October - It's Decorative Gourd Season Mother@#$%^&*

You can see these on the front stoop, right now. They're being decorative.

Many years ago, perhaps seven or something, I was at a book club meeting and one of the ladies loudly piped up, in a silent lul, "It's decorative gourd season mother@#$%^&*!" And she drew from her pocket one of the most magnificent pieces I have ever heard or read in my entire life. The room was silent as she began to read.  The silence lasted only mere seconds as the words tumbled from her mouth. She was, first of all, an excellent wordsmith herself and an even better expresser of said words. The 10 of us in the room were quite literally rolling on the floor, stomachs clutched in pain, as we wretched with hysteria at this freaking awesome phenomenon!

I myself at the time, never knew or had even heard of McSweeney's. But my word, it was a gift of spirit that night, that I was so vigorously introduced to the wonder of a great laugh, an interesting story or a blathering of sophisticated etymology that has now become a pretty exceptional companion.

So, for your autumn reading pleasure,  may I suggest you go and read this wonderful work of art by Colin Nissan.  It's Decorative Gourd Season, Mother@#$%^&*. Beware, the language is @#$%!

Treasures

This is Amadeus.

Amadeus is one of my all time favorite things. He inspired a new post (this one ;) and a new category on P and P. From time to time I'll do a "Treasures" post that will showcase my little ditties, specialty items and tchotchkes in my own collection. And sometimes little things that I want.

Amadeus was an Ermine in his life. Now he only looks like one. I found him here in Sacramento at one of my favorite stores. It's a charming little store called Bleu.

In the next couple of weeks I'll share several of my favorite shops - provided that you like to shop a bit. I consider myself a boutique maven. I have a friend that joins me just about every Spring to do a whirlwind Sacramento Boutique Day. That sounds like something I should actually put together as an actual event. Epiphany!

Fancy Tarragon Aioli

Yield: 1 CupAuthor: Me!

Fancy Tarragon Aioli

This is great on hard cooked eggs (pictured) and roasted artichokes or any type of crudite. My husband likes it on a roast beef sandwich with tomato, onion and Arugula.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 Cup olive oil mayonnaise
• 1/2 Cup sour cream
• 1 Tbs dried Tarragon
• 1 Tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients well.
2. Transfer to a fancy serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold (about an hour).
3. Serve with par cooked carrots, asparagus and broccoli. Or, a boiled and then roasted artichoke.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Crustless Goat Cheese Vegetable Tatin

Before going in to the oven.

This one is not just a pretty face. She packs a wallop of health and tops it with a cherry of exceptional taste.

There are certain vegetables my husband does not like. Summer squash, like Zephyr, Zucchini and Crook Neck are on the "I won't eat them, so do not cook them," list. Unless I fancy them up like in this amazing and super easy crustless "tarte."

Happy St. Patricks Day and a Brand New Soda Bread

Credit: Joan Lamoreau

Yep, I've been really, really lazy. Just so you know, blogging is hard, keeping up with life and then adding said life to blog even harder and then there is the pressure. You see something cool, you want to share something cool and then you realize laundry and groceries trump something cool.

But I'm getting back to it. Who knows how often or when or what or anything. But I'll do my best to get back to chronicling cool stuff. I have a Pin Board that is even called Basic Coolness. I like cool stuff, knowing full well that my cool is not the same as somebody else's cool, but (said with a twinkle in my eye) I know who my tribe is and they know who I am.

With that said, I am going to dedicate this post to my friend Peter. He lost his mother yesterday, and the world is a lesser place without Elaine.

New Orleans Seafood Gumbo

I promised this to you guys. But I never thought it would take 3.5 months to get it up here. Maybe the anticipation will make it all that much better when you make it at home for your family?

This my own version of New Orleans Seafood Gumbo. It's warm and comforting and super tasty. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 threads saffron
1 cup rice, pre-cooked
1 bag small tail off shrimp
1 bag frozen clams
1 lemon, zested
1 tbs worcestershire
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp Zatarains Cajun Seasoning
1 tsp Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce
2 Bay leaves
Brown/Dark brown roux

Directions:

1. Sweat onions, garlic, bell pepper and garlic with the saffron
2. In a separate soup pot, make the roux: Melt 3 tbs. butter and add 3 Tbs, cook over low/medium heat until combined. Add stock to desired consistency and cook until brown but not scorched.
3. Add cooked veg to roux
4. Add Seafood and simmer on low, adding stock as necessary for the consistency that appeals to you.
5. Add lemon zest, worcestershire, cajun seasoning (it comes in a wee mesh bag - simple cut it open and measure out your seasoning), hot sauce and bay leaves
6. Lower heat and simmer adding salt and pepper to taste
7. Add rice, heat through
8. Serve garnished with bias cut green onion and crusty bread

NOLA - Partie Trois

This is the final part of our trip to New Orleans. Stay tuned because I will end this with a wicked recipe I created for Seafood Gumbo.

Day 4, Friday: We had a leisurely morning. It always takes us some time to wind down on a vacation so it was good to get a little lounging in. But we did have 9:30 reservations for brunch at Brennans. I have heard about the grandeur of this place many times and I just had to see and taste for myself.

It was magnificent. Both Bulent and I had the Eggs Benedict except I had a side of grits and he had a side of potatoes. I'm not a potato fan, but his potatoes were perfection! The hollandaise was excellent and the service, impeccable. In case you can't tell from my posts, New Orleans is an eating town!

There were charming details in this restaurant: a collection of vintage oyster plates hung from the walls in one dining room. Painted murals in another, a peacock etched on a mirror in yet another, a courtyard with a water feature that had a family of turtles living there. It was a little world all it's own. And the dubious history of the place was so evident!  The building was constructed in 1795 by Edgar Degas great grandfather and was once a private residence frequented by President Andrew Jackson.

Yep. They live at Brennans. Lucky.

Such a fancy turtle. You can see him so clearly with his cognac and cigar.

After breakfast we took a trolley ride to the garden district.

NOLA is truly unlike any other place I've been or seen. It is it's own little biome of goodness. What I mean by different is that I often hear people say that San Francisco is reminiscent of a European City (well, it isn't, it is decidedly American) but you catch my drift. New Orleans has Spanish influences and obvious French ones too. But the history is rich, eclectic and diverse.

After seeing Magazine street and the tiny shops along the promenade there our stomachs got rumbly and we hitched an Uber to Superior Seafood. 

Did I mention $.50 happy hour over there. Huz and I ate probably 50 oysters and drank champagne for 2.5 hours. It was like heaven.

We took the trolly back into town from there and headed to the hotel for a rest. Tonight was a trip to Arnaud's.

Arnaud's is the "grande dame" of original Creole dining, but we were not going for the food. We went for the scenery and a famous french 75. By scenery, I mean that many people have said it is reminiscent of The Shining. It is, sort of. It really more reminded me of American Horror Story: Freak Show.

Did you know there is a secret museum there? Well, there is. It's not really secret but not many people know about it. Chris Hammond, the gentleman bar keep told us about it and escorted us to peek at it. It was magnificent.