Food, Glorious Food

So the other night as my husband and I attended a community banquet at a local restaurant, we began swapping food tales with a nearby couple. This may come as a shock to some of you, but there are many of us who love good food. We love to sample, to create, and yes, even play with this fun element.

Since my husband and I do a bit of traveling, I thought it would be fun today to continue along the same vein as the other night and chat a little about foods we have discovered. Some items have been wonderful, others . . . well, I chalk those moments up to learning experiences. ;)

Among some of the most delightful food that we've enjoyed would be:



Drago's charbroiled oysters basted in a wonderful buttery garlic sauce. We experienced this delectable cuisine during our stay in New Orleans. Drago's Seafood Restaurant is located in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. I give this restaurant a huge five star rating.

While we're on the subject of "N'awlins," there are a couple of other food items I have to share. Muffelatta. Say it with me now. =) This is what it looks like:

This is a wonderful sandwich that originated in New Orleans. Made with Sicilian bread and stuffed with layers of meat, cheeses, olives, and filled with special seasonings, this is a treat for both the eyes, and the stomach. ;)

And I have to share the wonderment of the pralines, delicious pecan candies found in New Orleans. A caramelized coating makes this a mouth-watering treat. I'm giving you a link here if you ever want to order these and sample for yourself just how good they are. And here's a recipe if you want to make them yourself: Pralines.

Speaking of Brazilian delights . . . okay, we weren't but if we had been, I would recommend this Salt Lake City restaurant: Rodizio Grill. Especially for lunch. Not only are the prices better, but the food seems a bit more fresh. My second son served a mission to Brazil and he came home with a couple of favorite recipes, including one for the ever popular Brazilian beans and rice:

With just the right combination of spices, this can be a glorious dish for any dinner.

We've spent a bit of time along the coast in California and Oregon. While there we have loved sampling the fresh seafood. Menu delights like steamed shrimp served in a buttery garlic sauce:

Or fresh scallops grilled to perfection:


We learned something during one of our trips. This was a few years ago and we had taken our sons to Sea World in San Diego. While in that glorious city, we partook of numerous seafood delights. We left San Diego and journeyed to Las Vegas (I had a couple of booksignings in that location.) While in Las Vegas, we sampled the seafood in one of the famed buffets, and it tasted like chicken. What difference fresh seafood makes to the discerning pallet. It was a couple of weeks after we returned home that the frozen seafood we could purchase at a local store even began to taste like it was from the sea. ;)

Other tasty treats we've savored along the way would include delicious, homemade Italian cuisine we sampled while in St. Louis. I'll never be able to share how to get this family-owned restaurant, but I can say that this was some of the best Italian food I had ever sampled in my life.



I've also enjoyed one of the best steak fajitas ever in a little sidewalk cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico.


As you've probably guessed by now, I love most foods. In fact, I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. Here are a couple of items I mentioned recently that I really didn't care for:

Deep-fried blue crabs . . . and I normally love crab . . . just not this soft-shell variety. It reminded me of eating a giant spider.

Nor did I care for the side dish to the deep-fried blue crab . . . sweet potato fries. They just taste too sweet for me, and since I've never been a fan of yams or sweet potato dishes, this is not a favorite:

Nor do I care for liver, but that is a story for another day. Now that I've made us all hungry, feel free to share some of your favorite foods or restaurants. What do you love to eat?

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This Is My Quest . . .

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm always on the lookout for tasty food. We tend to travel around a bit, and this provides ample opportunity to sample varying cuisine. This also means that periodically I end up with something rather interesting for my taste buds to experience. Like the time my husband and I were in New Orleans and I decided to order the blue crab special with a side of sweet potato fries.

Now usually, and my husband can attest to this, I end up with something savory that he wishes he had ordered too. The one time I missed the boat immensely was the afternoon I ordered the blue crab special with the side of sweet potato fries. I guess I was feeling adventurous; after all, we had just survived wrestling alligators on a bayou tour.


Actually it was our tour guide who wrestled the alligator. We mostly stayed inside the tour boat and observed, although my husband did coddle a baby alligator at one point during this adventure.


After we survived the bayou episode, we journeyed to a nearby seafood establishment located on the west side of Lake Pontchartrain. The special that day, as I already mentioned, was the ever-popular blue crab delight with a side of sweet potato fries. And I ordered it. This was bad. In my defense, I tend to sample new and interesting types of food. I love seafood, and I've always liked crab. When I picture crab, I envision tender white meat that you pry from a red-colored leg segment with an interesting metal utensil that tends to flip the meat across the room. (A story for another day.) This kind of crab is very succulent. Let's just say that the blue crab special wasn't my idea of a fun time.

