33 Pounds of Pork in the frige, 33 pounds of pork...

Thats right. And if one of those pork packages should happen to fall...32 pounds of pork...We have 33 pounds of pork.(chops,roasts,ground)
There was more but we ate it.
Now we are sick of it.
Now we are taking chicken and beef recipes and using pork.
There was a year of my life where, thanks to my sister, I had the same long and daunting problem with lamb.
Sauer Krout and lamb, Lamb chili, speghetti and lamb blobs, lamb cordon bleu, Vegetable lamb soup...
Tonight we're having pork wellington.

New Orleans is famous for bars....

And nobody produces a better lemon bar than my man.
I returned from work last night and found the fabulous confections waiting on the table.
He makes these every year and the first time I tried them, I wept. His lemon bars taste exactly like my Mom's. His chocolate chip cookies taste exactly like nestles chocolate chip cookies in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.

Weather or not, here I go

It was 75 degrees yesterday afternoon,50 when I left for work,49 when I got home,59 when I woke up,65 when I hung my laundry out,45 when it rained on my laundry an hour later, and with the wind chill factor,20 below when I pried the frozen garments off the line and the 11:oo pm news says it will be a bit chilly tomorrow. When I was 10, I wanted to be a weatherman. I had no idea there were weather women as we had just one tv station and Danny Burgess had the field all whored up.Since I was female, my dream of standing in front of that weather map slipped away and my life has never been the same.

Gabriel. Grace and Tornadia...

I used to have this huge mirror in my living room, thank God no one was hurt when the little tornado pulled it over. I have a new hole in my living room floor that little Faith made for me with my iron stocking holder off the mantle, labs and 2 year olds SPELL DISASTER and then become Disaster, I thought we had too many ornaments on the tree anyway, having my grandchildren here for 2 days........priceless.
I am totally wiped out and now I have to work 7 nights in a row to make up my time.(thank God, I can recover at work)

s.o.s.

SAVE OUR SANDWICH!!!
We went to the 2nd annual po-boy festival today. It's held on Oak street, uptown. We've had some really chilly weather the last few days so I wasn't too excited about being outside but it got up to 70 degrees and I didn't want to go home ( or to work, either).
We had: a pulled duck po-boy, shrimp romalaud po-boy with fried green tomatas, alligator and shrimp cheesecake and seafood stuffed mushrooms. We went home and ate an apple pie the big guy made as practice pie for the holiday. Only my daughter could appreciate this but I'll let ya's all know:I was having artichoke oyster soup for supper tonight, at it's reheated perfection, I dipped my spoon into my soup and 14 jerk monkey faced pukes approached the front desk. One by one I answered their cockamamie questions (and most of that only involved the word "no" (and then I thought: dumb ass) until the final 2 stepped up to the plate, or bowl, so to speak, and I said : " YESSSSSS?" Shyly one guest asked if she could inquire about a tour.
$55. later, I finished my soup.

We need a little Christmas

On Tina and Max's trek to Fort Hood they will stop in the Big Easy for 2 days. I hope to have a little Christmas for the kids while I have 'em. I'm gonna do my traditonal prime rib dinner and put the tree up early. We have already decorated the mantle in the living room and we'll do the outdoor lights this weekend. We hope to present the local swamp tour as the cajun sleigh ride and take in the zoo.

Jude Essex Has Arrived

Little Jude Essex was born this evening, 8 pounds, 13 ounces!(well, little compared to his grampa). Mommy and Baby are doing great. New Daddy is too. Grampa wants to be called T Pop. He had bought a pile of "saints" onesies for 6 or 8 months down the road but Jude can fit in them now!He is 21.5 inches long and, according to Margaret, has side burns! We will be heading to Lafayette on Wed. morning for the photo op. I just think Jude Essex is a fantastic name.

6 foot 6 inch by inch...row by row....

