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I have been in New Orleans about... three or so weeks, now, and I have to say this city has very much exceeded my expectations. I asked a lot of people who had been here what they thought of the city, and the general feeling was this: "I enjoyed my visit, but I wouldn't choose to live there." So I came here excited, nervous, but with admittedly low expectations.

I heard a LOT of complaints about how dirty and run-down the city was, even before Katrina, with people assuming that it must be worse now. I also heard that New Orleans had a reputation for being really dangerous, and was warned numerous times to never be out alone anywhere, but especially at night...

First of all, the city is NOT that run-down. I've been all up and down this city and I don't think it's any more run-down than any other city I've been to. However, most American cities have a few bad areas that are fairly well isolated. New Orleans is instead a "checkerboard" city, meaning that the bad neighborhoods are well mixed in with the good neighborhoods. You could live in a nice area, but be a few blocks from a bad one (as is the case with our neighborhood). I also noticed that most of the suburbs surrounding the city are sorta junky, which I think is unusual as well. But the city itself, the busier areas, the tourist areas, the heavily populated areas... they're all very well maintained, and perfectly clean.

As for it being dangerous, I guess that might be true. I have been told by locals that if you use your head, it's not hard to avoid any danger. That means don't go wander around bad neighborhoods alone at night. But who does that anyway? I was also told that the violence is often gang related anyway. But more importantly, I have walked around alone at night (in well lit areas, with people around, I'm not an idiot). I've also been to places alone during the day many times, and I have not once seen any sort of foul play. Nobody has tried to bother me at all and in fact I'd say I've been bothered less than when I walk around San Francisco alone.

The point is, so far I've seen that New Orleans is a beautiful place with wonderful people who really have pride in their city and take good care of it as much as they can. Three weeks is enough time to realize that a) this place is WAY WAY better than Los Angeles, b) this place is better than Atlanta, and c) it even gives San Francisco a run for its money. And unlike MOST cities around the US, people from New Orleans are very very welcoming to tourists and out-of-towners in general. Try finding that in many places!

This is the ferry terminal. This is how
we get to the French Quarter, a
half mile across the river.

Having lunch by the ferry at a local cafe.
This was taken during my cousin's visit this
past week (that is not me).

Trying to take a photo of the square
by the French Quarter. I instead got a photo
of a time traveling horse.

Outside the French Quarter.

One of the many beautiful balconies
in the FQ.

Rock star dog.

Eating my first beignet at Cafe

Du Monde. Almost choked to death
on powdered sugar. That stuff should
really come with some sort of warning...

By the end of it, my cousin and I were both
covered in powdered sugar. Glad to see we
weren't the only ones having problems.

Mardi Gras King Cake

Upon learning the news that we were moving to New Orleans, one of the first things I did was research how to celebrate Mardi Gras the right way. That, at some point, led me to the discovery of something called a King Cake.

A King Cake is basically a ring of cake (more of a bread, or danish, depending on the baker) that is decorated with the colors of carnival: purple, gold, and green. The cake is traditionally baked during Mardi Gras season - January 6th (The Twelfth Night) until Ash Wednesday in mid-February. Tradition dictates that a trinket be placed inside the cake before baking. Nowadays, a plastic toy baby is traditional, but I've read stories about old rich plantation owners putting jewels somewhere in the cake. The idea is whoever receives the piece with the baby (or jewel) is crowned the "king" and has to throw the next party or bake the next King Cake. The King Cake tradition is an old one, I believe originating from France, but has been a part of the New Orleans' Mardi Gras history for many years.

