A Southern Life

Throw Me a Cabbage!

By Cindy · Comments (3)

Monday, March 18th, 2013

We have lots of folks of Irish ancestry in New Orleans. Irish immigrants in the 19^th century dug the canals that drain the city, and we will forever be grateful for their backbreaking contributions. It is no surprise that we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with not one, but four parades – Uptown (starting in the Irish Channel), Metairie (an adjacent suburb), and two in the French Quarter/Downtown area. Yesterday I put on my green T-shirt and fuzzy headband with shamrocks on springs and headed for a party in the ‘burbs.

These parades are not known for their artistic merit. They are a great place to watch the antics of the marchers (who typically have consumed a bit of beer), hang out with friends, and most importantly, to catch the complements to your corned beef.

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Categories : Southern Fun, Southern Holiday, Southern Living

Cream Soup a la John Besh

By Cindy · Comments (0)

Friday, March 15th, 2013

I attended a program last week featuring the noted chef John Besh as speaker. A native son, he is “dedicated to promoting the foodways of Southern Louisiana”. Chef Besh owns nine restaurants and hosts a syndicated TV show, but he gets equal satisfaction from cooking for his wife and four sons. He prepared cream cauliflower soup for us, a simple dish in line with his latest book – My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking.

This is my kind of cooking – no firm recipe, just throw in a bit of this or that. Use ingredients that you have on hand, and feel free to make substitutions. (I doubt if my creations would turn out nearly as tasty as his!) Of course, a couple of non-staple items can add a special pizzazz. While the soup was cooking, Chef Besh gave lots of cooking tips, and entertained us with stories from his cooking career. Read More→

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Food, Southern Living

Second Line Brunch

By Christi · Comments (0)

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

This past Sunday, my husband and I attended a lovely brunch at New Orleans’ Second Line Stages, which is a movie production studio owned by Susan Brennan. The luncheon was a fundraiser for Young Life, which is wonderful Christian organization for young people.

The theme for the brunch was a second line. (See this past post for a description (and video) of a second line.) It was held in a sound stage at the studio.

You can see that this is a very large area and it was certainly a fun place for the brunch. Read More→

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Food, Southern Table

Container Veggies

By Cindy · Comments (1)

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

March 2 is the last spring frost date in New Orleans, and I usually try to get my first vegetables planted around then to beat the summer heat. That was my project for a recent cold weekend, with lows in the mid-30’s but no frost. Since yards in the old part of town tend to be small, I’ve been container gardening for over 20 years.

In went the tomatoes and peppers. Also for good measure bibb lettuce (a little late), green beans, and a basil plant. I passed on the eggplant for now even though they were available because cold weather supposedly stunts their growth. I usually plant them in the beginning of April. The okra will get their turn sometime in early summer.

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Gardening

Supper in the Kitchen

By Christi · Comments (3)

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

I love my formal dining table and setting it for dinners is always fun, however, sometimes, when we are just entertaining another couple, that table is really just too big. I always think about the old movies where there was long, formal dining table and a couple was sitting at opposite sides, being waited on by formal servants who are summoned by a bell. Remember that? I hope so, otherwise, I’m just sounding crazy . . .

Anyway, in cases of a small group, I like to set a less formal table in the kitchen, like this:

Add some flowers . . .

Some food, wine and most importantly, people and . . .

let the fun begin! (Note: I have cropped the identity of my friends – I need to start letting people know that they could show up online when they dine here).

We had a lovely evening sitting around the table, eating, sipping wine and visiting.

with Between Naps on the Porch

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Entertaining

Meeting Matters

By Christi · Comments (2)

Thursday, February 28th, 2013

People who know me, know I’m not fond of meetings. In light of that, it is funny how often I find myself attending meetings. However, if you must you must and, when you must, you may as well make it as pleasant as possible, right? On a recent evening, a meeting was held in my home. We extended out the dining table to make a long “conference” table and then added some food and flowers in order to create a friendly, relaxed environment. Here is how it turned out.

spring meeting

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Living, Southern Table

A Random Day In New Orleans

By Christi · Comments (5)

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

Sometimes, there are just things about New Orleans that make me smile. Running errands in New Orleans is unlike running errands in many places. For instance, on the way to the grocery store, this is just one of the sites you might see:

Beads hang from tree like this giving them beautiful purple, green, gold and pink colors. They also adorn the live oaks along the parade routes all year round. The evidence of beads that were caught by the trees instead of the people lining the streets. Read More→

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Food, Southern Living

A Time of Rest

By Christi · Comments (0)

Monday, February 18th, 2013

Whew, we made it through Christmas, Carnival, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day. Now, I feel like “resting” my eyes (and body) for a few weeks before Easter and the festival season. The Carnival/Mardi Gras decorations are all down (although, I did find a bit of tinsel that I missed this morning).

You may remember how the mantel looked for Mardi Gras:

Mardi Gras mantel

All tinsel, glitter, lights and sparkle. I loved seeing this every day. However, now it is a bit more serene:

Spring mantle

Green plants, the doves that have appeared in so many places in my home (and on my table and porch . . .) and a couple of colored candles. I did opt to leave the “JOY” letters in place that were added at Christmas. I just really like them there. Read More→

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Home Decorating, Southern Seasons

Rex Paraphernalia

By Cindy · Comments (1)

Tuesday, February 12th, 2013

Rex (or the School of Design as it is officially named) is the big parade on Mardi Gras day. Its monarch serves as the King of Carnival. The organization is quite civic in nature, with its Pro Bono Publico foundation donating over two million dollars to local public school initiatives since its inception. Over the years we have collected a variety of Rex memorabilia.