I was slightly goaded into trying it by my husband's co-worker we'll call Gary. Gary had come to New Orleans like my husband, to help with a special project at the Monsanto Plant in nearby Luling, Louisiana. Gary had also experienced the alligator bayou tour with Kennon and me, and he was now having lunch with us. When we learned what the special was, Gary leaned over and said something like:

"Cheri, you've got to try the blue crab. It's part of the New Orleans experience."

Gary was not my friend that day. I followed his advice and when my plate of food arrived, I know my face turned an interesting shade of whiteish\green. Instead of delicious blue colored leg segments filled with tasty white meat, I was handed a plate that looked like a giant spider was sitting on top of it. Spiders are my least favorite creatures on the planet, so maybe you can understand my dismay.

The crab was deep-fried, but to my way of thinking, this just made it look like a big spider that had been breaded and deep-fried. Not a cool image when one is hungry. So I sampled the sweet potato fries first. One word sums up that experience for me: "BLEAH!" I should have known better. I've never been a yam\sweet potato fan. I love potatoes, but not the sweet variety. Maybe it's the diabetes thing I endure, but they taste too sweet to me. I always avoid dishes that contain them for that reason. (Nothing personal, Mom. I know you love sweet potatoes covered in a brown sugar glaze and decorated with tiny white marshmallows. Just not my thing.)

What a lovely combination I had ordered for lunch that day. All of my favorites sitting on one plate together. Deep-fried spider and sweet potato fries. (My stomach just knotted up at the thought of it.) The downside was I had already punched in a bit of insulin (via my insulin pump) to cover this meal. This meant I had to consume carbs or suffer an insulin reaction. And since I had ordered a diet drink that day, the carbs had to come from the food I had ordered.

I suffered through a goodly portion of the sweet potato fries, then kind of poked at the deep-fried spider looking thing with my fork.

"You need to eat that before it gets cold," my not-so-good friend Gary advised.

I shot him a withering look and then bravely attempted one of the legs. Blue crabs are smaller than normal crabs, and you're supposed to eat the entire thing. Yum. The legs weren't too bad. I tried to convince myself that I was eating a crunchy type of french fry. It was the rest of the crab I had a difficult time enjoying.

Gary and my husband each volunteered to help. I think by then my retching had indicated I wasn't enjoying my food that day. ;) I did courageously sample a tiny portion of the crab body, and I was relieved when it disappeared from my plate compliments of Kennon and Gary. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief that this traumatic event was over, here came our waitress with another plate complete with a deep-fried blue crab.

"I didn't care for that crab the cook sent y'all earlier," the waitress drawled with a bright smile. "It just didn't look right. {This brought me great comfort. It also made me wonder what was wrong with the first crab.} So I'm bringing y'all another one . . . on the house. Enjoy!" And with that she deposited the deep-fried spider-looking thing in front of me. Rapture filled my bosom. NOT!!!

Once again, I bravely tried the legs, and Gary and Kennon took care of the rest. [I had pointed out that "y'all," was plural and meant them too.] When it was mostly gone, I beat them both to the cash register, intent on leaving before I was blessed with yet another crab. ;)

That was the only less-than-tasty meal I consumed during the entire trip. Everything else was heavenly and divine, from the char-grilled oysters at the famed Drago's, to the muffaletta sandwich we sampled near the French Market in the French Quarter, to the spicy Cajun shrimp kabobs I devoured at this fun establishment one night:


I love food. I love sampling different kinds of food, and although I'll never order the blue crab special with the side of sweet potato fries ever again, I can actually look back on that experience and not endure a session of dry heaves. ;) It's all part of the life experience to my way of thinking. It's good to step outside of our comfort zone and try different things. Just avoid deep-fried spiders and you'll be fine. =D

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Mansion Musings

I love looking at homes. I suppose I inherited this tendency from my mother who also loves a good open house adventure. I recall numerous times wandering through houses with her, enjoying a look-see at decorating ideas, different floor plans, etc. Our favorite homes to explore were the older homes with character, as my mother calls it. One of her dreams was to purchase a large Victorian style house and turn it into a bed and breakfast. We always thought that would be a lot of fun. A lot of work, but also enjoyable.

