Things Around N'Awlins

When I first got on the plane and they said we were heading to "Garbled words that did not sound like New Orleans" I thought I was almost on the wrong plane. I thought I had an accent! They certainly have an accent in N'Awlins.

I did one of those touristy bus tours. I had very limited time and wanted to just get a quick overview of the layout. I got to see many really nice houses, the French Quarter, the 9th Ward (still not all rebuilt - very sad), a park, a levy and a cemetery. I'm sure you've all seen pics of those things so I won't bore you with a whole load of pics. But here were two interesting ones.

Park

Spanish Moss

As one of the evening events of the conference, we got to visit the warehouse where all the floats are stored. That was pretty interesting. All this mishmash of characters - from dogs, unicorns, to pirates and dragons (Oh my!). Many of them are made of styrofoam. Never really gave it a thought of what they were made from.

A crown being constructed

Is it real or ????

We then we went to another warehouse for food and drinks. It was designed to look like you were outdoors. If it weren't for the a/c, I would have thought I was actually outside.

Night sky and all

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Waffled Hash Browns

I'm not that much of a fan of one-trick ponies taking up real estate in my kitchen. I know that a waffle iron can be classified as that, but now I can rationalize that it's not. Who knew you could make hash browns in it? Waffled Hash Browns (Adapted from Cooking Light ) 1 1/2 lb russet potato (shredded) salt/pepper to taste 1/4 t garlic powder 1 1/2T butter, melted Preheat waffle iron. Squeeze liquid out of potatoes by blotting between two paper towels. Toss potatoes, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Brush both sides of the waffle iron with butter. Spread potatoes evenly on waffle iron. Close and cook 2 minutes. Press iron closed completely and cook about 12 minutes or until golden brown. I did not feel that they browned as nicely as in the picture on the original recipe, but then again I don't have a food stylist do I? The drawback of this recipe is that you have to share this. Since they take about 15 minutes, it's a little difficult to make a second one...

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The Grappa Report

Star Anise, Cinnamon, Blueberry Once upon a time, we made Limoncello . We used straight-grain alcohol (which we had to buy in a different state because it was not sold it ours!). It was firewater. We tried to pawn it off on unsuspecting friends and relatives. It did not work. So when friends of ours said they wanted to share some Grappa that they had received from a friend, I was slightly suspicious. It was a little firewater-ish but not as much as the Limoncello. We decided to try to infuse it with some flavors - star anise, cinnamon, and blueberry. We got mixed results: Star Anise - was the most successful. It mellowed its sharpness. Cinnamon - We left the cinnamon in for about a week. I think it was too long. It left a very woody taste. Perhaps, less infusion time would have given a better result. Blueberry - We thought if we mashed the blueberries, they would make the Grappa murky. So we first put them in whole. Nothing happened. We then cut them in half. The...

Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

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