to any chef, home cook, caterer or culinary enthusiast who might be interested in becoming the host of his or her own cooking show on Food Network!
 
The details of our event are as follows:
 
Monday, August 16, 2010
10am-3pm
W New Orleans
333 Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
 
If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to contact me.  Thank you for your time and assistance.
 
Sincerely,
 
 Julie Boskoff
Casting Assistant
The Next Food Network Star 7

Jestines of Charleston

Welcome back to RouxBDoo's Blog, and although it is called Cajun and Creole, many of you know I occaisionally cover other types of Southern foods, like "Low Country", which is another of my absolute favorites. As you might remember I am periodically working out of Charleston, South Carolina, and it has afforded me a chance to try out some of the local cuisine.

What is Low Country? Well, geographically the Low Country is comprised of areas between Coastal South Carolina and Georgia. That coastal plain is below sea level giving it the moniker "Low Country." Culturally the area is known for some of its earlier inhabitants, known as the Gullah. The Gullah were a people made up of freed slaves, Caribbean or West Indian Islanders, and some of the local Native Americans. Many still inhabit barrier islands where their language is still partially intact and their cuisine has influenced dining and restaurants for many years.

One popular Low Country restaurant in Charleston is Jestine's Kitchen. Located at 251 Meeting Street, be aware there is usually a line around the corner most any time they're serving, which is opening at 11:00am through 9:30pm or 10:00pm on weekends. Jestine's is named in honor of Jestine Matthews, a Low Country resident born in 1885. Her mother was native American and her father a freed slave from Wadmalaw Island. The restaurant is a memorial to her cooking, by a family that had employed Jestine for several generations. Although she passed away at the tender age of 112 in 1997, her memory lives on in this restaurant and its food.

I arrived around noon on a Saturday, on a recommendation from my cab driver from the airport. I had my luggage in tow, which was no problem at all to the staff, I parked it inside the front door, poured a glass of ice-water, and took my place outside in line. Fortunately, there was a large menu board in the facing window that let waiting customers read the menu, rather than staring hungrily at the annoyed, dining patrons which is usually the case.

Once inside I looked over the menu and had a tough time deciding what I wanted, all of it looked appealing. I was craving shrimp, so I considered the fried shrimp basket. Now, as you sat down you received a small bowl of some bread-and-butter "icebox" pickles. These were very tasty and went well with the corn bread I got as a pre-appetizer. The appetizers included Chicken and Rice soup, Crabcakes, Corn Fritters, and the always overpriced Fried Green Tomatoes. Charleston restaurants seem to think that Friend Green Tomatoes rank up there with Foie Gras and Caviar. C'mon people, they're slices of tomato dusted with seasoned cornmeal, and deep fried... get over yourselves. So I went in another direction.

I chose the Corn Fritters. I'll have to say they were HUGE. For around 5 bucks you got two Corn-Grenades that were very dense and heavy, and I hate to say I was not really a fan. I was expecting light, hushpuppy-like fritters, maybe in a basket. The taste was OK but a little too bulky. Well, no worry, I didn't have to wait too long until my shrimp arrived. There were about 8 medium sized shrimp, lightly breaded and fried to perfection. They were very good but I could've used a few more, I guess I should've ordered the larger Fried Shrimp Platter. The accompanying slaw and fried okra were very tasty and nice to round out the meal.

I will say they have awesome iced tea. They call it "Jestine's Table Wine" that comes sweetened, if you so desire as with most restaurants in the South. Also I should point out that Jestine's offers Daily Blue Plate Specials in addition to the Salad, Sandwich, Basket, and Plate sections of the menu. There were some Low Country regulars as well as lots of seafood on the menu, the Pecan Crusted items sounded interesting. I was on my usual traveling budget and trying to avoid the sugars associated with desserts, so I bypassed them. I understand Jestine's also operates a sweet shop on Wentworth St. in Charleston as well, so I bet dessert would have been good. I seem to remember being offered Pecan Pie.

Overall, I thought the food was good, price wise the plates run between $10 to $15. The baskets are a bargain running from $5 to $9 as do the sandwiches. All together you can easily get a great meal for under $20, or thereabouts. The atmosphere is nice, decorated with a variety of Salt-n-Pepper shakers and other Southern kitsch that make this little place homey and inviting. The surly waitress I had was a bit snippy but that might be part of the ambience. The service was great nonetheless and I had a nice time overall. So when in Charleston, check out the line outside, calculate the heat index, and then determine if you want to try Jestine's... you might be glad you did.

