Great Chefs of New Orleans: Austin Leslie at Nola Cuisine

Great Chefs of New Orleans: Austin Leslie Austin Leslie, the beloved “Godfather of Fried Chicken,” was a true New Orleans culinary legend whose Creole-Soul cooking at Chez Helene and later Jacques-Imo’s captured the heart and flavor of the city. From humble beginnings delivering fried chicken on a bicycle to inspiring the TV show Frank’s Place, Leslie’s career was marked by unmatched skill, big personality, and a deep love for feeding people. His signature fried chicken, topped with garlic-parsley persillade and a dill pickle slice, became iconic, and his impact on Creole cuisine lives on well beyond his passing in 2005. This tribute celebrates his life, legacy, and the flavors that made him unforgettable, along with a recreation of his legendary fried chicken recipe

Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Parkway Bakery & Tavern Roast Beef Po Boy Recipe at Nola Cuisine!

New Parkway Bakery Po Boy Recipe at Nola Cuisine!

This is my humble nod to the Parkway Bakery & Tavern Roast Beef Po Boy! 

Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Daube Creole Recipe at Nola Cuisine

Daube Creole is a Beef Roast dish unique to Louisiana because it is larded with seasoned salt pork, garlic and herbs and braised. Daube Creole Recipe at Nola Cuisine

Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Martin's BBQ Joint - Nolensville, TN.

From Martin's BBQ Joint - Nolensville, TN.

Check out my new post at American Gourmand on my recent visit to Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville, Tennessee!

From Martin's BBQ Joint - Nolensville, TN.

Good eats here folks! Whole hog every Saturday!

From Martin's BBQ Joint - Nolensville, TN.

Be sure and check out my other websites Nola Cuisine and American Gourmand!!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe at American Gourmand

From Homemade Rendered Lard

I just started my new site American Gourmand and I kicked off my posting with a dish near and dear to my heart, Buttermilk Fried Chicken!

While I love working on Nola Cuisine as well as this blog, I need an outlet to explore other culinary pursuits; barbecue, pizza, sushi, charcuterie, etc., so American Gourmand is born!

Next week I am off to Nashville for 4 days of Southern food exploration and hopefully a heck of a lot of great music too!

See you soon!

Danno

New Orleans Oyster Festival at Nola Cuisine

From July 21, 2011

I finished my post yesterday on my visit to the Second Annual New Orleans Oyster Festival last month! I had a wonderful time meeting and hanging out with Seth McMillan of Bourbon House Seafood Restaurant at the event!

Check out the post here:

New Orleans Oyster Festival 2011!

Lots of great mouth watering pics!

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured at Nola Cuisine!

Abita Brewing Company Tour at Nola Cuisine

From Abita Brewery - Abita Springs, Louisiana

I just finished my newest post on my visit to the Abita Brewing Company Tour and Tasting Room. Two words: Free Beer. Good beer as much as you would like to drink with 15 varieties to try before and after the tour in the tasting room, what could be better than that!

Here is a pic of the mahogany bar, which visitors can step behind and and fill their cups until their hearts content!

From Abita Brewery - Abita Springs, Louisiana

Visit the whole post at Nola Cuisine here!

Also be sure to check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured at Nola Cuisine!

Middendorf's Seafood Restaurant at Nola Cuisine

From Middendorf's Seafood Restaurant

Just finished my post on my visit to Middendorf's Seafood Restaurant, a long awaited journey which ended with me enjoying some of the most perfectly fried catfish known to man!

From Middendorf's Seafood Restaurant

Check out the post at my main site Nola Cuisine, loaded with a bunch of pics from my visit!

Also, be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes at Nola Cuisine!

Praline Bacon post at Nola Cuisine

I finished my Praline Bacon post at my main site Nola Cuisine last night. My version is along the lines of the original at Elizabeth's but leaves the pecan pieces a little more chunky than most other recipes. Cochon Butcher also has a wonderful Bacon Praline which is more of an actual Praline with chunks of their hose made Kurobuta Bacon inside of it. This makes a wonderful addition to any breakfast that will be sure to be a family favorite! Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Grilled Pork Chops with Southern Peach Salsa Recipe at Nola Cuisine

I'm making a great effort to do at least one post a week at Nola Cuisine, I kicked off my resolution with a homemade Creole Mustard Recipe last week.

The other day I came across some beautiful Southern Peaches at the grocery store, so I picked them up along with some bone in pork chops. Here are some pics of the outcome, the full recipe is at Nola Cuisine!



Grilled Pork Chops with Southern Peach Salsa Recipe at Nola Cuisine!

Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Creole Mustard Recipe at Nola Cuisine

I just finished my homemade Creole Mustard Recipe at Nola Cuisine, I've been working on this recipe for a long time.

I like the Zatarain's Creole Mustard, but I like my Creole Mustard with a bit more of a punch.

Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Cornbread and Andouille Sausage Recipe at Nola Cuisine

I made a nice batch of Cornbread and Andouille Stuffing with the last of my reserves of homemade Andouille Sausage. I stuffed it into 2 inch thick Pork Chops, grilled them and let them slow cook on the grill under smoldering Pecan wood chips. This stuffing would also be great stuffed in a Chicken, Turkey, Turducken, or Peppers. Here is a link to the recipe: Conbread and Andouille Stuffing Recipe at Nola Cuisine! Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Parasol's Style Roast Beef Po Boy Recipe st Nola Cuisine

I got itchy for a good Roast Beef Po Boy just like the one at Parasol’s after my trip in March, so I watched Jeff Carreras in a video there and whipped up my own version for home cooks. It’s simple, honest, and true to the neighborhood—boil a bottom round until tender, make a gravy from the reserved beef broth with flour, garlic, Kitchen Bouquet and seasoning, then oven-finish thin slices of the beef soaked in that gravy so it falls apart good. The final sandwich? Crispy french loaf, mayo, tomato, lettuce, pickles—and a messy, gravy-dripping and completely satisfying bite that takes me back right to Parasol’s in the Irish Channel.

Also check out my Parkway Bakery and Tavern Style Roast Beef Po Boy Recipe Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Crawfish Etouffee Recipe at Nola Cuisine

I’ve always loved Crawfish Étouffée, so after my Crawfish boil a while back, I saved all that sweet tail meat and turned it into this rich, comforting étouffée. Just like my shrimp étouffée, it leans into the homemade stock, a hearty roux, the trinity, garlic, onions, peppers,all that good stuff, but this time with crawfish tail meat in the spotlight. It simmers down until the flavors meld, finishes with green onions and parsley, and gets served over hot rice so every bite is saucy and nostalgic, the kind of dish that brings back memories of creeks, boil pots, and kitchen smells that take me right back to Louisiana. Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link’s Louisiana

Get Real Cajun Here! This book hooked me from the moment it arrived, it’s like Donald Link peeled back all the hype around Cajun food and took me straight to Grandma’s kitchen. The recipes in Real Cajun are rustic, real, and surprisingly simple, full of dishes like smothered pork roast over rice, fried catfish done in bacon fat, and chicken & dumplings that finish off in a hot oven so the dumplings puff golden. It’s not just a cookbook—it’s part memoir, part love letter to Louisiana, and every photo (by Chris Granger) makes me want to cook something hearty right now. Every recipe I’ve tried from this book turns out better than I expect; it’s the kind of cookbook that gets messy in the kitchen with butter-spattered pages and sauce drips—that’s how you know it’s good. Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Jacob's Andouille post at Nola Cuisine

From Jacob's Andouille

I visited Laplace Louisiana, and Jacob's Andouille on my way to the airport on my last day in New Orleans last month, and I smuggled some of their Andouille & Tasso back in my suitcase. Check out the post with lots of pics at my main site Nola Cuisine.

Jacob's Andouille post at Nola Cuisine!

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on Nola Cuisine!

Crawfish Boil Recipe at Nola Cuisine

My Crawfish Boil Recipe post is all about gathering friends and family and cooking up a feast with Live Louisiana crawfish, red potatoes, corn, garlic, onions, lemons, and a big pot full of seasoning until everything’s spicy and steeped in flavor. I shared the steps: wash the crawfish, boil the veggies, drop in the crawfish, then let them steep so they soak up all that heat and seasoning.

It reminds me of my Shrimp Étouffée and Crawfish Étouffée recipes, in particular how I used leftover tail meat from boils to stretch the joy of the boil into another dish. The boil itself isn’t just about food, it’s about those smoky smells and laughter, the blister of spice, the mess on your hands, and the memory that stays with you from time well spent with family and friends. Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Cochon Butcher at Nola Cuisine

This visit to Cochon Butcher (next door to Cochon on Tchoupitoulas) reads like a love letter to in-house charcuterie: deep-smoked, beef-casing andouille; salamis, mortadella, rillettes, terrines, pickles, and Creole mustard—all made on site.

You get a behind-the-scenes peek at upstairs curing rooms (duck pastrami in progress), a shout-out to the then-new Calcasieu events space, and a memorable taste of the shop’s “bacon praline” studded with house Kurobuta bacon.

For lunch, the muffuletta—with finely chopped olive salad, perfect bread, and house meats—earns raves for flavor and value, and a lagniappe tartiflette with Reblochon seals the deal. It’s enthusiastic, photo-rich, and celebratory of Link/Stryjewski’s pork palace.

Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Turducken at Nola Cuisine

Elliot from Cajun Grocer asked me if I would like to review their Turducken at Nola Cuisine. At first I had apprehensions, but I eventually said what the hell, as long as I can do an unbiased review. I served the Turducken with my Maque Choux and a new one that I will be posting shortly, Praline Sweet Potatoes. Here is my Turducken Post. Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!

Pepper Jelly Recipe at Nola Cuisine

Check out my Pepper Jelly post over at Nola Cuisine. This versatile condiment is a Southern Staple with many uses that can add pizazz to many different dishes, my recipe is included in the post.

For those of you that don't know, I've switched from this site over to Nola Cuisine, same content, just a different layout. Here are some of the posts that I've covered recently:

A visit to Cochon Restaurant including a tour of the kitchen!

Lunch at Domilise's Po Boy & Bar.

Revisiting my Beignet, and Barbecue Shrimp recipes both with new pics.

Tuesday morning at the Crescent City Farmer's Market.

A recipe for the Creole-Italian staple Shrimp & Eggplant Dressing.

Be sure and check out my Creole & Cajun Recipe Page as well as my Bibliography of Creole & Cajun Cookbooks!