The first night of Passover is tomorrow at sundown.  This year, a friend sharing my Seder table, has Celiac Disease and cannot eat gluten, so I stopped in to New Orleans’s most well-stocked Kosher store, Kosher Cajun Deli. The owner, Joel Brown solved my problem: told me a great story and turned my on to a gluten-free matzoh.  Apparently a Rabbi came upon a 9 year-old girl weeping because she didn’t think she could eat matzoh for Passover.  After a lot of trial and tribulation, the Rabbi helped develop Shemura oat matzoh (oats are an allowed grain during passover) that quickly gained popularity and is now available world-wide.  The matzohs come wither handmade or machine made.  I nabbed a box of the handmade, and though they can be pricey, it’s well worth the expenditure.  Oat matzohs are excellent, with a richer and deeper taste than expected and the texture is nice and crumbly.  To all who celebrate, Happy Pesach.

I recently read a “Tweet” (that’s a Twitter message for those unfamiliar) by the LA Times Food Section, about what one of their readers claimed was “the BEST brownie EVER!“  What was interesting about that tweet, was the brownie sundae kismet - I had just eaten a glorious Brownie Sundae at DarWell’s Cafe in Long Beach Mississippi, thinking “Now that  was the best brownie ever.”  So, on a whim, I tweeted back to the LA Times, that we might need to hold a Brownie Sundae “smack-down,” and they expressed interest.  I figure I better tell them what they’re up against.  To start, DarWell’s Brownie Sundae is made by a woman who doesn’t like chocolate; she doesn’t even know how good her brownies taste ’cause she’s never eaten one, but the number she has to make every day speaks volumes.  Fudgy, not-too-sweet, deeply chocolatey, the brownies are exceptionally moist, yet just cakey enough.  When a batch is made and set out on the counter, you gotta move fast to get one, because some crazy clown from New Orleans (me), might grab them all and run.  Sometimes there are nuts (pecans or walnuts or both) tucked into the brownies, and sometimes not, but it really doesn’t matter unless you don’t like nuts.  There’s nothing magical about the ice cream, it’s not made in-house, nor fancy-schmancy - it’s a good ole commercial grade vanilla and the fudge sauce too is just what it is, thick, sexy, liquid chocolate.  Together however, the combination, isn’t just “the BEST brownie EVER,”  it’s better than “the best”, it’s transcendent, the parent of that so-called “BEST brownie ever;” it’s even rumored that folks are forming a new religion based on Darwell’s brownie sundae.  So there.

I will admit the “Fudgy Skillet Brownies” recipe in the March issue of “Everyday Food,”  is a serious contender, as is “Miss Cathy’s Brownie Pie” from Joey K’s in New Orleans…maybe it’s time for that smack-down.   Anyone got a contender?

This has got to be the best version of soup dumplings I’ve ever had!  Instead of traditional Chinese soup dumplings, this restaurant turned a French standard into a whimsical brunch item.  Bite-sized dumplings filled with caramelized onion and broth were placed into an escargot dish, covered with melted gruyere cheese and garnished with a tiny crouton.  Delicious and fun!

These high fashion lollipops were designed by artist Massimo Gammacurta and several powerhouse brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and Louis Vuitton to be passed out at runway shows.  How sweet is that?!

Isn’t this amazing?!  The boiling pot, complete with crawfish, corn and potatoes is a groom’s cake from a wedding in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and the entire thing is edible.

…there’s a new Mexican breakfast in town.

Molletes are a traditional (and lesser-known) Mexican breakfast item that consist of french bread cut in half, covered with refried black beans, melted chihuahua cheese, chorizo, pico de gallo and avocado. They are delicious (as you can see from my half-eaten plate above), especially when accompanied by a nice cafe con leche for brunch.

At my neighborhood Whole Foods, I came across emu eggs for sale.  Not that long ago, they had ostrich eggs for sale.  I’m not sure what I would use these for (a really large omelette?), but they certainly are pretty cool looking!

After reading Lorin’s blog entry on food bandages, I found myself purchasing a few boxes of those super cute cupcake bandages in the photo. This, of course, led to random internet searches for more cupcake stuff. The result: this photo of shark cupcakes, that seemed to have attacked a few life preserver cupcakes. Pretty cool, huh?!

My sweet tooth tends to take me in strange directions. For instance, my lastest purchase–cola gummies!

I found these at a small Chinese-owned corner store. One is “fizzy cola”, the other is “happy cola.” (How could I not buy them with names like fizzy and happy?!) Both are quite tasty, if you’re a fan of jelly candies and soft drinks combined. However, they definitely don’t quench thirst like the real deal, and certainly would not do well if mixed with rum…

Loved Jenny’s blog on churros and thought I’d toss out the New Orleans version - classic crunchy, sugar-dusted churros with a deep dulce de leche (caramel) and banana sauce, a la “Bananas Foster.”  The flavor combination is spectacular!!