RouxBDoo

The Noisy Oyster in Charleston

Hello friends, welcome back to my blog. I have a new restaurant for you, I had an opportunity to visit yesterday while I was in Charleston SC. It is called the Noisy Oyster, and if the rest of their food was as good as I had... their food is wonderful. I visited their restaurant on Market St., one of their 3 locations in Charleston, and luckily I was there early and before anyone else. Everyone was nice and friendly, and I was seated quickly and met my waiter Josh. When I travel I keep myself on a budget, so I looked over the menu to see what was good and within my price range. Everything on the lunch menu was very reasonable, plus I was also in the posession of a $5.00-off Appetizer coupon I had secured from a time share booth down the street.

I decided on the She Crab Soup for my appetizer since that is one of my favorite soups. Any creamy crab-type soup is always my favorite, as some of you know I have a great crab soup recipe on this blog, you have to go back through the archives a little. Josh brought out the soup and I was presented with an empty bowl that had a mound of lump crab meat in the middle. The soup portion was in a small pitcher which he proceeded to pour around the crabmeat. He also had a bottle of sherry vinegar which he started to pour until I stopped him and told him I would do the honors. This soup was incredibly creamy and flavorful. The lump crab meat was sweet and fresh tasting, and when I did add a dash of the sherry vinegar it really complimented the soup. I knew it would, but I like to do stuff like that myself.

For my entrée I decided on one of my other favorites, the Shrimp and Grits. I absolutely love grits, all my life I have enjoyed them. Also you can't beat shrimp, so the two of them together is pure magic. These were creamy cheese grits, with the sauteéd shrimp and slices of andouille sausage, layered over the grits and topped with a savory brown tasso sauce. The portion was huge and the best I have eaten. As some of you know Shrimp and Grits is a Low Country cuisine favorite and recipes vary as much as recipes for gumbo. The key is to season the grits properly, some places put nothing in the grits and I hear people all the time say, "they taste like wallpaper paste". This happens when you don't season them with salt, pepper, and butter. Also don't forget when making them, you can substitute half of the water for cream or milk.

The Shrimp and Grits were served with a huge chunk of their grilled cheddar cornbread. Let me tell you about this cornbread. I normally hate sweet cornbread, I say it's bread, not cake. But brothers and sisters listen to me... this stuff was awesome. A sweet flavor, with bits of cheddar cheese running through it, a nice brown crust on the outside. Moist and flavorful, this was the perfect compliment to the dish. The food was tasty and well prepared. Everyone was friendly, and Josh did a nice job serving me.

I was offered a dessert from the incredible-looking dessert tray, but I had no room for anything. They looked amazing though, a Key Lime Pie, a five decker chocolate cake, 5 different cheesecakes, it was beautiful. I payed my very reasonable bill and told Josh what an awesome meal I'd had. I recommend this restaurant very highly, they have a diverse menu and everything I had was great. I apologize for the blue tint to the pictures, it must be my crappy phone camera. I tried adjusting the color of them in Photoshop, but it made the food look even weirder.

Check out The Noisy Oyster when in Charleston, or you can CLICK HERE and look over their menu online. Tell them RouxBDoo sent you!

Cheers!

Dreamland Barbecue

Hello friends, I am sorry about the length of time between posts, but my work has me away from home most of the time. I do not realistically have internet access on the ship, I could but it's VERY expensive. So I am preparing 3, maybe 4 posts while I am home. These posts will curve slightly away from the Cajun and Creole subject, (just a tiny bit) but as you might see they are about as close as you can get to it. After all they are Southern Foods, and what's more Southern than barbecue? So, here we go!

I love barbecue, I love all kinds of it, especially pork. And I love all kinds of pork, they's pulled pork, chopped pork, sliced pork, pork-kabobs, pork creole, pork gumbo. pan fried pork, deep fried pork, stir-fried pork, pineapple pork, lemon pork, coconut pork, pepper pork, pork soup, pork stew, pork salad, pork and potatoes, pork burger, pork sandwich, and little bitty stingin' pork... and big ol' fat pork. pork that flew in sideways, and sometimes pork even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Don't you Forrest? You get the idea.

While cavorting with my colleagues in Mobile Alabama, we decided to have barbecue one day. We were in Jason's automobile and using some sort of mapping device, we punched in the appropriate "Barbecue" keyword and off we went to one of Mobile's oldest and most venerable establishments... Dreamland Barbecue.

My friend Mangesh, being from India, had had little exposure to barbecue. Upon arriving he noticed smoke emitting from the building. After expressing his concern, I assured him that was a GOOD sign. Yes, you could smell the wood smoke all around the outside of the building. We quickly ran inside to avoid further exposure to the searing heat of the Alabama sun. Mangesh is used to the oppressive heat, being from India, but Myself being a pale, fat, white guy, and Jason a mere wisp of a Pennsylvanian boy, were at the sun's mercy.

