Zapp's Voodoo Gumbo

Apparently this new flavor was released over a month ago, but I have just recently tried it. According to the back of the bag, Voodoo Gumbo started with a potential worker's compensation claim and ended in a melange of 5 different flavors. As for which 5 flavors make up this gumbo, that remains a mystery. I taste a little Spicy Creole Tomato, some Sour Cream & Creole Onion, and a kick from Cajun Crawtator. Try a bag and let us know what you think.

And because it's Monday and it went from snowing to 70 last week and there are five long days till the weekend, we thought that we would start lively debate. What is your favorite flavor of Zapp's? Vote in the poll to the left, and if I omitted your #1 choice, well then your opinion doesn't matter anyway.

What's mine? A long lost flavor from the late 90s called Caribbean Key Lime.

Treme Creole Gumbo Festival

When the weather outside is frightful, is there a better way to warm up than scarfing down a steaming bowl of gumbo? Well, The Pope might argue that a nice, cordial glass of Grand Marnier does just the trick. But if for some reason you have a self-imposed rule prohibiting digestifs before noon, then the Treme Creole Gumbo Fest is your next best bet.

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So head on down to Rampart on Saturday, grab a bowl, and maybe pick up a few local gifts for your out-of-town relatives. Because nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a voodoo doll with a pin shoved through its head.

Snow Day in the Big Easy

It is snowing in New Orleans. Which is big news. If you are wondering what to do with all that muddy snow accumulating in your yard, here are some tips.

Make snow into snow ball shape. Pour peppermint schnapps, Grand Marnier, or Baileys over snow. Enjoy. Or you could make some mulled wine. But only if you have all the ingredients, which I doubt you do.

If all else fails, pour yourself a glass of scotch, light a fire, and hope that Al Gore saves us all.

Gift Idea

Christmas. It always arrives quicker than you imagine, and leaves faster than you hope. Chances are you still have a few people left to shop for. Aunt Ethel in Huntington, your Boss in Palm Springs, you in Youville. Well, if you read this blog, you probably like food. We know you do not read it for the humor, so suggesting a DVD box set of Most Extreme Challenge would fall on deaf ears.

Want to make Christmas shopping easy? Certainly you have someone on your list whose FaceSpace profile includes the term Foodie. If so, why not send them a basket of cheese. That nose hair trimmer is offensive, a sweater will shrink, and the reflective jogging vest pretty much lets them know you think they are a fat ass. And listen a gift certificate is just an easier way of saying, "Here you do the work."

The St. James Cheese Company will ship a basket of specialty cheeses to a person of your choosing. For a full list of available packages or to design your own give them a call at 899-4737. Currently sitting in my fridge is a fragrant Brillat-Savarin with truffles, a meunster washed in Gerwurztraminer, and a vegetal Le Drean. Yes, my fridge is very luck indeed.

Garden Gun Soup

First thanks to Banker Hall for passing along a wonderful magazine article on the top 100 dishes in the South. And for also introducing me to Garden & Gun, a great magazine devoted to good things. Couple of local and sub-regional places made the list. How many of these dishes have you eaten? The Pope has eaten 120 of them.

Soups. Who doesn't love a good soup? Even people without teeth can enjoy soups. Recently, I made a white bean and cabbage soup (pictures above; that is not a magazine). An embodiment of peasant pleasures, it turned out very well. The ingredients are readily available wherever you shop. I got the white beans from Rouse's, which now sells white and red beans by the scoop from old timey looking barrel. I used two scoops, a la Raisin Bran.

White Bean and Cabbage Soup
First, saute some bacon (which has been cut into small batons). Remove the lardons, eat bacon. Save grease. In bacon jus, saute one large onion, two carrots, 4 stalks of celery all diced pretty small. Once vegetables are bronzed add salt, pepper, cayenne, one bay leaf, a sprig of rosemary, and a julienned head of cabbage. After five minutes add white beans. Cover with water. Taste, re-season if necessary (which it likely will be). Simmer for 2 hours or until beans are al dente.

Ladle into a warmed bowl. Add chopped parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve alongside a crusty baguette.

Simple. Try it.

