ReMARKable Palate #224: History in a Glass – New Orleans Cocktails

Chef Mark visits the Museum of the American Cocktail, part of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, for the History in a Glass seminar. Elizabeth Pearce led us through the history of New Orleans as told through the stories of 3 of it’s most celebrated cocktails, The Sazerac, The Hurricane, & The Cafe Brulot. Of course, we just had to sample them while we studied!

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

ReMARKable Palate #206: The Soul of New Orleans

I recently spent a whirlwind few days in New Orleans at the national conference for the US Personal Chef Association, where I spoke with two of that city’s most beloved food people, Chef Frank Brigtsen of Brigtsen’s and Charlie’s, and Miss Leah Chase, owner of Dooky Chase and considered by most to be the Queen of Creole Cooking in Louisiana, especially as she calls it, “Creole de Couleur”. Chef Frank was instrumental in bringing the conference to New Orleans and both he and Miss Leah care deeply about the recovery of the city and the love they have for the people they feed. They gave me a peek into what it means to live and love in New Orleans.

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CHIC Podcast #174: Crawfish Etoufee

As I mentioned in last week’s podcast, we recently visited New Orleans. We brought back some great memories and some crawfish. Wook Kang and I took some time this week to put that crawfish to good use. We love etoufee, a smothered dish from New Orleans. I think you’ll learn a lot from the way Wook cooks. The ingredient list is below.

CHIC Podcast #173: All Around CHIC

This week we’re all around CHIC. We cover a lot of ground, from Chicago to New Orleans and back. We spent last weekend with my in-laws in the crescent city. Wook Kang and I talk about NOLA cuisine and so much more.

Who doesn’t love a good cocktail? I had the opportunity to meet Ann Rogers, founder of Tales of the Cocktail, last weekend at the NY Times Travel Show. We definitely plan to attend this event in July, as the presentation at the show was phenomenal. I also had the opportunity to get a little bit tipsy in the middle of the day, which is not always a bad thing.

There are some great activities leading up to the event, so take a peek at the film fest details below. What is a cocktail film without Marilyn Monroe?

COCKTAIL FILM FEST CELEBRATES SIPPING IN CINEMA WITH THREE SCREENINGS AT W NEW ORLEANS HOTEL

Host Cheryl Charming presents movies and themed cocktails and food March 21 – 22.

Fun Facts!

What is it?

Tales of the Cocktail and the W New Orleans invite movie buffs and libation lovers to indulge in two evenings of celebrating cocktail in film. Cheryl Charming, cocktail writer and founder of MissCharming.com, plays hostess for the screenings

Your Hostess for the Weekend
Film Fest hostess Cheryl Charming has been in the food and beverage industry since 1976, tending bar, authoring bar and cocktail related books and teaching bar tricks to Walt Disney World bartenders. Cheryl also writes cocktail related articles and frequents as a celebrity cocktail guest on various radio, television, and podcast shows. She is a member of The Bartenders Guild, FBA (Flair Bartenders Association) and The Museum of the American Cocktail. She resides in Downtown Orlando and maintains the website MissCharming.com.

The Film Fest schedule is as follows:

• Friday, March 21, 8 p.m., Casablanca
• Saturday, March 22, 5 p.m., The Seven Year Itch
• Saturday, March 22, 8 p.m., Guys and Dolls

Seating for all films are dinner party style.

Drinks and Dishes Being Served:

Friday, March 21, 8 p.m., Casablanca.
An evening filled with Moroccan food, French 75’s, Champagne Cocktails, Brandy, film-theme spirits, prizes, and fun while viewing this Academy Award winning romance film of 1942.

Saturday, March 22, 5 p.m., The Seven Year Itch
This Happy Hour is filled with prizes and all the Itch cocktails; Martinis, Tom Collins’, Scotch, Whiskey Sours, Gin and Tonics! There will be lots of snacky snacky foods and retro candy to munch on during this Summer blockbuster of 1955 too. Cameras are welcome, as you may want your photo taken with Marilyn!