We settled in and looked over the menu. Our server Tonique, gave us all the scoop on what was good and even brought us a tiny sample of their wonderful smoked sausage. She also brought us a plate-full of small cups of BBQ sauce and a stack of good ol' plain white bread. No pretension, I like this place already. The menu was also posted on a lighted sign in several locations around the room. The place was full of people ranging from businessmen, families, to working men. It had a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.

I ordered the half slab of ribs, as did Mangesh, and Jason opted for the pulled pork sammich. I love ribs as a matter of record, I would normally order a full slab, but I am trying to cut back on portions. The half rack, I was told, is about 6 ribs and should be enough with the sides. I ordered the beans and slaw, as did Mangesh, and finished my order off with an iced tea... yes, you guessed it, as did Mangesh. The Iced Tea was great, and Tonique kept those glasses full. Somewhere along the line, someone got potato salad. I just noticed this in the picture.

Jason seemed to enjoy his sandwich, which always makes me happy when Jason enjoys food. He doesn't eat much more than cereal on the ship and I worry about him. It's a "fatherly" thing I guess, since he and Mangesh both are young enough to be my sons. Mangesh laughingly refers to me as his American Father. All that aside, that sandwich did look mighty good. Lovely white, smoked, pork meat piled high on the bun with cole slaw. It was a nice, soft, Red-Neck whitebread bun too! Not one of those Nurf Foorball looking, "Olde World" natural-tough, grain buns, with more tasteless grain sprinkled onto it, like you get in some "up-scale" delis. Everything was right with this sandwich.

We looked like total tourists because I was trying to shoot pictures for this blog. I was trying using my Crap Phone camera, while Jason and Mangesh were snapping away with their superior iPhones or whatever. The interior is cool and dark. The open wood pit was illuminating the room with the fire, as well as giving everything a slight "smoky" atmosphere. We shot some pics of our lovely and patient waitress Tonique, as well as pictures of the Pit-Master Sandy. Sandy is a large, strapping gentleman who has a hot, but important job of maintaining the fire and all the meat cooking on it. A lot rides on his shoulders... get it? Pork Shoul... oh well forget it.

The General Manager, Margo told me a little about Dreamland and its humble beginnings. How John "Big Daddy" Bishop opened the small eatery in Tuscaloosa, AL in 1958, and his legacy has kept that hickory fired taste, sopped up with white bread, ever since. There are Dreamland restaurants in many locations now in several states, but Alabama is home to this family run business. After talking to a few folks, we strolled into the sunlight, and began shrieking like the pale kids in the Twilight movies at the searing sun, all except Mangesh... remember he's from India.

How was the food? In a word, delicious. The ribs were tasty, I like mine a little more "fall off the bone" but the perfectly charred meat came off clean from the bone and had a wonderful smoke center to its flavor. The beans were very good as was the slaw. The sauce is not very sweet, as I am used to it, but it compliments the meats very well. Jason liked his sandwich, as did Mangesh. Mangesh did mention several positive things about his meal but as usual I couldn't make out much of what he was saying with that accent of his, it's like being on the phone with Microsoft Customer Service. All in all, we had a great meal and I recommend when you are passing through or visiting the lovely city of Mobile, you stop in for some great food. You can check on their other locations if you CLICK HERE. The website will not only give you locations, but the history, and how to order some of their items.

RouxBDoo

Mudbugs in Mobile

I have been craving crawfish lately. Now, I have fried crawfish tails at my favorite Boiling Pot in Mobile, but I was wanting some fresh boiled crawfish, dripping with seasoned boil water, pleading for me to release them from their spiny armour and devour them. It was nearing, or even past, the end of crawfish season and I was yet to have some. I had seen this place in Mobile on the drive to the seaport from the airport, and wanted to stop and eat but they only do carry-out.

The place is Mudbugs, and the have wonderful BIG crawfish that are boiled to perfection. The heavenly aroma oozed from the plastic bag-full of tasty, red crustaceans, starving me as they filled my head with visions of mounds of the vermillion varmits. OK, I wax poetically about these things, but they are oh-so good.

Mudbugs has all types of fish and seafood that you can get fresh, fried, steamed or boiled. They also have other foods like smoked sausage, boudin, tasso, andouille, as well as alligator meat and frog legs, to name a few. They're speciality though, is exemplified in their unique moniker, unappetizing to some of faint culinary heart, but to true lovers of crawfish, Mudbugs says it all.

