Coffee, caffeine…ahh. I had heard about Café du Monde and I couldn’t remember if I’d had the stuff or not so I had to swing by and try it. It’s from NOLA and made with endive. This was done to originally save money by making it less expensive to produce, based on the ingredients. Was worth trying. It has a unique taste. Not my personal favorite but absolutely worth it for the local experience.
In my prior job, I spoke to a ton of celebs, over the phone. They didn’t/don’t have the slightest clue who I am, but I had a great time recording sound clips from them and booking (phone/radio) interviews for them. One of them that I worked with several times was Chef John Besh from New Orleans who did work for Zatarain’s.
I knew he had several restaurants in NOLA and I finally had the opportunity to check one out. After going on his website I found the most convenient one to visit – Lüke. It’s a ‘homage to the grand old Franco-German brasseries that once reigned in New Orleans.’ Great décor and feel as soon as you walk in and I still want to know why over the door there are three clocks that read the same time that only twice a day would be right (the time they have is now escaping me).
The menu was so mouthwatering that it was tough to pick. As the lactose intolerant one, I had some restrictions, but the waiter was extremely helpful. When all was said and done, I opted for a salad and appetizer.
For the salad it was the Roasted Beets, which were yellow ones…huge and round, thinly sliced, served underneath a huge pile of delicious mixed greens and roasted pistachios with an amazing vinaigrette! It usually has blue cheese but I opted to nix that.
The appetizer I chose was the Tartine of Local Yellow Fin Tuna Nicoise. Sort of like a Nicoise salad but served on some perfectly toasted bread with aioli. Ok, I don’t really like aioli, but wow!
Normally I would pair wine with this dinner but had to check out the local brew. I tried the Lüke Alt, Covington, altbier. Nice, smooth, between a pale and red. Next I tried the Hopitoulas, New Orleans, IPA. Nice! Just enough hops to make a great IPA.
So, next time you’re in New Orleans, if you need a place to dine, check Lüke out. It’s worth it.
Found out last minute last week that I got to go to New Orleans on a business trip. What did that mean – I get to visit NOLA – FINALLY! There is a first time for everything, right? I knew this meant culture, scenery, music and some great food. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
When I arrived I had time to grab a quick bit to eat before heading into meetings. I was directed to good local place right near where I needed to go, Mulate’s the Original Cajun Restaurant.
So many choices on the menu of course. I wanted local fare and after what felt like a novel of reading I had to go with the alligator. It was available grilled or fried. I opted for the former and it was coined as ‘tender pieces of Louisiana farm raised alligator cooked to your liking.’ I think I’d had this stuff years ago in FL.
Though they claimed it was grilled, it was quite oily. And, as I expected, I was just like super chewy chicken. But, was fun to try it and it was checked off my list.
A friend gave me this for my birthday…priceless.
When you hear the word Yodeling, there are three things you can do.
1) Look up the definition to be sure you know what it really is, or see if it some new-aged term. To save you the time, per Merriam-Webster, it is to sing by suddenly changing from a natural voice to a falsetto and back.
2) Search for videos that feature this action. Again, saving you some time. Found a great one!
3) Go to Whole Foods and buy Yodeling Goat Gouda! A great cheese for lactose-intolerant folks, those who love cheese, anybody who wants to try something new or just easily Yodle, because they don’t want to sing.
I saw this the other day when I was at Whole Foods and picked some up. It’s great because it’s harder than the normal goat cheese and as the sign mentions, has a bit of a nutty flavor. Also, I’ve not purchase that much cheese there and didn’t realize they cut you as big or small of piece(s) as you want to take home. I got a nice small piece to take with me.
Was at the Navy Football game the other day, with of course some great tailgating, and was introduced to a distillery put together by some former Midshipmen. Go Navy! It’s Prohibition Distillery, based out of New York. We had the chance to enjoy some of their Vodka and Gin (not mixed together), both named Bootlegger 21. The vodka was used to make some amazing Bloody Marys, which were strategically blended and poured back into a Vodka bottle.
