Mardi Gras 2013

New Orleans during Mardi Gras season (which is the four weeks before Lent) is an amazing experience. The entire city turns itself out with gusto, decorating every available surface in purple, green, and gold and embracing the traditions of the season.

These people were NOT fooling around.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, I had visited New Orleans on a number of occassions - but never during Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest, due to my aversion to large, drunken crowds. My main interest in the city was the food, the shopping, and the spooky history.

My first couple of trips included graveyard tours, ghost tours, a drive by Anne Rice's house, eating in "famous" (read: touristy) restaurants, and wandering around the French Quarter. As I got to know the city better, I started to branch out - visiting farther-flung neighborhoods and seeking out favorite shops, bars, and restaurants. This trip, I traveled with two, dear friends who are at a similar place in their relationship with the city, so we had a great time sharing best-loved spots with each other. We, basically, ate, drank, and shopped our way around the city.

For today's post, I'd like to focus on the food and drink. We ate some EPIC meals at restaurants that were off the "tourist" path and we drank some amazing cocktails, both fancy and basic.

Our first night in the city, my friend John had made reservations at a gorgeous little bistro called Coquette, located in the center of the Garden District. We arrived for our 8p reservation and had to wait a bit for a table. It was immediately apparent why. The atmosphere, the service, and the food/drink were so wonderful that I can completely understand not wanting to leave.

I ordered a Sazarac, a rye and bitters cocktail that originated in New Orleans. I drank a few during this trip and I can honestly say that the one at Coquette was the best of the weekend. In the "craft" tradition, the bar makes its own syrups and specialty cocktails and only uses the best ingredients. Which leads me to my best find of the weekend - "shrubs".

On the cocktail menu, I noticed a number of ingredients referred to as "shrubs". Apple shrub, cucumber shrub, pear shrub, etc. The slightly-Cajun-accented (and very charming) bartender explained that shrubs are, basically, cocktail syrups that are made in-house. The difference between a shrub and a soda syrup, like the ones I made last summer, is that shrubs have the addition of vinegar. The basic recipe is this:

1. Cook down your fruit/vegetable/herb in water

2. Strain and discard the solids

3. Mix equal parts (1/3, 1/3, 1/3) of your fruit/vegetable/herb concentrate, simple syrup, and vinegar

4. Bottle in a tightly-capped glass bottle

Wikipedia has an interesting entry on shrubs - otherwise known as "drinking vinegars".

Once we were at our table, the first epic meal started. Cheese board, appetizers, entrees, and desserts. I had some of the most delicately fried sweatbreads I've ever tasted and a pork chop that was - no lie - the size of my dinner plate and an inch and a half thick. It was insane. Dessert was a butterscotch pudding with bourbon "bubbles", scotcheroo crumbles, and... wait for it... BACON ICE CREAM. Oh.My.God. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

The next day, we had lunch at Luke (there's supposed to be an umlaut over the "u" but I don't know how to make that happen...) which is a John Besh restaurant that focuses on updated versions of traditional Louisiana cuisine. I had a shrimp and grits that was absolutely divine. Turns out that they make their grits (slow cooked, not instant) with marscapone cheese. So, yeah. Pretty much the best grits ever. As an appetizer, we had an onion tart that I can't even begin to describe other than to say "amazing". And, I enjoyed one of their signature cocktails called Riverbend - vodka, lemon juice, basil syrup, blueberries (crushed), and ginger ale - which was very light and refreshing.

Saturday's epic meal was at Toups' Meatery in Mid-City, a neighborhood I'd never visted before. This unassuming little corner storefront has a great, informal atmosphere, fun service, and an outstanding menu of meat, meat, and more meat. We ate so much - cheese board, meat board, boudin balls, deviled eggs (with bacon, of course), cracklins, the best dirty rice I've ever tasted, and then our entrees - that I could write a post on this meal alone. My entree was a porchetta that was so large I could barely eat half. Then we topped it off by splitting a salted caramel, bacon, and peanut butter cake. The new-favorite  drink I was introduced to was a liquor called Liquer Strega.

This bold, yellow digestif is made with 70 herbs which include fennel, mint, and saffron (which gives it its color). It was a surprise after-dinner-drink gifted to us by our wonderful waiter. I can't thank him enough for introducing me to this interesting concoction and I can't wait to start experimenting with Strega cocktails.

Finally, we had to have one, semi-touristy meal so we had brunch on Monday at The Court of Two Sisters, a French Quarter institution with a lovely "80-item" buffet. While it wasn't the most amazing food of the weekend, it was a nice, solid way to finish up our stay. Of particular note was the blue cheese potato salad and the turtle soup with sherry. Oh... and the peel-and-eat boiled shrimp with the stone-ground mustard sauce. Yum.

On Sunday, we intentionally went to the Krewe of Barkus Mardi Gras parade which is the largest dog parade in the world. It was amazing fun and there are enough stories and photos for an entire separate blog post. Look for that one next week. :)

If you get a chance to go to NOLA, plan your food carefully and you too could end up with meal memories that will last a lifetime.

- Alex

Hoodoo Reblast

Advice I probably should have taken.

