Sunday, October 2, 2016

"Oh, Kaye!" has a lagniappe up for grabs


Bouchercon is one of my favorite things to do. It's the one time of year I'm able to sit and visit with the people I think of as extended family - my "tribe." 


It takes me a while to get over missing my time with many of these dear to me people once I get back home, and Donald has come to understand the Post B'con Blues. 

This Bouchercon came with the added bonus of being in one of the most fascinating cities you could hope to visit.  New Orleans. There's a mix of the elegant and the tacky that appeals to my whimsical spirit. 

I seemed to see something that I needed to take a picture of every time I turned my head. You can see a lot of these pictures, along with some familiar faces, at my Meanderings and Muses - http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2016/09/bouchercon-2016-new-orleans-part-5.html

I love walking down a street lined with sophisticated antique shops and chic art galleries, interspersed with gaudy shops selling cheap tutus and teeshirts. 

I'm in love with New Orleans. I can't wait to get back.


I love and have become quite smitten with the charm of the city, the history, the music, the food, the culture.

A charming New Orleans custom is the giving of a lagniappe, which is generally thought of as a small gift given by some vendors when a customer makes a purchase, or simply as a gesture of goodwill. If you read to the end of today's post, you'll find an opportunity for your own lagniappe. From me to you.

My camera stayed busy capturing street scenes, perfectly prepared and presented food, beautiful architecture, the elegant and the tacky. It wants more. Me too. I don't know when I'll get there, but as my friend Toni McGee Causey says, "New Orleans gets right into your bones and into your blood."  It certainly has done that to me.

I feel like New Orleans still has a lot to say to me, and I want to hear every word. In the meantime, I'm going to be trying my hand at cooking up a few New Orleans staples. 

Here's a couple recipes for some of the most well known New Orleans dishes -

Shrimp Remoulade Sauce

Ingredients:
2 Egg Yolks
4 oz. Sterling Oil
3 Tblsp. Creole Mustard
2 Tblsp. Paprika
2 Tblsp. Catsup
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Cup Celery
1/2 Cup Green Onions
1/4 Cup Parsley
1 Clove Fresh Garlic
1/2 Tsp. White Vinegar
2 Tblsp. Horseradish
Tabasco to Taste
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 Bay Leaf

Directions:
Puree all the ingredients together in processor.
Serve with your favorite boiled seafood!



Crawfish Etouffee 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 stick butter or margarine
1 medium onion - diced
2 stalks celery - diced
1 small bell pepper - diced
1 lb peeled crawfish tails
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:
Melt butter or margarine.
Add diced onions, celery, and bell pepper.
Saute' on medium heat until vegetables are translucent –approximately 15 minutes.
Add crawfish and Mulate's Cajun Seasoning - stir well.
Cook covered on low heat for approximately 15 minutes.
You may add chopped parsley or green onions just before serving - do whatever you like!
Serve over white rice.
Variation: Add 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup just before adding the crawfish.

And now, Dear Reds, here's my lagniappe.

Leave a comment telling us something about one of your favorite cities. I'll draw a name out of my pink Willie Nelson baseball cap and send you a 5 x 7 or an 8 x 10 (your choice) photo that I took while in New Orleans.


Here it is -






One of the many photos I took while in New Orleans.

If you'd like to be entered in the drawing, please say so in your comment and be sure to leave an email address.




33 comments:

  1. What lovely pictures, Kaye . . . thanks for sharing them and the delicious-sounding recipes. So glad you had a wonderful time at Bouchercon in New Orleans . . . .

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  2. Beautiful photos, both in this post and on your Meanderings and Muses blog, Kaye! You have a wonderful, artistic eye, and I love how you captured the many sights in NOLA.

    I recognize those buildings! I was staying at a boutique hotel less than a block away from where that photo was taken on St. Charles. I am glad you are cooking up some NOLA staples, so thanks for the recipes. I also enjoyed eating both crawfish etouffee and seafood with remoulade sauce, so maybe I can recreate them at home with your recipes.