Heiner Brau

Abita has run its course. What began as a very interesting and pride inducing local beer with a distinct identity has naturally grown to become big business. This is not a bad thing by any means. But I have found that the beer has come to rely on intense malt flavors which results in a tolerance of only being able to drink one or two brews. As a result, I shy away from Abita products. Mostly because moderation smells like failure.

However, this weekend the introduction between Heiner Brau and yours truly took place. A six pack of the Festbier from Elio's later, and I have been singing this beer's praises since. Heiner Brau is brewed in Covington by German Master Brewer Henryk Orlik, which is a really fun name to say aloud. Perhaps Heiner Brau should have a competition where contestants drink a six pack of Heiner Brau and then say Henryk Orlik 20 times fast while spinning around a baseball bat. Whoever gets 271 electoral college votes wins.

Being brewed by a German, Heiner Brau only produces German style beers. As an added bonus, Heiner Brau sticks to the German Purity Law and only brews with malt, hops, yeast and water. The Maerzen and Kolsch are available year round, while other seasonal beers are released throughout the year.

The Festbier, a Bavarian style lager, is brewed to coincide with Christmas and Mardi Gras. The result is a refreshingly honest beer. I really think you will like the Festbier which is only available from December thru February. Subdued hoppiness, a great malt finish (but not enough sweetness to make your mouth feel sticky), and a lingering finish, this beer is very easy to drink.

Here are some places to find Heiner Brau locally. If your name isnt on this list, shame on you.

Byblos

Zea St. Charles

Coffee Rani

Cork & Bottle

Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar

Elio’s Wine Warehouse

Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria (Decatur)

J’Anita’s

Jager Haus

Luke

Martin Wine Cellar

Rotollo’s Pizzeria

Semolina Italian Bistro

Stein’s Market & Deli

The Club (Ms. Mae’s)

How to make simple things look and sound fancy

The above picture chronicles the result of the most food nerd thing that occurred all year in my kitchen: a delicious turkey consomme with shitakes and diced shallots, celery, and carrots. Essentially, a turkey and vegetable soup; but more fancy.

Some turkey stock from Thanksgiving, 4 egg whites, mire poix, 12 ounces of pureed chicken thigh and turkey heart into a stock pot on a gentle simmer. Stir. Eventually the proteins in the egg white and meat coagulate and form a life raft of sorts. This raft floats on top of the stock and removes the impurities in your stock; clarifying the stock and leaving you with a consomme. You have had this broth before at Japanese restaurants.

Not only does it look really cool, but the taste is very clean, yet hearty. More info on the process here. Trust me, you can do this. And yes, I know the consomme was not perfect; that is ok. Neither is man.

Pork liver and long grain rice croquettes with a green pepper Asian "mignonette" sauce and a horseradish and mustard seed emulsion. That would be one way to describe the above. Or you could call it by its Christian name: fried boudin balls with hot peppers and creole mustard. Were they good? You bet they were. And simple to make.

Remove boudin from casing, form into a ball bigger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball. dredge in flour, then coat in egg wash, and then smother in bread crumbs. Fry in 325 degree oil until GBD. You could make these over the holidays when guests come over. Serve with a cold, dark beer or Rose.

Repeal Day (A Production of After Work Today...)

On this date 75 years ago, America's lame war against fun came to an end. For on this date in 1933, Prohibition was repealed. But be ever vigilante, dear readers, America's war on fun continues on college campuses, in barrooms, and backwoods stills across this great nation.

There is hope though. One reason behind the repeal of prohibition was that America's economy was in the tank. President Roosevelt recognized that everyone needed a good stiff drink. Well, the economy is tanking and a teetotaler is leaving office. So keep fighting the good fight against Dean Wormer and MADD.* But tonight celebrate by going to any one of the bars listed below for a Dewar's Scotch Repeal Day Celebration.

You see Dewar's was one of the first alcoholic beverages served in America (legally) after Prohibition's demise. This was because the Kennedy family made their money which beget their power on hooch. Then Ed Kennedy broke the number one rule of the blog and drove a car which happened to have a woman in it, into a bay. Or something like that. Anywho, these bars are celebrating Repeal Day with parties. I suggest you go and toast to revolution.