For the last three weeks I've been nursing the flu. And, when I say the flu, I mean the actual 2013 epidemic influenza. I won't gross you out with all the details but suffice it to say that I haven't been "making" much of anything except excessive phlegm.

I have, in fact, been watching an inordinate amount of television and sleeping and sleeping and sleeping...

So, today, for the first time in three weeks, I'm feeling pretty human - which is good because tomorrow I leave for four and a half days in New Orleans. I'm getting away from this bitter cold and my sick bed and going to drink Hurricanes and eat etouffee.

The trip to NOLA is predicated on going to the Krewe of Barkus parade on Saturday. The Krewe of Barkus' participants are dogs (escorted by their human companions) and is an officially registered krewe in its eleventh year of parading. It's a proper Mardi Gras parade with a King and Queen and an annual theme. This year it's "Tails & Tiaras: Here Comes Honey Bow Wow". All I can tell you is that I'm seriously sad that I'm not taking my dogs and participating... I will, however, be wallowing in all the wonderfully dressed-up puppies and Mardi Gras energy.

In honor of my trip to New Orleans, I thought I'd re-post a recipe that Cassandra and I developed last year for the Hoodoo Foods: Rootwork Recipe Roundup cookbook. Make this fabulous stew and let the ingredients work their magic!

See you all next week - hopefully with some great pictures and stories!

- Alex

Magical Beans

http://normandapito.deviantart.com

As our regular readers know, Cassandra and I rather love spooky stuff like Halloween, Ghost Hunters, Catholocism, and psychics, just to name a few.

As a kid, I was already indoctrinated into the idea of the paranormal through the teachings of the church. Virgin birth, coming back after you've died, "knowing all" from some throne in the sky.... Then, as a young, disenfranchised teen, I acquired a "next to the cash register" book called Everyday Witchcraft. It was a pocket-sized paper-back with a black cat on the cover and it contained a short history of witchcraft, definitions, and a bunch of spells. While I can't speak to the authenticity of any of it and will admit that I never actually had the guts to really try the spells, there was always something comforting about the idea that I could control my world with these simple conjures. Witchcraft also puts all the power at the hands of women so...you know... that was pretty appealing too.

Not my original book

Recently, Cassandra and I had the opportunity to speak with Miss Cat Yronwode of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company. Lucky Mojo sells all the bells and whistles you need to do magic. The site describes itself as follows:

Lucky Mojo is both an online magic shop and a real magic store that you can visit. We carry a full line of hand-made spiritual supplies, including occult oils, incense, powders, candles, herbs, mojo bags, spiritual soaps, books, and spell kits for those who cast magic spells, love spells, money spells, and protection spells in the African-American hoodoo, Pagan magick, and other Witchcraft traditions. We also import and distribute folkloric magical, occult, herbal, and spiritual supplies
from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East for those who work in Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish religious and magical traditions. We sell retail and wholesale, both on the internet and at our old-timey, small-town occult shop.

www.luckymojo.com

We love Lucky Mojo for many reasons, not the least of which is the gorgeous use of retro graphics on the site. We are also very enamored of Miss Cat for her generosity of spirit and her amazing business brain. To get a great sense of Miss Cat and her milieu, please listen to her podcast The Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour - I promise you'll be entertained.

In our conversation with Miss Cat the other day, she suggested that Cassandra and I participate in the Rootwork Recipe Roundup. It's best to explain this by quoting from the site:

All recipes submitted to the annual Rootwork Recipe Round-Up are collected into a small "church cook book" format publication prepared by the The Ladies' Auxiliary of Missionary Independent Spiritual Church.

The recipe must contain ingredients that, through their magical ascriptions, will address some condition. For example, basil is meant to promote a happy home and family, lemongrass is a cleansing herb, and fennel is used to "keep the law away."

I started looking at the food ascriptions and realized that I have one recipe in my regular rotation that, with a couple of minor tweaks, would basically contain all ingredients for luck and protection. So, without further ado, I'd like to present you with our entry into the Hoodoo Foods! Rootwork Recipe Roundup. Seeing as it's a church cookbook, we couldn't help but go with a one-pot dish... Enjoy!

- Alex, The Enchanter

One Pot Protection

• 2 cans of cannellini beans (or dry beans soaked overnight*) [good luck]

• 1 small, sweet onion diced  [protection and energy]

• 2 (or more) cloves of garlic diced  [protection from evil]

• ½ a bunch of collard greens, stems removed, cleaned, coarsely chopped or cut into strips [luck with money]

• 3 (or more) tablespoons of mild yellow mustard [protection]

• A few drops of honey or a pinch of high-quality sugar

• Olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot

• Horseradish to taste

• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for approximately one minute stirring constantly. Add the chopped collards and cook, stirring constantly, until greens are wilted and slightly soft. Add the mustard, sugar, and horseradish and stir to cover the collards completely. Continue cooking until the mustard has “caramelized” on the collards – approximately 2-3 minutes. Add the beans and stir well to combine.* Cook until the beans have heated through. Serve hot with a nice piece of bread.

This recipe has the added protection of being low-fat, low-sodium, and great for lowering your cholesterol!

*If you choose to use dry beans that have soaked, you may need to add some additional moisture to the pot. A little veggie stock or simply water would probably suffice.