Only in New Orleans or France!

Reveillon comes from the French word reveiller which means to wake up.  Here in New Orleans it roughly translates to a holiday celebration. Reveillon dinners are held on Christmas Eve after midnight mass or New Years Eve and have been a tradition in New Orleans since the French first came and settled here. In true New Orleans style reveillon dinners are held during the entire month of December. Whether it be in people’s homes or at a restaurant the dinners tend to be lavish. Usually several courses of rich, luxurious dishes followed by several courses of dessert and a bouche de noel. It was said that back in New Orleans’ heyday these dinners would last into the wee hours of the morning and sometimes until dawn.

The reveillon tradition had waned somewhat. That is when The French Quarter Festivals Inc organization decided to bring the tradition back. They are hoping to lure locals and tourists alike to the French Quarter to celebrate the holidays. There are over a dozen restaurants participating this year, including Emeril’s and Emeril’s Delmonico. I have included the menu for both restaurants.

I will be attending a reveillon dinner this Friday evening. I am celebrating not only the holidays but also a birthday.

Emeril’s

FIRST COURSE

Turtle Soup “en Croute”

SECOND COURSE

Fricassee of Crawfish with Veal Sweetbreads, Artichokes, and Truffle

THIRD COURSE

Foie Gras-stuffed Mississippi Quail with Warm Lobster Salad and Kumquat Vinaigrette

FOURTH COURSE

Apple Butter Calas with Walnut and Eggnog Anglaise

Emeril’s Delmonico

FIRST COURSE (Choice of)

Creole Charcuterie: Beef Daube Glacé with Andouille Sausage, Housemade Mustard, and Pickled Okra

Or

Winter Green Salad with Savory Rice Calas, Fennel, and Satsuma Vinaigrette

SECOND COURSE (Choice of)

Crab and Mirliton Bisque

Or

Sautéed Frog Legs with Almonds, Capers, and Lemon

THIRD COURSE (Choice of)

Rabbit Fricassee with Caramelized Root Vegetables, Leeks, and Sherry Reduction

Or

Pan Roasted Quail with Oyster Dressing and Mushroom Gravy

FOURTH COURSE

Café Brulot - Crème Brûlée with Chocolate Praline

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I think because it is all about food. I have a tendency to go a little crazy with the menu. This relates back to the very first Thanksgiving dinner I cooked. I was in culinary school at The Culinary Institute of America and I was headed down to Manhattan to have Thanksgiving with some friends. I thought I would show off my new culinary skills and try to be a little creative. I was not going to make a turkey, I was going to roast a duck and make risotto and roasted root vegetables. The dinner ended up being a complete disaster. The duck was over cooked and I realized that one duck would not feed six people. The risotto was more like glue and I honestly do not remember what happened to the root vegetables. I was extremely embarrassed. The only saving grace was that we were young, care free and in Manhattan where you can get Chinese food delivered even on Thanksgiving.

After that debacle, I vowed that I would stick to traditional fare for Thanksgiving. I have honed my craft. Thanksgiving dinner no longer makes me anxious. I have come to embrace it and there have even been a few years that I felt like Martha Stewart.

This year’s menu:

• Deviled Quail’s Eggs
• Ham and Cheese Gougeres
• Cinnamon Spiced Nuts
• Oysters Bienville
• Herb Roasted Organic Heirloom Turkey Breast, Confit Turkey Legs with Sage Gravy
• Salad of Heirloom Lettuces(from my garden), Shaved Apples, Maytag Blue Cheese, Pecans, Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• Sauteed Lacinata Kale(from my garden) with Garlic, Bacon and Onions
• Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan
• Butternut Squash Puree
• Sweet Potato Gratin
• Wild Rice Stuffing
• Pomegranate, Meyer Lemon, Cranberry Relish
• Cranberry Gelee
• Roasted Pears with Port Macerated Cherries
• Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuits
• Brown Sugar Buttermilk Pie from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food Magazine
• and of course lots of Champagne

I have been in the kitchen since Monday evening prepping. Believe it or not the menu is pretty easy this year. Nothing too fancy. I have been uber organized and am looking forward to a relaxing day on Thursday. I really enjoy cooking for and with my family and friends. It is definitely something to be thankful for.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with joy.