Pat O's
Antoine's
Tujague's
Napoleon House
Hotel Monteleone
Court of Two Sisters
Commander's Palace
Lafitte's Black Smith Shop

And remember a few months ago, when we told you cocktail people took themselves too seriously? Well, further proof.

*In a related note, there were two Latin teachers at Jesuit who founded a club called DAMM-Drunks Against Mad Mothers. If you went to Jesuit, you know these two.

Napa Report: The Wine

It's the reason we went to Napa. To taste. To learn. To experience. Every winery does things a bit differently - whether it be the height of the vines, the time of day they pick the grapes, or the type of barrel the wine is aged in. Thankfully, The Pope's contacts allowed us to experience an array of wineries: from the small, hands-on crafting at Opus One (where the above picture was taken) to the larger production facilities like Beaulieu Vineyard.

For those who have yet to visit Wine Country, a little background. Just like every winemaking process differs, so do each winery's tasting and tour offerings. A majority simply offer walk-in tastings in their rooms: there is a bar, and for $5-$25 you are poured 4-6 tastings of the current vintages. Others offer similar tastings but by appointment only. Then there are the "industry" tours and tastings which are setup by wine purveyors for their customers. Because The Pope is kind of a big deal in the NOLA wine world, he had a few of these "VIP" tours setup for us.

Beaulieu (or "BV") was our hands-down favorite winery. We go to do a lot of cool stuff, such as...

Barrel tasting in the wine cellar. These wines had not yet matured enough for bottling, but they tasted fine to me - straight out of the barrel. The wines we sampled came from specific clones of vines, which over time have proved to produce the best grapes. Note - if you see any wine which says it comes from Clones 4, 6, or 337, then it's probably going to be good.

After a tour of the production process, we had lunch at the Rutherford House - which is a private residence located on the vineyard. Above is the view from the driveway. How would you like to wake up to that every morning? The house had recently undergone an extensive renovation, which included the addition of cameras in the kitchen and flat screen TVs in the dining rooms so that diners can communicate with the private chef while he is preparing their meal. No, I am not making that up.

Speaking of food, we did not have a private chef, but we did have a great lunch catered by Napa Valley Grille. Flat iron steak with more sauteed mushrooms, marinated chicken, grilled yukon gold potatoes, and (the crowd favorite) a salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, grapes, and a cabernet sauvignon vinaigrette.

It was hard to top BV, but each tasting and tour is different. For example, Sterling Vineyards is located on top of a mountain. So how do they avoid sending visitors walking or driving up the narrow road to the tasting room? Why, a gondola lift, of course. Here is a picture from above, complete with the shadow of our passenger cabin.

Duckhorn Vineyards was definitely the "hippest" winery we visited. The tastings are sitdown, (everywhere else we visited was standup at the bar), they played music in the tasting room, and the house has a wraparound porch which allows you to fully take in the scenery. Above is a snack which was being served: turkey, stuffing, and cranberries. Sort of an all-in-one Thanksgiving appetizer.

We visited quite a few other wineries - St. Supery, Acacia, Provenance (which is where we stayed), and V. Sattui to name a few. Honestly, if you do the same standard walk-up-to-the-bar tasting every time, I could see that becoming quite monotonous and boring. My suggestion would be to do some research and visit wineries which offer unique experiences. If you can somehow score an industry tour, then do it. Besides the inclusion of a more extensive and in-depth tour, the industry tastings also include samples of the "reserve" wines which, I must say, are exponentially better than those with larger case production quantities. Problem is: the reserve wines are hard to come-by. Most of the reserve wines are available only through distributors, and even then the case numbers are so few that they are only sold to those vendors who move a large volume of the higher production wines. Thus, we tasted a lot of wines which we could only purchase at the vineyard. And so...

We made sure to take home as much as we could afford. There were quite a few judging looks as we pushed this luggage cart through the hotel lobby. I am not sure why.

A Tapas of Links and Other Miscellany

We interrupt Peter's chronicle of debauchery and bacchanalian exploits for a message from our sponsors.


Read our take on Dome Food and also our review of Rambla.