Now MOST people in New Orleans will probably go to a bakery to purchase their King Cake. A lot of grocery stores in the South sell them as well. I've never seen them in California, but I did see King Cakes in several grocery stores in Atlanta. But I, of course, would have no part in purchasing a pre-made cake, so I decided to make my own. And that brings me to this:

Mardi Gras King Cake

1/2 c. warm water
2 envelopes active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
4-5 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg (preferably fresh ground)
1 tsp orange zest (freshly grated)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 c. warm milk
1/2 c. unsalted butter (melted)

For the frosting:

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp water
food coloring

1. In a small bowl, mix the yeast and sugar in with the warm water. Let stand 10 mins.

2. In a large bowl, mix together 4 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, orange zest, and cinnamon. Add the eggs, milk, butter, and yeast (but make sure the milk/butter isn't too hot or the yeast will suffer). Mix together to form a sticky dough, then turn out onto a floured surface.

3.Knead the dough, and incorporate the remaining cup of flour as needed until the dough is no longer sticky. You may need all of it, you may not. I think I used about 3/4 cup of the remaining flour. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, roughly 10 mins.

3. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, roughly 1.5-2 hours.

4. When the dough has sufficiently risen, turn the dough back out onto a floured surface and roll into a rectangle that is about half an inch thick. Roll the dough into a log, creating a very thick "rope" of dough. Next you will form the dough into a ring. I twisted the rope before forming a ring, so a more decorative top would form during baking, but that is entirely optional.

5. Place the ring of dough onto a greased sheet pan. In the center of the ring, you will need to place a round, oven-proof object, so the ring holds its shape in the oven. Really, anything small and round that can go in the oven will do. You can see in the photo that I used a small oven dish to put in the center, and it worked just fine.

6. Now let the ring of dough rest and rise for another 30 mins. Take this time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

7. When the oven has preheated, bake the King Cake for approximately 30 mins or until the top has browned.

8. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: Mix together all the ingredients in a medium bowl to make the white frosting.

You can use this to make smaller batches of colored frosting, which is what I did. How you decorate the cake is up to you. Lots of people pour white frosting over the cake and use colored sugars or sprinkles to decorate the cake in the appropriate colors. I did not have colored sugars, but I did have food coloring. So I used small amounts of the white frosting to make colored frosting, then decorated the cake that way and added silver dragees (that I also happened to have with me).

Just make sure the cake has cooled before you pour the frosting on it or it will melt too much. After it is decorated, feel free to admire your work, cut yourself a slice, and serve with a cup of black tea and lemon. Enjoy!

Geux Saints!

I am not what you'd consider a football fan, and I really never watch the Super Bowl... I mean sure, I've been in the presence of people who were, plenty of times. But I myself never watch it... because who cares, really? For most people, the team does not represent the city you live in or even the city you are from. And even if it does, then chances are that most (if not all) of the players on the team aren't even FROM the city they represent. So why does it even matter? Well it never has... UNTIL THIS YEAR!

The day before we arrived in New Orleans, the Saints had won the game that earns them the right to play in the Super Bowl in Miami. Now I come from a city where not everybody is dedicated to their city's football team. Don't get me wrong, San Francisco loves their 49ers... but not the same way that New Orleans loves their Saints. I would say that in San Francisco, there is a large group of people who really couldn't care less what the 49ers were up to. That is definitely not the case in New Orleans. This is a city that supports their team perhaps more than any other city in the country, and has great pride in them even when they lose. So, for their sake, and since I was actually here in New Orleans to get caught up in the excitement... I was really hoping for a Saints victory. Really, really hoping. Almost nervously.

Some coworkers of Michael's were kind enough to throw a Super Bowl party, so that is where we watched the game. We decided mid-game that if the Saints didn't win, we would just head home after that (it is Sunday night, after all). But if they did win, we would just have to go to the French Quarter and celebrate with everyone else. We'd just HAVE to. And as soon as they did win, and people were done screaming, everyone grabbed a "to go cup" (plastic cup that you can legally drink alcohol with in public), filled it with beer, and completely abandoned the party within two minutes.

