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Zimino di Ceci
5 years ago
"Great restaurants are, of course, nothing but mouth-brothels. There is no point in going to them if one intends to keep one's belt buckled." ~Frederic Raphael
Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award winning screenwriter for Milk, came in to town for a staged production of "8" to benefit the Forum For Equality. I was able to attend brunch with him and some of the Forum Board members and supporters before the event at Arnaud's Restaurant in the French Quarter.
I arrived early to visit the Mardi Gras Museum. In a portion of the upstairs, there is a collection of some of the costumes and jewelry worn by the restaurant's founder and his daughter and grand daughter to many of the Krewe balls from the 1940's to the 1970's. One of my favorites was this dress is called "Vintage Champagne." It was worn when she was Queen of the Sparta Krewe in 1954. The entire court dressed as delicious wines and dishes.
The brunch was truly wonderful. We were put in one of the private rooms upstairs and our waiter was quick and responsive, especially considering how everything had to be carried up from the bar and the kitchen on the first floor.
The Sunday Jazz brunch is a prix fixe menu but the choices are pretty remarkable. There were four main choices for appetizer, plus soups, gumbos and oysters on the half shell. I started with the Shrimp Remoulade. A very spicy sauce that was missing the mayonaise of traditional remoulade's.
We all got the same salad and I was yawning too much to take a picture.
For the entree, I had their grillades and grits made with veal scallopini. The sauce was rich with vegetables and the cheese grits were perfect accompaniment.
I was sitting next to Dustin Lance Black and he was kind enough to trade bites. He had gotten the crabmeat cheesecake. OMG! Talk about luscious.
My friend, Mickie, got the Shrimp Clemenceau. I usually don't order that because I'm not a fan of peas but the mushrooms, crispy outside and tender inside Brabant potatoes and butter poached shrimp were delicious.
Dessert was just as good as the rest of the meal. I ordered the Chocolate Devastation, which is a dense, flourless cake. All it needed was a glass of milk and I would have been in heaven.
Several people had the Louisiana Strawberries marinated in port, red wine and spices.
What was fun is that we also had people order the Bananas Foster and Crepe Suzette. Eric did a really nice job for the occasion. As my buddies Beavis and Butthead say, "Fire is cool!"
Bananas Foster Flaming
Crepe Suzette Flambe
All and all it was a wonderful meal but the price puts it in the special event category for me.
At the end, I was able to get a picture taken with Dustin:
I think he enjoyed the meal as much as I did!
Garbage Dip
2 lb box velveeta cheese, cubed
2 8 oz boxes cream cheese, cubed
2 cans Ro-tel tomatoes and peppers
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lbs breakfast sausage, cooked and drained
24 oz bag chopped broccoli
Dump all of the above in a slow cooker to let it melt and blend together. Serve with chips.
I replace the breakfast sausage with ground venison but feel free to use the sausage or any other ground meat. Just brown it first and drain it well.
Here is a picture of it served over pasta. Yum!
This does get warmer after you've reheated it a couple times. I buy an extra 1lb block of velveeta and add half of after the first reheating and the next after the third.
This isn't a place where you can eat in - it is very utilitarian and spare - but, when you need anywhere from 5 pieces to 100 of some of the best fried chicken in the city, come here to pick it up. They are fast and food will still be hot when you get home or to your party.
The recipe is pretty simple:
Praline Bacon
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 pound high quality thick-cut bacon
Mix the pecans and brown sugar together until evenly blended and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Position wire racks onto two baking sheets. Lay the bacon strips side by side on the rack, edges not touching.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until bacon is rendered and browning on the edges but not anywhere near done. NOTE: Time will vary according to the thickness of the bacon so watch it carefully. Remove the pans from the oven and CAREFULLY drain off bacon fat if you desire.
When cool enough to handle move the strips very close together. Spread the brown sugar and pecan mixture evenly over all the slices.
Put back in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes more or until the topping is bubbly and the bacon is browned. Allow to cool. The bacon will firm as it sits.
But, back to breakfast!
Mom had the huevos rancheros - a wonderful combination of pork, beans, eggs, pico de gallo, sour cream and cheese.
I had the redneck eggs - poached eggs on fried green tomatoes with hollandaise sauce. Tart green tomatoes, creamy eggs, buttery sauce made my mouth very happy.
Mega yummy!
The coffee was strong, the server friendly and the place wasn't busy at all at 8am on the first Friday of French Quarter Fest.
Trailer Truffles
8 ounces of Kraft brand Velveeta Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product
2 pounds Powdered Sugar (aka Confectioner's Sugar)
1/2 pound (2 sticks, or 1 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)
Cut the Velveeta and butter into cubes and melt in a double boiler. Sift together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. After the butter and Velveeta are melted, stir in vanilla and nuts.
Pour buttery cheesy mixture into the cocoa and sugar. Stir thoroughly. Once completely mixed, pour mixture into a 9x13 pan covered in aluminum foil. Let fudge set in the refrigerator before cutting.
I had another cabal meeting last night, this time at Louisiana Pizza Kitchen Uptown. I always like supporting this place because the owner is such a good corporate citizen to the LGBT community with donations of food, gift certificates for silent auctions, as well as sponsorships for many of our local events.
I started with the fried mushrooms. The dipping sauce was strange - almost but not entirely unlike ranch dressing. The little suckers were good enough to just pop in my mouth without sauce, though. The garlic bread was a thin pizza crust with garlic and Parmesan - very nice with the dipping sauce but I would have like more breading.
My main course was shrimp scampi. The angel hair pasta was perfect and the garlicky sauce delicious. The shrimp were incredibly tiny although the artichoke hearts were nice sized. Good flavor, though.
The waitstaff was quick and efficient and kept drinks full without disrupting the plotting.
Thanks so much to Amy Jones of Jones Communications for dinner.