Crawfish, as those of you who've had them will tell you, are a bit messy, but I find them easier to deal with than shelling shrimp. I am always tempted to crack into the little claws and try and dig the little bit of the claw meat out, but you're wasting your time, go for the tail, for the most part it's fairly easy.

For those of you who haven't had the honor, first you crack the back half off of the crawfish at the spot where the tail meets the body shell, or carapace. Sometimes the tail comes away with a set of legs. Peel this ring off, along with the legs, and pinch the base of the tail to loosen the piece of meat from the shell. This will slide right out ready for eatin'.

There will be a small amount of crawfish fat, (or "butter" as the NOLA folks call it) attached to the tail, this is a tasty extra you don't want to wipe off. You can also push your pinky finger into the carapace and scrape out more of this "butter". My friend Ralph Fountain taught me this little trick to extract it as opposed to all this "suckin' heads" business. These, by the way, are actions employed my true crawfish-anados. Diggin' for the "butter" is not usually for the squeamish first-timers. You might also want to slide the "vein" out of the tail meat, as you would a shrimp. BTW... it's not a vein.

What do you dip them in? Well, you don't have to dip them in anything. I like them plain, most times, and sometimes I will employ a little red cocktail sauce. You might actually want to dip them in drawn or clarified butter, but I think that's just overkill. Just enjoy the sweet flavor of the morsels of tail meat without covering it up with strong flavors like horseradish or worcestershire sauce, ingredients usually found in cocktail sauce.

Can you use crawfish tails in other dishes, well yes you can. The aforementioned fried crawfish is a wonderful treat. You dip the peeled crawfish tails in a wash of milk and egg, then into some corn flour that's been fortified with a little cajun spice mix, and fry in a deep fryer or skillet full of 365º oil.

You can also make a nice crawfish étouffée or put some into a seafood gumbo. Hank Williams sang about Crawfish Pie which are a delicacy in Cajun country. There are many things you can put these crawfish in after shelling them, and you can even buy already-shelled crawfish tails for recipes. This makes it even easier to cook with. Mudbugs sell those shelled crawfish tails by the pound.

I thought I would publish a crawfish beignet recipe with this column. These are wonderful and easy to make. This recipe came from Creole Delicacies/Cookin' Cajun in New Orleans on St. Anne's. Lisette and the girls would make these occaisionally and I talked them out of the recipe. Make these up with a batch of remoulade sauce and sit back and enjoy.

If you are traveling in the Gulf Coast area, remember most all crawfish are farm raised and are fine for consumption. For now most seafood in the region is OK, but let's pray they can clean the BP oil mess up before it destroys the oyster beds or shrimping areas. Alright, that's another story, let's wrap this up.

As you can see by my Crawfish Puppet Theater, I love crawfish. Ever since the first time I had them, I've had this obsession about them. Try them, if you haven't yet, and you might catch the fever as I did. If you can't get to Mudbugs, you can order crawfish on-line and they will be flown, alive, to your home. A crawfish boil is easy to put on, but it takes 3 to 4 pounds to make up enough for the average eater. I've heard 10 lbs of whole crawfish yields 1 lb of meat, but it's worth it.

Mudbugs is located at the loop 408 at Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile Alabama, they have a super friendly staff, and great fresh seafood. They are closed on Mondays, and have no indoor dining facilities, but the nice lady did offer to let me sit on a bench in the store and eat them off of a tray, but I thought better of it. Get over to see them soon, and tell'em RouxBDoo sent you.

Crawfish Beignets

2 cups plain flour
2 tbs baking powder
2 tbs cajun seasoning
¼ cup minced bell pepper
1 tbs minced garlic
4 green onions thinly sliced
3 tbs fresh minced parsley
1 tsp hot sauce
1 ½ cup seafood or chicken stock
1 lb Crawfish tails

Mix dry ingredients evenly. Add remaining ingredients, except for stock and hot sauce. Mix well and add hot sauce ans then the stock, but just enough stock to form a loose sticky dough. Let stand for 15 mins.

Preheat fryer to 350º Spoon in batter, or use a portion scoop, and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, serve with remoulade sauce. These go well with a nice cold beer.

RouxBDoo

Red Beans and Birthday Skillets

Hello friends, as Justin Wilson used to say "How Y'all are?" I hope everyone is well and looking forward to a great summer of grilling lots of great food and enjoying the season with friends and family. Although today isn't Monday, (it's Friday) I made a big ol' pot of Red Beans, Creole style. This is one of my favorite dishes, although I am not having rice with them tonight.

