Romancing The Chocolate: New Orleans Chef Competition Winner: Macadamia Nut Pineapple Up-Side Down Cake, New Orleans Restaurant Links

       Photo: Cynthia Campbell

                                                              
Romancing The Chocolate: New Orleans Chef Competition Winner: Macadamia Nut Pineapple Up-Side Down Cake, New Orleans Restaurant Links: From Denny:  Louisiana is fond of food competitions and New Orleans attracts the top chefs who are willing to compete for charity events and industry competition too.  This tasty recipe competed in a New Orleans Wine and Food Experience competition, developed by Pastry Chef Erin Swanson, Restaurant R’evolution, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was the 2014 desserts category silver medal winner.  All those lucky tasters were found returning for seconds of this delicious simple cake!...

... To satisfy your foodie curiosity here's what the other medal winners were cooking and the New Orleans restaurants from which they hail are linked so you can go visit and check out their stellar menus: ...
                                                              
Romancing The Chocolate: New Orleans Chef Competition Winner: Macadamia Nut Pineapple Up-Side Down Cake, New Orleans Restaurant Links

Sleep Majesty King Duvet

Sleep Majesty: Restful, blissful, restorative sleep reigns supreme to pump up our attitude to take on a new day!  Easy to coordinate with other patterns!

Check out what other products besides bedding are available in this design.

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  Also note that I leave up all my designs from year to year so you have the security knowing that you can purchase as your budget permits to coordinate a room.

Labor Day, Football Tailgating: Check Out Some New Drinks, Appetizer Cheesy Zucchini No-Fry Fries with Smoked Paprika Dip Sauce

Photo:  Matthew Mead/AP

From Denny:  Ready to try something new for the Labor Day weekend and tailgating season?  Audition it on Labor Day and check out your reviews, and, if all goes well, you have some winners for the tailgating season.  I know.  I know.  The conventional wisdom is that you are not supposed to audition something new on your guests but my crowd likes to review.  Come on; put a little risk into your life!  

I usually cook up standards I know most people enjoy and then introduce a couple of new things for review and comment.  It's a conversation starter and since my friends tend to be as opinionated as myself, well, they enjoy weighing in.  They even make suggestions to kick it up, tone it down or variations that I might not have considered.  Since I value their input it's all done in good fun.  For my guests to take home I also make copies of the new recipes with space for them to make notes while we discuss the food.
 
The first two drinks up for consideration are old standards with new twists:  a Planter's Punch and a Bloody Mary.  The new twist for the Planter's Punch is that it has some added Camus Cognac with the apple cider, apple juice and pineapple juice.  The new twist for the Bloody Mary is the addition of Lucid Absinthe with the spicy bloody mary mix, worchestershire sauce, horseradish, black pepper, celery salt and garlic salt.  These two drinks come from  Niccole Trzaska at The Liberty Bar in New York City.

This appetizer recipe is from Chef Sara Moulton, one of the busiest TV chefs.  Check out this link to her site for online cooking classes, links to her TV shows and awesome easy recipes.  Sara has enjoyed a long career:  a 25-year stint at Gourmet magazine (which had a run from 1941 - 2009), hosted several Food Network shows for a decade, hosts public TV's "Sara's Weeknight Meals" and has written three cookbooks, one of which is "Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners."  Whew! All while raising her own family.  It's no wonder she specializes in quick and easy food.

Sara developed this tasty zucchini fries recipe as a way to use up all those crazy zucchini multiplying in your garden and on the grocer's shelves at the end of summer.  Sara says, "What if I told you there's a way to transform the whole lot of them [zucchini] into a delicious dish resembling french fries, but without all the calories?"  Well, she has my attention.  How about you?  Sara continues, "The secret involves cutting your zucchini into fry-like sticks, then cooking them in a way that delivers that signature crunch but without the deep-frying."

To get that toasted taste and golden color for the breaded zucchini without deep frying, you start by toasting up some panko breadcrumbs in a dry skillet.  Sara also advises to pay attention to which cheese grater you use:  a fine wand-style grater has two-thirds more volume than if you grate the cheese on the fine side of a box grater.  Sara used a wand-style cheese grater that produced 5 Tablespoons of grated cheese in this recipe.  If you use the box grater you will only need 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons of grated cheese.  Who knew?

The usual basic breading technique is employed to get the crumb mixture glued to the zucchini sticks:  dip first in flour, then the beaten egg, then the breadcrumbs.  Sara advises that if you skip the flour then the crumbs have a tendency to fall off.  Stick to the recipe and don't deviate on this step.

