What's Happening Here in France

Seems like I haven't written about France much lately. And I've hardly cooked a thing in three weeks, so there hasn't been much to write about that either. I was looking forward to settling back in to "life in general" here in our little village when a call came Monday afternoon from my sister in California. Our mom had been checked back into the hospital Sunday night and was needing surgery as soon as they could get the raging infection in her body under control. I'll spare you the details, but she's been sick for a couple of months and was in the hospital two weeks ago, but it looked like everything was ok. It wasn't.
Surgery took place last night, everything went well and she should be heading home from the hospital Sunday or Monday. My sister is going there today to help and I'm heading back to Spokane, Washington on Tuesday morning to be there when my sister has to go home.
So, "life in general" is being put on hold until I return on the 19th of March. I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that I have to head back across the pond. Another 20 hours of airplanes and airports. Merde.

Until Tuesday I plan on getting over the virus I contracted last week either on the airplanes, airports or in New Orleans and enjoy some cooking!
I'm making dinner for six tomorrow night and want to try either a coconut chicken curry or a chicken and potato curry recipe that I found on Hooked on Heat and some vegetable side dish with cauliflower.
Spring is definitely in the air which means driving at night is a toad obstacle course. They're out and trying to mate and they're all over the place! The almond trees are in bloom and the bulbs are coming up. We're looking forward to asparagus and strawberries and sitting outside in the sun. Pin It

Five Things No One Knows About Me

Yesterday I discovered that Katie at Thyme for Cooking tagged me for the meme, "Five Things No One Knows About Me." Hmmm... This is tough because I don't have many secrets. But mulling it over sure helped occupy my mind when I woke up at 5 o' clock this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep. Damn jet lag.
This meme is similar to the "Five Useless Facts About Myself" that Riana of These Days In French Life tagged me for last month so one of my answers is the same.

1. I like to drive by myself, turn the music up really, really loud and sing at the top of my lungs.

2. I know all the words to the soundtracks from the movies Xanadu and A Star is Born. (that is really frightening)

3. I hate grating cheese and cleaning lettuce.

4. I've never actually tasted sour cream. I just tell everyone that I don't like it because I can't stand the way it smells and I think that if something smells sour and spoiled, it must taste the same.

5. I've always wanted a small tattoo of a Cycladic Idol on my ankle. But I'm afraid of needles and pain, so no tattoos!


I think I'll tag Amy at Ms. Glaze's Pommes d'Amour, if she has the time because I know she's busy! Also, Susan from Porcini Chronicles and Sognatrice from Bleeding Espresso. Tell us your deepest and darkest secrets! Pin It

The Best Brunch

When we lived in New Orleans, my husband and I loved eating at Café Marigny. It was a friendly little place just a block from the Quarter, parking was fairly easy to find and the food was superb.

Fast forward seven years.
Parking isn't easy in this neighborhood anymore, Café Marigny is gone and a Thai restaurant called Sukho Thai is in it's old space. I noticed this as we drove through the Marigny to visit a friend and thought that sadly, it was perhaps another restaurant that had disappeared after the dreaded Katrina, an unfortunate loss for the city.
However, on the way home from our friend's house I saw a restaurant with an oddly familiar sign out front called The Marigny Brasserie. Turns out the owners moved down the block into a bigger space and made an even better restaurant.
Fortunately it was suggested that we meet some out of town friends here and have brunch before hitting the Quarter the Sunday before Mardi Gras. Maybe I just miss brunch so much that any brunch will do, but I thought the food was fantastic! We all had the eggs Benedict Marigny, a version of eggs Benedict with apple smoked bacon and a Creole Hollandaise sauce that was so scrumptious. The two Bloody Mary's I had (at only $3 each!) made the experience even more pleasant. Normally I wouldn't think of ordering dessert after brunch, but when we saw that chocolate peanut butter pie was available, we decided to share a slice. Pure, sugary sweet heaven!
Turns out Cate Blanchett and her family were having brunch at the same time. But she didn't stop by our table to say hello. How rude.

The Marigny Brasserie
640 Frenchmen Street
New Orleans, LA
(504) 945-4472 Pin It

The Society of Saint Anne

The Krewe of Saint Anne or the Society of Saint Anne is a walking Krewe that parades on Mardi Gras day. It is one of the liveliest and most vibrant parades of the Carnival season and in addition to the Krewe of Barkus and Krewe of Muses, my favorite!



A kaleidoscope of color, the parade traditionally begins in the Bywater neighborhood then snakes it's way through the Marigny, down Royal street in the French Quarter and finally to Canal street to await the arrival of the King of Carnival, Rex.



I'm always in awe of the imagination that goes into the costumes. People spend huge amounts of time and money creating these elaborate outfits.
Such wonderful eye candy!


There is no membership. The rules are; create a fabulous and original costume, meet at the designated location early Mardi Gras day, grab a go-cup filled with your favorite concoction and laissez les bon temps rouler!



