Tag Archives: New Orleans

Mar 3 2012

Happy Birthday Holly!

I seem to recall,  many many moons ago when I got my first computer,  someone explained to me that computers are binary– that they convert everything to ones and zeroes and then do the arithmetic really fast.   It is a fleeting memory and was honestly of rather little help to me in trying to decipher just one of the items on my friend Holly’s scavenger hunt list.

I’ve long known that I am very much an odd duck.   I am probably the only person you know who does not own a cell phone  (and doesn’t Want to;  though I am hoping to buy an Android tablet this month).   And not having a phone,   I’m also one of the only people I know who doesn’t regularly take pictures.  (The fact that I’m really not good at it seems to matter rather more to me than it does to most folks who lack skills photographic.)   While I suppose I could spend a bit of this post fussing at Holly for her very un-writerly emphasis on pictures,   I decided instead to try to address every item on her list over the course of  three blog posts,  this being the last of those three.

I keep odd hours,  and my personal   “first thing in the morning”  is liable to be at most any hour on the clock.    I truly love being retired.   I go to bed when I feel tired.   I wake up when I wake up.   And in between I pretty much only do what I feel like doing,  when I feel like doing it.  But even if I got up at a regular time each morning,  I don’t think I would be willing to share with you a picture of what I look like at that hour.   Holly on the other hand,  is I believe a morning person.   I picture Holly first thing in the morning like Lily Tomlin in the movie 9 to 5:   in the sequence where they fantasize about killing the boss and Tomlin’s character sees it as a very Disney like affair,  in a colorful costume surrounded by legions of animated animals.     My favorite song is Billy Joel’s  Say Goodbye To Hollywood.   The lyric  ”you say a word out of line,  and find that the friends you had are gone forever”  is very, very true in my experience.

So happy birthday, Holly.   While I did not exactly follow any of the instructions  err rules,  I believe over these three blog posts I have addressed every item on your list.   And finally,  I am at heart a New Orleans boy,  even though I haven’t lived in that city for many years now.   And even the poorest New Orleanians know that the cake for any birthday is a half lemon, half chocolate doberge cake.    Now that Beaulah Ledner has passed away,  most folks in New Orleans buy their birthday doberge from Gambino’s Bakery,  which bought out Mrs. Ledner’s recipe and continues to make and sell these wonderful cakes.   If you can’t get to New Orleans for your birthday,  click on the picture to order one from the Ambrosia Bakery.

Feb 29 2012

Blogging Like Gumbo

I find myself thinking today that a good blog is actually quite a bit like a good New Orleans seafood gumbo.   It requires a number of different skills (ingredients) as well as considerable knowledge in combining these ingredients into a coherent whole.    Gumbo is definitely not a recipe for beginners.   It also most certainly is not something quick and easy that one can just whip together.   There is a lot of prep work–  cleaning and de-veining the shrimp,  chopping up the okra and all of the other vegetables.    (Choosing host, platform and theme,  designing a layout for visual appeal and usability.)    Once you’re ready to begin cooking,  the work only gets harder–  your arm will literally feel as though it’s about to fall off after stirring the okra for half an hour.    And then finally after all that effort comes the rewards–  an utterly delicious meal you will be proud to serve to company or a compelling web site that draws visitors and conversations.

If you’re a reasonably experienced cook,  my recipe for seafood gumbo below can guide you to making this classic New Orleans dish.    I first published this recipe  in 2009  in my review of Kit Wohl’s  New Orleans Classic Gumbos And Soups.   And finally today,  a bit of photographic lagniappe– the picture above of seafood gumbo is from the tourist board in St. Martinville, Louisiana.    The vegan gumbo in the background image is for my friend Elza who requested some vegan food porn in place of my usual pie pictures.   Bon appetit!

Seafood Gumbo

2 lbs shrimp

crab (here in the Northwest I use one Dungeness crab.   on the east coast I would use two or three blue crabs.    in New Orleans I would try to get a couple of pounds of small gumbo crabs.     if you can’t get fresh you can add a  pound of lump crab meat at the very, very end instead)

1 cup cooking oil

1 cup white flour

2 lbs fresh okra  + oil for frying

2 large onions

2 large bell peppers

2 bunches green onions

1 can tomatoes

6–10 cloves garlic

First,  make the roux.    Measure out your oil and your flour and heat a big soup pot on the stove on high heat.      In about 5 mins when the pot is Really hot add the oil and flour all at once.   WHISK!   It will smoke but keep whisking and leave the heat alone.    In a minute or two it will feel like your arm wants to fall off and the smoke will begin to clear.    Keep your eyes on the Roux.   When it looks like a hershey bar color,  turn the heat to low.

Add the two pounds of peeled raw shrimp to your roux and cook over low heat for about three minutes,  until shrimp pink.    Remove from heat.     Meanwhile,  in a separate large skillet cook the okra,  chopped, in a few tablespoons of oil.   (I never measure this).   You have to cook the okra for a long time.    It will be done when it STOPS making long gummy strings,  after about 45 minutes.  When the okra is done, add it to the soup pot with the shrimp cooked in roux,  which is set aside and not on the heat at this point.

Now,  add some more oil to the skillet and fry off all the other vegetables for 5–10 minutes until lightly browned.   Add the fried off vegetables to the soup pot.   Add the tomatoes and garlic,  both chopped.   (Note i said to chop the canned tomatoes — just run your knife through them right in  the can  and to Chop,  NOT mince, the garlic.)    If you are using crab in the shell,  add it to the pot  along with about two quarts of water and two or three bay leaves.    Simmer over low heat for about an hour,  then serve over hot white rice.

Alan Jobe is the author of Walking Down The Avenue.   He consults with #indie authors and entrepreneurs about social networking and self-publishing.