Cajun Cop (60 MB download)
Join Inspector Jacques Lamont as he pursues a gang of jewel thieves through the streets of the Big Easy. In this hidden object game, scour the city for clues, from the haunts of the rich to gritty back alleys. As the evidence piles up, the puzzles and mini-games only become more baffling!

Cajun Cop (60 MB download)
Join Inspector Jacques Lamont as he pursues a gang of jewel thieves through the streets of the Big Easy. In this hidden object game, scour the city for clues, from the haunts of the rich to gritty back alleys. As the evidence piles up, the puzzles and mini-games only become more baffling!

I had The Boiling Crab last night in San Jose with friends and it was one of the most amazing seafood meals I have ever had.  It was so good that I’m willing to overlook the 1+ hour wait for this delicious meal.  Right when we walked in, the amazing aroma of Cajun seafood smacked me in the face and I was immediately mesmerized.  The restaurant space is pretty small, and this place was completely packed – even on a Thursday night.  Smelling the food for an hour while waiting made me super hungry and the worst part is that people eating like to take their sweet time to enjoy their food and you can only watch in agony as you wait.

Bibs!

But let me tell you, IT IS SO INCREDIBLY WORTH IT.  We sat down and immediately ordered a dungeness crab, 3 pounds of shrimp, 3 pounds of crawfish, and sweet potato fries.  While we waited for our food (which took about 15 minutes to prepare), we put on our safety bibs and got ready for our long awaited meal.  Just a side note – please don’t wear nice clothes to The Boiling Crab.  It will undoubtedly get dirty and smelly so just leave the nice clothes at home.  You’re there to eat, not show off.

For our shrimp and crawfish, we ordered “the whole sha-bang!” which included all the different seasonings and also got them with medium heat.  The shrimp was a little overdone, but still really good.  It came in a huge plastic bag and drenched in juices.  There was tons of flavor in the shrimp, and also tons of garlic.  It definitely had a good Cajun feel and digging in and getting dirty ripping the heads off and peeling the shell made the experience that much better.  The crawfish also had really good flavor, but in my opinion it is not worth it and you shouldn’t order it.  There was barely any meat inside each little crawfish so it wasn’t worth the trouble peeling all the shell for that little bit only.  Definitely go for something else if you’re there.

But the star of the night was definitely the dungeness crab.  The crab was perfectly cooked, there was tons of meat both inside the claws and in the body, and the flavor was amazingly buttery.  There isn’t anything else I can say about it except it was one of the best prepared dungeness crabs I have ever had in my life.

All in all, I absolutely loved this meal and it was definitely worth the long wait.  I would go back again in a heartbeat just to try all their seasonal seafoods.  This meal was a bit pricy just because it IS seafood, but I think it’s not too bad (average $20-25 per person after tax and tip maybe) and it is so worth it.  I am willing to bet most people that have been there will say it is amazing as well, so go give it a try if you haven’t already!

I was in Greenville, NC on biz and had the opportunity to grab breakfast without the client that I was traveling with.   When in south, I think chicken and biscuits for breakfast.  I had about 15 minutes to eat and I saw a Bojangles, so I decided to give it a try.

Started in 1977, Bojangles does the cajun chicken thing.  Think Popeyes. Normal fast food ordering system, a few combos, sides, etc.   Right at the counter, there was a tray that had tater rounds and some fruit sticky bun type items.  I was thinking that I was not sure how fresh the taters were.  Honestly, I don’t like to see my fast food before it hits my tray.

What I Got:  Cajun fillet biscuit combo.  About $4.00.

As far as taste, there were some cajun spices on the chicken breast, more than you would find at McDonald’s, however it didn’t have a lot of punch.  I found the chicken fillet to be a little salty as well.  My biggest complaint is that the fillet was really thin and dry.

The biscuit was pretty standard fast food.  Not even close to the king of morning fast food biscuits: Hardee’s.  Combine a dry biscuit with a dry fillet and the result was pretty dismal.

As you can see in the picture, you only get four tater rounds as a side.  There were very average and not even worth me talking about.

Would I Buy It Again:  No. Maybe I caught them at a bad time and one would only assume with this being regional fast food that they have a pretty solid following, but after this meal, I can’t imagine why.

Also, they had Christian music playing.  I just can’t listen to that at 6:00 am…actually ever.

