New Orleans

I just returned from a work trip to New Orleans.  I've been there many times and never fail to enjoy the architecture, the culture, the people, the jazz, and of course, the food.  I certainly ate more than my share of white chocolate bread pudding, pralines, beignets, gumbo, redfish, crab, and oysters.  From the French Market to the Quarter to the Garden District, I enjoyed every meal. Yum.

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If you haven't visited New Orleans, go.  Take an early morning walk through its streets, and let NOLA infiltrate your senses: The lonely sound of a single trumpet pensively playing "Amazing Grace." The layered smells of sugar and sea salt, bourbon and beer, andouille and oysters, magnolias and mint.  The clanging of the street car bell.  The swishing of brooms sweeping away evidence of last night's debauchery.  The silent performance artists.  The lush flowers in almost-hidden courtyards. The damp air. The unevenness of the sidewalk stones. The pitter patter of horses drawing carriages. The street merchants calling you to buy others' abandoned shoes, clothes, even carseats.  The crunch of a wayward bead under your feet.

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And then, as soon as it's five o'clock somewhere, enjoy one of the city's famous cocktails.  Here are two favorites, from the fabulous Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel.  Laissez les bon temps rouler!

The Sazerac
1 cube sugar
1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
1/4 oz Herbsaint
3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
lemon peel, to garnish

Pack an old-fashioned glass with ice.  In a second glass, place the sugar cube and add the Peychaud's bitters to it, then crush the sugar cube.  Add the rye whiskey. Empty the ice from the first glass and coat that glass with the Herbsaint.  Empty the whiskey/bitters/sugar mixture from the second glass into the first and garnish with lemon peel.

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Ramos Gin Fizz
2 oz gin
1 oz heavy cream
1 egg white
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
3 drops orange flower water
club soda, to top

Shake with cracked ice for at least a minute, and strain into a chilled rocks glass.  Top with a bit of club soda.







P.S. The quote pictured in my last post is from the poem, "Things I Didn't Know I Loved," by Nazim Hikmet.  You can read more about the Audubon Zoo's poetry project here.  It's a beautiful thing.


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