Well we thought the best idea was, since we drove to the party, to just drive as close as we could to the French Quarter and park. After lots of honking, people screaming, and dodging fireworks in the road, I decided I had to start filming from my car window:






Unfortunately, by the time I shot this next video, I had accidentally knocked a dial on my camera which changed the film setting to record in a terrible quality. And by the time we had parked and walked to Canal Street, the area was so flooded with people they had to shut the road down. The cops were celebrating in their own way:




When we finally got to the outskirts of the FQ, the crowds were already piling up:




And by the time we got to Bourbon Street, people were going crazy. This is probably an hour, to an hour and a half after the Saints won... and people were just getting started. They're chanting the same thing people have been chanting for two weeks and continued to chant the rest of the night: "WHO DAT SAYIN' GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS? WHO DAT?? WHO DAT??" The phrase "who dat" is a New Orleans thing that I'm still unclear about, but, at least I'm familiar with it now...



So, walking around the streets of the French Quarter was difficult not only because of the dense crowds but also because they were slowly parading behind various marching bands such as the one featured in this clip:





Lots of musicians did not form marching bands but contributed to the spirit of the celebration just as well:




It was a lot of fun to be so involved in the post-victory celebration, but, we left after only an hour. The French Quarter is not a very large area and truly could not accommodate all the fans that flooded the streets that night. It was literally a wall of people, a sea of empty plastic cups, and plumes of cigarette smoke amongst blaring brass instruments. It was pretty insane. Fun, but, only for a little while (especially if you were sober like we were). I mean one can only tolerate such dense crowds and noise for so long. But I'm glad we went and it was fun while it lasted. Making the decision to leave was a good one because when we did finally manage to escape the craziness, there were still literally hundreds of people flooding into the FQ. Even though there was NO MORE ROOM on Bourbon Street, they just kept coming and coming. It took us a good 20 minutes to walk three blocks out of that place.

In the French Quarter.

On Bourbon Street.

On Canal Street, outside the French Quarter.

Finally walking home.

I definitely enjoyed myself and was very grateful to have been in New Orleans at that particular time, but, I was also glad to have been in bed before midnight that evening.

A Walk Around the Block

So between the laziness and the rain, I haven't really "gotten around" to taking Darwin for a good long walk around the neighborhood. But today, it peaked into the low 60s and the sun was shining. So, we went for a walk, and I even brought my camera.

Belleville Street, Algiers Point, New Orleans, Louisiana.


Some of the houses are abandoned, and
for some reason have no windows on the
second stories.


Others, are beautiful.


Lots of people decorate their
houses for Mardi Gras.


This was one of my favorites.


You can see the city scape from most
of the neighborhood streets.
A small park next to the levy.


And this is what a view from a levy looks
like. I am standing on top of one in
this photo.


Algiers Point is directly across the river from
"The Crescent City", and is New Orleans'
second oldest neighborhood, founded in 1719.
The French Quarter is the city's oldest
neighborhood, established only a year prior.
The FQ is about a half mile across the
"Mighty Mississippi" and a ferry will take
me there twice an hour, for free.


Walking north along the levy, toward
downtown.


View of downtown New Orleans.


And I believe this is the French Quarter,
off to the East just a bit.

Swedish Meatballs

I noticed I post a lot of recipes with sweets or baked goods. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe because sweet things and baked goods are usually much prettier. Who knows? Well, this is a modification of a Martha Stewart recipe, which wasn't quite good enough in my opinion. So I changed a few things around and made it better (again, in my opinion).

Swedish Meatballs

For the meatballs:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
3/4 c. onion (chopped)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 lg. egg
3 tbsp bread crumbs (plain, dried)

1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tbsp oil (canola, vegetable, olive, don't care)

For the sauce:
3 tbsp dry red wine
3 tbsp flour
1 can beef stock
3/4 c. sour cream
fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. flat-leaf parsley (chopped fine)

1. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, sour cream, egg, bread crumbs, and spices. Add the ground meat and combine thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan over med.-high heat. Form the meat into about 1-in. balls, and place each into the pan. You'll probably have to do this in two batches. Brown the meatballs on at least two sides. These things are delicate little bastards so I do my best. Don't panic if they start to come apart or look a little lopsided. They will be fine.

