This morning, I ran across this story in the New Orleans Advocate about the historic, Woodland plantation in LaPlace, Louisiana going on the market. What an interesting story it is! This plantation home, built in 1793 has fallen into disrepair in recent years and is looking for a new owner, who can restore it to its past grandeur. This is a sketch of the plantation from 1871 by Alfred Waud.
As Easter approaches our thoughts turn to loved ones who are no longer with us. I made a trip recently to Metairie Cemetery, where my family is buried, to place flowers on the tombs. While newer than a number of the city’s cemeteries, it is one of the largest and most historic.
It was previously the site of a horse racing track, Metairie Race Course, founded in 1838. During the Civil War it was used as Confederate Camp Moore. The track went bankrupt during reconstruction, and the site was chartered as a cemetery in 1872, with its design influenced by the oval layout. In 1991 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The cemetery is the resting place of over 9,000 people, including 9 Louisiana governors, 7 New Orleans mayors, 49 kings of Carnival, and 3 Confederate generals. With the largest collection of elaborate marble tombs and funeral statuary in the city, the artistry alone is well worth a trip.
One of the most iconic and enduring symbols of New Orleans is the streetcar.
It is a great way for visitors to get around and see the city and it also a great way for locals to get to locations along the line and avoid having to find parking! We are 3 blocks away from the St. Charles line in the Carrollton area of New Orleans. We love to ride the streetcar down the Avenue (St. Charles Avenue) to church, to meet friends for drinks at The Columns, to the Palmer Park Arts Market, and to many of the wonderful neighborhood events around the area.
The fare is just $1.25 with discounts for seniors and the disabled, and children under 2 ride free, so it is family and budget friendly too. A day pass is $3.00 and you can get on and off as often as you like! There are 3 streetcar lines, the St. Charles line is the oldest continually running streetcar line in the world.
The other lines are the Canal line and the Riverfront line. You can see maps, schedules and fare information HERE.
If you are coming for a visit, don’t miss riding the streetcar. It is a fun way to see the city, it is economical and you can be a part of history.
The New Orleans streetcar – just another reason to love New Orleans!
Today’s Lagniappe: Old New Orleans Streetcar #9 Cocktail Recipe
Made with Old New Orleans Rum, distilled right here in New Orleans by Celebration Distillation. The distillers and creators of this cocktail caution, “This ain’t your average trolly. Enjoy in moderation or you may feel like you were run over by one of these historic forms of transportation the next day.”
Shake with ice. Wet rim of a cocktail glass with lemon, then coat with a sugar and cinnamon mixture. Strain drink into glass, garnish with a lemon twist and a dust of cinnamon.
8 days til Spring!
Yesterday, I was in my home office looking for one of my gardening books when I came across Mme. Begue’s Recipes of Old New Orleans Creole Cookery. I had forgotten having this little gem. It is copyrighted @1937. The price on the inside cover was .60 but it was marked out in pencil and .75 was written in. Along with the recipes is an interesting story.
Shortly before the end of the War between the States, in 1863, a two-story brick building at the downtown corner of Madison and Decatur Streets, became a distinctive dining place . . .It was then, as was the custom, a “Coffee House”, and the proprietor was a Creole named Louis Dutrey. He attended bar, saw to the proper mixing of the beverages, and to meeting all guests. The presiding genius of the kitchen, where was prepared the delectabel dishes that lured the husky butchers of the French Market to Louis Dutrey’s Coffee House for their “second breakfast,” was the proprietor’s wife, she who had been Elizabeth Kettenring when she landed in New Orleans in 1853, a strapping German girl, born in 1831 in Bavaria.
Apparently, after Mr. Dutrey died, Elizabeth went on to marry Hypolite Begue who had worked for her, tending bar and was 8 years her junior (tre risque!). In 1880 the coffee house name was changed to Begue’s and then later Madame Begeue’s
Many of the recipes call for frying in hot lard as does this recipe for Lost Bread or Pain Perdu:
Take six slices of stale bread and soak in sugared milk, to which has been added a large spoonful of brandy. Drain and when ready to use turn each slice in beaten eggs. Fry in hto lard, brown well on both sides, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot.
