Food Lush

New Orleans-Style Cooking Class

By Laurie

When a friend who also happens to be a chef emails and asks if you'd like to drop by her cooking class the next day, where the main course is fried oyster po' boys, here's a hint:

The correct answer is yes.

My friend Danielle, aka Maryland-based Chef Danielle Turner, did this very thing a few weeks ago, and any schedule rearranging I had to do to get to L'Academie de Cuisine the next day in time to watch folks cook a four-course New Orleans-style meal was totally worth it. The menu included barbecue shrimp, the aforementioned po' boys, and hot beignets -- the triangular doughnuts made famous at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. 

There is an art to cooking oysters, and Danielle is a great teacher. 

I love to cook, but my overall indifference to details in life means I have to be reminded to do things like check oil temperatures and be very careful about exactly how long my oysters remain in the pan. However, it's totally worth it to pay attention when those bad boys are going to turn into this. 

And then this:

Barbecue shrimp, Louisiana-style, is neither grilled nor does it include barbecue sauce. It's more like a spicy scampi, and trust me when I say you will want bread for any remaining sauce. If I had not been in polite company I may well have licked my plate. 

And then, of course, dessert arrived.

I have no confidence in my baking abilities whatsoever, but Danielle has that covered for both of us, thankfully.

Here are some beignets, before. 

During: 

And after:

What that after picture does not show you is the warm, sugary goodness of that thing, or my eyes scanning the room for leftovers to wrap up in napkins and stick in my purse, because obviously I'm turning into my grandma.

Oh, and I forgot! There were Bananas Foster, too.

It was an embarrassment of Louisianan riches, is what it was. 

It was also a lot of fun. It was a small class, but the students were so excited to be there and to try their hand at all of the steps of each dish. They did all of the chopping and mixing, and a good bit of the frying, stirring, beignet folding, and, finally, eating. 

I have taken one cooking class before, when a friend bought me the gift of an evening at Lebanese Taverna, a restaurant and market in D.C.'s Virginia suburbs. That was a lot of fun too, and she came with me, so we got to spend time together, too. But it's something I just haven't done again, for whatever reason, even though I put it on my list of food resolutions for this year. Danielle's class inspired me anew, because some of the hints I picked up from her I can immediately transfer to other dishes I make. I've known her for awhile, but I've never seen her in action, and I know a good teacher when I see one. Just watching her work helped to take some of my natural fear of mixing and kneading dough the "wrong way," for example.   

Plus, po' boys. I'm no fool.

We are lucky to have a place like L'Academie de Cuisine in the D.C. area, where you can take a single recreational class like this one or go for a full-on professional degree. Cooking classes are also often offered through local recreation departments, some continuing education programs at community colleges, and even in retail spaces like Sur La Table.

You can check out Danielle's blog at Cooking Clarified, and follow her on Twitter @ChefDanielle.

Have you ever taken a cooking class? Would you like to try it?  

Road Food: Smithfield Chicken and B-B-Q

By Laurie

I'm on my annual Carolina beach vacation this week with my family, and that involves a drive down from Maryland. 

One of my favorite things about living in and visiting regions that are close to if not on the Atlantic Coast is the relative abundance of seafood. Last week I was in Ocean City, Maryland overnight, and I brought back a dozen large steamed crabs from Waterman's. This weekend, I drove from Maryland to Carolina Beach, North Carolina -- a spot near Wilmington that, along with Kure Beach and Ft. Fisher State Park, is called Pleasure Island. Tomorrow I'm taking a drive to the Outer Banks, where some more of my family members are staying. 

I know I'll get some good seafood -- oysters and shrimp in particular -- while I'm here, but on the drive down, I missed one of my favorite Southern fast food spots: Smithfield Chicken and B-B-Q. 

Carolina barbecue is pork, generally speaking, and is prepared in a more vinegar-based sauce. Smithfield also has this addictive (to me) vinegar dressing that you can pour on your sandwich or side item, if you are a person of excess like I am.

