Gourmet tips news

I have been looking for a good caramel icing recipe for some time. I purchased a cookbook about Southern cakes, I think caramel cake is the ultimate South Louisiana cake. Well, I made the cake and it was an utter disaster, turns out the Southern book warns the cake should not be made on a humid day?? Umm... Southern Cakes? Southern weather- did they forget? Clearly. Quite a sticky mess, the recipe did not work- go figure in 90% humidity almost year-round. I continued my search as this particular was cake to be made only in the dessert. I gave up for a while until recently when someone brought it up over morning coffee and oh no, the obsession begun all over again. I ran across a woman who had the recipe of the specific cake I used buy and LOVE- she had received it as a wedding gift. I asked for it, I am pretty generous with my recipes so I was hopeful. She could not share she explained since the lady that gave it to her asked her not to. OK- understood, I get it- she received ...

I have been craving mussels for the longest time. I actually had them twice in the last several weeks but neither meal satisfied me. The first time was at a very popular restaurant in New Orleans, they were not properly prepared with a rather bland broth- I had high expectations so very very disappointing. The second time was better, but still seriously lacking in flavor. So a couple of weeks ago, having not much on my agenda I set out to make them for myself. Which in the end isn't really so surprising- sometimes with my tendencies towards perfection I have to do things for myself in order to achieve my desired result. Since my recent change in occupational status, I have been taking lessons on relaxing and being idle- two new teachers, both very amusing and quite entertaining. This is all taking place about five minutes from home in a coffee shop- the one I used to go to before work every morning and on my way home from work in the afternoon. Rather ironic- now I go there...

I live in Louisiana and while there are many reasons to make this a great place to live, the climate is not one of them. Specially on this day as we all await the arrival of hurricane Gustav. Yesterday I had lunch with friends- ok...drinks with friends while all the men where at the football game- yes on the eve of this category 5 storm LSU is still playing football at 10 am in the morning (insane!). That's the south for you- sort of the the last hurrah before the storm. We were all talking about what provisions we needed to compile for the weeks ahead since it is pretty much unknown what the effect of the storm will be. The funny thing was that every single one of our provision lists began with wine or beer...I guess we all know we will soon be stranded and having house parties will be our only source of entertainment. So this morning I set out to get gas, wine, bread and water. The only bread available at the store was raisin bread, water was a plenty and wine was not sold until ...

Grilled tuna is one of my favorite staples- both for a dinner party and a quick weekday meal. I purchase sushi grade tuna frozen in individual vacumm sealed bags, I keep them in the freezer and defrost as I need them. When tuna gets overcooked, it becomes very dry and flavorless, to make sure that doesn't happen I cook it either in a very hot sautee pan, and indor flat grill or grill it over very hot coals. I cook the tuna until the outside is seared and the inside is still raw, like sushi. The fresh pesto sauce is the perfect accompaniment. Prepare the pesto first, you can find the recipe either below this post, or here . The tuna can be served warm or at room temperature. 2-3 pounds center cut tuna steaks extra virgin olive oil freshly ground black pepper coarse sea salt 1. heat a sautee pan or grill until very hot over medium-high heat, 2-3 minutes. Rub olive oil over tuna and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cook tuna for a ccouple of minutes on each side until seare...

If you have ever had freshly made pesto, you already know there is no going back to the store bought variety. I am a purist when it comes to pesto- I like to make it by hand, the way my grandmother did. Part of that for me is the fact that I enjoy spending time in the kitchen whisking, chopping, kneading and the like. I get more satisfaction out of cooking if I take the time to prepare things by hand. Granted, sometimes time does not allow such leisure, but whenever possible I take advantage of it. As with any food, the quality of your ingredients will define your results. Make sure to use freshly grated parmesan cheese and the best extra virgin olive oil you can find. The pesto keeps covered in the refrigerator for a couple of days, but it's best the day it is prepared. Use a mezzaluna or the largest knife you have to do the chopping. I like adding everything in stages which yields little bits and pieces of everything in different sizes, more rustic- instead of a homogenized paste...

I'm back. I took a little hiatus- life was overwhelming me. I'll leave it at that. Amazingly enough though, readership has gone up while I've been gone. I wont read too much into that. My absence makes me a little sad- I've missed most summer foods, which are actually my favorite. Nothing is as good as cooking with freshly picked ruby red tomatoes, but corn will have to do for today. This is one of my favorite soups, specially in the summer when corn is sweet and not so starchy, frozen corn is not a good choice here- it's just never the same. The soup comes together quickly and is composed of pretty basic ingredients I am likely to have in the pantry at any given time. I like Gorgonzola Dolce crumbles as a topping, it melts beautifully and takes the flavor of the soup to a whole other level- if you are not a fan of blue cheeses, substitute a sharp white cheddar. Corn Chowder with Gorgonzola Dolce 4 strips bacon, chopped 1 cup chopped yellow onion 3 tablespoons olive...

Yes, I know...2 weeks since my last post, lets just say things have been a little crazy. But, I think I will amply make-up for it with this little treat. When I make Shrimp creole, I always double the recipe for the sauce and freeze half of it before adding the shrimp. I do this because it freezes beautifully and I have found many ways to use it. Sometimes I heat the sauce and just add fresh shrimp, but this dish is one of my favorites- and oh so very comforting. I am not usually a casserole making type of girl, mostly I think they taste like mush- but this is my one true exception. If you must- it could be made in a casserole dish. I use a springform pan so it's easy to unmold and I get prettier looking pieces. An 8 inch pan will make a taller torte while a 9 inch pan will be just a little flatter- both work well, use what you have. When adding the second layer of polenta to the pan, be sure to spoon it lightly and evenly so it does not get all mixed into the sauce. If it does- it...