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Monthly Archives: December 2011

Recipe: Prosciutto-Wrapped Pears

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pears

Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever post a recipe easier than this one. If you can’t make it, there may be no hope left for you in the culinary arena.

Regardless of the difficulty (or lack thereof), this appetizer goes great with the bubbly which is a huge plus around New Year’s. Give it a try before 2012 gets here.

Ingredients:

2 pears, quartered (cut into a total of 8 slices)
4 slices of prosciutto, halved
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP sugar cane vinegar (or other sweet vinegar)
1/4 cup walnuts, for garnish (optional)/li>
1/4 cup blue cheese, for garnish (optional)

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pears

Directions:

Wrap prosciutto around pear slices and place on a serving plate.
Drizzle with olive oil and sugar cane vinegar.
Serve.

Aside from being super easy to make, these Prosciutto-Wrapped Pears have a nice savory/sweet combo working. They are appropriate for nearly any party.

And like I mentioned earlier, they go really well with champagne. Cheers.

2 Comments

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 28, 2011 in Appetizers, Cookin', Recipes

Tags: Appetizer, Pears, Prosciutto, Recipe

Review: Stanley

20 Dec

Thanksgiving Turkey Croissant

I always love restaurants I can recommend to people without having to worry about whether or not the recommendation will be well-received or not. Thankfully, Stanley is one of the places that never lets me down.

Whether it’s breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, Stanley serves up consistently great dishes at a fair price point — especially given French Quarter spots tendency to drive up prices.

Sure there are more tourists on hand than some local places, but you’re a fool if you let them detract you from enjoying Chef Scott Boswell’s menu.

For breakfast or brunch, my favorite thing is the Breaux Bridge Benedict. It’s boudin, smoked ham, cheese and poached eggs. The boudin is of great quality and the poached eggs at Stanley are damn near perfect. The yolk of the poached eggs weaves its way through the boudin perfectly to give you a quintessential bite every time your fork hits the plate.

The Eggs Stanley and Bananas Foster French Toast are also worth ordering. The oysters for the Eggs Stanley are lightly crusted in cornmeal rather than a heavy flour breading so they don’t overwhelm the eggs.

Beer-Battered Onion Rings

For lunch, I would highly recommend the Thanksgiving Turkey Croissant when it’s available (seasonal). It’s nicely seasoned shaved turkey meat, bacon, cranberry dressing, arugula, cornbread dressing and basil mayo sandwich between a fluffy croissant. I would prefer this sandwich to most Thanksgiving full-on meals. The flavor profile is light even though the portion is a bit large, but I’m not going to complain about getting too much of this sandwich.

The Club Stanley is also legit. Rather than relying solely on deli meat, it has a grilled chicken breast as the star surrounded by ham, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and a pesto dressing. It can be a little bit messy, but I’ve always found messy foods to be some of the best.

Club Stanley

A lot of people also like Stanley’s burger, but I honestly feel there are better options out there — even in the French Quarter. The Caesar Salad is also a little off. I found the chicken to be too dry both times I had it.

Aside from the food, Stanley has homemade ice cream and sorbets that are divine. The Pecan Pie ice cream and Bananas Foster ice cream are two of my favorites. You can also have any of the ice creams made into a milkshake or malt. I haven’t tried any of their specialty sundaes, but I doubt they will disappoint you. You really can’t go wrong if you go this route.

All in all, Stanley is a solid French Quarter spot that turns out high-quality items for a very affordable price. The best part is that it completely avoids the tourist trap feeling despite being situated along Jackson Square.

Stanley is located at the corner of St. Ann and Chartres in the French Quarter. Stanley is open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.

2 Comments

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 20, 2011 in Eatin'

Tags: French Quarter, New Orleans, NOLA, Restaurant, Review

Recipe: Whole Wheat Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

19 Dec

What Santa Really Wants for Christmas

Mint and chocolate make an awesome team. Probably only second to chocolate and peanut butter in my book. These Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with whole wheat flour. Trust me when I tell you, you won’t miss the white flour.

