Holiday Happy Hour at Home
The holiday season is upon us and, like everything else, it will be a bit different this year. There will likely be fewer people, less spirited revelry and we will be forced to find ways to use our creative…
Loews New Orleans Hotel Shares Flavorful “Getaway in a Glass”
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Loews New Orleans Hotel is sharing its iconic cocktail, the NOLA Hurricane to give a little taste of New Orleans for those dreaming of a getaway. “Getaways in a Glass” is a new Loews Hotels brand-wide…
Brunch Bunch: Melanie’s Mellow (or Not) Michelada
This week I hit month four of my six-month alcohol-free challenge. (It’s going well, I don’t miss booze and I feel great, thanks for asking!) I celebrated by mixing up and hoisting an ice-cold Michelada. That is, an ice cold,…
Crazy Times Call For Crazy Cocktails
Many of us are swirling from the whirlwind of hurricanes, the pandemic, elections and so much more these days. And recently, some of you have been asking us for cocktails to match our ever changing moods. So, we are…
Staying in or Heading Out: The Best for This Weekend
This past was a particularly crafty weekend. I spent it carving elaborate pumpkins with my niece and creating one of those monster-themed candy shoot things so we can issue candy to trick-or-treaters from a distance. That Halloween is on…
Nosh: Bowled Over
Everyone needs an impressive soup under your belt, and nothing says “I’m about to impress the hell out of my guests” better than a good bisque. In some cities they call it “chowder,” but in New Orleans, when we make…
Wine Not?
I know what you are thinking: What’s the point of a zero proof French 75? It is said to have been created not long after World War I and named after a French 75mm field gun, precisely because of…
The Best Sandwiches to Check out this Weekend and an Oyster Recipe to Make at Home
I have identified several large, centuries-old oak trees with ground sweeping boughs in public spaces in various small neighborhood parks around town in which to meet friends. It is always 10 to15 degrees cooler under such a tree and…
Rerun: Bars Doing it differently, Again
The new government rule states that bars can now begin serving to-go drinks again, but other restrictions still remain in place. Our suggestion is that you check with a place before you go in to make sure you are…
The Best Reasons to Visit My Happy 'Hood, the Land of Tacos and Margaritas
I was 27 when I bought my home near Magazine and Jefferson in Uptown's West Riverside neighborhood. That was 1996 and I still love it here. I never get bored. I have seen things change and, due to an…
Recipe Pairs Well With Virtual Festivals Acadiens et Créoles
LAFAYETTE, La – Festivals Acadiens et Créoles is going virtual this year, but that doesn't mean you can't add a little something special while celebrating at home. Acadian Slice sent their "Brown Butta Pecan Pie" recipe to Acadiana Profile…
The Best: Welcome Autumn This Weekend
Unlike the hours-long little teaser that dropped us into the mid 70s last weekend, a bonafide days-long cool front offering evening lows in the 60s and daily highs in the 70s has settled upon our weary, sweaty city. The…
Twist on a Punch
Bartender Toure Folkes founded Turning Tables in July 2019. Turning Tables advocates for equity in the hospitality industry providing mentorship, educational tools and classes, as well as exposure for the brown and black community of New Orleans. A core component…
Everything Is Better With Booze
"Work hard, play hard" – the phrase so many of us in New Orleans have lived by for years. COVID-19 has made the mantra a bit harder. Now, finding a place that offers drink specials and happy hours is…
The Best Cool Bites to Get You Out of the Kitchen
Though an enthusiastic cook and appreciative of the slight reprieve from the summer temperatures, I remain unconvinced that Gumbo Weather is upon us. I am still avoiding heat belching ovens, roiling liquids in a hot pots, and, for the most…
The Best Things to Check Out This Weekend
The temperature seems to be giving us a little break, and there are some exciting things to celebrate on the culinary scene. Check it out. When she died last year at age 96, Chef Leah Chase, the embodiment of…
Live Kids Cooking Classes with SoFAB
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Live Kids Cooking Classes with SoFAB Kids! Every other Wednesday at 4 p.m., kids 7-11 years old, or adults young at heart, are invited to cook along with Miss Jennie via zoom and FB…
A Sweet, Minty Julep for Kentucky Derbying at Home
Due to the weirdness that is our year of the pandemic, the 146th Kentucky Derby did not run on the first Saturday in May. Rather, it is running tomorrow — the first Saturday in September. My husband and I are…
The Best Way to Celebrate Nothing at All This Weekend, Because Why Not?