-WIBIA

My first clue came about 10 seconds after placing it in my mouth.  It was my very first mouthful.  You would think after all these years I would know better than to put in so much on my first mouthful.  But I don’t know any better.  In many ways I am still a kid at heart, eating is one of those ways.  I no longer eat mud pies or put things in my mouth on a dare from my friends, but I am still stupid enough to stick a mouthful of something new in my mouth without tasting a small piece first.  I can’t help it.  I gave up trying a long time ago and just accept things like that as personality flaws and I learn to live with it.

Tonight my eating adventure involved a mixture of some new spices I recently acquired.  I got some new Cajun spice, Chipotle seasoning, Louisiana hot sauce, and crushed red peppers.  Any experienced connoisseur of hot spices could tell you that the intensity of any one of those spices could vary significantly for many reasons, such as ingredients used, processing methods, aging time, packaging, etc..  I certainly know such a thing, but that doesn’t stop me from being an idiot.

There’s just something about adding spices to food.  For me, that “something” is a lack of restraint.  Not that I follow recipes, but let’s say for the sake of example that I did.  If a recipe called for “a pinch” of some spice, I’m going to probably use about a tablespoon or two.  If a recipe calls for a tablespoon, I’ll probably use about a quarter cup or so.  I basically just sprinkle some on in between adding every ingredient.  The more ingredients a dish takes, the hotter it’s going to come out if I have anything to do with it.

Tonight I was in the mood for something with black beans.  I had just soaked and cooked about a pound of black beans yesterday so today it was time to make something to use them.  I was in the mood for my famous black bean/turkey chili, but I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients and didn’t feel like running out to the store.  When I’m hungry, I’m ready to eat, not ready to go shopping.  So once again I was reduced to using whatever I found in the house.

As is typical with me, I didn’t want to spend a lot of time cooking dinner.  I ended up spending more time than I wanted on brunch earlier in the day, so I didn’t want to waste a lot more time on another meal in the same day.  I wanted to practice the KISS method – Keep it simple stupid.

Here’s what I found and decided to make – a sweet potato, an onion, Brussels sprouts, corn, broccoli, black beans, fresh spinach, left-over white turkey meat, whole-grain tortilla wraps, and all my yummy hot spices.  Below is the recipe for what I did with them.  Feel free to try it on your own.  By the way, I should point out that I don’t cook for any number of people.  I just throw stuff together and get what I get.  If it’s too much food, I have left-overs for the next day.

Steamed Cajun Sweet Potato (with friends)

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, any size
1 onion, any kind you want
Whatever other veggies you have would work, but for this recipe I’m going to recommend something green like brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli, peas, or asparagus.
½ to 1 cup corn, not on a cob.
½ to 1 cup black beans, either raw already cooked or organic, low-sodium from can.  If you’re going to use canned, just use the whole can and roughly an equal amount of corn.

Directions:
First peel and cut one medium onion into big chunks, not dainty little chopped pieces.  Let it sit while you prep the other stuff. 

Start a steamer pot with about 2” of water to steam the veggies. 

Next get out a nice sturdy, sharp knife and cut the sweet potato.  Raw sweet potatoes are kind of tough, so you have to have a good knife to get through them.  Cut it into chunks small enough to put into your mouth. 

Steaming a whole sweet potato takes about 45 minutes, but cutting into small chunks cuts the steaming time down to 7 – 10 minutes.  When the water starts boiling, put the sweet potato into the steamer and cover.   I don’t like to over-cook my sweet potatoes, so the total steam time is going to only be about 7 or 8 minutes using my bite-sized chunks.

If you are steaming fresh Brussels sprouts, add those at the same time as the potato, or maybe even a minute or two earlier because they take a little longer.

After a few minutes, add your other veggies (already cut to bite-sized if needed).  How long they take depends on what veggies you add.  I’ll list a few of my recommendations below.  Keep in mind the total steam time is less than 10 minutes so add them accordingly.

Steam times:
Brussels sprouts - 7 – 10 minutes
Asparagus - 5 minutes
Broccoli - 5 minutes
Onions  - 5 minutes
Green beans - 4 minutes
Peas - 2 minutes

I wanted my black beans warm, so I micro waved them with the corn for 3 minutes when there was that much steam time left, because I’m all about coordinating the times perfectly.