For entertaining this recipe is a good one because you can stop at the breading stage an hour ahead of time, parking the breaded zucchini on a cookie cooling rack just before dinner or when you want to serve at the party.  The cooling rack keeps air circulating around the zucchini sticks so they don't get soggy.  When you are ready to bake, transfer the zucchini sticks to a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes.

The dipping sauce is a kicked up aioli, a garlic mayonnaise.  Sara added extra lemon juice to cut the sweetness of the commercial mayonnaise and some smoked paprika.  Who doesn't love smoked paprika?  It's definitely a standard at our house.  I can get downright cranky if my local grocer is found to have an empty space on that spice shelf.  Of course, the remedy I've used many times, as I am not one to be denied - is to buy regular paprika and mix it in with what's left of the smoked paprika.  It doesn't take but a couple of days for the small amount of smoked paprika to influence and infuse the regular paprika for a lighter smoked taste.  It's also a way to cut the price of smoked paprika if you are on a budget but still want to enjoy.

So, check out some new cocktails for entertaining and a new appetizer twist on the humble but plentiful zucchini!  Be sure to check at the end of the post for links to more recipe posts...

Louisiana Seafood Reusable Shopping Bag

Check out awesome Louisiana eating: oysters, shrimp, crawfish, gumbo, jambalaya

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BBQ Grilling: 3 Tasty Compound Butters To Complement Your Recipes

AP photo/Matthew Mead -- Compound Butters

From Denny:  Whether you are grilling or baking in the oven specially infused butters offer wonderful flavor choices to celebrate your food!  Chef Sara Moulton is known for easy recipes that can be done at home with a minimum of fuss.  She's also one of my favorite food teachers as she is so relaxed, giving even the novice cook a boost of confidence.

Her first recipe is for an herb butter.  Do you have some favorite herbs that you just can't cook without?  This recipe is all about your favorite combination of herbs, though she does suggest a few to get you started.  While you could substitute a Vidalia sweet onion in place of shallots, well, shallots are that much sweeter, and, oh, so wonderfully flavorful so try to find them in your area.  Shallots, a favorite of classically trained chefs, are usually in plentiful supply in the spring and summer months, often into autumn.

Are you more in the mood for a citrus butter?  Chef Moulton combines the zest and juice of lemons and limes for a sublime summer taste that everyone will enjoy.

How about something more substantial for those manly men who enjoy a great grilled steak?  Oh, this recipe is for you!  Combine this steak butter with Dijon mustard, a fresh finely minced garlic clove and Worchestershire sauce (we prefer Lea & Perrins at our house though you could use the brand you like),  

If you can't grill outside just use a grill pan on the stovetop to get those prized grill marks, turn it over and place it in the oven to finish.  When ready to plate make sure the steak plate has been heating in the oven. Place a large slice of this steak butter onto the plate and then place the steak on top of the butter.  Talk about awesome taste as the butter melts on the very hot plate, spilling out like a gravy for your steak!  That's the method all the old steakhouses of the 1940's and 1950's used before restaurants went to open charcoal or wood fired grilling.

The beauty of all these butters is that all you have to do is roll them into logs and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze until ready to use.  Just slice off the amount you need and return it to the freezer.  How simple is that?  You can make these up way ahead of when you will need them.

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Chef Recipe For 2: Paneed Chicken With Marsala Sauce

Photo: Brianna Paciorka - Perfect for a two-person supper

From Denny:   Are the kids going off to college this fall and you now find yourself an empty nester?  Are you newly married and wondering how to scale down the usual recipe that is calibrated for 4 - 6 servings? Live alone but want to invite a friend over for dinner without breaking the bank?  Well, Louisiana Chef Jeremy Langlois scaled down this favorite recipe of Chicken Marsala that anyone can make into just two servings.  How's that for economy! 

Start by dredging some boneless chicken breast halves in Italian bread crumbs.  Then saute the chicken in oilve oil.  Like Chef Langlois instructs at his cooking demonstrations, "Cooking is all about managing heat.  You don't want to put your chicken into a cold pan.  To test the heat, first put a small amount of break crumbs into the oil to see if it sizzles."

After the chicken is cooked, place it on a separate plate.  Then it's time to start making the light sauce with olive oil, chopped onions, sliced shittake mushrooms and a bit of garlic.  Remember that mushrooms like to absorb the oil, so you might need to add a little more olive oil while you are cooking.  Add a bit of flour to thicken the sauce and then to finish the sauce add the marsala wine and beef broth.

When serving be sure to be generous with the sauce!  This dish can be served with a good salad, asparagus or boiled pasta on the side if you like.