    My favourite city-related comment has to do with food, of course! Before travelling down there for Bouchercon, I saw that New Orleans claimed to be the #1 food city in the USA. Although I certainly enjoyed eating a lot of unique dishes while in NOLA, my most favourite food adventures have been in San Francisco. I have eaten well at a wide range of restaurants in beautiful, unique neighbourhoods and have found many hidden gems. San Francisco (and Bay Areea) also has several excellent farmer's markets on different days of the week as well as a wide range of excellent food trucks where you can eat to your heart's content!

    Thanks for the chance to win one of your awesome photos!
    grace dot koshida at gmail dot com

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  3. Lovely photo Kaye, and the recipes sound divine:).

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  4. Thank you, Joan and Lucy/Roberta!

    Grace - if there was anyone who truly experienced New Orleans while we were there, I'd have to say it was you. You and Kathy. You both had wonderful experiences, including trying a lot of the restaurants. I love your "foodie spirit." (I have put your name in the Willie Nelson baseball cap, you dear woman - Thanks for the nice words).

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  5. What a lovely photo!

    The food in New Orleans was certainly delicious. So much seafood (which is good by me). Favorite city for food? I actually have no idea. I don't think I've traveled enough to have an opinion.

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  6. Thank you, Mary. I haven't traveled nearly enough, but hoping to change that.

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  7. We are still kicking ourselves for not going to Bouchercon NOLA, but next year in Toronto for sure.

    The photo is extraordinary. Thanks for brightening my morning with beauty,

    Lagniappe is a fabulous word with as many definitions as there are Cajuns with access to hard liquor. Besides a small gift, as you mentioned, it can also be a little addition to a dish, think cherry-on-top, or an amuse bouche to start or end a meal. I love using it here in upstate New York and seeing the Yankee confusion.

    Favorite city for food? Paris, hands down. Although one of the most memorable meals of my existence was at the Red Lion in Salisbury, England.

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  8. Great photo,Kaye - I'll be in New Orleans in December for an Algonkian Author-Mentor Novel Workshop and all this information about the food in New Orleans is great preparation. I plan to find that crab cheesecake everyone's been talking about. An Ann, see you next year in Toronto! I missed this year's Bcon but next year I'll be there.

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  9. Delightful pics. You captured the essence of BConn and NOLA.5 stars for pictorial magic. Music in this great city is hard to beat.It permeates every nook and cranny.For that reason alone I'd rate NOLA tops in my book as a great city to visit in the USA.As they say "Laissez les bonne temps rollez"

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  10. Oh, Ann, you've brightened mine with kind words and a fun post - Thank You! (see you in Toronto!)

    Hallie, you were missed! And yes - head to The Palace Cafe and try the crab cheesecake. I can't wait to hear what you think. AND, see you in Toronto!

    Aline, Thank You!!! And yes indeedy - "Laissez les bonne temps rollez" ! ! !

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  11. Always amazing to see through your eyes! Beautiful pictures of friends and places! Wish I could have been there....but, you made it the next best thing through your pictures ❤️❤️❤️

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  12. Cindy Deal - I wish you had been there!!!!! Next year! You are so sweet and i love you to the moon and back, Cindy.

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  13. I'm trying to digest the pink Willie Nelson baseball cap. Is there a story there I missed? Wonderful photo. Hope to meet you in Toronto next year.

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  14. Kait - this is a reasonable question, for sure. LOL! I am a huge Willie Nelson fan and have seen him in concert more times than I can remember. At one of those shows, many years ago - here in Boone, NC, I bought a pink baseball cap that has Willie's name embroidered across the front. Somehow it became the hat from which I would draw names for various give-aways I would have at my blog, Meanderings and Muses. The tradition continues. As does Willie. See you in Toronto!

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  15. This is so wonderful---and what gorgeous photos you take! I am trying to decide among Santa barbara, Boothbay Harbor and Seattle. But I'm not eligible, anyway… SO I'm choosing those three!

    And yes, Toronto! We need to start scouting restaurants right now..and putting together the Jungle Red panel!