The fried chicken is also excellent. I'm not much of a bread person, so my typical order on a road trip is a chicken breast and a side of barbecue. If I'm on my way right home, I'll get a bigger order of both so I can have some for lunch the next day.

I said I was a person of excess.

There are several Smithfield locations throughout North Carolina, many of them along the I-95 corridor. It may not be the most healthy choice, and I have no idea if kids like it (although I'm not sure who can resist that chicken) but I have it once or twice a year, so I'm not so concerned about those things. I also don't know if it's anywhere close to the best barbecue in North Carolina. It's probably not, because there is a lot of barbecue in North Carolina, and some of it wins awards. 

But I like it. And besides that, it's the best I've ever had through a drive-in window. Happy trails. 

Where do you eat out on the road? 

Image courtesy of Smithfield Chicken and B-B-Q

Google Recipe Search Breaks It Down

By Laurie

I've searched for recipes in Google many times, but never noticed Recipe Search until today. I searched on the main page for Tom Kha Soup, a Thai coconut and lemongrass soup that is one of the few foods I regularly, specifically crave. I normally pick it up at Benjarong, a standout Thai restaurant that I'm lucky to have just a few minutes from my place in Rockville, Maryland.

I'm trying to cook more at home, though, and to cut down on carryout, so I thought I'd see if I could come even a little bit close to the restaurant version on my own. When I searched for "Tom Kha Soup" in Google, all of the hits that came back were of recipes. The sidebar featured a number of filtering options to find the recipe that worked the best for me. You can specify the cook time, calorie count, and the number and type of ingredients from a very specific list. I requested a cook time of half an hour or less, did not specify calorie count, and requested all of the key ingredients that I love in the soup. The one recipe I got back was from the Thai Food section of About.com.

I'm planning on trying to make the soup this week, as part of my "cook more at home" challenge, but to accomplish that I'll have to actually stop playing with Google Recipe Search and figure out where I can get lemongrass around here. 

Image of soup used under Creative Commons, courtesy of Manuel W. on Flickr. 

Summer Beers Abound

By Laurie

Yes, I'm back with summer beers. I'm a beer fiend, it's true, and summer is the best possible time to avail yourself of tasty seasonal varieties if you're interested. 

My favorite beer I've tried this summer is the Anderson Valley Brewing Company Summer Solstice. I tried it for the first time at a restaurant called Victoria Gastropub where my best friend and I ate three times in two days when we were in town for a concert. It's so far off the beaten track between Baltimore and DC that I don't know how you'd find it, but I've been as impressed with their beer menu as I've been that of any other restaurant. I may have my next birthday party there and get rooms at the hotel we stayed at next door. Regional tweetup, maybe? I'm not above it. 

I found a few bottles at my local store, Gilly's Craft Beer and Fine Wine, where they offer a mix and match service. They put a bunch of bottles up on shelves and you can fill empty six-pack containers. It's a great way to try one or two bottles of a beer and decide if you like it. Bargain? Not at all. But it's a fun and useful tasting opportunity for a beer aficionado. 

Image courtesy of Anderson Valley Brewing Company 

Dogfish Head's Festina Peche is out. I have some issues with fruity beer. I burned out on Blue Moon after a few years of semi-faithful consumption, for instance. But Dogfish's tendency not to sacrifice the beer for fruity flavor is one of the reasons why they're one of the best craft beer brewers I know. 

Image courtesy of Dogfish Head

Gordon Biersch's Schwartzbier is not a summer beer by any stretch of the imagination, and everyone can think I'm crazy if they want, but it's still one of my favorite refreshers. It's a black stout, relatively low in alcohol, and I've been really enjoying it this season. If you have a GB location near you, you can drink it at the bar or take a growler home for a party. Or dinner, I don't judge. 

Bell's Oberon Ale. Yum. Bell's can't really seem to make a misstep. 

