food orleans

banana-nut muffins to the rescue!

foodorleans — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:30:43 CST

[Bake and freeze, for those days when life is too hard to make toast.]

When January 1 was just a glimmer on the horizon, I started thinking about making some resolutions--something I don't usually make, but I felt up to it this year. I'm turning 40, why not resolve to do something to improve my life, or better yet, some things? I spent a few weeks toying with ideas, but I didn't want to make any resolutions that were going to set me on a sure course to fail. If there's one thing I've learned in all these years as a human, it's that failing myself doesn't feel good.

I did not resolve to exercise three times a week, or to go on a diet, or to read 52 books this year. I did resolve, however, to eat breakfast every day.

I've become a breakfast-skipper over the past few years, and it's not something I'm proud of. I LOVE breakfast, don't get me wrong. But my work schedule is such that sometimes I sleep till...well...till 10 or 11 in the morning: practically lunchtime. So there have been many days when I've had to skip breakfast just due to timing concerns. Most of the time, I'm up plenty early for breakfast, but I get too busy doing Nothing Productive on the interwebs and I neglect my hunger pangs, sending my whole entire day into a tizzy. So since January 1, I've been trying hard to eat something for breakfast every single morning, whether it's toast and jam, a quesadilla, or when I'm really feeling it, a smoothie. But sometimes life gets too hard even for toast. Sometimes you have a bad cold, or the winter doldrums, or you're unable to imagine preparing any sort of food fit for anyone. I have had these mornings lately. Yesterday, I got tough, and baked a batch of my favorite banana-nut muffins to freeze so I will always--at least until this batch runs out--have something to start my engine in the morning. Not a bad way to start it, I might add.

This recipe is one of my long-standing, tried-and-true faves. I don't know where I got the original or what I changed about it, but I've been making it for a long, long time. These are cakey, buttery muffins veering just short of cupcake status. Bake them up, wrap each one individually in plastic, and toss them all in a big freezer bag. They'll thaw on the kitchen counter in under an hour. P.s.: Add chocolate chips if you like.

banana-nut muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I use a scant cup)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large)
3/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans (I toast them in a small, dry skillet until fragrant)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.*
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Stir in banana with a rubber spatula.
Add dry ingredients to banana mixture, stirring just until moistened (do not overmix). Gently stir in nuts.
Fill muffin cups almost full, and bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown on top and slightly firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.

*Makes 12 muffins, but I usually end up with 11. This is because I like muffins slightly bigger than the way they come out if I make 12, so I just fill 11 cups with batter, and put a little water in the bottom of the empty cup so it doesn't scorch in the oven. Because they're bigger, they take a few extra minutes to bake, but I've got no problem with that.

snacking good: natchitoches meat pies

foodorleans — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:55:37 CST

[Baked or fried? You decide.]

Natchitoches meat pies are one of those special little treats with a name as fun to say as they are to scarf down. Nackadish--that's how you say it--is a small town we drive through on our way north to visit Alexandria or Oklahoma, and it's where Steel Magnolias was filmed, and it's famous for these little pies. It's a beautiful little place, with a picturesque riverfront lined with shops and restaurants that have their own sort of French Quarter-ish wrought-iron balconies (remember the Easter scene where Jackson slapped Ouiser? That's the riverfront!). But you don't have to go into the actual town to get yourself some meat pies; just stop at any gas station right off I-10. They all fry them up and they're all pretty wonderful.

crabby jack's, or how i get jealous of myself

foodorleans — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:25:48 CST

When I know I'm about to go to Crabby Jack's, I go a little crazy. I dance a little dance, sing a little song, and hop around, driving Paul bonkers until we hop in the car and go. This is how hushpuppies got invented, I think. I'm that little puppy begging for seafood!

If you've heard me swoon about Parkway Bakery's po-boys before, especially if I've gone there with you, then you might doubt what I'm about to say, but just trust me on this. Crabby Jack's is better. It's not in our neighborhood, but it's honestly the best po-boy we've ever laid eyes on, from the seafood (or roast duck) to the bread (the perfect texture) to the fixings. We've been there several times in the past few months before coming to this conclusion (and I went a few times when I worked at Tulane), so it's not some afternoon fling...it's a long-term love affair. I get jealous of myself every time I go.