Saturday, March 22, 8 p.m., Guys and Dolls
Followed after the Happy Hour film is this dinner film filled with Mojitos, Cuba Libres, Mexican beer, and Milk Punch served in coconut cups. Dinner is our twist on cuisine invented in the 1950s; The TV Dinner! Door prizes and wedding cake also accompany this Academy Award nominated of 1955.

Tickets
Tickets are $25 per film, per person, and include drinks, cocktail food and snacks. A weekend package that includes all three films is $65 per person, which saves you $10 for the weekend. For tickets, visit www.TalesoftheCocktail.com or call 504-377-7935 beginning March 1, 2008.

Parking
The W New Orleans is featuring a special parking rate of $12 for Cocktail Film Fest goers per night. *This does not apply to overnight guests.

Special Room Rates:
The W New Orleans is featuring a special rate of $129 a night for Cocktail Film Fest goers. Visit www.whotels.com/wneworleans for more information.

This traditional New Orleans dish is the perfect accompaniment to a spicy Gumbo, and is even better the next day, after the flavors have had time to meld. Feel free to play around with the seasonings to achieve the flavor you like.

8 servings

Ingredients

1 pound red kidney beans, dry
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
5 ribs celery, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound diced smoked ham
½ pound chorizo or hot Creole sausage
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
2 bay leaves
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
1-2 teaspoons Creole seasoning blend, to taste
Salt to taste
3 cups hot steamed white rice

Preparation

Soak the beans overnight. When ready to cook, drain the beans and replace with fresh water. Place over high heat until the pot comes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over medium heat until the beans are tender but still solid, about 45 minutes to an hour, then drain.

[Chef’s Note: Soaking the beans overnight helps them to cook faster, and replacing the water before boiling helps to rinse away some of the indigestible enzymes which sometimes produce, um, shall we say, a little excess air. Be sure to keep the beans covered with plenty of water while boiling.]

While the beans are cooking, sauté the onions, celery, and bell pepper (the holy trinity of Louisiana cooking) until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the diced ham, hot sausage, thyme, bay leaves, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce, Creole seasoning, and just enough water to cover.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 to 3 hours, until the flavors have blended and the beans have softened. Stir from time to time to be sure that the beans do not stick to the bottom. They should break down and start to get creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Serve hot over freshly steamed long grain white rice.

Recipe by Mark Tafoya

Nothing says Mardi Gras like a good Cajun meal, and nothing is more satisfying than a hot serving of Gumbo spiced with the addition of andouille, an authentic spicy Cajun pork sausage. The key to this dish is to take the time to make an authentic brown roux.

8 servings

Ingredients

1 large chicken cut into 8 pieces
1 pound andouille sausage, cut on the bias into 1-inch pieces
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 large onions, diced
1 large green bell pepper, medium dice
1 cup celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2½ quarts chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
3 bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning blend (available in most supermarkets)
½ cup scallion, minced

Equipment

Very large deep sauté pan or Dutch oven

Preparation

Prepare the chicken by cutting it into pieces.

[Chef’s Note: We prefer relatively small pieces, so we cut breasts and thighs in half, leaving the skin on.]

Season lightly with salt, pepper and a little of the Creole seasoning. Heat a heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When it shimmers, add the butter and then the chicken pieces, skin side down. Sauté the chicken in oil until browned on both sides, and the skin is nicely crisped. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the andouille sausage. Fry the andouille for 4-5 minutes and remove to the same bowl as the chicken.

Prepare the roux:
Make a brown roux by adding the flour to the remaining fat in the pan. Using a wire whisk, stir constantly, incorporating the flour and the fat until all lumps are gone and a smooth paste is achieved. Cook the roux for 15-20 minutes over medium heat until it’s nicely browned and nutty in aroma.

[Chef’s Note: If the roux is a little too dry, add a touch of oil until you are able to easily whisk the roux as it cooks. If it’s too runny, add a little flour at a time until the roux is thick but still fluid.]

