Trumpet Bells Ringing, Bass Drum is Swinging - As the Trombone Groans, and the Big Horn Moans

My friend Sarah is heading to New Orleans in a bit and she asked me to put together some recommendations for when she heads down there. I know some of these suggestions are terribly touristy and cliché, but let's face it - they are cliché for a reason, in that most of them are awesome.

John Boutte, Treme Song.

1. If you haven't seen the HBO series Treme, I would highly recommend watching it before you go. It's shot almost entirely on location in New Orleans, using a lot of local musicians (Kermit Ruffins for one) and places. In the first or second episode the Steve Zahn character directs some college kids out of the Quarter and to a brunch place that does exist and is amazing.

2. For some pre-trip / pre-flight reading, I can recommend Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans and The World That Made New Orleans : From Spanish Silver to Congo Square.

3. A po'boy. I had fried shrimp, I don't even like shrimp that much and it was amazing. I went to Parkway but it might be hard to get to without a car and if you're staying downtown.

4. Ride a streetcar (bonus points if it's the "Desire" one) and walk around the Garden District. Attempt to find the home you would pick if money was no problem.



5. A muffuletta at Central Grocery in the French Quarter. It comes with this olive spread on top of the meat, I hate green olives and it was amazing. (I know this is a reoccurring theme, but trust me).

6. Beignets and a Cafe au Lait at Cafe du Monde. When we walked by during the day it was super crowded. I went back around 1 am and it was the perfect drunk food. The moral of the story - they are open late if you're up late, if not it's worth waiting for them during the day or super early in the morning as you watch them clean the streets of the French Quarter.

7. Bread pudding from anywhere, bonus points if it has a whiskey or rum sauce on top.

8. If you're eating dinner anywhere that has alligator sausage on the menu, order it. As Roy Blount Junior says in Feet on the Street : "They say anything will grow here, and everything eats it."



9. Walk around Jackson Square and look at the local art for sale.

10. Embrace the open container laws, walk around the French Quarter in the sun with a drink in hand.

Enjoy!

Po'boys at Parkway Tavern

"Po-boys aren't sandwiches, they're a way of life." - Treme, I'll Fly Away (1x10)

I got off the plane in New Orleans, found my friend Laura picked me up, we dropped off my stuff, gathered the rest of my friends and we headed for item one on my NOLA Consumption list : a po-boy.

Laura took us to Parkway Bakery and Tavern. I had a fried shrimp po-boy with a side of sweet potato fries and a bloody mary. I'm not a huge shrimp cocktail fan, so I was surprised to find out how much I liked the suckers fried. Maybe it was also the bread and sitting outside in the warm sun while eating it. I wanted to eat about three more.

Laissez Le Bon Temp Rouler

Maybe it's all the New Orleans reading I've been doing to get ready for my visit there, (T-3 days!) but when I realized my normal baking Tuesday also happened to be Mardi Gras - I decided I needed to do something to reflect the spirit. I decided to do a King Cake, this despite never actually having had King Cake myself. But when have I ever let that stop me? After combing through a bunch of recipes (there seem to be as many King Cake recipes as individual cakes), I finally settled on Emril's recipe with a Cream Cheese filling (pictured).

I went ahead and made this Sunday night (because my Monday's are a little busy with class) and then class got cancelled on Monday because of a lot of snow. So I decided to make another one. I decided to go with this recipe adapted from Southern Living with a cinnamon sugar filling. While the second cake certainly had more fans, I had more trouble with that dough. It didn't rise as much, and I accidentally over filled it a bit. Less photogenic, but still really tasty.

Also, I colored the sugar myself. So glad I didn't spend the extra money on colored sugar. Just put some granulated sugar in a ziploc bag, add a few drops of gel food coloring and mix. Perfectly colored sugar!

let the planning commence

I just finished booking the major flights for two big trips in the upcoming months - one to New Orleans for a reunion with some of my friends from college, and the second a month long trip to Thailand. Obviously, it's time to begin a reading list dedicated to both of these locations. I've been inspired to read up pre-travel by one of my professors. Before a family trip to Greece last year he read 30-40 books on Greece; history, culture, fiction, etc. So as a starting point, I checked the books above out of the library.