Pin It

Home

It was a long journey home. A missed connection in Minneapolis meant I had the privilege to stay the night at the very dated, possibly negative 2 starred Ramada Inn at the Mall of America. Luckily I got out of there on Friday before an impending blizzard and the arrival of the creepy Dream Girl's USA children's beauty pageant. It was a very close call!
So, I got home Saturday evening instead of Friday evening. We had a delicious curry dinner at our friend's house then I proceeded to sleep until 2:30 the next afternoon. Woke up for a couple hours, fell back to sleep for a couple of hours, woke up again for a couple of hours, fell asleep again for a couple of hours, then stayed up all night watching the Oscars.
What day is it? Where am I?
When I woke up at noon today a strong cup of coffee helped to clear my head, but as the evening approaches I feel the fatigue slowly taking over.

I have a ton of great photos to share. But they'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Here's a preview.

On Royal Street.


Helping to load beads and throws onto a friend's float for the Krewe of King Arthur parade. Pin It

Au Revoir New Orleans

This afternoon I say goodbye to friends and this wonderful city to return home to France. Au revoir gumbo, crawfish etoufée, coffee with chicory and po' boys.
Bonjour confit de canard, cassoulet, crêpes and muscat.
I'm so excited to see my husband, dogs and crazy cat! I can't wait to have a glass of decent red wine and smell the wild thyme that grows in the garrigue that surrounds our village. Pin It

Celebrating!

HAPPY MARDI GRAS! Pin It

Carnival

Carnival in New Orleans is impossible to describe.
And, since I forgot to bring the cable for my camera to download photos into the computer, I can't share the pictures I've taken!
I'll have to post them when I get home.

Check out nola.com for some great images. Pin It

Eating My Way Through New Orleans

What a week!
The food fest began with lunch on my birthday last Friday at Cochon. First a Bloody Mary (I'd been craving one for weeks!) with pickled beans and okra and huge olives. Yum! I had grilled Gulf shrimp with chow chow relish for an appetizer then a smoked beef sandwich with crispy fried onions and remoulade mayo. The food was great, but unfortunately the service was really awful. However, it wouldn't keep me from going back.
The next morning, after a tour of our friend's new home and a drive around to see how the city is repairing, we stopped at Elizabeth's, home of praline bacon! We shared a plate and had a New Orleans take on eggs Benedict that used buttered French bread in place of English muffins and a spicy version of Hollandaise sauce.
There's a new little taco place in the Quarter, Jazz Taco's, where a friend and I ate Monday for lunch. Located in Exchange Alley, it has a few outdoor seats where we sat and listened to the parrots squawking while we munched on chips with fresh guacamole and salsa and ate some delicious tacos.
Monday night was spent at my good friend's, Mary and Tomio's house, eating jambalaya and red beans followed by some gorgeous, briochey King cake for dessert. I've always loved eating at their house, Mary is an excellent cook!
Deanie's Restaurant on Annunciation Street is just a few steps from where I'm staying. I'd heard mixed reviews and the mayor eats there all the time, so I wasn't too sure about the place. Well, it was great! I had the daily special of country fried chicken with sides of corn bread dressing, maque choux and a salad. There was enough food for two people. We also shared some scrumptious bread pudding for dessert. I never thought I would eat again, until I was tempted by some barbecue shrimp at our friend's for dinner that night. Pure buttery peppery heaven!
We enjoyed some more Mexican food yesterday at Nacho Mama's, on Magazine Street. I love this place! I had a very tasty shrimp and black bean burrito with homemade salsa.
That held us over until last night's meal at Liuzza's. Oh my god. The best gumbo! And fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade. And a big frosty mug of Abita Amber. It was so, so good.

I stepped on a scale yesterday, with surprising results. I've been walking a lot every day, so even with these huge portions, lots of butter and fried food, my weight hasn't changed a bit.

One more week of New Orleans food. I can't wait! Pin It

Food Photography

I've been awake for an hour and my friends are still asleep. Did I mention that I hate jet lag?
Thankfully there is a computer in the guest room so I'm managing to stay quiet when what I really want to do is have a shower and make myself a cup of coffee! If they're not awake in 30 minutes I'm breaking out of here.

After reading all the entries for World Nutella Day I started looking back over my blog and realized I am a terrible food photographer! My food photos are really, really bad!

So I have a question.
How does a normal person with a normal digital camera (which even has a "food" setting) and a not-so-pretty kitchen take beautiful photos? I want my food to look as delicious as it tastes and it doesn't.
Help!

Pin It

I'm Walking to New Orleans

Well, not really....but I love that song.
The alarm clock will ring at 2:45 tomorrow morning to give me enough time to clear the cobwebs, take a quick shower, get dressed and finish packing before we leave the house at 3:30 AM to drive 90 minutes to Toulouse where I catch a plane to Amsterdam, then another one to Detroit and finally a third to New Orleans.
I'll arrive in time for dinner but my brain will be screaming, Go to sleep, don't you know it's the middle of the night?!
I hate jet lag.

I'll be attending a couple of parties, going to several parades, dancing the night away at one Mardi Gras ball (Krewe of Muses) and will finally get to eat some decent shrimp!