While the veggies where steaming, I also threw this together –

Turkey Wrap

Ingredients:
1 low-cal, low-sodium, tortilla wrap (I use multi-grain, but any should do)  note: most wraps I’ve found are high in both calories and sodium so search around and read the label for the lowest you can find).
Fresh spinach
Sliced green and red peppers
Sliced red onion – just a little since there were onions with the veggie dish.
White turkey meat pieces
Spicy brown mustard

Directions:
Place all together and roll up a wrap.  Hopefully I don’t need to tell you any more than that.

When veggies finished steaming, I put them into a mixing bowl with the black beans and corn and sprinkled on about a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil and then added all my new spices (Cajun, chipotle, red pepper, hot sauce) along with some freshly ground black pepper and some extra cayenne pepper and then mixed it all up.  Then I added the spices again and mixed again.  While I was at it, I also added a round of the spices to my turkey wrap.  Just to make sure all the veggies got some good hot spices on them, I added a little more EVOO and another round of spices and mixed one last time.

Then I placed my wrap and what veggies I wanted on a plate to enjoy and saved the rest for tomorrow.  For some reason I thought a nice glass of burgundy would go well with it, but I opted for water.  I suppose if you wanted, you could top with a little shredded cheese on either the veggies or the wrap, but I skipped that also.

Before I even sat down, I shoved the first huge mouthful in and was very grateful for the glass of water to put the fire out that was now burning in my mouth.  Not only did my nose begin running instantly, but my eyes did also.  I thought my whole head was going to explode.  Holy crap was that good!  In hindsight, I’d have to recommend a little restraint with all the extra spices, but I sure enjoyed it.  I think Cajun spices seem to go well with sweet potatoes.  I just have to learn to quit getting so carried away with it.  Maybe next time I’ll try to measure and take it easy…but I doubt it.

I have been fortunate enough to eat a large variety of exotic meats due to my best friend having iron chefs for parents. Her mother, Barbara Beery, is the creative master-mind behind Batter Up Kids and Batter Up Kids Cooking Shop, and her father could put Bobby Flay to shame at the grill.

I was cordially invited to a pre-Thanksgiving holiday dinner at their french country home, not knowing fully what I was in for.

To start, I was greeted with several appetizer dishes. The first was actually prepared by my best friend, which obviously has inherited the cooking-gene.

White Bean Dip

This White Bean dip recipe is originally produced by Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network. I looked up the recipe and found all the secrets:

Cannellini beans, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, Italian parsley, salt, and ground black pepper. My friend however added slightly more parsley in order to give it a greener color. Then Barbara chopped up some red bell pepper to give it a festive touch. This dish would be perfect (and easy) for entertaining during the holiday season with it’s red and green color scheme. They served it with an array of crackers, pita chips, and little crostini bites for dipping.

Also, my friend’s father made his very own, homemade, beef jerky and turkey jerky

On the Left: Beef Jerky On the Right: Turkey Jerky

It is truly amazing to me when someone can produce something homemade and so tasty. Apparently the sou chef marinated the beef and turkey for 12 hours, then slowly smoked it for another 15 hours. The turkey jerky sat in a super secret marinade recipe which Barbara invented herself some years back. It had an extremely unique, and slightly sweet flavor.

Another appetizer, whipped up and ready for all of us hungry heathens to dine on, was jalapeno, stuffed with oyster, and wrapped in bacon.

Jalapeno poppers with oysters wrapped in bacon

These little guys were awesome! But beware, they are also potent. The jalapeno was crisp and provided a nice crunch along side the oyster, which added an interesting texture against the crispy bacon. These do have an overwhelming spicy flare, and a few seeds seemed to have escaped the eyes of the cook so some were more lethal than others.

Frog legs, jambalaya, and corn

Next up? The main event. You probably wouldn’t have guessed it: Frog Legs. This is just one of many unusual meats I have eaten in the Beery household. For a small time period, we had an “exotic meat night” tradition at The Beery residence. I’ve tasted everything from savory shark to mouth-watering ostrich. I am fortunate to experience meats like antelope and wild boar cooked to a toothsome creme de la creme.  For Thanksgiving, in true Cajun style, frog legs ordered from Quality Seafood Market materialized before our hungry eyes. It seemed to me that frog legs are the exact median you would expect from an amphibious creature. Though they tasted like chicken, the meat itself had a delicate consistency, similar to fish but not quite flakey. Plus, they’re eaten like chicken wings… what’s not to love?