The green mint chips pack a lot of minty flavor, but it’s balanced out well by the semisweet chocolate morsels. I happened to find the mint chips at World Market by accident, but I’m sure chopped Andes Mints will work just fine.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup mint chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk or mix together the eggs, butter, sugars and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture in two batches, adding in the milk between batches.

Whole Wheat Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Use a flat wooden spoon to work in the mint and chocolate chips.
Scoop the batter onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet in about 1-inch rounds. Pat down gently then bake for 15 minutes.
Remove cookies from oven to cool for approximately 3 minutes. Serve.

You can make the batter in advance and store in the refrigerator for up to two days before baking. Just make sure to wrap it in parchment paper so it doesn’t dry out.

Even though I’m not a big chocolate fan, these cookies are great for the holidays and the green in the mint chips give them a nice pop of color. If mint’s not your thing, you can substitute any flavor of chip you can get your hands on. I’m thinking peanut butter chips would go well with this batter.

1 Comment

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 19, 2011 in Cookin', Desserts, Recipes

Tags: Baking, Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert, Dessert Recipe, Holiday Recipe, Mint, Whole Wheat

Recipe: Avocado, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

17 Dec

Avocado, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

This cookie recipe uses a ripe avocado to take the place of some of the butter found in most cookie recipes.

The avocado gives the cookies a smoother texture without contributing too much to the flavor profile. And no, the cookies won’t come out green.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour (I used a mix of what and white)
3 eggs
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 ripe avocado

Avocado, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookie Dough

5 TBSP unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Avocado, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies in the Oven

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl except pecans, chocolate chips and cinnamon chips. Stir until smooth.
Fold in remaining ingredients.
Use a spoon to scoop batter into 1/2-inch rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden-brown around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes and serve.

These cookies are very simple and can go from mixing bowl to oven to plate in about 30 minutes.

Enjoy them with a big glass of milk.

Review: Tru Burger

15 Dec

The Tru Burger

Tru Burger is hands down the most casual of the new burger joints to pop up in New Orleans. It’s not fussy or frilly and feels like a throwback burger joint — complete with shakes, but without the cheesy burger joint hats.

Normally, I immediately recommend the burgers. But I have to give proper service to Tru Burger’s corn dog. It’s hand-dipped in a batter that fries to a cakey texture that’s moist and crispy all at once. I like my corn dogs with mayo, something some people say is odd, but I’ve liked it since I was a kid.

Anyway, all I can say about this corn dog is that it’s the best corn dog I’ve had outside of the ones at the State Fair of Texas. And that’s a huge compliment.

Onto the burgers. The burgers at Tru Burger are fairly simple and a nice size, not too big, not to small. All of the burgers are cooked to medium, but you can specify the temp you want your meat cook to. I usually go for medium rare. All the patties at Tru Burger are 100% Creekstone Angus and ground in-house.

Tru Burger's Hand-Dipped Corn Dog

The buns have a nice texture and basically melt in your mouth which is a nice effect and something I’m not used to in a hamburger bun.

One of my favorite burgers is the Charlie Burger. It’s served with bacon, Swiss cheese and coleslaw. I add Sriracha to give it some heat which contrasts nicely with the coolness of the coleslaw.

On some visits, the Swiss cheese doesn’t melt on the burger which I think takes away something from the burger as a whole. But overall, this is a great choice.

The Tru Burger itself if also a good choice. It’s a simple burger with your choice of cheese loaded up with onion, tomato, lettuce and pickles. The pickles alone are reason for ordering this burger. While it’s simple, it works. It’s a good, if not outstanding, burger.

Charlie Burger

The fries are thin and crispy. I think they’re some of the best fries in town. The sea salt crystals give them just the right amount of saltiness to balance the earthiness of the potatoes.

I find the shakes at Tru Burger a little underwhelming. I do like that they’re served with bubble tea straws so you don’t have to battle the cup for who wins the shake. But that said, the shakes I’ve gotten have been just okay tastewise. I’ve also had some shakes with ice crystals in it which I’m not a fan of.

