CREOLE REDFISH COURTBOUILLION

It’s a great time to be in New Orleans.  The Saints won the SUPER BOWL and the good times have begun to roll!  Parades and parties kicked off the festivities, which continued right into Mardi Gras season. Spring is right around the corner, bringing St. Patrick’s Day and St. Josephs Day celebrations. The seven day Jazz Fest arrives in late April, and will feature megastars like Lionel Richie, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, Pearl Jam and B.B. King. 

All this celebrating boils down to one important fact about New Orleans – the fabulous food!  That means iconic Creole /Cajun foods like gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee, remoulade, grillades & grits, red beans n’ rice, beignets and bread pudding.  Don’t forget po-boy sandwiches stuffed with delicacies like alligator, deep fried oysters, crawfish and soft shell crabs.   

You may not make it to New Orleans but you can celebrate with a hearty pot of Courtbouillion  – a popular home-style Creole fish dish with a piquant tomato-based sauce. The word Courtbouillion means, “short boil.”  Cajun cooks make it too, and in the local patois, the pronunciation is, “COU-bee-yohn.” 

 

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CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL

 

 

 

During a recent trip to Washington DC, I had the opportunity to dine at Chipotle Mexican Grill and take a behind-the-scenes tour. The popular chain started in Denver, Colorado in 1993.  There are more than 500 company-owned restaurants throughout the United States.  Chipotles’ food tasted super-fresh and really delicious – the kind mama makes – especially if she is of Mexican descent.  

 

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Reflections from the Chintzy Rose Tea Room

This blog reflects a bit about gardens, guns, orange tea and the Chintzy Rose Tea room in Knoxville, Tennessee. When you get to the end, you will find recipes for Strawberry Cheesecake Triffle, Tangy Lemon-Orange Iced Tea and Sweet Ham Tea Sandwiches.  I promise that you will want to make them.  So sit a spell and read on…………………

 

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Asheville's Early Girl Eatery

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Recently I had lunch with family at the Early Girl Eatery on Wall Street in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. The popular establishment is owned and run by John and Julie Stehling. John’s brother Robert Stehling owns the popular Hominy Grill in Charleston, SC. John and Julie met in Charleston, traveled the world then settled in Asheville to open their restaurant in October of 2001.

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Although the eatery’s primary source of advertising is through word of mouth, it has received national acclaim from Gourmet Magazine, Southern Living Magazine and Hemispheres, the United Airlines Magazine. Rachael Ray visited earlier this year for her TV show, $40 a Day.

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The appealing, artsy storefront windows are arranged in a charming domestic vignette. The interior is welcoming and exudes a sunny, relaxed atmosphere. The New York Times wrote, “Freshness is the appeal of Early Girl Eatery…named for a tomato popular with gardeners………..The uncluttered dining room is decorated with jars of home-canned vegetables and plants hanging in the windows.” Brown paper neatly covers the tables; colorful art decorates the walls. The menu is scrawled on a big chalk blackboard.

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