the secrets of the old: pasta with breadcrumbs and sweet onions

foodorleans — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:00:41 CST

Yesterday I read a great article on alternet.org that my friend Meredith highlighted on her blog, The Boiled Down Juice: it's called Compost Cuisine, and it's full of really interesting ways that a few chefs in California are using "whole vegetables" in the same way other chefs use whole animals, or in other words, using all parts of the animal, from head to tail. They're doing things like stuffing squash stems and slow-cooking kale stems until they're soft like pasta, and reducing lemon and carrot peels into flavor-packed "ash" in the oven. I don't know if I'm up to ashing my vegetable peelings, but it's fun to see what possibilities there are in cooking things that we would otherwise throw out, or if we're more sustainability-minded, throw in the compost pail. It's good to find creative, delicious ways to use up what's old.

instant vacation: new orleans barbecued shrimp

foodorleans — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:41:06 CST

Sometimes, even though I know I'm a pretty lucky gal, I get jealous of friends who come down to Nola to visit. They're ready to take in as much of the city as they can, they've got extra money in their pockets, and no amount of walking the Quarter or the Marigny seems excessive. I remember the first time I visited, for Mardi Gras in 2006. I was enchanted, gobbling up every bit of food and life I could get. Living here is wonderful--I love it, I still pinch myself sometimes--but I miss that feeling of falling in love with it for the first time.

for twelfth night: king cake with bacon-pecan praline filling

foodorleans — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:03:57 CST

For most folks the holidays are over, but in New Orleans, they're JUST BEGINNING. Yep.

Friday night, January 6, is Twelfth Night! That means it's the start of carnival season, and officially the coolest day of the year to eat king cake. But you should strive to eat a piece of king cake at least once a week every week leading up to Mardi Gras. Pick up a cake at your favorite place, take it to school/work/home, and slice it all up at once so you can see who gets the baby. If you get the baby, you bring the next cake.

grillades and grits: get your brunch on!

foodorleans — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:18:38 CST

If you've never had or heard of grillades and grits, then I apologize for not mentioning them earlier. They're one of the two most wonderful things to eat for brunch in New Orleans (shrimp and grits being the other). I've never been to anyplace in town for brunch that didn't offer one or both of these goodies. Grillades (gree'-awds) are made of beef, veal, or pork; I haven't encountered a rabbit version yet, but I won't be surprised when I do. The beef is a thin, flat cut of top round or chuck--something that can withstand a long, slow cooking. It simmers in a pot with the trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper), garlic, and a little jalapeno--not traditional, but I really like it--until the rich broth thickens and intensifies, so what you get is a powerfully flavored beef "stew" that is perfect over creamy cheese grits. This is a great Louisiana recipe to try if you're hankering for some thick, rich goodness but you don't feel up to stirring a roux, because you don't have to. The small amount of flour used in the browning of the beef will produce all the roux you need.

fancy pants white chocolate cherry shortbread

foodorleans — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:38:11 CST

Happy Friday, cookie monsters! It's the final day of my bake-a-thon, and I am beat (ha).

This last little cookie is a real show-stopper that I found online at bhg.com. They're called White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbreads, but they also have a slight amaretto quality to them due to a shot of almond extract. They're super-rich and taste a bit like cherry cheesecake. In short, my, my, they're outstanding. I was looking for something really different in flavor and appearance from the other items going in my gift boxes, which are mostly shades of brown. This hot little pink number really fit the bill, and they taste professional-bakery-fancy.

the best sugar cookies: no icing required

foodorleans — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:51:50 CST

Day 5 of the cookie bake-a-thon, and it's time for classic sugar cookies! (Only 1 day left!)

I'm usually not into decorating cookies with icing or sprinkles--at all. My sister is the queen of this; her sugar cookies are always perfectly glazed, smooth as little skating rinks, with patiently drawn borders, dots, and squiggles. I'd rather put more effort into the cookie's appearance before it's baked. I'll roll them in sprinkles, or shape them into crescents, I'll even sandwich two doughs together, roll them up and make a pinwheel, though that's pushing it. The point is, once the cookie's out of the oven, I JUST WANT TO EAT IT.

ginger crinkles for kris kringle

foodorleans — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:15:22 CST

It's day 4 of my cookie bake-a-thon...my glycemic index runneth over.

How long has it been since you opened a jar of molasses and took a big whiff? Well, that's too long. I find it very easy to forget what molasses smells like, even if it's only been a few days since I've smelled it. I just had to go get the jar again and take a big pull so I could remind you: it smells like a blend of dark-roast coffee and soy sauce. That doesn't sound like a good idea for cookies. But molasses in ginger cookies? It's necessary, in a big way.