 Look at this!  You have got to see this Thanksgiving Leftover wonder that Chef Emeril made for Good Morning America, Friday………  Cook this for your family the day after and it might upstage the Thanksgiving meal itself.  Will you just look at it.  Stacey Meyer really outdid herself with this one.  And do you know what this idea this was born from?  I’ll tell you…”how about a leftover stuffing cake with egg….”  And look what Chef Emeril bangs out.

This is a griddled stuffing cake topped with sauteed spinach (you can use leftover greens if you want), warmed sliced turkey, a poached egg (improvise with fried or scrambled), and right over the top is turkey gravy and fresh herbs.  Ummmm, Ummmm, Ummm.  And if you really want to go crazy as some of the tasters here at Homebase suggested, spoon a little cranberry sauce somewhere in there.  Wow!

This is how it looks while testing… She’s really got all the pots going.

Eggs go in the empty pot…. Opps, Sorry.

Here is Chef Chris’ excited apporach to “tasting”.  Well, it was his lunchtime…. (and this is still after he ate a whole one…) and there is Chef Stacey.  You go girl!

So the trickiest part is how dry or wet your stuffing is.   You want to make a mold of it in a greased ramekin.  Really press it down in there.  Then flip over to unmold.  And of course, pat it lovingly with your hands so it behaves.  Then, griddle it. Don’t worry about it cracking.  Once you get all the other goodness on top, it’ll still be a showstopper.

Happy Cooking!  and check out Chef Emeril on Friday, November 25st, in the 8:30am half hour on ABC’s Good Morning America.

After sampling the delicious pig at the Delmonico’s tent I headed over to some of the other tables. My first stop was at Crescent Pie & Sausage Co. where I had Bart Bell’s Chaurice with Homemade Mustard and Pickles. Bart is masterful at his craft of sausage making. When he talks to you about making sausage his eyes are literally gleaming with pride. Rightfully so. Chaurice is a traditional Creole sausage probably brought to Louisiana by the Spanish. It is slightly spicy and incorporates traditional Louisiana ingredients such as garlic, cayenne, bay leaf and thyme. It is a smoked sausage similar to both the Spanish chorizo and traditional Louisiana andouille. Generally chaurice is used a seasoning meat but Bart’s is so delicious it stands on its own, although the pickles and mustard are a nice touch.

I had to go check out Sue Zemanick from Gautreau’s (my alma mater). She prepared Fried Boudin Balls with Pimento Cheese and Cane Syrup Glaze. This sounded a little odd to me at first. I think it may have been the cane syrup but I have to say this was an out of this world pairing that worked incredibly well. Fried boudin is my favorite by far. I like the crispy outside with the boudin stuffing in the center. I am not sure why salty pork goes so well with sweet syrup but it just does. Think bacon with maple syrup. Boudin and cane syrup are a match made in heaven.

My last stop on this boudin adventure was at John Currance’s table. John, a native New Orleanian, is the chef at City Grocery in Oxford, MS. John is an avid hunter and fisherman and it seems appropriate to me that he served Boudin Stuffed Quail with Creole Mustard Cream. I felt a little like a stuffed quail at this point but it didn’t stop me from eating. It was delightful. Quails are such delicious little birds but have a tendency to be dry. The boudin alleviated this problem entirely and the dish was tender and moist.

I am looking forward to next year’s event. Boudin and Beer is now on the top of my list as far as New Orleans festivals. You just can’t beat it.

 The Chefs Collaborative National Summit is being held here in New Orleans beginning this Sunday, October 23 and ends on Tuesday, October 25th. I am so looking forward to attending this conference.

What is Chefs Collaborative?

Chefs Collaborative is a nonprofit organization of chefs and culinary professionals working toward a more sustainable food supply. Read more »

Last weekend I volunteered for The Fall Garden Festival out at City Park Botanical Garden. It was a gorgeous weekend. The sun was shining, it was not too hot and the humidity was low. That is fall for us here in South Louisiana.

The festival hosted plant sales from local nurseries, a scarecrow trail, arts and crafts, food, music and plenty of activities for the kids. This year there was an entire area dedicated to urban farming represented by the Food and Farm Network, Tulane City Center, Grow Dat Youth Farm, Future Proof, Ye Olde College Inn, EcoUrban and the Emeril Lagasse Foundation. There were exhibits on city chickens, composting, building raised beds, backyard vegetable gardens, solar energy and cooking demonstrations using seasonal produce. Read more »

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is encouraging Americans to participate in Food Day on October 24, 2011. Food Day is an initiative to inspire the nation to improve their diets, focus on food policy, expand access to nutritious and healthy foods, support fair working conditions for food and farm workers and support sustainable agriculture which will in turn protect our environment. Food Day is modeled after Earth Day, a day which brings awareness to environmental protection and conservation. Like Earth Day, Food Day events and activities begin at a local level and can range from teaching children to plant vegetable seeds in the community garden to hosting a dinner derived from only local ingredients to going to your local farmer’s market and talking to a farmer.