Frog Legs

Check. Cross that one-off the bucket list please. The side dishes were no pansy-shmanzy side dishes either. The first was a wholesome jambalaya, which I cook all the time because I can do it in a crock pot. This was no ordinary jambalaya though. This delicacy included spicy andouille sausage, chunks of tender ham, and unsuspecting alligator! This was a winner.

Jambalaya and Corn

Corn accompanied this substantial side dish. It was so mouth-watering I specifically asked for the alluring secret. The answer? In short, sautéed corn with green and red peppers, then salt, pepper, touch of garlic, and cream. The cream seductively deluged the frog legs as they laid their helplessly. It was all hopelessly unforgettable.

As if we hadn’t all already over eaten, there was of course an elegant dessert table all set out. It held the classics such as gingerbread men and fudge, but it also had the single most weakness that I possess. My kryptonite: Cheesecake. Caramel Cheesecake. I am constantly on a food safari for the densest and richest cheesecake. This one is the winner. It was by far the best cheesecake I have ever eaten… and let me tell you, that is A LOT of cheesecake. No one at the table could stop oohing, awwing, and moaning with each and every bite of this heavy dessert.

This was by far an unforgettable beginning to Thanksgiving. I think the Beery family could give Dai Due Supper Club a run for its money. I have experienced many “firsts” at the Beery home, and I am never disappointed. Thanks to their infinitely welcoming open arms, I have formed many palatable memories around a table filled with friends.

Spectacularly decorated historic homes, twinkling lights, holiday parades, music and dance performances, and mouthwatering cuisine awaits as all of Acadiana celebrates during “A Cajun & Creole Christmas.” Dozens of events will get you in the holiday spirit, for example the Festival of Light on Coolidge Blvd. Visit the Iberia Community Band Christmas Concert or one of the traditional candlelight services of readings and choral music in the beautiful ambiance of St. John Cathedral. Take your family to the Children’s Christmas Parade with beautiful floats, decorative cars, themed trailers and cartoon characters. Or meet local gumbo chefs competing for cash prizes and trophies at Jennings Christmas Gumbo Cook-Off & Festival. For more information, visit the Lafayette Destination Guide.

Each year, my side of the family holds an early Christmas celebration. We do this so everyone can attend without having to “choose sides” each holiday. And every year the adults participate in a gift exchange. Each person brings one gift and we play “the stealing game,” swapping presents strategically, trying to end up with our favorite at the end of the game.

This year, we have a “rules change” due to the Copeland’s gift card I always bring. Now, a gift can only be “stolen” three times and it is no longer eligible to be taken away from the third person that “captures” it. My family implemented this rule because the game would never end due to the “traveling Copeland’s card” that made it from one person to another all night long!

I think the final straw came last year when our cousin and sister-in-law got in a lively discussion about who wanted the gift card more and kept prompting their husbands to steal the gift card back on their behalves.

After a few rounds, my brother-in-law refused to steal the Copeland’s card and took the last gift under the tree, thereby ending the game. The look my sister-in-law gave him was unmistakable, but the gift he chose was from my wife, and was another Copeland’s gift card! We knew how popular it was so we each chose it as our gift that year. The evening went on with merriment and the two did laugh and make up. I know my sister-in-law is using hers to order our Party Pans with Green Beans with Ham, Macaroni and Cheese, and the Penthouse Salad. It’ll save her oven and refrigerator space on the big day and take a lot of hassle out of cooking for such a big crowd. Our cousin on the other hand, intends to use it after the holidays to treat herself and her family to the New Orleans Jazz Brunch Buffet as a “made it through another round of holidays” present to themselves.

I love giving the gift everyone loves to receive. It tickles me that after years of holiday misses, I have finally found something people truly enjoy and appreciate. This year, I’m placing it in a big box weighted down with something to throw the gift shakers, maybe a re-gifted Snuggie® or something that they’d never guess was a Copeland’s gift card in disguise. I can’t wait to show up with the prized gift. Let the games begin!