Long story short, I ended up in Greenville, Mississippi at the home of Frankie Keating for an extended stay after Katrina. She and her then recently departed husband, Bern, were a brilliant, elegant, worldly couple, who were still going…
Chicken Dance
Chicken is to a cook what an empty canvas is to a painter. It suggests infinite possibilities, limited only by one’s imagination and talent. There have probably been more culinary improvisations involving chicken than most any other ingredient, in part…
The Best Weekend Cheap Thrills
A couple of weeks ago my suggestions for dining out – or at least acquiring food from somewhere other than your own kitchen – on the cheap were received with enough enthusiasm as to warrant additional exploration of the…
New Orleans Chefs Share Labor Day Recipes
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Chefs Nina Compton, Isaac Toups and Bryan Landry have shared a few of their favorite recipes ahead of Labor Day celebrations. Chef Brian Landry, Bayou Bar 1&1 Burger with Hickory BBQ Sauce - No…
Date Night: Pandemic Edition
With statewide and city pandemic phasing and social distancing mandates still in place and a few tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico, it is easy to let everything consume your mood and completely kill the romance. But it’s…
The Best Ways to Enjoy Gulf Shrimp This Weekend
With potential atmospheric calamities threatening to enter the Gulf, record-breaking temperatures, nowhere to go and nothing to do, continuing record high unemployment, a barbaric election cycle, and COVID – a most unwelcome guest now bearing the stench of nearly…
Last Call: Old is New Again
In the heat of a New Orleans summer, like now, for instance, creativity and more effort fade away to a “Let’s just get this done as quickly as possible” attitude. Understandable. The daiquiri cocktail takes its name from both a…
Food: Peachy Keen
I once tracked down the best routes out of New Orleans to load up on fresh peaches in August. That’s not to say the grocery stores weren’t selling them, but I have a childhood love of food fresh off the…
Wanna Grab A Drink?
Baby, it’s hot outside and many of us are looking for cool cocktails to beat the heat. Finding a place that is open might be a bit of a challenge these days, but if you call ahead and ask around,…
The Best Cheap Eats to Check Out This Weekend
Whether you have a hole in your pocket the size of 1. The job you used to have before COVID; 2. The federally enhanced unemployment check you used to get before the system went off of the rails; 3.…
The Best Things to Do in St. Tammany Parish on the Cheap This Weekend
I love to go tubing. A simple creature, plopping my butt in an inner tube then floating down a river with a group of friends while alternating between eating fried chicken and drinking beer (this is the only time…
Recettes de cocktails: In Pursuit of Simplicity
While the swimsuits and shorelines of summer vanish with the Sept. 22 autumn equinox, Acadiana’s cooling cocktails prevail with the lingering heat. Soaring temperatures invariably converge with the onset of fall, when fields of sugar cane reach harvest heights along…
Toups Shares Recipe Ahead of National Oyster Day, Aug. 5
NEW ORLEANS – Chef Isaac Toups of Toups Meatery has shared his recipe for roasted oysters with crab fat butter ahead of National Oyster Day, which is Aug. 5. Below you'll find Toups' recipe. Make the recipe yourself? Let us…
Summer Sippin' In New Orleans Series
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – A few New Orleans bartenders are sharing cocktail recipes in a new Summer Sippin' in New Orleans series. The bartenders are from popular local restaurants and the cocktails are perfect to make at home.…
Ice Cold: 3 Sweet Smoothies for Cooling Off (and One Might be a Daiquiri)
Over the past few years, I’ve become one of those smoothie people. I make them with spinach and beets and pretty much any veggie you can stick in a blender and mask the potential weirdness with one or more…
Hone Your Bartending Skills at Home
It’s the heat of summer and we recently had a quick taste of getting things back to normal, or somewhat normal. We grew accustomed to walking into a bar masked up, sitting apart at a same distance... Then BAM,…
Melanie’s Mighty Tasty Mexican Martini
We lived in Texas for 12 years and to this day, I frequently crave a good Mexican Martini. For the uninitiated, it’s a margarita, but with the addition of olive juice and a lot more tequila. The extra tequila…
The Things We’ve Baked