We have yet to accomplish such a thing, but not long ago, I was given an opportunity to travel to an area known for its houses with character. These fascinating homes are mansions that were built along the Mississippi River in the 1800's on the outskirts of New Orleans.

My husband and I took advantage of the opportunity to explore one of these lovely mansion homes during our trip to New Orleans. We had to be selective because our time was limited. So while I was able to take pictures of several of these beautiful historical homes, we only had time for one tour. It was hard to pick, but we settled on seeing the inside of the San Francisco Plantation House.

This is the San Francisco Plantation Mansion.

There was only one disappointment---we weren't permitted to take pictures inside the plantation house. It was explained that camera flashes were harmful to the interior of the mansion, so I obediently tucked my camera inside its case and left it there until we had returned back outside.

There was a fun little gift shop inside of what used to be the plantation store. We were told that each major plantation had its own store where those who worked on the plantation could purchase basic necessities. They were really into being self-sufficient in those days. =)

Inside this gift shop I found all kinds of treasures, including postcards that show the interior of the San Francisco Mansion. So I'll scan them in and share so you can have a glimpse of the elegance and grace that was once such a big part of the South.

The San Francisco Mansion house was constructed in 1856. Its original name was St. Frusquin. Derived from French slang it means, "Without a penny in my pocket." The cost of building this mansion house was high. Utilizing the old Creole open suite style, the main living area was located in the upper floor. Only the dining room and several service rooms were constructed on the main floor.

Valsin Marmillion was the original owner and builder of the San Francisco Plantation and home. His son, Charles, inherited the plantation. Charles served with the Confederate army during the Civil War. He suffered numerous hardships during several battles and was taken prisoner twice by Union forces. He died at the young age of 35 in 1875.

This is Charles Marmillion's Bedroom. What you are seeing are the authentic furnishings, including a single sleigh bed, a large wardrobe, and a washstand.


Above is a postcard that shows the Gentlemen's Parlor, one of several parlors located inside this mansion. This room has four hand-painted wood panels on the tongue-in-groove cypress ceiling. Each panel represents a season of the year. This room was used by the men of the house to discuss politics, sip brandy, and smoke cigars. The object on the marble topped-table is a stereoptican, used for viewing mid-nineteenth photographs with a 3-D affect. Basically a fancy view-master. ;)


This postcard shot shows the boudoir. It was used as a birthing chamber, a sitting, dressing, and "confinement" room. It was used by pregnant wives as a place of calmness where they could participate in activities like needlepoint, hand-sewing, etc. The room is furnished for the winter season with silk curtains extended from the ceiling.

Items we saw on the tour that weren't available on postcards would include:
1) One of the earliest treddle sewing machines
2) An impressive antique birdcage
3) An antique bed surrounded by mosquito netting
4) Two huge urns that were encased inside of a bricked floor in the pantry. These were used to store food items that needed to be kept cool.

Here are the mansion homes we had to appreciate from afar:


Oak Alley Mansion. This mansion has been used for several movie settings including "The Long, Hot Summer," and "Interview with the Vampire." It is famous for its alley of 300-year old live oak trees. It was built between 1837-1839.


This is the famed Evergreen Mansion. It was constructed in 1840. It utilizes Greek Revival style with the curving stair mounts to the second floor.


The final mansion house that we saw from a distance is the Ormond Plantation House. It was completed shortly before 1790, constructed with the Louisiana Colonial Style. This home was often used to entertain officials of the Louisiana and Spanish governments. It was named Ormond by its owner in 1805, Colonel Richard Butler. He named it after his ancestral home in Ireland, the Castle Ormonde.

We also stopped by what was left of the Laura Plantation. A fire had destroyed a goodly portion of the mansion house. It is being restored, but we were unable to see anything of it while we were there. We did wander through the gift shop on the Laura Plantation and I purchased a book entitled: "Memories of the Old Plantation Home," written by Laura Locoul Gore, the great-granddaughter of Guillaume DuParc, the man who had established the original plantation. It was a fascinating read and I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history.

If you ever find yourself in the New Orleans area, I would encourage you to take the time to see these beautiful, historical homes. It's an experience you will savor.

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New Orleans' French Quarter

A couple of weeks ago I promised to post more tidbits from New Orleans. As you may recall, I fell in love with this area during a trip my husband and I embarked upon in October of 2006. It was a business trip for Kennon---I got invited to tag along and we spent two weeks in New Orleans.