Image courtesy of Bell's Brewery, Inc. 

I can't get this in Maryland but thankfully I can get Virginia friends to hook me up. 

What's your favorite summer beer?  

Sweet Auburn Curbside Market: An Atlanta Jewel

By Laurie

A highlight of my trip to Atlanta a few weeks ago was an excursion to the Sweet Auburn Curbside Market. 

Owned by the city of Atlanta and located in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood downtown, the market was founded in 1918. Its mission?

The Sweet Auburn Curb Market exists as an urban farmers’ market that unites rural and urban Georgians through food and activities that celebrate local agriculture, the history of the Sweet Auburn neighborhood and the diversity of the city of Atlanta. To achieve this mission, the market operates as a self-sufficient entity that houses a wide variety of food vendors, including restaurants and food stands, and serves as a year-round destination and lively gathering place for community members and visitors.

A destination for meat, fish, veggies and fruit for Atlanta home cooks, it's also a spot increasingly populated with eat-in restaurants like the popular Grindhouse Burgers and Afrodish Restaurant, featuring Caribbean cuisine. I had lunch -- pork and beef tacos and sweet tea -- from the Sweet Auburn Barbecue truck. Holy yes. So good. 

I also had an ice pop from the Pop Shop, a cart manned by the very friendly John, who used to live in D.C., so we had that to chat about. He also handed me a grapefruit rosemary frozen confection that I can taste right this second, so that was nice. 

(I was standing in direct sunlight, managing a big old camera and direct sunlight, so apologies for that photograph. Just know you'd want one, if you could get one. Nice job, Pop Shop ATL.)

They're on Etsy now. Can they really send me frozen treats through the mail? Time and emails will tell.  Lemon buttermilk, please. 

The Sweet Auburn Bakery was especially popular with the crew of bloggers on my bus, but that's what happens when you give people samples of sweet potato cheesecake, yes? 

I had a chance to chat with Sweet Auburn Market's manager Pamela Joiner the next night at the BlogHer Food closing party, and heard a lot about her hopes for the market and its impact on the surrounding community. It gets a lot of support from employees of Grady Hospital, which is right next door, and other businesses in the area, but will need to keep growing in order to benefit the businesses that set up shop in the space. If you're in the city, I recommend a visit. I know it will be on my agenda when I return to Atlanta -- and hopefully it won't be long.

Foodily

By Laurie

I'm always on the lookout for online timesavers and resources for things I care about, and Foodily is my new favorite. It stands for "Food I Love You," oh yes it does. And what it lets you do is look up what you want to cook, specifying what you don't want in the recipe. 

 Image courtesy of Foodily

Just for kicks I typed in "chili with no meat" and got 544 recipes. Results came from all over the web, from All Recipes to the Joy of Kosher to No Meat Athlete. Results can be as general as "grilling" or "dessert" or limited to only low-carb or fat or high-fiber recipes. The "Featured Blogger" menus on the home page are attractive and a nice nod to the gazillion food bloggers who provide thousands of recipes daily for the masses. Rookie Moms features the Pimp My Ravioli menu, and this Smoked Salmon Frittata from Sarah's Cucina Bella is right up my brunch alley. 

Like any good social networking site, you can find friends and like and share recipes (or not.) with them. You can even connect with Facebook to share menus. The Foodily team calls themselves "the most advanced recipe search engine in the world," so you should probably try that out and see if they're correct, right? Let us know how you like it. 

Above Average Ice Pops

By Laurie

Over cupcakes, cake on sticks and all other manner of mini-cakey treats? Hey, me too! You are welcome to join me, therefore, in the land of frozen confections. 

I've been a fan of ice pops -- Good Humor grape-lemon, real deal Popsicles, and red, white and blue Bomb Pops from the ice cream truck, just to name a few -- since I was a small child. Turns out that as my palate as matured, so have the flavors and variety of ice pops available from carts and storefronts in several metropolitan areas. Just this weekend, I was wrapping up a visit to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market in Atlanta (more about that later), when I happened upon The Pop Shop cart outside. 