Overall, Tru Burger is a solid choice for burgers in New Orleans. I see it on the fringe of upscale burger joints. It’s more suited for families, drop-ins and quick cravings for a burger.

Tru Burger is located at 8115 Oak Street. Tru Burger is open Tues. through Thurs. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fri. and Sat. from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

1 Comment

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 15, 2011 in Eatin'

Tags: Burgers, Fries, Hamburger, New Orleans, NOLA, Restaurant, Review, Shakes

Recipe: Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

14 Dec

Bacon Cheddar Biscuit Dough

Biscuits from scratch can seem like a fairly daunting task. But don’t worry, this Bacon Cheddar Biscuit recipe is simple and you can go from step 1 to a finished batch in 45 minutes (cooking time included).

Rather than making plain biscuits, I added some bacon and cheddar to make this extra tasty. Feel free to add more cheese or more bacon if you so desire.

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 3/4 cup flour
2 TBSP cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup milk (I used 2%)

Frying Bacon

1 TBSP salt
1 TBSP pepper
1/4 cup chives, minced
1 stick unsalted butter, frozen

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F.
In a cast iron skillet, fry bacon until just crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Discard or reserve all of bacon grease except for 1 tablespoon and set the skillet aside.

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Whisk all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Use a grater to shred butter and toss in with dry ingredients. Using a fork, cut the butter into the flour until pea-sized crumbs form.
Stir in the bacon, cheese, chives and milk. Using a fork, mix until no dry flour remains.
Sprinkle some flour on a clean counter and dump the dough on it. Sprinkle some more flour on top and using your hands, pat the dough into a circle about 1/2- to 1-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or other round item (such as a jar or glass) to cut out biscuit shapes. Transfer cut dough to the skillet. Reform remaining dough and cut more biscuits until no dough remains.
Bake the biscuits for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let biscuits cool for 5 minutes, then serve.

These biscuits go great with most meals. They’re especially an awesome way to make a breakfast biscuit sandwich.

No matter how you consume them, you can store them in a sealed container for several days. If you have any left over, that is.

1 Comment

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 14, 2011 in Cookin', Recipes, Sides

Tags: Bacon, Baking, Biscuits, Cheese, Side Dish

Recipe: Loaded Carrot Cupcakes

13 Dec

Loaded Carrot Cupcakes

Let’s be honest, carrot cake is some pretty damn good stuff. These cupcakes don’t come from the most traditional carrot cake batter mix, but they’re loaded with goodness. That’s why I’m calling them Loaded Carrot Cupcakes.

I added shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, pecans, walnuts and coconut to the batter to really load them up with a variety of ingredients. The batter is pretty minimal so it’s these ingredients that form the majority of these cupcakes.

Ingredients

1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Carrot Cupcake Batter

1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin or cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and center. Form a hollow center then add oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in carrots, pecans, walnuts, pineapple and shredded coconut.

Carrot Cupcakes in the Oven

Pour batter into cupcake liners until each is about 1/2 full (optimist!). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cupcakes will rise while baking then settle some once removed.

This recipe should yield roughly two dozen cupcakes. I whipped up a cream cheese frosting for mine and garnished with some of the remaining shredded coconut.

The pineapple ensures the cupcakes remain moist and the nuts give the cupcakes a nice crunch. I wasn’t sure how these would turn out given my lack of success with baking, but they turned out delicious and (dare I say it) I was proud of the effort.

1 Comment

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 13, 2011 in Cookin', Desserts, Recipes

Tags: Carrot, Carrot Cake, Coconut, Cupcakes, Dessert, Dessert Recipe, Pineapple, Recipe

Recipe: Brown Butter Pear Tart

12 Dec

The Tart Before Baking

I can admit to not being the best baker in the world, but it’s definitely something I’m working on. The hardest part? Realizing it’s a science and that instructions must be followed and the ingredients must be measured to the T.