3. After each meatball is sufficiently browned, place on a greased sheet pan. After all the meatballs have been browned, finish them off in the oven, cooking about 15-20 mins. I suggest breaking one apart to make sure they're cooked through completely before removing from the oven.

4. Now it's time to make the sauce: using the same pan you cooked the meatballs in, drain what's left in the pan except for about 1 tbsp of the drippings. Add the wine, and sprinkle the flour in the pan. Cook for 2 mins. Add the stock, and simmer for 5 mins. Whisk in the sour cream, nutmeg, and salt - cook another 5 mins over low heat. Stir in the chopped parsley.

5. It might be a little white trash of me, but, I like to serve Swedish meatballs the frozen dinner way (seriously): atop a bed of cooked egg noodles, sprinkled with more chopped parsley and maybe a bit of parmesan cheese and cracked pepper. I mean doesn't Marie Callendar know what's best, anyway?


Yields: approximately 4 servings.

Homemade Bagels

Okay so thanks to a gift from the boyfriend's parents, writing down recipes I concoct in the kitchen has become much easier. And I know what you're thinking... "you can make BAGELS at home?!" Of course you can, stupid. It's just bread. Well it's loopy bread. Circular bread, really.

There are only two big differences between bagels and a standard loaf of bread: the shape (duh) and the cooking process. Ever wonder why bagels are so shiny? It's because they are boiled, briefly, before being baked. Yes, it is that simple.

The following is a recipe I very slightly modified from one I found on some random website. All bagel recipes are mostly the same, anyway.

Homemade Bagels

4 c. flour
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. In a small bowl filled with the warm water, sprinkle the packet of yeast over the top and let dissolve 10 mins.

2. After about 10 mins, give the yeast a stir, and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix well to form a dough, then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 mins.

3. Divide the dough into 8 evenly sized rounds, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (1-2 hours).

TIP: If your house is cold you might have to get creative. I have placed dough in some very random places, the most recent being an attic (heat rises, after all). Other suggestions I have would be to put it over - NOT TOUCHING - a pan of hot water, or in an oven that has been turned on and cooled a bit. Whatever works. The colder the room is, the longer it will take to rise. Remember that.

4. Roll the rounds of dough into a rope, and wrap around your first to form a ring. Place the seam onto a flat surface, and "roll" the ring off your palm. Did that make sense? Of course it didn't. Watch this:



5. Place the bagels on a greased sheet pan, and let rest/rise another 30 mins. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and boil a pot of water.

6. When the bagels have rested and the water is boiled, float the bagels in the boiling water and boil 1 minute on each side. Remove from the water and place back on the sheet pan, until all bagels are boiled.

7. Bake in the oven until golden on the tops, approximately 20 mins.

TIP: If you like super shiny bagels, you can brush the tops of the bagels with an egg wash (beat an egg together with a spoon of water). If you want to add toppings to the bagel, just sprinkle the tops with whatever you please before baking, but after they've been boiled.

Yields: approximately 8 bagels.


Don't feel bad if your bagels look a little... well, abstract. As you can see, I'm no expert either. Making bagels takes some practice and technique perfection if you want them to look like bakery bagels. They'll still be delicious, either way.

What is this?

A coral? Magnified dust bunny? An alien? What could it be?






No, in fact, it's called a "romanesco cauliflower" or "romanesco broccoli." It is very much related to cauliflower and pretty much tastes like it too. Except for one important difference: it looks WAY cooler.

Finding this in the Bay Area must be difficult because I have never encountered it. I first tried it when I visited Napa (only 2 hours north), and have not seen it again until yesterday at the French Market in New Orleans. But if you can find this stuff, I have to suggest you try it. You can pretty much prepare it the same way you would broccoli or cauliflower. Steaming is preferred to boiling, or if you want to pluck off a few spears of this stuff and saute them that's alright too. Maybe I'll come up with a recipe to post, but, don't count on it. I am merely attempting to make this wondrous creature known to the general public. Or my handful of faithful readers. Whatever.