When Ruby left to spend the summer with her dad five weeks ago, Georgia and I spent about an hour moping around the house. Then, to cheer ourselves up, we got drive-thru Taco Bell and took a walk at…
I Scream, You Scream
Rich Mocha Ice Cream 1 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso ⅔ cup Dutchprocess cocoa 1 cup granulated sugar 2 cups heavy cream Combine coffee, cocoa and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Add cream and whisk.…
A Summer's Reward
Usually the trek to arrive at a New Orleans’ July is not so manic, not so distressing. This year we have all paid a dear price for the journey and we have arrived at a season not usually associated with…
Mellowing with Melon
On a hot summer day of my childhood, there was nothing like an ice-cold watermelon to pick up your spirits. If nothing else, it cooled you down a notch and entertained you long enough to make scary teeth out of…
Literary Sustenance: When Reading About Medieval Honey Cake Creates a Craving
Since sometime in 2019, I’ve been living in the middle ages. Well, that is, literarily speaking. I’ve been reading every book I can get my hands on by Elizabeth Chadwick, foremost author of medieval tales, so thankfully I’m living…
Gatherings: Big Easy Cheesy
Roasted Garlic Mac and Cheese Ingredients 1 pound macaroni noodles salt, to taste 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup minced garlic 2 tablespoons flour 1 pint milk 1 pound shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 pound…
It's All About The Hot Sauce
Our neighbors and friends returned from a brief trip out of town today, and the first thing my friend Joe said to me was – paraphrasing – that the hot sauce I’d given him was quite nice. I have…
The Joys of Rum, Part 2
Our previous column, The Joys of Rum, Part 1, seems to have hit a responsive chord among readers and so we are pleased to continue the thread. Besides, rum is such a broad topic and close to our lives…
The Joys of Rum, Part 1
Rum needs better publicity representation. How can a spirit so outstanding and enjoyable not be a part of every drinking person’s daily program? If nothing else, on historic value alone, rum certainly makes for a better story than vodka.…
De la cuisine: Classic Elegance
Since childhood, summer has been my favorite time of year. What better time to enjoy lolling in a hammock staring at the clouds, and maybe a having a quick dip in a cool swimming pool. In my adult life, a…
Italian Inspiration
Even in a place with a strong Italian and Sicilian heritage, such as New Orleans, the Garibaldi cocktail, like its namesake, is relatively unknown. Which is a shame because the cocktail is easy to make and has a valid background…
Page Turners
My first invitation to lunch In New Orleans after moving here was to meet under the clock at D.H. Holmes and then it was on to Galatoire's. I'll never forget that meal - oysters Rockefeller and shrimp-and crab-stuffed eggplant. It…
Margarita Monday: Melanie’s Honey Key Lime Margarita
A few weeks back, Cinco de Mayo and its joyous convergence with Taco Tuesday inspired most of us to mix up a batch of margaritas at home. It reminded me how much I love a good margarita and since…
Caterer's Choice Rewind: Wedding Charcuterie Board
In the midst of the global pandemic, many couples are socially distancing and staying at home together. For anyone, this time is trying and can cause stress. For the past few weeks, we have brought back a series we…
A Recipe That May Help
Here are the things I know if you are reading this: 1) You have a device capable of accessing the internet. 2) You are a human of discerning taste. The latter makes me think you will appreciate a recipe…
Become Your Own Bartender
As the global pandemic strikes us all, it leaves bars with closed doors and quiet registers. Owners, servers and bartenders are forced to find alternative ways to survive. And bars don’t even have the option to adopt the now…
Caterer's Choice Rewind: Backyard Fry Party
The weather has been gorgeous the past couple of days in New Orleans, which only makes social distancing – especially for social New Orleanians – even more difficult. Many families and groups of friends have gotten crafty when it…
Bread Wars
The entire internet has seemingly been baking homemade bread for weeks, with the exception of those of us who weren’t prescient enough to buy yeast before the COVID-19 hoarding began in earnest. My husband Mark and I bake bread…
Kitchen Gourmet: Fresh Catch
Before Hurricane Rita washed me out of it, I lived on a small bayou that emptied into Vermilion Bay. I knew shrimp season was about to open when I heard my neighbor tuning up the engine on his boat, the…
DIVERTICUWHAT?