Luckily, this is a pretty simple recipe that’s a crowd pleaser during the holiday season. Poaching the pears gives them a nice texture and taste. The filling of this tart is rich in vanilla and complements the pairs well.

I’ve included the crust recipe I used, but feel free to buy one premade.

Ingredients

For the crust:
Non-stick spray (for the pan or pie dish)
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter

Poached Pears

1 egg yolk mixed with 4 TBSP cold water

For the pears:
6 cups water
1 can of Sprite (or other clear soda)
1 cup sweet white wine
4 Bosc pears, cored and quartered (you can also peel them if you like)
2 cups sugar
2 TBSP ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded

For the filling:
4 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray 10-inch pie pan with non-stick spray.
In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt from the crust ingredients and pulse until mixed. Add the butter and pulse until the size of small peas. Finally, add in the egg yolk-water mixture and pulse until dough is crumbly.
Pour the dough into pie pan and press to form an even crust. Bake the crust in the lower third of the oven until golden brown (about 25 minutes). Reduce oven heat to 350F.
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients form the poached pears, except the pears. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the pears then cover with parchment paper and a pot lid and cook over medium heat for 25-30 minutes. (Parchment paper is flammable so make sure the piece isn’t so big it hits the burner.)
After poaching the pears, transfer them with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Cut each wedge in half, lengthwise.
In a small skillet, cook the butter from the filling ingredients over medium heat until brown and fragrant (about 6 minutes). Set aside in a small bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs with the sugar, vanilla seeds, orange zest and salt. Add the flour and whisk until mixed. Finally, mix in the brown butter until filling is smooth.

Brown Butter Pear Tart

Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Saving three slices, arrange the pear slices in a concentric circle with the narrow edges pointing to the center. Trim the remaining slices and arrange them in the center.
Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake in the over for 1 hour, until the filling is set. Let cool before slicing and serving.
Serve in large soup bowls.

You can prepare everything except for the filling ahead of time and store for two days if you want to make some of this recipe ahead of time.

I recommend serving this tart with ice cream. I served it with dulce de leche ice cream and it was a hit.

This is a great winter dessert that makes a perfect addition to your holiday dessert line-up.

1 Comment

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 12, 2011 in Cookin', Desserts, Recipes

Tags: Dessert, Dessert Recipe, Holiday, Holiday Recipe, Pears, Poached Pears

Lobby Hopping 2011

11 Dec

Ritz-Carlton New Orleans' Holiday Display

Every year, we gather a group of friends together to embark on what we call “Lobby Hopping.” This year was the fourth annual Lobby Hopping (though I’ve only been involved in three). The basic premise is that the group goes from hotel lobby to hotel lobby to view the decorations and to imbibe in the spirits at the hotel bars.

This year’s route started at the Hotel Roosevelt in the Sazerac Bar. The Roosevelt’s lobby is always one of my favorites. They really go all out to create a beautiful, yet restrained, display. The Sazerac Bar is also one of the city’s most refined bars. I love that it’s like stepping back in time. After stopping for cocktails at The Sazerac Bar and taking pictures of the Roosevelt lobby, we headed off to the Ritz-Carlton.

Lobby Hopping 2011 Group Shot

The Ritz-Carlton’s lobby decorations have kind of tapered off over the last couple of years. While they still have nice decorations, I for one, miss the edible gingerbread display and all the candy and sweets that came along with it. Now, they opt for a simple lobby display and a large tree in the lobby courtyard.

The Davenport Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton was a fun place to get a drink. It just so happened that Jeremy Davenport was playing a show that night so we had the perfect entertainment to go with the cocktails. Additionally, this stop has my favorite drink: the Blackberry Caipiroska. From the Davenport Lounge, we headed to the Hotel Monteleone.

The Carousel Bar at The Hotel Monteleone

Though the Monteleone’s hotel decorations pale in comparison to the other stops, the hotel’s bar, The Carousel Bar, is probably the coolest hotel bar in the city. We were lucky enough to grab some seats at the Carousel Bar and had enough drinks to last two revolutions. And yes, one revolution is exactly 15 minutes — we timed it.