Finish the gumbo:
Once the roux is dark, add the onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened and given off a little of their liquid. Add the chicken stock, thyme, bay leaves, ground cloves, allspice, cayenne and the remaining Creole seasoning. Add the chicken pieces and andouille back into the pan along with any juices that have accumulated. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the gumbo for another 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through, the chicken is tender and the liquid has thickened. When the gumbo is finished, remove from the heat and add the sliced scallions. Serve while hot over white rice or red beans and rice.

Variations

Gumbos can, of course, come in many forms. A popular way to make gumbo is with seafood. Replace the chicken stock with seafood stock, and use shrimp (heads-on is most authentic to Louisiana cuisine), crab meat and even oysters. However, the seafood should be added at the end of the cooking time so they are not overcooked. If using crabmeat, steam the crabs and pick out the meat, adding it in at the end just until heated through.

Recipe by Mark Tafoya

A traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras dessert, the king cake evolved from the “galette des rois” served in celebration of Twelfth Night (January 6), and according to legend, to honor the three kings who visited the Christ child on Epiphany. King cake is a brioche-like dough baked into the shape of a ring, often filled with a cream cheese or nut paste filling, and baked with a “baby” or a coin inside. Tradition holds that the person who gets the piece with the baby gets to wear the crown, receives a year of good luck and must host the next king cake party.

Makes 1 12-inch diameter cake

Ingredients

For the dough:
2 envelopes active dry yeast
½ cup sugar
½ cup warm milk, about 110 F
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
4 cups all purpose flour, more or less as needed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon dried nutmeg
1 ceramic baby, dried bean or clean coin
1 teaspoon oil (for oiling the bowl)
2 tablespoons milk (to brush over the cake before baking)

For the bourbon pecan filling:
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup chopped pecans

For the icing:
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1-2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Purple, green and gold tinted sugar

Equipment

4-inch ring mold, parchment paper or silpat, pastry brush, rolling pin, electric stand mixer, whisk

Preparation

Prepare the dough:
Pour the warm milk into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast and 2 teaspoons of sugar into it, whisking to dissolve. Allow the mixture to rest in a warm place for ten minutes, or until the yeast bubbles up and almost doubles in size. Mix thoroughly.

Place the rest of the sugar in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the yeast mixture and the melted butter. Beat at medium-low speed to combine. With the mixer running, add the egg yolks one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest and beat until all are incorporated. Increase the speed to high and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball and appears satiny and elastic. A little more flour may be necessary to achieve a smooth dough.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with the oil. Remove the dough from the bowl, form into a smooth ball and place in the bowl, turning to coat the entire surface in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Prepare the bourbon pecan filling:
Place the cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla and cinnamon in the work bowl of a standing mixer. With the paddle attachment, beat until thoroughly combined and smooth. Add the pecans and mix on low speed until incorporated. Set aside until ready for use.

Finish the cake:
Once raised, lightly punch down the dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 30”x10” rectangle. Spread the bourbon pecan filling evenly on top of the dough, leaving about a ½-inch border on each side. Place the baby or coin somewhere on top of the filling. Starting at the long side, roll the dough jellyroll fashion, shaping into a cylinder. Brush the final edge lightly with milk and press to seal the seam. Place the dough, seam side down, onto a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. Shape into a ring and pinch the edges together to seal. Lightly oil the 4-inch ring mold and place in the center of the dough ring. Cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean towel and place in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Using a pastry brush, brush the top and sides of the risen cake with milk. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes, rotating the pan mid-way through the baking time. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Prepare the icing:
Stir together the confectioner’s sugar, orange juice, bourbon and vanilla, blending well. Add milk to reach the desired consistency for drizzling. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and immediately sprinkle with the colored sugars, alternating in individual rows about 2 inches wide.

Service

Place the cake on a large round serving platter and garnish with Mardi Gras beads. Cut the cake into 2-3 inch pieces and laissez les bon temps roulez!

Variations

King cakes can come with a variety of fillings. Try almond paste or cream, fruit spreads or a buttery caramel for an alternate filling.
Recipe and photo by Monica Glass