Why did I mention Monday, because Monday was the traditional day to make red beans as it was "Wash Day". The woman of the house, or maid, would be busy with washing and cleaning up from the previous week and weekend, they needed something that could be put together and slid to the back of the stove to simmer all day. Plus there would be a big ham bone left over from Sunday to throw in the pot as well. I have posted a red bean recipe here before but I thought I'd repeat it. I usually make something a bit different every time I make it. These are no exception. This is slightly different from my previous red beans recipe.

Red Beans & Rice

1 lb pkg, Red Kidney Beans (dried)
1/2 stick butter
1 onion (diced small)
2 ribs of celery (diced small)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 lb Andouille sausage (diced small)
1/2 smoked (or country) ham scraps
1 chicken stock cube
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbs Tony Chachere's (or similar) Cajun Spices
2 cups crushed tomatoes
Water - enough to cover by 3 inches

First for the beans, soak them overnight or par-boil them before using them. In a 7 qt. dutch oven, melt butter, fry ham 5 mins. add onions, celery, and garlic, cook 5 more mins. Add the andouille, spices, sauces, tomatoes, and herbs. Stir well and add 2 cups of boiling water with the stock cube dissolved in them. Cook 5 mins. and then add beans, stir well. Add enough water to cover over the beans 3 inches. Bring up to MED/HI and cook for 30 mins. stirring often to prevent sticking. Turn down to MED and let cook uncovered until beans are tender and water has reduced and thickened. Usually about 2 hours. Serve with rice topped with thin-sliced, green onions.

On an ending note. I was at my Mother's house today making the beans and I mentioned I wanted to buy a new cast iron skillet of pretty good size. As you can see by the beans pictures, I love my sweet Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven. I said jokingly that I might get the new skillet for my birthday in July. She walked out on her back-porch and came back carrying something wrapped up in an old plastic grocery bag. She said "this has been sittin' on the porch for a long time, I was wondering what to do with it, Happy Early Birthday".

I couldn't believe it but it was a Griswold Cast Iron #6 Skillet that's at least 50 - 60 years old. It was in great shape, a few little rust spots I quickly buffed out, but all it needs is re-seasoning. Griswold was a fine old cast iron company from Erie Pennsylvania that produced sturdy, wonderful cookware like my new early birthday present. I am lucky she hadn't tossed it or given it to someone else, but I am also lucky to have a wonderful Mom like mine. At 87 years old she is still active running around with her friends, performing with a show-choir, and worring about her children and grand-children.

Man, those sure were good red beans tonight.

RouxBDoo

Oil Spill effect on Louisiana Seafood

The seafood industry is in terrible trouble in the Gulf of Mexico. This not only affects Louisiana but the entire Gulf Coast, eventually. While the Obama Administration twiddles it's collective thumbs, the problem gets worse. Prices are already being doubled on oysters in some markets. Most likely, it will affect all seafood. I hope there is a solution, and some genius finds it before too soon, BP sure isn't going to do anything but pass the blame.

Here is an article that illustrates the seafood industry's problems. It's not only the wholesalers, restauranteurs, or diners that are suffering, but the fishermen will be hurt the most. Many are just now starting to recover from Katrina, and now this. I am completely speechless, I have nothing else to add to this post.

CLICK HERE for the article.

RouxBDoo

Backbones and Gravy

As a lot of you know, I love backbones, or country ribs. I usually get them boneless, so it becomes an oxymoron, boneless backbones. I have been cutting back on my carbs so I haven't made my favorite pork dish, Backbones and Rice. I made these and thought you'd like to see them. I braised these ribs actually. What is braising?

braise (brz)
tr.v. braised, brais·ing, brais·es
To cook (meat or vegetables) by browning in fat, then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container.

You start with about 3 - 4 lbs of backbones, (or country ribs, or country-style ribs, sometimes western ribs, never Country & Western Ribs) and give them a sprinkle of Cajun Spices, dredge them in flour (there go my carbs), and fry them in 3-4 tbs. of oil, on MED/HI, in a cast iron dutch oven, or big pot with a lid. After they are browned, about 20 mins., add a diced onion, 1 tbs garlic (minced), a bay leaf or two, 2 tbs worcestershire, and barely cover them with water or chicken stock. Let boil for about 20 mins., and place them in a 225º oven for about 4-5 hours. The will fall apart when you serve them, that is if you let anyone else have any.

These are great, give them a try. I served them with the gravy spooned over mashed potatoes, and the meat piled onto buttermilk biscuit halves. What was that? Carbohydrates? Dang.

RouxBDoo

A Pecan Pie Fantasy!

