New Orleans

We're madly jealous of Food Orleans's recent meal at the chef's table in the storied Commander's Palace in New Orleans; a visit to this lavish restaurant has been on our travel bucket list for years!

This is Commander's Palace. If it looks like a fairytale building, that's because it is. It's a place where stories are told, surprises happen at any minute, and everyone works together to entertain you and take care of everything you could possibly want. Prepare to be a princess, in other words.

Any time you eat at Commander's, it's special; from brunch on any Sunday to lunch on Thursday to dinner on Saturday night. But the best times to eat there are on holidays, like Thanksgiving, or special occasions: the birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries that are the most important days in the story of your life. I had a big ol' birthday this month; I turned 40. All I wanted was to eat at the Chef's Table at Commander's, and Paul, my wonderful love, he made it happen.

The Chef's Table is the ultimate experience of what Commander's Palace really does, which is nothing short of magic. The table is in the kitchen, right behind the grill line; you're not sheltered away in a corner — you're right in the middle of it. And the Commander's kitchen is quiet, controlled, and all business. As the sous chef, Jason Wells, who prepared most of our dishes that night explained to us (above), you can easily have a conversation in the Commander's kitchen, because there's no yelling. It's not like any other restaurant kitchen I've ever seen or heard of, save The French Laundry or Daniel or other places in the top tier of restaurants in the world. And the theatre of the kitchen is part of the experience of sitting at the Chef's Table.

Read more about her epic meal.

About two years ago, it seemed that every bistro and gastropub in San Francisco, CA, began offering some kind of fried dough on its dessert menu, and whether it was called a doughnut, beignet, fritter, or funnel cake, the formula was about the same: a few airy puffs deep-fried to perfection and served with the chef's choice of sweet accompaniments.

Turns out there's a reason for this dessert's popularity: it's incredibly simple, comforting, and delicious all at once. You may have memories of digging into funnel cakes at the county fair, munching doughnuts from the corner bodega, or plowing through beignets at Cafe du Monde, but a basic fried dough recipe speaks to our deeply rooted food nostalgia.

This recipe represents my first stab at beignets, but it certainly won't be my last. Despite the hour-and-a-half dough-rising wait time, the hands-on steps were easy and relatively low mess (for a fry project). And there's a topping for you, whether you're a traditionalist or out to try something new: sprinkle them with powdered sugar, smudge them with jam or apple butter, drizzle with chocolate or salted caramel sauce, or try something wholly different with a sprinkle of sugar and matcha green tea powder. Ready for the recipe? Just keep reading.

Making a king cake has never been one of my baking priorities, considering I've got little to no knowledge of Mardi Gras in general. But something came over me last week and I decided I wanted to take on this challenge. And a challenge it certainly was: I did a fair amount of research, finding an overwhelming number of different recipes and methods, then settled on a recipe from the king of New Orleans cooking himself.

King cake represents the three kings who brought gifts to the baby Jesus, and traditionally, whoever finds the dried bean or plastic baby in their piece of cake has to bring the next one or throw the next party. The three colors, purple, yellow, and green, are also significant. Purple signifies justice, while green represents faith and yellow, power.

Lots of yeast, colored sprinkles or frosting, and a dried bean or a plastic baby were all involved in Emeril's recipe, as was a serious hunt for candied citron (I imagine any kind of candied citrus would work well in its place). The recipe begins with forming the dough, then letting it rise for almost two hours, followed by kneading, shaping, and another rise.

The resulting cake was dense and chewy, much like the texture of a doughnut with a hint of lemon in the background. The sweetness comes from the icing and the sugar crystals, which I found to be a nice way to balance out the cake.


For more king cake photos and the recipe, keep reading.

Is there any better excuse for debauchery than Mardi Gras?! Get in the purple, green, and gold spirit with provisions shaped by and inspired from the city's rich history and culture. Start off your day with a Ramos gin fizz, and end it on a sweet note with a decadent ice cream bombe topped with flambéed bananas Foster! Here are a few of our Nola favorites; for more, check out all of our Mardi Gras recipes.

Treme Cocktail	Muffaletta	Ramos Gin Fizz
Bananas Foster Bombe	Vegetable Gumbo	King Cake

Get ready for your mouth to water. Food Orleans invites us to share some of her favorite iPhone food photos from New Orleans and beyond.

I've been cleaning out my iPhone photo roll and came across some great shots that made me swoon, laugh, and shake my head at how good this stuff was. This year I got to go to my first LSU game in Baton Rouge, and although I probably lost a small percentage of my hearing, I had a great time. And the jambalaya was great! We're also enjoying some shucking-good oysters these days. Come visit!

Creole Creamery: knock your flip-flops off good!

a fried-potato omelette from Camellia Grill (Riverbend). I think this should be on everyone's to-eat list.

For more, keep reading.

Grillades and grits are a trademark dish in New Orleans. If you can't make the trip to Nola, Food Orleans shows you how to recreate the experience in your own home.

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.

Read ahead for the grillades and grits recipe.