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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

New Orleans cuisine: boy, it may have a richly-colored heritage, but unless you're from around there, it sure can be confusing. Not only is it hard to keep track of which dishes are Cajun and which ones are Creole, but those rice dishes can be pretty tough to keep straight! So gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée: what's the difference, anyway? Think of jambalaya as a distant relative of paella. It's got Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more