I enjoyed looking through this little book and reading about Elizabeth’s life and recipes. In 1900 Elizabeth wrote down her recipes. “In spite of her German birth she spoke French fluently, but she never became proficient in the English tongue, so when she set down in words the secrets of her cookery they were written in the language of France.” Madame Elizabeth Begue died October 19, 1906.
Today’s Lagniappe: Pain Perdue
or as we call it – French Toast
* 4 (1/2 inch) slices egg bread
* 1 egg
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 pinch salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 pinch ground nutmeg
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup milk
* 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. Cut the bread and place on a wire rack to dry out a little as you prepare the batter.
2. Whisk the egg to blend. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan or on the stovetop and allow to cool slightly. Whisk the sugar, salt and spices into the egg. When the butter has cooled slightly, slowly drizzle it in to the egg, whisking all the time. A little at a time, add the flour to the egg mixture to make a smooth thick paste. After it is all added, slowly blend in the milk and finally the vanilla. Whisk until just smooth and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip a slice of the bread in the batter and allow to soak for 30 seconds, no more. Remove from the batter and allow the excess to drip off, back into the bowl. Place the battered slice in the skillet. Repeat with the remaining slices. Cook until golden on one side and then flip to brown the other. Serve immediately–a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and a good dusting of powdered sugar is traditional.
Since I posted Mama-isms, one of my two beautiful sisters requested that I give equal time to Daddy-isms. My Daddy died in 1992 at the age of 54 of cancer. Daddy was a big, lovable man, full of integrity and loved by all who knew him. He laughed a lot and smiled a lot and I am very blessed to have had such a great Daddy. He was a very optimistic and positive man who had sayings that deserve equal time as well as a few funny memories.
When asked how are you his response was invariably, “If I was any better I couldn’t stand it!”
You can’t go through life looking in the rear-view mirror.
About anyone who was a good cook – You’re a good cooker.
About Marriage – Love is important but commitment is equally important.
The Bible is a book that is meant to be understood by reading.
When we were kids, my younger sister had a slumber party on March 31st one year. The following morning, my Daddy woke all of the sleeping girls and told them to be calm but to hurry outside because the house was on fire. When they were all safely outside he called to them from the door “April Fools.” He loved to pull April Fools jokes but that was one of the best.
Daddy loved to swim and he made sure we all had swimming lessons. He would take us to the pool and delight us by throwing us high in the air. We would wear him out by begging him to throw us again.
He would wake us up in the morning by turning on the light and singing (loudly)
Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
We’re all in our places
With bright shiny faces.
For this is the way,
To start a new day.
If we didn’t wake up after the singing, he would stand at the end of the bed and say chop, chop, chop (as he was falling forward) to give us time to get up before he said TIMBER and fell on top of us. To my recollection, he never actually fell on top of any of us.
I could go on and on. As you can see, Daddy was a fun guy.
Today’s Lagniappe: Recipe for Spinach Madeleine or Crawfish Spinach Dip
I spent the afternoon yesterday with my friend Darlene planning our upcoming Mardi Gras party and it put me in mind of something with a little New Orleans’ Flavor. This is copied from Chef John Folse & Company Website. If you don’t have the River Road Cookbooks, look for them, they are great.
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 5-6 Servings
Comment:
This traditional Louisiana recipe was first presented in River Road’s cookbook from the Junior League of Baton Rouge. It is safe to say that this single recipe made the book world famous. In the late 1990s, Kraft foods did away with their jalapeño cheese roll which was originally used in the recipe. Recently, an alert customer informed us that Kraft’s Velveeta line introduced a similar Mexican cheese.