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given or received? Did you know Copeland’s gift

After talking at length with our third Cajun, I finally figured out the connection with Acadian – it’s like Indian and Injun. As we ran down the Cajun Coast, west of Nawlins, by Lafayette, Thibodaux and so on, we kept meeting Cajuns at meals. Two were old men in their 80s, more progressive than most Americans one tends to meet, another slightly younger, travelling wide with a dog and his wife (with Scandinavian background). They seemed to have a common pattern: their grandmother spoke only French so they had to do so as a child, but then lost some of it at they grew up. The last one, Pete, claimed he had to learn English at school so kept his French. I’d been in the Acadian areas of Canada – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. And it was from there that the enlightened British deported most of them almost 300 years ago, only for some to return. So they spoke of growing up as kids, their French names, the creole still spoken, the efforts at recovering French – but with teachers from France and Quebec and not locals.

The best couple were Andy and Millie. I first Andy was a cranky old shit and Millie an impatient old bitch, but soon they simply sparkled. He was a Cajun and she a hillbilly from Tennessee; he a train nut who had recently – with a group of his mates – restored an old steam engine, she a flyer who tolerated trains; he loved Cajun food and she couldn’t stand it. But they both had parents who lived to be close to 100 (her mother had actually cracked a ton recently). They were off to Houston for thanksgiving, but they gave us a taste of the Cajun Coast no tour or self-guided walk could match.

I am thankful, my Creator, for the gift of grace and love, for the peace in my life, for those around me who nurture me with their loving friendships, for my parents who gave for me and helped me grow, for my loving husband who has sacrificed much and replenished himself in my love and joy, for my God-given daughter who is an angel on Earth, for my son who is an angel beyond us and for the moment of now and now and…

Join the famous Inspector Jacques Lamont as he pursues a dastardly gang of jewel thieves through the streets of the Big Easy in this exciting Hidden Object game! Scour the city of New Orleans for clues, from the haunts of the rich to gritty back alleys, to catch the crooks. Use your keen wits to bring these clever gangsters to justice as they attempt to cover their tracks and escape from Cajun Cop!

Perplexing puzzles and minigames

Unique atmosphere

Catch the jewel thieves!

System Requirements:

OS: Windows XP/Vista

CPU: 800 Mhz

RAM: 128 MB

DirectX: 8.1

Hard Drive: 96 MB

It Takes Just A second To Say Thanks,

It Takes Longer To The Work On This.

Cajun Cop: The French Quarter Caper

This poor old hobo wants a Christmas visit for New York City from Santa Claus.  I will watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and try to spread a little cheer to the greatest city in this world!  New York folks has had so many troubles, even a politician can’t promise them a Merry Christmas!

I think it would be swell to have a New Orleans Cajun Christmas party for you folks! They got a gift wtih  music from the “big easy” that can even make a funeral procession   a celebration time to know your family can be happy your departed are dancing in heaven ”When the Saints come marching in”!  If I have one wish, it would be to see this country really celebrate our diversity with fun and music from our native American nations to our newest Russian citizens!  Al Gore should hang out with our American nations to learn how to live in harmony with the earth. I have to tell you don’t mess with a Cajun or a Cossack!  They got  proud traditions, just like our New Yorkers.

Don’t get blue or upset that things are getting worse, with more folks out of work, and losing their homes.  Even hoboes celebrate Christmas, and we don’t have much but our freedom!  That’s enough right now.  Pabst Blue Ribbon at the Bonduel Antler Club is only a buck, and I will buy a round for you folks in the best part of America, NorthEast Wisconsin!  Cheese curds, bratwurst, beer, and a good time is here waiting for you.

Sorry you folks in New York have to put up with some kind of nonsense trial for the guys that wanted you all to drop dead.  I think the best thing would be to invite all them television bums to stay away from your court house.  I don’t want anyone to hear a word them cowardly killers say.  It’s your town, and you should have a right to keep the reporters busy at the local bar talking to the real people that count.

Santa rides the rails once in a while, and I will try to track him down pronto!  Santa is coming to New York soon.

