It's New Orleans: Louisiana Eats

We re getting ready for da Mardi Gras This week on Louisiana Eats we ll hear about New Orleans Mardi Gras traditions from Errol Laborde, and speak with experts from Lafayette about their food customs and celebrations. Plus, we visit Cake Caf for a peek at how they make their famous King Cake. Dirty Boys Makes 48 sandwiches 1 cup oil 1 cups flour 3 onions, chopped 5 stalks celery, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 pound ground beef, 1 pound ground pork 1 pound chicken livers 2 bay leaves 10 cloves garlic, chopped 2 teaspoons salt teaspoon cayenne 6 tablespoons Lea and Perrin Worcestershire sauce 2 cups of beef stock 2 bunches thinly sliced green onions 4 dozen pistolettes 1 stick butter, melted Make a roux by combining oil and flour in a large heavy pot, stirring continuously until it reaches a milk chocolate brown. Add the onions and stir together for about 3 minutes until roux darkens to a bittersweet chocolate brown, then add the celery and bell pepper. Cook seasonings for 3 5 minutes until translucent. In a

Staying healthy is a challenge for us all, particularly in Louisiana, where food obsession is a way of life. But being food obsessed doesn t mean you have to have a penchant for heavy cream and butter. This week on Louisiana Eats we ll speak from the owners of a new wellness boutique in New Orleans to hear about the foods and philosophies that guide their approach to living well. Plus author Helen Yoest talks to us about aphrodisiacs, Ryan Hughes visits the Hong Kong Market, and Whole Foods opens its third location in New Orleans.

Good Eggs New Orleans is connecting farmers, value added products, and consumers together in a single system. On this week s Louisiana Eats we ll speak with leaders of the organization s local branch to hear how their work helps reduce farm waste and keeps money circulating locally. We ll also turn to Chef Ryan Hughes for cooking tips about bottarga a cured strip of roe sacks used for finishing salads, pastas and pizzas. And to celebrate Chinese New Year we ll speak with Andra Ang, a journalist who spent years in Beijing documenting China s cultural changes as it emerged as a global superpower. Her memoir, To the People, Food is Heaven, chronicles her time abroad and the importance of food in the everyone rituals of its citizens.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization declared that 2014 is the International Year of Family Farming. Over the course of the next year, Louisiana Eats will periodically profile local family farms to find out how their family farms impact our community. Our coverage begins with the Mauthe s Family Farm in McComb, Mississippi the family farm that helped revive Creole Cream Cheese in New Orleans. We ll also speak with Joel Salatin, one of America s leading farmers whose innovative approach to his business has helped popularize rising trends in the food world. Plus we ll visit the Hermann Grima house in New Orleans French Quarter to compare and contrast the appliances of the 1830 s with the modern comforts of today s kitchens.

Every holiday has its own of traditions, and New Year s Day is no exception. On this week s Louisiana Eats we ll hear about a bowl of hoppin john made with the freshest ingredients, the superstitions behind black eyed peas, and a roasted cabbage beyond your wildest dreams. Southern food purveyor John Martin Taylor joins us to talk about reviving traditional foods in South Carolina; Adrian Miller shares more secrets about Soul Food; and Chef John Currence talks about his new book Pickles, Pigs, and Whiskey. Plus, we ll hear about a collaboration between the Red Stick Farmer s Market and the Star Hill Church in Baton Rouge.

As 2013 comes to an end we re looking back at some of our favorite interviews from the past year on Louisiana Eats . We spoke with the team from Bayou Teche Brewingduring Carnival season to find out what they d been brewing for the holiday and how they celebrate Mardi Gras Day in Acadiana. And as the festival season continued, we hung out with Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes to find out what fuels them in the studio and on the road. But it wasn t all fun and games this past year. We also spoke with many business leaders in the Louisiana food community to find out how they are expanding the local industry. Tess Mongahan dropped by to discuss a new business in New Orleans and Drew Ramsey joined us to talk about rebuilding a longstanding favorite in Louisiana.

On this week s Louisiana Eats Poppy goes for a tour around the French Quarter withthe authors of the French Quarter Drinking Companion, a new guide to the classy drinking establishments and debauched hole in the walls in the Vieux Carr . We ll also be joined by the master distiller of Tanqueray gin and visit the new mobile unit that s delivering farmer s goods to the Baton Rouge public.

Michel Nischan, Toby Rodriguez, and Brian Kyzar are all men with grand ambitions. Even though they work in different parts of the country, they each plan to bring about changes within their niche of the food industry. Michel s been in the game for over 35 years. Among the many jobs he s had, Michel s done farm work, cooked in a kitchen, and opened a restaurant with Paul Newman. Now he s focused on changing food policy on the federal level. We hope you ll be as inspired by Michel as we have. Then we ll speak with Toby Rodriguez and Brian Kyzar as they prepare for a pop up dinner on Frenchmen Street. They re joining us to talk about reviving the Cajun traditions that were on the verge of extinction as little as five years ago. Plus, Dr. Gourmet returns and Poppy shares a recipe for fried shrimp heads don t let them go to waste " title "" class "wysiwyg break drupal content" style "outline 0px; display block; border top width 1px; border top style dotted; border top color rgb 204, 204, 204 ; margin top 1em; widt