Ingredients:
* 2 packages chopped spinach, frozen
* 4 tbsps butter
* 2 tbsps flour
* 2 tbsps chopped onions
* ½ cup evaporated milk
* ½ cup reserved spinach liquor
* ½ tsp black pepper
* ¾ tsp celery salt
* ¾ tsp garlic salt
* 6 ounces Velveeta Mexican cheese, sliced into ¼-inch cubes
* salt and red pepper to taste
* 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Method:
Cook spinach according to directions on package. Drain and reserve liquid. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until blended and smooth, but not brown. Add onions and sauté 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Add evaporated milk, spinach liquor and Worcestershire sauce slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook mixture until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and cubed cheese. Stir until melted and combine with cooked spinach. This may be served immediately or put into a casserole and topped with buttered bread crumbs. The flavor is improved if the latter is done and kept in refrigerator overnight.
This traditional dish can be spruced up for the holidays by adding ¼ cup diced red bell peppers when the onions are sautéed.
There are other great dishes that can be made with this versatile recipe, such as:
Crawfish Spinach Dip: Add 1 pound of Louisiana crawfish tails when you add the cheese and serve warm with tortilla chips or crackers
My Grandpa will be 93 tomorrow. I wish everybody could have a Grandpa like mine. Grandpa has always lived his life with a passion. Whenever I think about Grandpa, I think of him with a smile on his face. He has the best stories of anyone I’ve ever known and his life would make a great movie.
From Grandpa, I learned a great work ethic. When I was in high school, I worked for him in one of his businesses and I remember being 7 minutes late one morning. He told me if I was ever late again he would fire me. I learned at a young age the value of being on time.
Grandpa has always been so full of life. He always worked hard and played hard. He loves fishing. He used to go fishing in Canada and Mexico a lot and has wonderful stories from those times.
He always has the most beautiful lawn around and he is an expert on growing green lush grass. He used get the Wall Street Journal. I remember, he would give his old copies to me. He told me three columns to read so that I could carry on an interesting conversation with anyone.
Happy Birthday Grandpa! I love you.
Today’s Lagniappe: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
This is one of Grandpa’s favorites. It was also a favorite of my Daddy’s. Grandmother Dicus and Mama used Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise for this recipe but you could use either one.
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise
2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoon soda
4 teaspoon cocoa (Mama used a little less)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together sugar and miracle whip. Add soda and cocoa to warm water and then to stir it into the sugar mixture with vanilla.
Bake 325 for 20 to 30 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan. Let cake cool then spread with chocolate fudge frosting. Place pecan halves all over the top of the cake.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar (Mama uses regular sugar)
1/2 cup hot milk
2 tsps. vanilla
In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter; add cocoa, stirring constantly until smooth and slightly thickened. Remove from heat, set aside to cool slightly.
In large mixer bowl combine sugar and milk, beat until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool at room temperature to spreading consistency, about 1/2 hour.
Leave comments for Grandpa here. If you haven’t commented on this blog before, your comment will be held until I approve it. I’ll be checking often so I can approve everyones comments. Once I’ve approved you, you can come back anytime and comment without me having to approve you 🙂 and I hope y’all will come back to visit.
Today marks the anniversary of Prohibition in United States. Prohibition was the period in United States history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was outlawed. It was a time characterized by speakeasies, glamour, and gangsters and a period of time in which even the average citizen broke the law.
Starting in the late 1870’s the prohibition or temperance movements began to slowly seep into the South, town by town or county by county. By the 1890’s the movement was gaining strength nationally, a fact that aided moonshiners tremendously. If a town outlawed the legal sale of liquor, the demand for moonshiners and their product became even greater. Prohibition reached much of the South on a state-wide level in the early twentieth century.
Prohibition also helped lower the standards of many moonshiners, the emphasis became quantity of liquor that could be produced with the quality taking a backseat.
Now you know. See, reading this blog is very educational!
Ecclesiastes 8:15 – Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
Today’s Lagniappe: Southern Belle Cocktail
1/2 oz. brandy
1/2 oz. white cream de cacao
1/2 oz. benedictine herbal liqueur
Pour the brandy into a pousse cafe glass. Tilt the glass to a 45-degree angle and slowly pour the creme de cacao down the side of the glass so that it floats on the brandy. Repeat this precedure with the Benedictine.