And an exciting link for us.

Have you ever dreamed of meeting a real live food blogger, but don't know where they hang out? Are you busy on January 17, 2009? Well, come on down.

When you link to yourself does that mess up the space-time continuum or is it more like how one can never cross the same stream twice? Either way enjoy our egotistical links of the day.

My attempt at making caramel sea salt ice cream did not succeed but did not fail enough that I will not try again. I used this recipe from David Lebovitz. All failings were directly my fault. The texture of the cooked custard produced an ice cream with a tremendously luxurious mouth feel (which seems like it should be a dirty word). However, I think I went a tad to far into the realm of burning the caramel then I should have. The result was intense, in a drunken, brawl with a college friend at 2 a.m. which involves a head butt to the bridge of the nose kind of way. But alas such mistakes are expected.

And also, I think my ice cream maker sucks. The cold beast requires ice and ice cream salt in a proportion that calls to mind a calculus class I had with Mr. Cohen. Needless to say, I am not a math major. Plus, it doesn't freeze fast enough. And I would like a new one for Christmas. So if you don't know what to get the blogger who has everything, an automatic ice cream maker would be a good choice, but feel free to pick one out (I have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, there is an ice cream attachment for it). Or if you know of anyone who slings liquid nitrogen on the side, I guess I could always use that.

I did not think it was possible to improve on the Satsuma Wrestler, but once again I was wrong. Into a Kerry Vodka Collins glass, add a 5 second pour of Cat Daddy Moonshine, available at Cork and Bottle. Follow this up with 4 ounces of fresh squeezed Louisiana Citrus Juice (I had a combo of satsumas, Meyer lemons, and navel oranges). Don't use store bought, that is worthless. Top with a dollop of fresh homemade whipped cream. Stir lightly. Take photo with of your new Creamy Mustache.

Napa Report: The (Other) Food

From our experience, it's evident that the people of Napa Valley all have two common interests: great food and great wine. Wherever we went, whomever we met would undoubtedly ask two questions: (1) "Where else are you tasting?" and (2) "Where are you having dinner?" As much as I love food (and as many hours of research I put in deciding where to eat), the wine tastings were undoubtedly the highlights of the trip. And so, I have decided to save "the best for last." But the food was not bad either.

There is one factor which defines Napa cuisine: seasonal ingredients. The menus are constantly evolving in order to utilize whichever products are at their peak at whatever particular time of year. It makes perfect sense: cook what's best... less frozen or preserved products... use local ingredients. Kind of makes me ashamed to see crawfish on New Orleans menus year round. But I guess that tourists who visit our city want to sample our indigenous cuisine no matter what time of year they are here, and they don't care if those crawfish tails come from China.

But I digress. Our second dinner was at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena, which had a very laid back atmosphere and was a welcome downshift from The French Laundry the night before.

The Folk Singer started with this Caprese salad enhanced with sliced prosciutto. Not the most exciting or inventive dish, but the augmentation of sundried tomatoes instead of fresh is an indication of exactly what I mentioned earlier: a commitment to seasonal ingredients. The chef is took note that tomatoes are not exactly at their peak in late November and made the adjustments accordingly.

My main course was labeled a "Mushroom Tamale," but this one was definitely not made by Manuel. Grits replaced the masa, and the dumplings was wrapped in swiss chard instead of a corn husk. I have no idea why I ordered this, but it probably had something to do with a guilty conscience from the 1/2 dozen croissants I ate from Bouchon Bakery for breakfast - delivered courtesy of the Deli King & Queen. (Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of those breads. You just need to trust me that they were nearly as good as any pastry I ate during the 2 months I spent in France.)

This rocky road sundae was comprised of all of my favorite sweet ingredients: caramel, chocolate, ice cream, peanuts, and whipped cream.

But, as you can see, The Pope liked it more than I did.

Our last dinner was at Bistro Don Giovanni, a great Italian eatery which came recommended by a friend of The Folk Singer. The restaurant sported a wood burning oven, which enticed me into ordering a pizza.

This was probably one of the better pizzas which I have had in quite a long time. A thin, crispy crust, minimal sauce, a fair amount of fresh mozzarella, sauteed morels, and crispy lardon.