It was 50 degrees last night when I came home from work and it was even colder outside. Life with an AC guy can be challenging, but freezing or not, he had planted some more flowers in my garden and there they were, shivering in the arctic breeze. More pansies, another pot of begonias and a colorful assortment of pretty things under the purple myrtle. I threw on an insulated hunting jacket of his and proceded to my patio to quiver through a glass of wine and admire his work, show my appreciation and,you know, do the "what a guy!!! And as if this wasn't enough... he built a bon fire for me to enjoy.(in the whipping wind, I found this to be a dumb idea but he loves me soooo much) It was a beautiful evening and the house is still there.
Today we started Christmas shopping!

It's pronounced PEEETSAAAA!!!!!

Little Faith's birthday is tomorrow. She will be 2. Like most 2 year olds she has her own little language that only her father can decipher except when you ask her what she wants for supper.
When I first heard her ask for it, I wept , then I bought her a pizza. So, inside the Dora the Explorer talking backpack we just put in the mail is cash for her favorite food (or favorite word, who really knows)
Happy birthday little Faith. Can you say Nani?

God's little 1/10 acre...

Today was garden day. I had seen mums on a news segment the other morning and decided I would like JGC to buy me some. We went to Perrinos (the favorite garden store of the local southern belles) and the mums were the first thing I saw. "We need a cart", I said. Beyond the Mums were the mile of assorted pansies and across from the pansies I saw begonias and behind the begonias I saw these ruby colored flowers and behind a secret wall and across a stream and beneath a shinto shrine, I thought I saw orchids...
Well,(and I probably need one now) I have the finest little garden. I made 4 hanging baskets, filled 2 big planters with begonias, positioned my pile o' mums around my rose bush AND stirred up all the other plants I already had. My neighbor brought me some basil and I added more parsley. JGC said I needed a degree to grow orchids and I said no, no, you need a FORTUNE to grow orchids. Maybe next time.

Mirliton Festival

Better known as the coyote squash, the mirliton is something to celebrate! ( it is almost always smothered with shrimp and dressing) Today I blew 12 bucks and here's what I got:
A seafood stuffed mirliton
2 sweet red peppers stuffed with mirliton, andouille and cheddar
A large cup of gourmet coffee
entrance to the band stand ( and an interesting caberet ensemble)
74 degrees
blue skies
and a break from all my trials, Lord.

He chose the waiter's suggestion over mine.....

It's a guy thing.
And, the guy was right.
JGC had the duck.
(then I ate half of his duck,that'll fix 'im.)
My shrimp and crab stuffed pasta were spectacular also.

The Birthday Dinner Plans

Tonight we are dining at Vincent's on St. Charles avenue. My great friend, Pete, took me there a few years ago and even though I can't remember what I had, I recall the euphoria of a fantastic meal (sort of like childbirth, I don't remember the absolute agony my children put me through but I was completely satisfied after I went through it) JGC and I aren't planning on having children together so this will be the next best thing. There is a steak dish on the menu I intend for him to try (so I can taste it) It is stuffed with bacon and atichoke hearts and smothered in red sauce and then I will have the seafood stuffed pasta. I do remember the wonderfully gitty chianti and I hope to God they have a Budwieser for the big guy. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

The Big Guy's Birthday

I got him the manliest of manly cookbooks : AFTER THE HUNT. It is the history of weapons and killing things and recipes for everything you have killed and pictures of manly men and what they are about to kill or consume. He ate it up!! JGC is going hunting next week end for wild hogs. (Shit, you can find a herd of those in any bar on Bourbon st.)(It is probably not legal to eat them though) So, He'll be in the woods for 2 days. I have been flooded with memories from my childhood and what hunting season meant to my mother.....BINGO!!

The network...

The dog let out a viscious woof and a heavy arm pounded on my door yesterday at the crack of dawn. I roll out of bed (literally) and crawl to the door.I open the curtain as I rise to my feet and an attractive young man says "You don't know me but I understand you used to work at Elizabeths".I pushed my hair down, made sure my pajamas were neatened and bralessly opened the door.It turns out that Elizabeths was being used for a commercial and the movie crew had been waiting for over an hour to be let in to the restaurant. My neighbor, David P Busybody, noticed the large mass of people in the street and invited them to my house. I scrolled through my phones to gather a few #s for them to try and they left. Again, No, I am not Elizabeth but I oughta be.

grass in the splendor

They've added fiba to splenda! I can't believe how many ways you can now ingest your rda of fiber .Shit, and I liked splenda.(or is it the other way around)