Each year the organization issues a ducal badge to its members. There is a corresponding ladies’ pin, which members may purchase for wives and female friends or relatives. Here are the ones for 2013, reflecting the theme “All Creatures Great and Small”. It is inspired by the gauntlets worn by the 1886 Rex.

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Categories : Mardi Gras, New Orleans

What is Mardi Gras in New Orleans All About?

By Christi · Comments (1)

Saturday, February 9th, 2013

If you’ve never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, you might find things a bit confusing. Since moving to New Orleans, I know, I have found myself explaining to friends all over the country about Mardi Gras and Carnival and Krewes and parades and well, the whole mystical, magical, crazy, fun season.

The Carnival season begins on January 6th which is known as Twelfth Night or The Epiphany. You can read more about Twelfth Night here and here. This is traditionally when the Christmas season ends. Carnival is celebrated by many with parties and balls. In New Orleans, it is often “Krewes” that lead the celebrations. While the celebrations are ongoing throughout the Carnival season, they all culminate on Mardi Gras day Read More→

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Categories : Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Southern Living

Superbowl Serendipity

By Christi · Comments (2)

Saturday, February 2nd, 2013

Getting around in New Orleans during all of the Superbowl and Mardi Gras festivities can be challenging. My husband and I headed down to the French Quarter yesterday and opted to ride the very busy streetcar. This was a great way to avoid the traffic and parking challenges in the city.

Heading back home, we got back on the streetcar and enjoyed a surprise performance on board. This was the drivers brother-in-law. Ha – what a fun ride. Only in New Orleans. Enjoy!

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Fun

More Carnival Ball!

By Christi · Comments (3)

Friday, February 1st, 2013

As promised, here are more pics from the Nyx Myx Masquerade Ball. First, let’s talk food.

Here is the menu from the dinner portion of the ball. – YUM!

The dessert was a work of art. See the little Nyx candy in the whipped cream in the middle. Beautiful and edible! Everything was deeee-licious.

Did you notice the hot pepper jelly vinaigrette mentioned for the salad. It was incredible, so I had to find a recipe for it. I found this recipe online and it was very good. I made it with Tabasco Hot Pepper Jelly and put it over butter lettuce with blue cheese and toasted pecans. Easy and yummy – I highly recommend this.

Okay, back to the ball. Read More→

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Categories : Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Southern Living

Carnival Dinner

By Christi · Comments (2)

Thursday, January 31st, 2013

Since we are taking a timeout for the Superbowl, I thought I’d take a look back at a Carnival table from the past. Even if you aren’t in New Orleans, you can create Carnival wherever you are!

Let the Carnival begin!

The beads, the masks . . .

all the Carnival colors.

Add a little candlelight.

Oh my, there is snow in the background :(

The fun and frivolity

Ready for the fun.

Who is that behind the mask?

Baubles and beads.

And, the Mardi Gras tree.

More decorations to come! Thanks Susan for hosting:

with Between Naps on the Porch

Today’s Lagniappe: Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice
Something warm and yummy to start the celebration.

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound andouille sausage (or regular smoked sausage), cut into small pieces
2 cups dried red beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 quart water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hot cooked rice (about 3 to 4 cups)

In a slow cooker, combine the onion, garlic and sausage. Stir in the beans and water and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat until the beans are tender, about 7 1/2 hours (on high it takes between 3 1/2 to 4 hours). Remove 1/4 cup of beans from slow cooker. Mash until smooth, then sir them stir back into slow cooker. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes on low or 15 minutes on high. Remove the beans from the cooker to a serving bowl. Serve over cooked rice and enjoy!

Comments (2)

Categories : Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Southern Table

Walk in the Hood

By Christi · Comments (0)

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

The weather has been gorgeous lately. The first weekend of Carnival parades was beautiful and now we are getting a brief break before the big Superbowl weekend before resuming with Carnival. Stay tuned for more posts about that. In the meantime, it was nice to just get out in the beautiful weather and enjoy. Here are a few things that visitors to New Orleans might see if they get out of the Superbowl “zone” and on to a streetcar and come up to the wonderful neighborhoods here.

Beautiful blooming tulip magnolia trees . . .

that roll out, or rather drop a lovely pink carpet, just for you.

And . . . that is just the beginning.

Click for larger images and captions.

[Show as slideshow]

Welcome to New Orleans!

Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer

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Categories : New Orleans, Southern Living, Southern Seasons

Deck the Halls with Carnival Color

By Cindy · Comments (1)

Monday, January 28th, 2013

Carnival parades start in earnest this weekend, so I figured it was about time to decorate the house. Purple, green and gold (especially purple) tends to clash with my décor, so the challenge is to achieve a festive look that you can live with for a couple of weeks.

Here is the dining room centerpiece, using ceramic masks that were favors at a formal dinner we attended, and beads in a cut glass bowl. The gold “dubloons” are parade throws that typically reflect the year’s theme. These are from Rex.

I did the pillow years ago to display pins given as “krewe favors” by maskers after a “callout” dance at a carnival ball. Now, every king sends his lady friends a custom designed pin to mark his reign, and I have a whole drawer full of memories of various big nights.