Laissez les bons temps rouler! Pin It

World Nutella Day 2007 - Nutella Mousse

When I told my husband I was participating in this event, he looked at me like I was a little crazy. Then he said, "I've never had Nutella before, what is it?"
Never had Nutella before? What planet was he from???

I explained that he had tasted it before, in the brownies I made a couple of years ago for a party and that it was a lovely concoction of chocolate and hazelnuts, but he just looked at me blankly. So I cracked open a jar, spooned out a big dollop and gave it to him. His eyes lit up.
He doesn't look at me like I'm crazy anymore.



All week I've been pondering what I should make for the first annual World Nutella Day.
I wanted to make those gianduja brownies, but couldn't find hazelnuts anywhere. So I looked through my notebooks of recipes torn out of magazines and I searched all of my cookbooks.
I finally found what I was looking for...on the internet. Quelle surprise.

I found this recipe while searching Google for Gianduja mousse and have now seen it on Recipezaar as Nutella Mousse.


It has three, yes, only three ingredients and it couldn't be easier.




Nutella Mousse

2 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder*
1/2 cup Nutella

Yep, that's it.

Pour 1 cup of the chilled, heavy cream into a bowl and stir in the espresso powder. Let it sit to dissolve, about 5 minutes.
Add the Nutella and beat with a hand mixer for 1 minute.
Scrape the bowl thoroughly to get any bits of clinging Nutella off the sides.
Beat again for 1 more minute, until soft peaks form.
(The mousse will seem pretty soft at this point, but it will set up once it's chilled.)
Pour into 4 cups or ramekins and chill for at least 4 hours.

Before serving, beat the other 1 cup of cream to make whipped cream. Top each dish of mousse with some whipped cream.
A nice addition would be toasted, chopped hazelnuts or chocolate shavings sprinkled on top.






*I think the espresso makes the difference between a very cloyingly sweet mousse and a really tempting dessert with rich undertones of hazelnut, chocolate and coffee. The original recipe I found calls for only 1/4 teaspoon of espresso powder. Pin It

A New Link

I got an email recently from France Magazine asking if they could create a link to Chez Loulou on their "selected sites" page. How cool is that!
Have a look.... Pin It

Sugary Bliss

Saturday morning, circa 1976.
Lying on the floor in my pj's in front of the television with my bowl of cereal.
On the TV: Bugs and Daffy in Loony Tunes, Scooby Doo, Land of the Lost, Shazam and Isis, Fat Albert and American Bandstand, with three fabulous minutes of Schoolhouse Rock! between each show.
In my cereal bowl: Count Chocula, Lucky Charms, Alpha-Bits, Cocoa Puffs or Froot Loops. I preferred my sugary cereal with little marshmallow bits, but they weren't required. As long as the cereal was sweet.

Reading a post about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Matt Bites the other day got me reminiscing about my favorite foods as a child. My poor parents! Pretty much all I wanted to eat was cereal, PB & J and spaghetti.

Thankfully I've managed to get over the pickiness of my childhood.

Anyone remember Mug-O-Lunch? Pin It

La Nouvelle Orléans

I started writing this post in the beginning of June, 2006, while visiting friends in New Orleans.


June 2, 2006
Yesterday was the first day of hurricane season and this city is on edge. The newspaper is full of tips for emptying out the 'fridge and freezer as the summer goes along, how to protect your house from storms and looters and how to evacuate in any direction. Some of my friends say they will never evacuate again if faced with another storm and some say they will leave much, much sooner than they did last year.

Our friend's 25 year old daughter, born and raised in New Orleans, was rescued from her attic window into a neighbor's boat and ended up at the dreaded Superdome. The experience was so awful and traumatizing, she says she will never again reside in New Orleans.
Another acquaintance whom no one had heard from since the storm, suddenly appeared at a local bar the night before I left and shared with us his story about being rescued out of his attic window by a helicopter. "Girl," he said, laughing, "I'm afraid of heights and I can't swim and here I was, dangling by a thread over all this water. I just knew I was done for." He recounted the story like the true drama queen he is and it made us laugh, but later I couldn't stop thinking about the sheer terror he must have felt. He tried living in Atlanta for several months and couldn't stand it. He came home.
I saw another acquaintance at the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, a maître d' whom we'd gotten to know while following him from one fabulous restaurant (Metro Bistro) to another (Herbsaint). He and his family evacuated to Dallas and won't be returning.
Another couple's apartment was looted, but after "living in exile" for several months, they've returned and are getting on with their lives.



That was all I wrote on that trip. At the time I just felt too overwhelmed.
I was so happy to be there but so sad to see the state that the city was in. Granted, it was only 9 months since the dreaded K word, and rebuilding a city of that size takes years. The French Quarter, Canal Street and other, centrally located and touristy sections looked fine, but just a few blocks away the decay and destruction was heart wrenching.

I love New Orleans. It is still a vibrant, unique and beautiful place and it gets under your skin.
And I'm fortunate enough to be returning next week for the Carnival season thanks to our friend's extremely generous gift of a plane ticket! Pin It