With just days before Thanksgiving, we find ourselves rushing around trying to gather our ingredients together to make the perfect meal. Everything from the turkey to the pumpkin pie, needs to be just right, but what about the cranberry sauce? After working so hard on your wonderful feast you really don’t want to just open a can of cranberry sauce ……do you? Just think about that for a second…a can that may have been sitting on the store shelf for the past 8 months or even worse from last Thanksgiving! I like to serve fresh whenever possible, and this recipe is so easy that it makes it worth the small amount of time it takes to make it; it can even be made today and stored in the refrigerator till Thursday.  The recipe below it the one that I always serve my family, but feel free to omit the pecans or brandy if they are not something that you are accustom to.

Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

¼ cup orange juice

4 cups fresh cranberries

¼ cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon orange zest

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice.

2 tablespoons brandy

Wash and pick over cranberries.

In a saucepan bring to a boil over medium heat water, orange juice, and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.

Reduce heat to low, stir in pecans, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Allow to simmer 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in brandy. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Makes 2 1/4 cups

Lucile’s Restaurant was established in 1980, by Lucile Richards. I have yet to been to Lucile’s, do to the fact that I am located in Ohio and the restaurants are located in Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, and Longmont. Although I should hopefully have a short review on Lucile’s later today, thank you to my cousins The Galley Boys, who live 6 blocks down from a Lucile’s. (until we get the review here are a couple menu items that i would have to be toying around with)

Cajun Breakfast
Red beans (w/meat), poached eggs and hollandaise. Served with grits or potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit.

Shrimp & Grits (always a sucker for a good shrimp & grits)
Shrimp, andouille sausage and red peppers, served over creamy saffron grits.

Eggs Rockefeller

Eggs Rockefeller
Scrambled eggs, steamed spinach, fried oysters & Rockefeller sauce.  With grits or potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit.

Cheese Omelet
White cheddar, muenster and ricotta cheeses. Served with grits or potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit.

Crawfish Etouffee
Crawfish tails smothered in a rich brown spicy sauce. Served with rice. 

Thank you to Ryan and Anthony, for keeping me posted on some nice spots out in the rockies.

Nothing brings out traditions like the holidays, and growing up in Louisiana, we learn about so many traditions, each one meaning something very special to your family and the people of Louisiana. Each family has one person that passes on these traditions, and in my family it was no different. I first started learning from my grandmother, in her small kitchen in Mandeville, Louisiana, and after she passed away, my learning continued with my own mother, who grew up in Abbeville, Louisiana, leaving me with a wealth of knowledge, on everything Cajun!

This recipe comes from my great great grandmother, and has been tweak over the decades, with each generation adding their own style to the recipe, and of course making adjustments to the changing times, but  as each generation adds their  touches, the recipe  only gets better over time, turning a family tradition into a family heirloom.

This oyster – crab dressing must be served as a side dish and not as a turkey stuffing in the turkey.

½ pound (about 25 small) oysters in their liquor

1 pound lump crabmeat

1 cup cold water

12 tablespoons butter

1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped bell peppers

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 bay leaves

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup chopped green onions

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon  paprika

½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon dried oregano leaves

¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon dried sage

½ teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce

¼ cup chopped parsley

In a small bowl make the seasoning mix. Set aside.

Place oysters in the water; stir and refrigerate for several hours. Strain and reserve the oysters from oyster water and store separately in refrigerator until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In large cast iron pan place 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat ( allow to melt; place yellow onions, celery, garlic and bell peppers. Sauté over medium heat until onions are dark brown but not burned and vegetables are softened; about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, adding the bay leaves, and 4 more tablespoons of butter. Lower heat and fold in crab meat, bread cubes, sage, salt, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, dried oregano leaves, dried thyme leaves, parsley, Tabasco, oysters, and their liquor, and broth until moistened.

Remove from heat. Spoon dressing into an ungreased 8×8x2-inch baking dish and dot with the last 4 tablespoons of butter, bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and discard bay leaves before serving.

All right, you asked for it and now we have it. You wanted to know what how we are able to deliver the best fried turkeys in Atlanta and with this video, we are sharing our secrets!!  Well, maybe not all of them.

Watch our video and let us know what you think. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it and we look forward to your comments.

All right, you asked for it and now we have it. You wanted to know what how we are able to deliver the best fried turkeys in Atlanta and with this video, we are sharing our secrets!!