I've cringed the past few days, praying for the brave souls in the New Orleans area. Hurricane season brings back sharpened remembrances of the havoc Hurricane Katrina wreaked in this beautiful Gulf state. New Orleans is surrounded by water. The Mississippi River cuts along the southern and western boundaries. To the north lies Lake Pontchartrain, the second largest salt water lake in the United States. (Salt Lake in Utah is the largest.) Two bridges known as the Causeway lie across this huge lake (the longest bridge stretches across the middle---approximately 23 miles). To the east of New Orleans lies Lake Borgne & the Mississippi Sound, entrance to the Gulf of Mexico.

New Orleans sits in the middle of these bodies of water, one of the oldest cities in the United States. The initial French explorers: Bienville & Iberville settled New Orleans in 1718 (This city is named after the Regent of France, Philip II, Duke of Orleans.) They selected the highest spot of ground to establish what is now known as the French Quarter.

Kennon and I enjoyed a walking tour of the French Quarter. Tourists were still a bit leery of visiting New Orleans during the fall of 2006, and we were the only two who sallied forth with our guide that day. Because there were only two of us, we got to see a lot of things that our guide didn't normally have time for during other tours, and we loved it.

We were told by our guide that during Hurricane Katrina, the French Quarter only sustained minimal damage because of its location---it was constructed on the highest ground available in the area. The modern section of the city was hit hard---it lies west and below the French Quarter. The two parts of this city merge in the middle, Canal Street links them together.


You've probably heard of the famed Bourbon Street. My advice---avoid it. Many of the windows of varied establishments are filled with pornography. Our guide met us on Bourbon Street in the Cafe Beignet, also home to the Musicians Park---a tribute to jazz greats like Fats Domino. We had decided to take the French Quarter History Tour that day, and as soon as we linked up with our tour guide, Dave, a native to New Orleans, we left Bourbon Street to explore other streets of the Quarter, like Royal Street, Chartres and Decatur. Dave told us that it is a shame what has happened to Bourbon Street---it has become a place of lewd behavior, especially at night.


On with the tour: our guide pointed out the graceful black iron balconies that are evident throughout the French Quarter. Some possess barbs---to keep out the neighbors. There were also barbs attached to some of the iron poles that lead up to the balconies. These are known as Cassanova Curtailers. They were in place to protect the women who watched the original Mardi Gras parades. Men would attempt to climb up to the women, but the barbs soon discouraged their romantic inclinations.

We were shown a beautiful courtyard that lies behind one of the hotels. These courtyards were built as a protective feature. The entire French Quarter burned down a couple of times. The buildings were so close together that tremendous destruction took place compliments of a wayward fire. Courtyards were established that not only provided stone barriers between the buildings, but most contained fountains or ponds, ready sources of water should a fire flare into existence. These courtyards are now relaxing havens from the busy streets of the city.


After enjoying the courtyard, we walked through a fancy hotel that sits where the original St. Louis Hotel used to be. Back when the slave trade was thriving, this hotel attracted a large crowd of plantation owners who would come to buy and trade slaves. A lower section of the hotel was called the slave exchange and it was where the unfortunate slaves were kept. It is the only portion of the original hotel that survived destruction. You can still see the word "Change" on one side. Our guide pointed out that this word ironically depicts the needed change that took place in our nation following the Civil War.


From the top of this hotel, you can see the entire city. Our guide pointed out the canals that wreaked such havoc in the 9th ward areas in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We also later saw the devastation that took place when the levees broke on the southern edge of Lake Pontchartrain. But that is a story for another day. Back to the tour:

Next, we explored Jackson Square, named after Andrew Jackson, the president of the United States, and hero of the Battle of New Orleans. This large area was used as military parade grounds. Now it is the heart of the French Quarter. A cast-iron fence surrounds the park that bears a statue of Andrew Jackson. Artists and musicians alike line the outside of the fence, sharing colorful paintings and wonderful jazz music with all who pass by.


The St. Louis Cathedral lies behind Jackson Square and is the oldest and most photographed cathedral in the United States. It was originally constructed in 1724. The building that now exists in this location is the third attempt at maintaining the catherdral. Fire damage and war took their toll through the years. On the west side lies the Presbytere, the original dwelling place of the monks who served in the cathedral. On the east side of the cathedral lies Cabildo, a government building where documents like the Louisiana Purchase were signed. It is now a museum.