Too Sexy Retirement Men's V-Neck T-Shirt

Too Sexy Retirement - my bills tells me so... might as well keep laughing!

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Comfort Food From Louisiana: New Orleans Chef Recipe: Jambalaya For A Crowd

Comfort Food From Louisiana: New Orleans Chef Recipe: Jambalaya For A Crowd: From Denny:  Need an easy recipe for a crowd during Mardi Gras season?  Chef John Besh of New Orleans paired with Zatarain's to create this faster version of jambalaya using Zatarain's Dirty Rice mix.  In fact, the famous chef has a lot of great recipes on their site.

What makes jambalaya so tasty is the browning of the chicken and andouille sausage, mixing in the veggies like celery and onion, some liquid (some people like to use chicken stock in place of water) and then the rice to cook in all those tasty seasonings and juices.

It's a fabulous one-pot meal that is easy to make and a real crowd pleaser.

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* * *  Support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new! 

Comfort Food From Louisiana: New Orleans Chef Recipe: Jambalaya For A Crowd

Comfort Food From Louisiana: New Orleans Chef Recipe: Jambalaya For A Crowd: From Denny:  Need an easy recipe for a crowd during Mardi Gras season?  Chef John Besh of New Orleans paired with Zatarain's to create this faster version of jambalaya using Zatarain's Dirty Rice mix.  In fact, the famous chef has a lot of great recipes on their site.

What makes jambalaya so tasty is the browning of the chicken and andouille sausage, mixing in the veggies like celery and onion, some liquid (some people like to use chicken stock in place of water) and then the rice to cook in all those tasty seasonings and juices.

It's a fabulous one-pot meal that is easy to make and a real crowd pleaser.

Funny Friday Weekend iPhone 5 Case

Tell the world how you really feel about coming back to work

* * *  Support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

Chef Recipe: Simple Tasty Coleslaw For Your BBQ

Cover via Amazon

From Denny:  Looking for a new coleslaw recipe to impress the family and friends at your next barbecue?  This one is tasty as it includes both red and green cabbage which play off each other well both for color and taste.  The red cabbage is not as bitter as the green.  Carrots, red and yellow bell peppers help to sweeten the cabbage along with the mayonnaise.  The 1/4 cup sugar used looks like a lot but not in relationship to the 16 cups of cabbage.

Spices?  Lots of fresh herbs like Italian flat parsley, thyme, cilantro and basil.  Dry spices added are small amounts of cayenne pepper and cumin.  If you want to kick it up another notch to the salad dressing you could add some garlic powder and smokey paprika to your taste.

If you are visiting New York City be sure to pay this Texas barbecue restaurant a visit.  Just check out this menu for the yummy sides like favorites of mac 'n' cheese and collard greens, sweet potato bourbon mash, chili and corn pudding.  (Have the corn pudding recipe and will put up this one too.)

Apparently, you can buy their original barbecue sauce and habanero hot sauce off the site too.  They sell three cookbooks:

Taming the Flame: Secrets for Hot and Quick Grilling and Low and Slow BBQ
Soaked, Slathered and Seasoned: A Complete Guide to Flavoring Food for the Grill
Pizza on the Grill: 100 Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza and More

When I pull these recipes off mainstream network sites they never add all the interesting things about the restaurant or explore their sites like I would enjoy seeing.  So, you know I just had to google it and explore the site for us. :)

I Love Paris Reusable Shopping Bag

I Love Paris with chefs

Comfort Food From Louisiana: Chef Recipe: Crab Calas with Remoulade Sauce

Comfort Food From Louisiana: Chef Recipe: Crab Calas with Remoulade Sauce: "From Denny:  Chef Poppy Tooker is a New Orleans icon, much loved and respected as she is interesting.  She is like a walking trivia foodie encyclopedia and she sure does relish telling the tall tales of Louisiana food and history.

Check out some of her latest trivia offerings and appearances to tantalize your mind as much as your tastebuds:

* Louisiana's Crystal Hot Sauce was used in WWI Army field rations. I'm a bigger fan of Louisiana Hot Sauce.  It's milder than Tabasco and less vinegar.  Goes great on eggs in the morning.

* Camellia red beans are the finest grade of red beans.  Camellia buys up all the Hayward (finest top grade) beans, leaving grades A and B for the rest of the country.  Hayward grade beans are named for the family that founded Camellia in New Orleans back in 1923.  They still own it today.

Can we ever imagine the Monday wash day without Camellia red beans?  Life might never have been the same in New Orleans.  Even Louis Armstrong might not have been known for his endearing signature statement, 'Red beans and ricely yours.'"