On the cruise ship MS Fantasy, where I work, I have lots of friends from many different countries. One of my favorite people is a lovely, young Indian lady named Soorya Krishna, she works on board with her husband Prajod. Prajod is the Pastry Chef on board but his culinary knowledge is incredible, far beyond pastries and cruise ship fare. He is classically trained and has worked in different parts of the world. Soorya is a waitress who is now at home enjoying her well deserved vacation, Prajod will soon be joining her. They are a lovely couple and my good friends.

My friend Soorya is just as sweet as she can be and has found she LOVES an American dish that is as Southern as a 5-string banjo. Her favorite American dessert is Pecan Pie. Now she found this out be trying a pie made by our mutual friend and Den Mother in Mobile, none other than "crew gate security lady" Tammy Johnson. Tammy loves to bake pies and cakes for the crew. Her Pound Cake has no equal. She also makes one of the best pecan pies in the world.

Earlier in the year, Soorya was bugging me to make her a pecan pie. She was curious to learn how, and even bought some pecans in Mobile. She knows my love of cooking all things Southern, having been the caretaker of my Jezebel Sauce I made on board. I told her I would love to but would need permission from the Executive Chef on board. She stayed after Prajod to make sure it was cool, I picked up some extra pecans in Mexico, and donned my chef's coat and pants and off to the galley I went to make some pecan pies.

Prajod and I worked on the pies, Soorya was still working and couldn't be there. She did manage to stop by and take a few pictures, you can see only the pecans are in the pie shells for prebaking. We got the pies into the ovens and within an hour she was feasting on her favorite sugary confection. I was happy to make these for her, it was fun, and it was her last week on-board before she would be heading home to India. I miss my little friend and hope to see her and Prajod on some other ship on their next contract. I gave her the recipe and she swore she'd try making it at home, or talking her Mother into it, she's good at that.

I thought I'd give you my recipe for pecan pie as well. It was told to me verbally by my friend Corinne from New Orleans. I think it's the best one I've ever used. Corinne used to work at Creole Delicacies in Riverwalk, I miss her and the rest of the girls there. Thanks Corinne for the recipe.

Corinne's Nawlins Pecan Pie

3 whole eggs (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla (or Brandy)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs butter (melted)
⅔ cup light Karo corn syrup
¼ tsp kosher salt
⅓ cup Steen'’s Pure Cane syrup (or light molasses)
1 ½ cups pecans
1 9 inch ready-made pie shell

Pour pecans into pie crust, place in pre-heated 350º oven for 5 mins. Thoroughly mix the eggs, brown sugar, Karo syrup, Cane syrup, vanilla, butter, and salt in a bowl, and pour over pecans after they’'ve cooled. Place into oven for 45 to 50 mins. Let cool and set-up before slicing.

RouxBDoo

La Floresta Authentic Tacos

In my business travels, I spend ALOT of time in Mexico, specifically the Yucatan region, in the state of Quintana Roo. I am in Cozumel weekly, but sometimes I am required to fly out of Cancun since few of the airlines offer weekday flights year round. This might cause you to say, "boy he's lucky, getting to go to all those places every week." Well, before you do, let me say this, I am very lucky to have a full time job that pays well and allows me to share my talents with others.

What's the downside? I have to travel constantly, and go to the same place every week. I have flown into Cancun over 100 times, yet I've never SEEN Cancun. I have never been downtown nor do I even know what it looks like. I do know the road from Playa Del Carmen intimately, since that is how I get to Cancun from Cozumel, using a ferry into Playa. I have a regular taxi driver, whom I befriended over time, that meets me and off we go.

Many times I have to catch something to eat on the run, and my friend and driver Carlos Cupul Aguilar, knows all the great places (by the way his hair is not green, it's my crappy phone camera). Many are roadside taco stands, and some actually have a sit-down service. My favorite is by far... La Floresta. La Floresta is located on the main highway in Playa Del Carmen and is well worth your time if you're vacationing in the area.

As you can see by the limited menu, it is mostly seafood or "mariscos" on the tacos they serve. Alright before you flip out over the prices, they are listed in pesos, it runs about 10 - 1 dollarwise. So if you see something that costs 16.00, this is around $1.50. The place is truly a bargain and the food is wonderful. La Floresta has been in operation for 17 years, and is owned and operated by my new friend Enrique Gonzalez.

Let's start with my favorite the shrimp tacos. These shrimp are untra-fresh, batter-dipped, butterflied, large shrimp. They are fished locally from this region and have such a wonderful flavor. The batter is light and fluffy and enhances, rather than covering up, the delicate taste of the shrimp. They come to you bare, accompanied only by a warm, masa (corn) tortilla.