Our final meal was Sunday brunch at Boon Fly Cafe. This tiny restaurant, which is tucked away inside the rather upscale Carneros Inn, replicates a neighborhood cafe, the type of place where I like to eat brunch -think Elizabeth's in the Bywater or Surrey's. Surprisingly, the Napa area has only a few restaurants which have a focused brunch menu, but Boon Fly was exactly what I was looking for. That's not to say that I indulged in typical brunch or breakfast fare...

That would be a kobe beef burger topped with thickly sliced bacon and two fried eggs. Probably not the healthiest way to start your day, but there was no cheese on it so that made me feel better about myself.

Napa Report: "The Laundry"

Today marks the beginning of a three part series recounting the shenanigans of my recent trip to Napa Valley. The area has, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. The people were some of the most hospitable that I have encountered in all of my travels - we New Orleanians could most certainly use a lesson or two from the Napa Valley residents on how to make tourists feel welcome. And the food was fantastic.

We dined at The French Laundry on our first night in town - thinking that we would be in the best shape since we would not be coming in after a long day of tastings. (Plus that was the first day which we could get a reservation and we were not willing to endure another 45 minute session of hitting the redial button.) We quickly learned that people in-the-know refer to the The French Laundry as "The Laundry" - sort of like how locals used to say "Chris's" as opposed to "Ruth's Chris." Apparently it's the cool thing to do.

I waited till the second course to garner up the courage to ask if pictures were prohibited, so I missed the two amuse bouches and the first course, "Oysters and Pearls," which is one of the mainstays on TFL's constantly changing menu. The second amuse was the salmon ice cream cone - finely chopped smoked salmon placed atop a cracker like cone filled with red onion creme fraiche - and I could have eaten 100 of those.

We had 9 courses plus the two amuses, and some pictures came out better than the others. Here are my favorites:

There were two butters on the table: one salted and one unsalted (or sweet cream). One of the butters - and I can't remember which - is made specifically for Thomas Keller by a dairy farmer in Vermont. The salted butter in the silver ramekin was so amazing that The Pope ate it straight off the knife. No, I am not joking.

This was one of the choices for the fish course: Crispy Madara Cod Milt with Green Yuzu. I don't think that anyone knew that they were ordering deep fried cod sperm, and that's probably a good thing because they would have likely been turned off and missed out on the incredibly light and flavorful texture of the dish.

This was the finest piece of beef that I have ever put in my mouth. The cut, called a "calotte," is actually the cap of the ribeye. The knife sliced through the meat with only the slightest pressure. The accompanying purple cabbage and brisket dumpling with horseradish creme fraiche bursted with flavor.

I almost forgot: a surprise awaited us inside the menus when we arrived. A $150 white truffle supplemental course. Your choice of handmade pasta or risotto covered in shaved white truffles. The course included much pomp and circumstance - with the truffles arriving in a jewelry box and then shaved directly onto the plate. Unfortunately, none of us could justify adding 60% to the bill for one course. But we still got this picture.

At the end of the meal, each of the ladies were sent home with this box of mignardises (handmade chocolates) and a package of the best shortbread cookies which I have ever tasted - The Folk Singer believes in sharing.

This was just a snapshot of our 3.5 hour meal at "The Laundry." There were many other courses, and The Folk Singer had an entire different meal because she ordered the Tasting of Vegetables. And, of course, a few bottles of wine. Surprisingly though, TFL does not serve liquor. We discovered this fact after The Pope attempted to order a pre-dinner cocktail, and I thought that there was a significant chance that he might have called off the entire meal because there would be no Grand Marnier (aka "holy water") as a digestif. But he sucked it up and was a team player.

TFL is great, but it is quite a long production which you need to be mentally and physically prepared for. The meal hits everyone one of your senses and tastebuds, and quite honestly is rather exhausting. It's a meal which I had never experienced before. The attention to detail is something which (at least in my experience) is not found in many restaurants. And the raw ingredients are beyond reproach.

Finest meal of my life? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Probably not - I would like to try Bouchon on my next trip. But am I glad that we went? Without a doubt.