I am fan of frozen desserts, so it wasn't a tough sell. But one pleasant conversation with proprietor John and a grapefruit rosemary ice pop later, I was wishing I lived there so I could show up wherever his cart did.

Image courtesy of Pop Shops

It was a very warm day, perfect for a gourmet frozen dessert, and at $2.50, this is a relatively inexpensive way to get a high-quality sweet treat with a minimum of fat calories, if that's a priority. John and his partner Ava say their mission is to create "the most in season, locally sourced, hand crafted, healthy and delicious ice pops in the nation." I loved mine, but other flavors on hand were cucumber lime cilantro, strawberry lemonade, spiced carrot cake and watermelon lime. I debated ordering another but that seemed excessive. 

Truth? I should have ordered another. 

John lived in D.C. for awhile, so he told me I should check out Pleasant Pops here. I had heard about them but never sought them out, so this will have to change. Their pops are based on traditional Mexican ice pops called paletas, a tradition which they say on their website they wanted to combine with "local and sustainable agriculture from the greater D.C. area." It turns out that I can follow @pleasantpops on Twitter -- which looks like it will make it easier for me to hunt them down, just in time for summer. Honey crisp apple and Thai Coconut Curry Cream are their seasonal flavors that I'm after. 

Sticking with the Southeastern theme, North Carolinians in the Triangle area can follow LocoPops around for their handcrafted paletas. I'd almost consider a road trip for a lick of Mexican chocolate, mango chile, or pomegranate tangerine. 

I guess I could make my own at home, too. I always find the oldest, best Slashfood articles, and this one about making ice pops is the latest. Jamie at My Baking Addiction has a recipe for a Strawberry Ricotta variety that sounds just weird enough for me to love. Dale Mackey has a mold that allows for making layered and filled ice pops, if a single flavor just isn't enough. 

I'm thinking I may give this a shot -- or maybe just follow the Pleasant Pops truck around, who am I kidding? 

Are there any great ice pop purveyors in your town? Do you make them at home? Spill.  

Pan-Seared Filet: A Recipe That Works

By Laurie

I've been overworked at work and the gym lately, because it turns out that meeting professional and fitness goals is (duh) time-consuming. What's bad is that cooking often goes out the window, and I rely on take-out to fill in the blanks when I'm just too tired to deal with the kitchen. 

This is not good for my calorie intake or my budget, however, so I've been making an effort to make at least one better-than-average meal a week at home. The most successful result lately was a Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Cabernet Reduction, a recipe I found on Epicurious.com. It took all of 25 minutes (including prep time) and was so delicious I had to brag about it on Facebook. 

Seriously, 25 minutes. This dish works for me because not only am I an incorrigible red meat eater, but I love wine, shallots, mustard and capers, which are the main components of the sauce. Now it's probably not a huge winner in the low-calorie department, but when I eat a main course like this, I don't, typically, have any sides or carbs besides a small spinach salad, which makes a nice accompaniment. This would work nicely with roasted Brussels sprouts or broccoli as well. (And if someone could tell me what to do with these baby artichokes I've got lying around? That would be great.) 

I admit it, I did include the butter the recipe called for this time, but only because I was feeling especially rebellious. I've made this once since that first time and left it out, and the sauce and meat were still perfectly delicious. 

I've made a lot of less-than-perfect dishes through the years, I admit it, so it was fun to really like something I made, and to be able to stand by what I said on Facebook: "I just made this (with Malbec, no Cab in the house) and I kind of want to marry me now." 

Do you have any dishes you make that look a lot more difficult to make than they are? I'm taking notes. 

New Orleans -- Hits and Misses

By Laurie

Thank you to everyone who commented and gave recommendations for places to eat in New Orleans. This trip was so busy with conference activities and workshop preparation that I ended up not eating anywhere nearly as well as I'd hoped. I didn't even make it to Cafe Du Monde! Still, there were a few wins. 