The condiments provided are a wonderful Pico de Gallo, which is a diced tomato, onion, jalapeña, cilantro, and lime juice salsa. They make the freshest and best Pico I have ever eaten IN MY LIFE!!! This is also aided by a red and green salsa, the green being a green habañero pepper sauce that must be used with extreme caution. To finish out the taco you're provided with mayonnaise. Really? Mayonnaise? You betcha, anytime I find a new use for mayonnaise is cause for celebration, and this one knocks it out of the park.

You put your taco together as illustrated, add a little green fire, and some mayo and man, oh man, is it ever tasty. The best tacos I've ever had. The crabmeat tacos I pictured in the previous post were good, but the shrimp tacos are wonderful. What Mexico calls taco and what is served at McTacos in the US are quite different in spirit and ingredient. These are massively superior.

Down the road you can find tacos made from braised pork, chile rellenos, and chicharrones to name a few. These are nearly as marvelous in their flavors and simplicity. Maybe we will explore these in a future post.

As for La Floresta, the staff is friendly and quick. Lupe and Carlos (pictured) were wondering why I come by so often, my driver Carlos explained that I worked on the cruise ship. They smiled, posed for a picture, and went about their business. The people of this region of Mexico are the friendliest and most accommodating people in the world, I love this part of the country.

I hope you get a chance to experience this area, its food and its people. My friend Carlos takes great care of me, I have met his family, including his baby daughter, and they are lovely. Make it a point to check out this restaurant if you do make it down Yucatan way.

Adios

El RouxBDiablo

Heading to Mexico

Alright, it has been a couple of weeks since I posted and I feel bad, but I have been working on the pictures for this next post. It is not Cajun, it is not Creole, it's not even Louisiana nor Alabama. It's Mexico, yes I am there every week and thought I'd share some of my favorite local foods with you. The next post, next week is about TACOS. Yes, tacos of all sorts, so check back in next week.

I appreciate every one of my readers and followers, and I promise more great posts in the future. I am going back to New Orleans in May and hopefully will get to someplace new. Until then enjoy this photo of a crab taco, mmmmmmmm. Muy delicioso.

RouxBDoo

Mama's in Mobile

In my quest to find unique dining establishments in my current home port of Mobile, I made my way downtown and strolled the quaint Dauphin Street to see what was going on... culinarily speaking. I found a lovely restaurant producing some great food without pretense, snobbery, or "flair." Nice atmosphere, just like you stepped back in time... the good time. High ceilings, a nice smell coming out of the kitchen, and people enjoying their meals. The name was simply "Mama's."

This place has been open in this location about 6 to 7 years. While there is no official Mama, Marshall Barstow answers to the call of owner, manager, or proprietor. A friendly fellow who told me how he'd like to expand but there's nowhere to expand to. That's a shame, they seem to have a great business. I was there around 1:30 on a Monday, and the place has full. It seemed to be mostly locals who, by the way, can lead you to the better eating establishments. (BTW of you're in a cruise port, follow the crew to the best eateries) I settled in and inquired from a fellow at a table nearby, "what's good?" "Everything," he said. Sounds like I've hit the spot.

I was greeted by a schweeeet little lady named Julie. Not only was she pretty, but was friendly as can be. I settled one some gumbo, since we all know "I LOVE GUMBO" and I need it every-so-often to summon my "inner Cajun" spirit. The gumbo was very good, nice and dark, with ample bits of seafood, in a word, TASTY! I will have to say I was disappointed their "Lunch Special Meatloaf Platter" was sold out. Dang, my second favorite, oh well, back to the menu. Oh, in this picture, Julie is on the right in a green shirt, and her friend and fellow waitress Ashley is next to her.

For my entreé, I chose the Red Beans and Rice. Being a Monday, and we all know the rule about Red Beans... well you don't remember??? Red Beans are cooked on Monday since it's wash day. The object is that you put them on and slide them back on the stove on simmer and let'em cook all day. The beans were exceptional, seasoned with the local favorite Conecuh Smoked Sausage, they had a wonderful flavor, all that smoky goodness in each bite. I also chose a side of collard greens with my meal. They were very nice as well. Everything was good here. I know they serve fresh seafood and Alabama Wild Shrimp for example. Good products make good meals.

In case you haven't figured this out, there is a lot of Cajun and Creole food down here in Mobile. As I've said before, "if I can't work out of New Orleans, Mobile is a great alternative." I would mention Mama's website, if they had one. I told Marshall he needs to get on that right away. He said he would. Since I am link happy, CLICK HERE for a page of great reviews. They are located downtown Mobile, at 220 Dauphin St., about a block from the park. They are only open for lunch, five days a week, 11:00am - 2:00pm. They have great food, good prices, and friendly attractive ladies to serve it to you. That's not sexist, they are pretty, and smart too, they liked my new hat I had just bought next door. I'll get a pic of it up soon, it's real nice!