It has been an interesting quarantine chez Peyton. There’s Chef’s Brigade, which has taken up a good bit of time and then my father-in-law was hospitalized with double pneumonia. He was released a couple of weeks ago and for…
Luxury Cooking for 1
Eggs Hussarde Brennan’s New Orleans Cookbook (1961) Ingredients: 2 large thin slices ham, grilled 2 Holland Rusks (a light, crisp toast available at most grocery stores) 1/4 cup Marchand de Vin Sauce 2 slices tomato, grilled 2 eggs, soft poached 3/4…
Self-Care in the Time of a Pandemic: One Editor’s Story, Part 5
While sitting at your favorite bar and partaking of a carefully crafted, perfectly balanced cocktail remains a dream, you can still pick up a pre-mixed version without booze. Or, better yet, mix up a batch of your own specialty!…
The Best Place to Find Chef Frank Brigtsen and Soft-Shell Crabs This Weekend
This particularly glorious Spring continues to roll along while we continue to be required to avoid those places where we might best enjoy it, places like the Botanical Garden at City Park. Last year the Botanical Garden became ever…
Sourdough Chronicles
Much like hand-washing, I was into sourdough bread before it got trendy. In grad school, I had a sourdough starter that I used to make a garlic-cheese bread that was always a hit at potlucks and dinner parties, but…
Recipes from the Past
Now and then my mother will come across some documents from my grandparents’ house in Amite and share them with me. They’re always fascinating, but this weekend she gave me a bunch of recipes, most of which were handwritten by…
Bowl of Comfort
Comfort food is high on my list these days. But, I’m also keen to eat economically, nutritiously and — to paraphrase food journalist Michael Pollan’s advice in the 2009 PBS documentary "In Defense of Food," which was based on…
Caterer’s Choice Rewind: Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
We've been indoors for weeks now due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Though the weather has been nice, it's difficult to keep spirits equally as sunny. In today's "Let Them Eat Cake" we wanted to flashback to a "Caterer's…
Variety, not Quantity
The phrase, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation” has never rang so true for so many. We are all pretty much on the same path, the same schedule. This town, like most towns in America, is shut down.…
Great Locales Inspire Great Cocktails
(This article was composed before the full implementation of the effects and governmental restraints as applied to the Corona Virus outbreak. This article was penned on Friday March 13, which now seems eons ago. But the hope is that…
How I Learned to Love the Corona Virus
I have been working remotely for several years. By “working remotely,” I mean “working from home and often in casual clothing/dainty unmentionables.” I am used to being alone and dealing with other humans via cell phone, Skype and my…
Gatherings: Green with Envy
Seafood Salad with Green Goddess Dressing Seafood Salad 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined 1/8 cup crab boil seasoning ¼ cup salt 4 lemons, squeezed 2 bay leaves 1/8 cup Creole spices ½ gallon water 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat,…
Bon Vivant: Spring Fling
Springtime is high time for seasonal veggies and, my favorite, fruits. Thankfully, New Orleans is home to several farmers markets throughout the week, local and national grocery stores committed to carrying fresh, local food and services which bring the goods…
NOLA Mock-Tales: Weekend Survival of the Fervent(est)
When you decide to give up alcohol for Lent, suddenly everyone wants to go to happy hour and boozy birthday parties abound. At least, that was my experience the first weekend of the Eat Fit Alcohol Free for 40…
Sacrifice? Maybe Not so Much.
For many New Orleanians, even those who for most of the year are not strict followers of a particular Faith, Lent is a season of sacrifice. Nothing wrong with that approach, and it does not hurt to give up…
Smokin’ Hot
Not long ago, good Southern barbecue was a rare find in New Orleans. A slice of meat drenched in barbecue sauce was about the closest you could get. Shortly before the turn of the 21st century, a few cooks with…
Whiskey in Winter
When the weather turns cool, and to be honest in January that really should happen despite how we do winter in south Louisiana, then to me the perfect accompaniment is whiskey. Oh sure, brandy, port and hot toddies all…
A Winter Evening
My go-to dish for winter evenings is a pot roast, with all but the rice in one pot. At one time it could be consumed by my family, but as children went off to college, it began to cover two…
A Cajun Theme
Sometimes the dressings outweigh the turkey at my family’s Thanksgiving table. There are those, including me, who must have oyster dressing. A simple cornbread dressing pleases those who don’t like oysters, and you might as well count the must-have mirliton…
Authenticity
Today’s word, students, is “authenticity.” It is one of my favorite answers to the question, “What makes New Orleans different and special when compared to other American towns?” Or “Why are we this way, and they are that way?”…
Pigskin and Perfect Cocktails