Surprisingly, the best meals I had were in a classic spot in the city and a dive bar uptown, which sort of works for my personality. We wandered the Quarter on Saturday morning, when I absolutely needed a good breakfast before a day where I had a lot of things to do. It so happened that Brennan's could seat us immediately, so we sat. 

Sometimes I'm wary of touristy spots, even those that people seem to like a lot. But if I had any doubts, they were immediately assuaged by the very nice waiter and a dish called Eggs Hussarde. 

Oh dear. 

I'm a fan of Eggs Benedict anyway, but this version, with the addition of a Marchand de Vin sauce, took it to a new, delicious level, and made me wish it were acceptable to lick one's plate in polite company. 

So good. SO GOOD. 

Then the waiter told us that he made the best Bananas Foster in the place. Sure, I said. Bring it. 

And he did. 

These were, again, plate-lickingly good. 

The breakfast here set a wonderful tone for the rest of the day, and in spite of my usual aversion to carb-heavy morning meals because they can put me to sleep, magically I felt fine. And I would go back for all of it. 

On the last day, we tried to eat (as my commenters recommended) at Cafe Amelie and Stanley, both near Jackson Square, but the wait was too long for what we had to do later (which was to, ahem, watch the Washington Capitals play the New York Rangers. I'm a little obsessed with hockey.) Stanley's Service Bar does a delicious takeaway Bloody Mary, though, so that was nice. 

We headed uptown on the trolley to a joint called Cooter Brown's, a place my dad told me would surely be showing the game. It's a bar just north of Tulane University that offers a large beer selection and the best fried oyster po' boy I've ever had. 

Yes, Tony Chechere's and Louisiana hot sauce. I'm not afraid. I'd had raw bar oysters at Bourbon House the night before, but the oysters here come highly recommended. This sandwich and a few bottles of Abita Purple Haze made this a lovely last day in the Big Easy. 

I can't wait to go back -- hopefully this time with a lot more down time, aka time to eat wherever and whenever I want. It really is one of the best places in the world to do just that. 

New Orleans Eats -- Where Should I Go, What Shouldn't I Miss?

By Laurie

So I need your help again, gentle Food Lush readers. You all were so helpful when I went to Houston in the fall, and while I sadly didn't get a chance to eat at any of the places you recommended because of limited time and several social obligations, I have the list ready for when I go back. 

This time I'm headed to New Orleans. I'm part of a panel at the Mom 2.0 conference this week, and will be spending quite a bit of time on that great event. However, as you may know if you've been to NOLa, one must always make time for play -- much of it involving food and drink. 

I've been to the city several times, and have never left deprived of at least a few good meals. My budget doesn't really allow for fancy,  but thanks to my mother I've been able to have brunch at Commander's Palace. 

Left to my own devices, I love street food and snacks, muffulettas and po' boys. On a trip last year, I went to my hotel long enough to drop my bags, then headed out for Mother's, where I got a debris (what they call the tasty odds and ends of the roast beef, basically) po'boy and the best bread pudding I've ever had in my life.

Then I went back to my hotel and slept straight through until morning, but that's another story. 

I love Voodoo BBQ on St. Charles Avenue (the corn pudding is addictive) and beers at the Bulldog on Magazine Street. I've eaten multiple times in one trip at the Bourbon House raw bar (milk punch, oh dear, yes.) and had a great meal I waited hours for at Jacques-Imo's in the Garden District. Beignets and coffee at Cafe du Monde are required each time I go, and a muffuletta at Central Grocery when I remember they're closed on Mondays. 

This time I want to try some new things, though. Acme Oyster House is on my list, but I'm not sure what else. Caveat: I'm staying in the Quarter, have to stick pretty close to the conference site, and won't have a car.

So where should I go in the city?