For the Gin, I heard that it makes a very nice G&T but I enjoyed a sample of a lime, lemon, mint and some other (non-alcoholic) stuff. Unique and quite good. I would not want more than one of them, though.
I would recommend giving this stuff a try. Hopefully you can find it in your area if you’re so inclined to do so.
The other night I went out to celebrate a friends 40th birthday at The Lounge at Bourbon Steak in Georgetown, in DC. Quite the place. I had never been there and it’s always nice to check out something new. And, it was amazingly nice for late October so we were able to sit outside, fully aware that they had those huge heaters for when it cooled down. The lounge had quite the menu and instead of going straight for wine, several cocktails caught my eye and I opted for the Morning Dew to begin. Not quite a margarita, but close. It was a perfect blend of anejo (tequila), fresh grapefuit, lemon and ginger on ice.
When that was done and more people arrived and wine was in full force, I went to California for some great vino. I found a Zin I’d never heard of, Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel. Fruity, leathery, very nice. Looking it up, it can range from $20-$25. I’m going to grab a couple bottles.
Last Sunday I finally had the time to break in my new kitchen (just moved). So wanted to make something fun. And, the night before I opened a bottle of red wine that did not merit being finished. I don’t really want to waste wine therefore determined I would just cook with it. It had been a windy, sort of cold day around DC, so determined I wanted to make a stew-like meal. I did some research online and didn’t find anything that truly struck my fancy so got creative and put together my own thing.
Ingredients (all quantities are some/non specific):
-chicken (sliced or cut into pieces)
-cannellini beans
-stewed/canned tomatoes
-mushrooms
-kale
-red wine
-onion (used a red one)
-garlic
-thyme (had some fresh stuff on hand)
-water
-S&P![IMG_0875[1]](https://melsmosaic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/img_08751.jpg)
I sauteed the garlic and onion for a few minutes then added the chicken and sauteed that until it was cooked. After that I added the balance of the ingredients and cooked it over low heat for about an hour — I was in no hurry.
![IMG_0880[1]](https://melsmosaic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/img_08801.jpg)
It was a very tasty stew, lots of flavor. I served it with a quality-of-a-name Zin, Zinzilla. It was a nice wine!
![IMG_0882[1]](https://melsmosaic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/img_08821.jpg)
Explore in the kitchen! Never hurts to have fun and try something new.
I finally broke down and picked up one of Trader Joe’s seasonal items. Their Pita Crisps with Cranberries & Pumpkin Seeds. Good/bad idea. Addictive! They are nice and crunchy and have something like cinnamon sugar on the outside. I have tried to put them out of my direct line of sight so I don’t finish the whole bag immediately. I recommend giving them a try before they are off the shelves.
Was looking for something fun, super fresh and relatively easy to make for dinner. I remembered this salad from Bon Appetit that I found a few years ago. Avocados, peaches and arugula…some of my favorites. It was the perfect thing to make and pretty simple.
Avocado Salad with Peaches
4-6 Servings
Ingredients
1/2 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (I got SUPER lazy and used liquid vanilla)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 almost-ripe avocados
8 cups arugula or sorrel
2 peaches, diced and peeled
Preparation
-Roast bell pepper (I do it on my gas stove – so easy).
-Peel and chop pepper; puree with red wine vinegar, vanilla and sugar in blender (I used the mini-prep) until smooth.
-With machine running, gradually add olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.
-Halve and pit avocados and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and place cut side down on and medium-hot grill until nicely charred, about 5 minutes (ok, so I don’t/can’t have a grill. So, I put foil over a burner on my gas stove and made it work. Creativity in the kitchen). Peel and thickly slice.
-Toss with arugula or sorrel and peaches. Drizzle dressing over top (I just toss all of it together — dressing and everything).
I served this with shrimp. Delicious!!!
Mel's Mosaic 