On either side of Jackson Square are the famed Pontalba Buildings, thought to be the oldest apartments buildings in the United States. They were designed and built by the Baronnessa Pontabla in the 1850's. It was her desire to encourage a resettling of the Creole families who were migrating elsewhere, away from the heart of New Orleans. These buildings now house fun shops on the ground level and the apartments on the upper levels that are still leased out.



If you walk south of the square, and up several cement steps you have a grand view of the Mississippi River. We watched large ships pass through, marveling at their size.



Across the river lies Gretna, the original German settlement. We learned during our stay in New Orleans that it is a blend of several different cultures and people---part of what lends such magic to the Crescent City.


To the east of Jackson Square lies the French Market and several fun places to eat. We stopped at an outdoor restaurant to savor a muffuletta---an Italian sandwich filled with scrumptious things like olives, provolone cheese, varied meat slices, topped with a spicy olive oil that makes this one of the most wonderful sandwiches I've ever sampled. I heartily recommend it. As we munched away enjoying ourselves that afternoon, we were entertained by a live jazz artist. All part of the New Orleans experience, it adds an exciting touch of class to this culinary delight.


The French Market is filled with booths of food, Cajun and Creole spices, books, clothing, jazz CD's, and just about anything you can imagine. I could have easily spent an entire day just exploring all it had to offer. And if I get to return to New Orleans someday, this is one of the first places that I'll stop and savor.


The French Quarter is the heart of New Orleans. There were other places to see and numerous attractions I'll tackle in future blogs, but if I had to pick one area to visit in New Orleans, it would be the French Quarter, hands down. It is my hope that it will continue to survive the storms that visit far too often. The historical significance of this choice area is of tremendous worth to our nation, embodying the French theme, "Joi de Vivre," or joy of living. It is such a blend of culture, music, and food, there are no words to adequately describe all it has to offer.

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Loved New Orleans

What comes to mind when you think about New Orleans? The Saints football team? Mardi Gras? Wild parties on Bourbon Street? Hurricane Katrina?

I watched, horrified when Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc during the latter part of August 2005. Lives were lost, homes were destroyed, and the world seemed turned upside down as we all wondered what we could do to help. Images of those stranded at the Saints Superdome haunted me for a long time.

After what I saw Hurricane Katrina do to New Orleans via televised news stories, I wondered why anyone would ever want to live in this location. A little over a year later, I was given an opportunity to find that out for myself. During a business trip, I fell in love with New Orleans, and when my husband and I were given a chance to live there permanently, we seriously considered the offer.

My husband embarked on a business trip to New Orleans in October of 2006. He works for Monsanto and one of their plants is located outside of New Orleans. He had been asked to help with a special project for his company, and he had invited me to tag along with him. It was explained that we would be staying for about two weeks and I was delighted. I love to travel and this was a place I had never seen in person. I did wonder if there would be anything to see after all of the damage Katrina had inflicted. I was also bit uneasy about spending time in the Big Easy, after hearing about the rising crime statistics. Both of those fears proved to be unfounded.

I can state without hesitation that this was one of my favorite trips of all time. I loved the food: luscious fresh seafood; Cajun and Creole delights; as well as culinary treats like pralines, Muffalettas, and German sausage.

I loved learning the story of this Louisianna port town. Because of its access to the Mississippi River, New Orleans was settled by a myriad of cultures and it is a city with a rich historical background. It will be next to impossible to list everything I loved about New Orleans in one blog, so I will do so in a series of blogs. Today, I just want to whet your appetite. =) The one thing we were told to do repeatedly while we were there was to spread the word that New Orleans still exists, and is still tourist friendly. And there is a plethora of things to do in this location. Everything from sampling the wonderful food I mentioned above, to touring southern mansion houses from the Civil War era (none of these were damaged by "Katrina.") There are numerous bayous to explore, alligators to observe, and historical graveyards to wander. Rhythmic jazz to enjoy, and the French Quarter to savor.

As for the crime concern, we were never in any danger during our entire trip. True, we didn't venture anywhere alone, and we stayed in brightly lit areas at night, but I felt safe during most of our stay there. (We did have one scary adventure that I will probably share eventually.) Despite that one moment, I would visit again in a heart beat.

From time to time, I will share some of the adventures we experienced, as well as pictures that I took of the area. The picture I've included with this blog is of a jazz band playing in colorful Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. To me, it captures what this city is all about, joi de vivre, or joy of life. The people who remain in New Orleans have taken this creed to heart. They are determined to rebuild, to survive, and to enjoy each day as it comes. We would go far by following their courageous example.

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