Food Day is all about bringing attention to what we eat, how we eat and where our food comes from. It is about transforming our lives through our diet.  It is also about supporting our local community and hopefully beginning to solve our communities’ food problems such as food deserts and hunger. Food Day is supported by Slow Food USA, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, the Farmers Market Coalition, Chefs Collaborative and is backed by an advisory board that includes Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle, Alice Waters, Dan Barber Nora Pouillon, and Michael Leviton, the chair of the Chefs Collaborative Board.

Food Day’s motto is “eat real”. So what does that mean? It means eating meals that are centered on fruits, vegetables and whole grains and eating foods that are minimally processed. It is about getting Americans to think about food in a whole new way; creating healthy eating habits that support a just, sustainable, and affordable food system for all Americans. It is imperative that we go out to the farmers markets, the local co-op, or get into the garden and then get back into our kitchens and start cooking. It is important not only for our health, but for the health of the environment and the health our communities.

Goals of Food Day

Events are being held nationwide to celebrate Food Day. You can go to the Food Day website to find a local coordinator for events being held in your region. I have noticed that there is not a single event posted for New Orleans yet Anchorage, Alaska has five events posted. Come on New Orleans! Host your own food day event by giving a cooking class, visiting a farm, planting an herb garden or hosting a healthy pot luck dinner and then post your event on the Food Day map. Together we can make Food Day successful.

I will be attending Chefs Collaborative National Summit here in New Orleans on Food Day. Chefs Collaborative which is a non-profit organization for chefs and culinary professionals that focuses on “changing the sustainable food landscape using the power of connections, education and responsible buying decisions.” I am really looking forward to attending this event and learning more about how I can help my community.

This Friday the Culinary Team at Emeril’s Homebase will be attending a culinary symposium at Loyola University. Our colleague Daphne Derven will be a speaker at the event. She is speaking about fighting hunger in New Orleans in her speech titled Food and Social Justice in New Orleans: A Plenary Session on Fighting Hunger. I have just finished reading her paper written on the subject and am amazed by  some of the facts and figures regarding hunger not just in New Orleans but throughout the United States.

The symposium covers a wide range of topics such as Culinary History as Public History, Foodways as Cultural Identity in New Orleans, and the geography of food. It all sounds incredibly interesting and I am really looking forward to the lectures.

Live to Eat Symposium

 Jap Chae is a traditional Korean noodle dish made with sweet potato noodles otherwise known as glass noodles. It is a simple stir fry of fresh vegetables, mushrooms and beef. The sauce is made with sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds, Korean chili powder, and a little minced garlic. It is a fairly light and healthy dish since the beef can be optional and it is loaded with veggies.

What I really love about this dish is the noodles because they have a chewy texture that is much different from Vietnamese or Thai noodles. The main thing to know about the noodles is that they should only be cooked for about 5 minutes, which is half the time on the package directions. Once cooked, they should be rinsed with cool water to stop them from cooking. They don’t retain that delicious texture if they are over cooked.

The recipe calls for a Korean chili powder which has a pungent, spicy kick. If you cannot find this ingredient you can substitute cayenne pepper or red chili flakes. I have even substituted chili garlic sauce.

Once you have assembled your ingredients the dish comes together very quickly.

This dish has tons of veggies and you can add more as you see fit. I like to add lots of greens, whether it be spinach, tat soi or cabbage.

There really aren’t any Korean restaurants here in New Orleans so when I want my Korean fix I have to make it myself. I have made this recipe at least four times in the past two months. I have turned my friends on to Korean food and cooking and now they crave it just like me. We exchange recipes and get together for Bulgogi on the Balcony, a Korean barbecue.

This post has made me laugh all day!!

Kristy Still’s post on her blog, Mommy Hates Cooking  about her Labrador Retriever May helping out with the photos of the breakfast casserole is hysterical.  I have had a few Labs in my life and I know how sweet and wonderful they are pretty much all of the time. Maybe with one exception, when there is food around.