Well, maybe not all of them.  Watch our video and let us know what you think.  We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.

i want my friends back. not the scared to discuss issues, hold grudges for years, he-say-she-say type friends that they have been replaced with.

i want my REAL friends back.

the people who know me. the people who understand that the easiest way to get through to me is blatant honesty. i want the people who weren’t afraid to speak their mind and didn’t mind breaking the silence, because anyone less than that will not be capable of handling a friendship with me.

i am too much.

and to be friends with me, like FRIENDS and not “friends” you have to be just AS much, or more.

so i want those friends back. those i don’t care how you feel because i feel this way, me and you to the day i die, i can say what i feel because that’s just how we are type of friends,

because these “friends” i have now are not cutting it. so whoever dropped them off, needs to come and pick them back up.

and bring my FRIENDS back.

the FRIENDS who are REAL,

not “real”.

Happy youknowwhatdía!

La mañana de martes began as every morning does.

Only a little mejor.

Because, while coffee gets the day off to a good start, Godiva Chocolate Truffle Cafe gets the day off to a delectable start.

For una chica who always pulls the “I’m not a chocolate person”-card, I am loving this stuff. 

Breakfast was a double.

No, not that kind of double. I wish.

Rather, I refer to a double bowl breakfast (D.B.B.).

I turn to D.B.B.s when I’m either super hungry, or super indecisive.

Ayer, I was both.

Bowl Numero Uno

Kashi 7 Grain Puffs, vanilla almond milk, Truvia, ground flax, cinnamon and a PB spoon.

And since I’m a sog-loving freak, I put bowl #1 in the fridge to marinate while I concocted and consumed bowl #2.

Bowl Numero Dos

Plain Oikos, honey drizzle and pomegranate arils.

Each delicious in its own right. I’m sort of addicted to the popping sensation of biting down on pom arils; so that yogurt bowl was wondrous. However, the super sogginess of 10-minute marinated cereal, helped along by an almond milk-marinated PB spoon: indescribable.

Soon after desayuno, the dainty aroma of polyurethane began to fill la casa.

At which point, I decided I’d like to continue breathing and made the executive decision to pack snacks and haul culo to my local Starbucks.

Los snacks:

Manzana y Honey Graham Z-Bar

La manzana was freakishly GRANDE.

That, or my hands are freakishly small because they couldn’t really wrap around this large and in charge piece o’ produce.

(When I ate it in Starbucks, I felt like everyone around me was staring at my big apple. Or maybe I’m just a loud chewer…)

Moving along, I took a stroll to Starbucks in the GORGEOUS 55° and sunny weather; I’m thinking I stole some sunshine from Florida.

I’d intended to get my first red cup of the season (which is actually a lie since I got one while on vacation—so my first documented, NYC red cup of the season)—but I can’t not get iced coffee when it’s warm out. Sacrilegious.

So I opted for a venti (normal venti—not 36 oz. slushie cup “venti” ) iced coffee con sugar and cinnamon. Pat on the back for not going for the yellow packets.

I also opted for a sneaky webcam shot because I’m too awkward for crowded cafe coffee photography.

(Note how serious I look. I was trying so hard to not look like I was doing a creepy MySpace photoshoot.)

Being the productive chica that I am, I then decided to have a silent Starbucks video chat session con la hermana.

Wherein I lost my I’m-too-awkward-for-camera-action-in-cafes inhibitions.

Hermana was being too cómica to not photograph.

This is Melissa stripping down to share with me two of her latest discoveries. Interested? Claro que si.

First, she wanted to show me that the tinted Jergens moisturizer she’s been using is working—and indeed, tinting her bod. (I think she’s a little celosa [jealous] that somebody just got some sol in Florida…)

Next, she wanted to show me that another recent discovery also, uh, works. This nuevo purchase would be the Victoria’s Secret Miraculous push-up bra. It claims to add two cup sizes—and yesterday I, and several other Starbucks patrons, learned that, indeed, it does.

I was laughing hysterically—and everyone who passed me scoped out my computadora screen, likely in an attempt to understand why some chica loca was giggling and taking pictures of her computer screen.

It was pretty awkward. But the damage was done, so I continued on with my public vid chat and even snapped a non-webcam iced coffee shot for you all.

(Spotted: a special snacky birthday girl in the background.)

I spent about tres horas blogging, blog reading, Z-Bar and apple eating, coffee sipping chugging and eavesdropping—hoping for some good Overheard in Starbucks material. Unfortunately, I think I was the most eccentric character in Starbucks yesterday because the cafe convo was sparse y aburrido.