We had plans to continue on to the Royal Sonesta and Irvin Mayfield’s Playhouse, but because we took our time imbibing at the rest of the hotels, we ran out of time. It seems our route and plans change each year, but the event is always a blast no matter where we stop.

I highly encourage you to form your own Lobby Hopping group or join us next year if you happen to be around. Happy Holidays!

4 Comments

Posted by poboylivinrich on December 11, 2011 in Livin'

Tags: Cocktails, Holidays, Hotels, Lobby Hopping

Review: The Irish House

07 Dec

First things first, I’ve only visited The Irish House for lunch, so this review is for lunch only. With that out of the way, let’s discuss The Irish House.

Is New Orleans a suitable environment for a refined Irish restaurant? My answer: yes and no. Most of the flavor profiles of the dishes I’ve had weren’t bad, and while they may stay true to their Irish roots, the concept is odd.

Bacon and Cheese Croquettes

In my opinion, Irish food doesn’t need refining. It’s meant to be simple food for simple people. Unfortunately, all the dishes I’ve had were too conceptualized and overthought. But, like I said, nothing tasted bad, so there’s that.

My favorite appetizer is the Bacon and Cheese Croquettes. Served with an onion marmalade and chive sour cream, these little croquettes are (not surprisingly) like little fried baked potatoes. They’re worth ordering, but could use some more cheese or maybe just a sharper variety. I wanted the cheese flavor to accentuated the croquettes more than it did.

While the Tomato Barbecued Chicken and Waffles I ordered were my favorite thing, I’m not sure they truly qualify as Irish food. Chicken and waffles are somewhat trendy in today’s culinary landscape and Chef Matt Murphy at The Irish has given his version a unique twist.

It’s a savory waffle topped with barbecued chicken, ratatouille and caramelized onion. The only portion of the dish I couldn’t really get behind was the ratatouille. It didn’t add anything for me, but didn’t necessarily take anything away from the dish. Overall though, the barbecue sauce is the perfect sweet sauce for the chicken and the waffle.

The Shepherd’s Pie (a traditional Irish dish) has gotten rave reviews from some of my friends, but it wasn’t the biggest hit with me. First, the portion is entirely too small for an $11 portion of a dish comprised of mashed potatoes, ground beef, peas, carrots and pearl onions. To me, this is an example of paying for refinement and presentation over taste and ingredients.

Shepherd's Pie

Another issue I took with the Shepherd’s Pie is that the ground beef is too fine. While I realize that’s a personal preference, it made it hard to keep the beef on the fork because it was so fine.

I really did enjoy the addition of pearl onions into the Shepherd’s Pie. It gave the dish a nice sweet element to counterbalance the saltiness from the beef, mashed potatoes and cheese.

As a general rule, it’s a safe bet to order anything involving potatoes. The Irish House has potatoes perfected.

The Irish House has an awesome beer selection including, you guessed it, Guinness. So it’s 100% a stop in if you’re looking for a pint. I haven’t had a chance to sample the bar menu, but I’m hoping it’s nitty gritty bar food versus the refined dishes I’ve had at lunch.

Overall, I can’t complain about the food at The Irish House other than it being overrefined. Chef Murphy came over after a stint at the Ritz-Carlton so I imagine he brought techniques and processes with him typical to the audience the Ritz attracts — I just don’t know if I see The Irish House attracting the same crowd.

So the moral of the review is to drop in for a pint, watch a game, have some food, but just be ready for refined Irish food that may not be similar to what you’ve had in a more traditional Irish pub.

The Irish House is located at 1432 St. Charles Avenue. Dining room hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Po' Boy Livin' Rich

Monthly Archives: December 2011

Recipe: Prosciutto-Wrapped Pears

Review: Stanley

Recipe: Whole Wheat Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe: Avocado, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

Review: Tru Burger

Recipe: Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Recipe: Loaded Carrot Cupcakes

Recipe: Brown Butter Pear Tart

Lobby Hopping 2011

Review: The Irish House

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