Football Fans, we are here for you! There are so many amazing happy hours around town to get a good deal and watch the game while sipping your favorite libation. But some may argue that the best seat in…
Oodles of Noodle
If I have learned one thing about raising children, it is to feed them noodles. Really, any kind of pasta will do, but noodles are a favorite among kids, who like to slurp things. We Americans, of all ages, have…
Surviving the Hot Months
It’s a known fact that tourists avoid New Orleans in the heat of summer. And many who live here try to escape. Hard as I try, my trips lean toward early summer or fall, leaving me to survive the inferno…
Cocktail Condiments
The recent annual gathering of Tales of the Cocktail is finished, and the last hedonist has returned home. We are left with fine memories and new ideas. It happens this way every year, and when the final ice cube…
Simple Summer Cocktail Recipes
Easy construction? Obtainable ingredients? Speed to build? The portable party we know as summer presents its own set of challenges when it comes to creating a drink that satisfies. This time of year, tackling a build-your-own-cocktail project with too many…
FOOD FOR THE SOUL
Ask Leah Chase what soul food is and she’ll say, “It’s food that soothes you when you eat it. It fills you up. It tastes good. Anybody in the South has been eating it all his life.” She should…
Don’t Complicate the Cocktail
Looks like the corner, finally, has been turned. And not a moment too soon. We went through a period of ego and self-congratulations in the Cocktail World of the early 1990’s and into the new century where crazy drink…
Crescent City Cocktail Classics
Prior to the birth of the current cocktail era, which made a first appearance around 1985, no city on the planet could claim the birth of more styles of cocktails than New Orleans. Even now, those classic cocktails invented…
Caterer's Choice Rewind: Garlic and Herb Grilled Shrimp and Saffron Paella
Today is National Shrimp Day, and seeing that Louisiana is prime location for all things seafood, we wanted to share a post from our "Caterer's Choice" series that highlights the delectable crustacean. Below you'll find the original post from…
Sinful Summer Flavors
Pork Belly 2 pounds pork belly Sea salt and black pepper 4 fresh bay leaves 3 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed 1 teaspoon cardamom pods 4 star anise 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds Olive oil 2 quarts chicken stock 1 Tablespoon…
Next Up
A look ahead to St. Patrick's Day
Party On, NOLA!
Most places around the world have thrown in the towel. Christmas and New Year’s are now both in the rear-view mirror. But here, we did our best to give those two seasons their due, and now we go into…
Crespelle!
I think I’ve written before that the first thing I cooked when I had access to a kitchen after Katrina was crepes. I still have no idea why that’s what I decided to cook, but there you are. Conventional…
The Shape that I am In
I was reminded of TV dinners recently. I’m talking about the Swanson-brand type – a tin tray with several compartments and a thin piece of foil on top. You popped the things into a preheated oven and thereafter the…
Caterer's Choice: Garlic and Herb Grilled Shrimp and Saffron Paella
For the past few months, we have partnered with Chef Bryan Clark, executive chef of Joel Catering, to bring readers excellent, and easy to execute, recipes perfect for a date night in, wedding BBQ or even a bridal shower. This…
A Gin Thing
Many of us, maybe all, at some point or another overdid a food item, a drink, or one of life’s pleasures. Or maybe all three. And after the over-indulgence, we swore off the offending situation. Never again, we muttered.…
It’s Not, But Let’s Drink Anyway
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo with these margarita recipes
The Same But Different
Mezcal and tequila are brothers from the same mother and therein lies the confusion and misunderstanding. Both are born from the same biologic, the agave plant, also known as the Century Plant. Mezcal and tequila are both taken from…
Caterer's Choice: Backyard Fry Party
Last month, we introduced a new series called "Caterer's Choice" where we have teamed up with Chef Bryan Clark, executive chef for Joel Catering and Events. Each month, Chef Bryan will be offering up some delicious recipes and additional…
Family Recipes
I was reading an article yesterday about the “dirty little secret” that a lot of family recipes we think are ancient in fact originated from labels printed on food products in the 1950s. I wasn’t aware it was a secret.…
Mo Pho’s Red Skies
March Is Not About Awakening
Eggs Sardou for A Lenten Brunch
In keeping house for many years with my husband Doug, there are three things I never do - cut grass, wash cars and make Hollandaise sauce. As the woman of the house (and we all know a woman’s work is…
Making Mezze
Chef Mimi Assad of Bar Frances shares her Whipped Feta with Pita Chips and Fennel and Orange Marinated Olives
Ojen Cocktail
An Uptown Carnival Tradition
Parade Route Jambalaya
Sometimes slow-cooked can be better
Warm Drinks for a Hot Time
Carnival season can be quite chilly. Yes, even a winter season in New Orleans has been known to cast a cold, uncomfortable-to-the-bone damp net over the festivities. Not enough to stop the party, of course, and never putting a chill…