RouxBDoo

Mobile's Cookin' Chili... woo-hoo!!!

I smell cumin, I smell tomatoes, hurry where are my chili boots, get my chili boots!!! OK, let's relax and take a breath. Smell that? Mmmmmm, that's the smell of Mobile Alabama's 21st Annual ACS Chili Cook-Off, and I'm heading downtown.

I work on a cruise ship out of Mobile, a lovely little place that, if I can't do a ship out of New Orleans, Mobile is a nice runner-up. You can see an influence from the numerous Cajun and Creole restaurants to the Mardi Gras that takes place the same time as the one in New Orleans. Interestingly the Mobilians will tell you that Mardi Gras originated in Mobile. A fact that New Orleaneans tend to avoid, but I won't go there.

Anyhow, I arrived on Saturday to join the ship and got a call from my buddy Jason, telling me that the Chili Cook-Off was going on in the park downtown. We made plans to meet and test the different chilis and determine which we think is best, or worst. My first chili cook-off and me without my lucky wooden chili spoon. I would survive.

Well the atmosphere was electric with a hint of cilantro. We got our hand stamped and moved through the crowd following our noses. Jason had been there earlier that day and knew the ins and outs. We arrived at the first tent and received my first taste of chili.

The first chili we sampled was actually one of the best ones we tasted. The provided sour cream, shredded cheese, and the best part was a piece of cornbread. Now before I go any further, the chili was about 1 or 2 spoonfuls, the cornbread was the size of a cube of sugar. I found out why you get such tiny portions later after our 4th or 5th tent. Those little spoonfuls add up quickly, thankfully I was not adorning my chili with the cheese and sour cream, but it does accumulate quite fast.

Now most of them tasted about the same. A few of them had a nice smoky flavor, indicating the inclusion of andouille or a similar smoked meat. A few of the booths were REALLY aggressive and, funny enough, these tended to be the lesser chilis, over-compensating for an inferior product. There were actually a few that were AWFUL.

Some of the highlights were the Fire Department that included corn fritters with theirs. Since I am on a low-carb diet, one of these, along with the aformentioned cornbread, and hidden carbs in the chili had me at my limit for the day. There were great corn fritters containing bits of corn and jalapeña peppers. Very tasty, and helped out the fact their chili was only marginal at best. Sorry guys, I love and admire firemen, but the chili was just OK. While we're talking about good causes, I nearly failed to mention the Chili Cook-Off was sponsored by the American Cancer Society. What a great organization, it always feels good to help them out.

I will have to say that the two worst chilis of the day were those containing odd meats like buffalo, etc. The buffalo chili was horrible. Now, I can't imagine buffalo actually tasting like this and people around the country eating it and telling everyone how great it is. "Oooh, buffalo is sooooo good, and low in fat, and this, and that, and blah, blah, blah," you can hear them gushing. This chili actually tasted spoiled or like it contained some alien organ meats of some sort. It went straight in the trash.

Now for the mmost part the contenders were traditional chili types, not one of those snooty Texas cook-offs where everybody is braggin', "they ain't no beans in my chili, true chili don't contain no beans, that's the way we cook it in Texas, while we use our double-negatives and such." They're like that about their barbecue too, oh they brag about it with their tough-ass brisket and "no sauce" policy. Don't get me started. Anyway, I like beans in my chili, they add so much to the dish, in my humble opinion. Of course you pay for it later.

To sum this post up, my buddy Jason and I had a great Chili Cook-Off. I managed to not blow the diet and have a good time. There were some good chilis, some bad chilis, and one REALLY bad chili. The moral of this story is... no one makes chili better than my own. If you'd like my recipe, CLICK HERE!

RouxBDoo

It's been a long Winter

Well, I guess a lot of you are wondering where I have been. A couple of things, my computer was in the shop, I have been snow bound a couple of times, and I really haven't done or had anything good or fun to write about. I have an upcoming post about Wintzell's Restaurant, but am waiting on the pictures.

Some good news, Top New Orleans Chef John Besh beat Mario Batali, Thursday night, on Iron Chef America. While I respect Mario Batali and his impressive knowledge about Italian food and others, it was nice to see our boy win one. He should have been an Iron Chef, but Michael Symon was picked by the judges. OK, I'm sorry, Symon is good but John Besh whomped him. Oh well, what'ya you gonna do.

Crawfish season is on and I am looking for some in Mobile. I will alert you when I have found some, in the mean time, go out and find your own mudbugs, berl'em up and have yo' self a time.

RouxBDoo