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  16. Hank, Thank You! The photography is becoming more and more fun. And Toronto? It'll be time to go before we know it - wheeeeeeeeee!

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  17. Kaye, I had such a great time with you in New Orleans! You are a bright spot wherever you go and more fun than the law should allow. Your photographs reflect your artistic, spirited nature. I loved going to the art galleries with you, but now I wish I'd gone to that photography studio you visited, too. The painting you bought in one of the art galleries is wonderful, and I'd enjoy seeing where you put it in your house. I ate many delicious meals in New Orleans, but one of my favorite was breakfast with you at Daisy Dukes on our last morning there.

    Key West remains one of my favorite cities, and the food there is always amazing. My favorite dessert in the whole world is in Key West at the Firefly on Petronia St. The chef's grandmother's recipe for Key Lime Cake is worth the trip to magical place.

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  18. oh, Kathy. How is it that you make me laugh and cry at the same time?! I love you, sista girl! Weren't the galleries fun?! Let's go back and catch the ones we missed! And we can eat at Daisy Duke's every day.

    I have never been to Key West - I really need to fix that, don't I?

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  19. Kaye, I can definitely recommend a wide range of foodie experiences that are a short walk or subway ride away from the Sheraton for you, the Reds and friends. Toronto also world class museums, theatre and unique neighbourhoods that I hope you can capture with your wonderful artistic eye! I do hope the Reds put together a fun panel for next year's B'con! It would be great to see you all together! Game show? I am looking forward to seeing many of you visit my hometown in 2017!

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  20. Grace, we're going to count on you! it's going to be a another great B'con.

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  21. I always considered myself fortunate having been born in Southern California, but after spending a week there (including the always wonderful Bouchercon) I've become obsessed with New Orleans! The food, the southern hospitality, the history, the gorgeous view of the Mississippi from my hotel room - it was all wonderful beyond all expectations. I'm already plotting on how to get back there soon.

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  22. Gorgeous photo, Kaye!!!

    And I can't wait to go back!

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  23. What a beautiful evocative photo. Thank you.

    A Seattle memory: In 1955 the Boeing Company was testing the first commercial jet airliner, the 707. The CEO had invited a group of airline executives to Seattle to see the airliner. The test pilot, Tex Johnson, took her up flew over a huge crowd watching a hydroplane race, and performed a barrel role. The next day Mr. Allen called Tex. "What are you DOING?" Tex replied, "Selling your airplane." and you know the rest, the jet age was born.

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  24. Wonderful picture Kaye! I finished high school in New Orleans. What a contrast to Houston back then. One of the newspapers had a daily column called Lagniappe. A friend and I would ride the bus to the French Quarter, picked up half a muffaletta at Central Grocery and some dessert next door at Sunrise Bakery and go picnic in Jackson Square. Good times.

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  25. Melinda - I know just how you feel! I'm planning a trip back too, and taking Donald.

    Debs - Thank you!

    oh, Coralee, thank you. And thanks for a terrific story!

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  26. Kaye, thank you for a new word -- lagniappe! Such a beautiful word to look at, to imagine how to pronounce it (the place for phonics in my brain is totally empty. Just a sight reading baby boomer), a marvelous meaning. This word is a lagniappe to your post. Thank you, again.

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  27. Elisabeth - I love finding new words. And this one, I agree, is beautiful to even just look at. Thank YOU!

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  28. oh Pat D. - i can only imagine growing up in New Orleans like you've described. It sounds idyllic.

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  29. Loved NO...Pat O'Briens, Antoine's, the shops, the cemeteries and more. Loved it on first visit. Bourbon Street was really tacky on second visit. Would love to go back. Great photo. Wonderful balconies in the French Quarter. Bobbipad@gmail.com

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  30. Barbara, I never did make it to Bourbon Street. Those balconies? I could not get enough pictures!

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  31. Kaye, we need to take a trip to Key West! When Roberta/Lucy is there!

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  32. Kathy Boone Reel's name was drawn out of the pink Willie Nelson baseball cap last night and will receive a copy of my New Orleans photo.

    Thanks to all who expressed interest and said nice things about my photos!

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