FEELINGS (cafe) ARE MUTUAL

I had the most wonderful time last night at The Feelings Cafe. It's an old New Orlean Home turned restaurant on Chartres street. Inside you'll find a lovely dining room with antique mirrors and unusual flower arrangments incorporating banana leaves and elephant ears. There is a quaint little courtyard with balcony seating as well as the area around the fountain. You really leave the rest of the world outside once you go in. The menu has a french flare and the wine list has many options by the glass as well as bottles. We ( and our feelings are mutual) had the chicken liver pate to start and enjoyed the bread basket. The pepper steak was done with prime rib and to your order. The paneed eggplant medallians were smothered with shrimp, crab, and crawfish tails in a rich cream sauce. Unfortunately, we had room for dessert. Creme broulette.
JGC tossed me into the back of the pick up and hauled me home.

I'll never be hungry again

Remember when dining at a chinese restaurant was an exotic experience?
The flavors were delicate, the decor was rich in vibrant colors and the service was down right regal! Most of these intimate little places have been replaced by multi-cultural buffets where we serve ourselves massive amounts of familiar foods (all fried in the same oil) and sit down and eat like fieldhands , washing it down with sweet tea........Except for ROYAL CHINA.
Soup in a tureen (it's meant to share), Amazing dishes with silver domes, tea in a cast iron decanter, traditional dipping sauces in glass vessels and a rich cloth napkin that covers your lap.
I was treated like an old friend returning from the war.
Imagine all this costing less than the buffet!
you have got to go

Ya never know

Guess what was on a 12 by12 foot screen at the oktoberfest?
Yessssss, the Game!! So, there I sat eating bratwurst, german potatoe salad, sauteed red cabbage, sauer krout and and a glass of ice cold Warstiener while observing the life size projection of the game in front of me while Mr." I don't want to do a chicken dance" sat at home sharing the left over pot roast with the dog while watching the game.
Just so you know, when LSU won, 800 of us did the chicken dance.

Jolly Green Coonass Eats Alone

The big guy has turned down an invite to oktoberfest because he would rather watch football than do the chicken dance. He will be dining on bar food and I will be schnitzeled up!! He will be (hopefully) doing a victory dance, which resembles the chicken dance, and I will be sampling sausages and sauer krout. If LSU loses to the Game cocks I still will have had a good time. JGC will have integestion. If LSU WINS........I still will have had a good time.
nanananananana!

and lead us not into temptation but deliver.....

I don't think working nights should mean I have to pack a lunch and suffer silently while I help 50 other people decide on a place for supper. So, I have a serious collection of delivery menus.
Tonight is Thai night. Sukho Thai delivers. They make this shrimp in a pouch appetizer that has a duck sauce type dipping sauce that I really love. They also stir fry vegies like a wok on fire.
The down side of delivery food at work is dining alone.
The up side of delivery food at work is dining alone.

FLEW THE COOP

A couple of guests asked me to recommend an eatery that only a local would know about. I said I knew of a little place but they might feel it's a little too casual.They asked me to explain a little more so I said "when I go to Coops , I usually abandon my bra and put on one of my fake spider tatoos". Off they went.
When I came to work today, there was a bottle of cabernet on the desk with my name on the card.
Duck quesidilla with a fruited salsa!
The Jolly Green Coonass took me there on our first date claiming the green goddess dressing was to die for.
It was, he is and now I have wine.

No, I am not Elizabeth

I sent two twosomes to Elizabeths restaurant this morning promising they would return to the hotel to thank me.
They did.
They did Brunch!
Dinner's the winner in my book

new orleans can swallow you whole or vice versa

I have dined at nearly 100 restaurants in this city and thought I'd share some of the things I've enjoyed with absolutely anyone who will listen. I hope to keep a diary of the next hundred episodes of "Survivor Creole".
Yesterday's challenge involved good food and the LSU game for a moderate price.
We al;so intended to drink beer so the perfect place had to be in walking distance.
Marky's Bar on Royal in the Bywater hitttt the spot. They offer these really fresh beef and cilantro tacos as well as the traditional football fan's wings.