When I came home, I took a few deep breaths to test toxicity levels, lived and whipped up a late real lunch. Because, in my book, a bar and an apple do not a lunch make.

Ensalada ENORME

In the mix: spinach + romaine, hummus-coated baked chicken, 1/2 avocado, feta, onions, roasted red peppers, oil-cured black olives, yellow pepper, cucumber and balsamic vinaigrette.

Oh, and I might have throw a little Sabra in the center.

In case the hummus-coated pollo didn’t do the trick.

I hadn’t had one of my mix-in-everything-I’ve-got grande salads in over a week—so this was increíble.

And this brings us to the title of this post—which, by the way, is meant to be sung to this tune.

(In the process of searching YouTube for that song, I came across this really creepy children’s video. If you’re bored…)

Anyhow, I’d like to introduce you to my newest friends:

 Annie’s Bunny Graham Friends! I received these a couple of weeks ago when Annie’s sent me a ridiculous goodie bag for winning a contest, and I was most excited to try these amigos since I love all things graham.

I was a little disappointed upon realizing that the bunny friends weren’t straight-up grahams—but rather a blend of honey, chocolate and chocolate chip bunnies. But I quickly came up with a strategic remedy.

Because I have a weird I-need-to-save-the-best-for-last OCD thing, I decided I would eat all of the chocolate bunny friends first so that I’d have a box of honey and chocolate chip (which are basically just honey with little chocolate specs) amigos left.

Needless to say, this was a malo idea. Mostly because it got competitive, and I literally ate all of the chocolate bunnies in the entire box.

Bunny overload.

Despite my chocolate trash-talking, these amigos nuevos are AMAZING. And I can’t wait to dig into my chocolate-less box. (Which is now 1/2 empty because there were a disproportional amount of chocolate bunnies. Oops.)

Dinner was lazy.

Red Snapper & Shrimp

How did I make crispy Cajun fish and shrimp sans kitchen?

I didn’t.

I simply had the foresight to order it to-go Monday night so that I’d have Tuesday’s dinner. Un idea muy inteligente because I was muy perezosa last night.

I think I’m still in vacation-mode because I’ve had no desire to experiment with microwave magic; that or I’m just getting antsy for the kitchen to be done.

This fish was incredible, and massive. And I think it automatically tasted better because it required cero effort.

I put un poco microwaveable effort into dessert.

Popcorn + sriracha, how I’ve missed thee.

Ok, I hope you all have gleeful Wednesday night plans!

Adios,

Sarah

Memory #146: Someone has made art involving conkers. They have collected one conker short of a million and each one is encased in a small glass cabinet and is named: It makes me feel like it is impossible to ever collect enough conkers.

Memory #147: There is also a display of old pictures of the clouds from down below. They look so innocent. Remembering looking up at them and also travelling through them makes me feel very …

Memory #148:

Memory #149:

Memory #150:

Memory #151: Vixen McGogh is only one artist still working at this end of the spaceship and she looks after the galleries too. Her medium is smells.

Memory #152: I think my brain may still be tangled from my journey but McGogh’s smell pieces are truly amazing. She shows me seemingly endless rooms, each of which features one of her works. She blends different smells together which combine to create a picture in your head. It is truly remarkable. The smells seem to hang in the air indefinitely.

Memory #153: My favourite piece of smell art is one which somehow manages to conjour up an image of a young farmer boy staring up into a vibrant blue sky and watching his red balloon drift off as though it is the only thing he has in the world. Do not ask me how it works for I do not know, I will just tell you that I think it is beautiful.

Memory #154: I go back to the crash site and sit with Rusty. It really is a remarkable collection of crashed buses. It seems like practically everything here is art. Three days after I arrive another bus comes hurtling down and mangles itself into the landscape.

Memory #155: I am glad I brought food with me as there seems to be nothing to eat here. Engine parts have never been my favourite.

Memory #156: It is a long walk back. Even though I know that there will be no traffic for three days I still prefer to walk on the pavement. There seems little point in having pavement on this road but then it also has hedges and street lamps.

Memory #157: The long walk has eroded the soles of my shoes away so that there are big gaping holes in them. They used to have a map of the world on them but that too has gone. It was always easy to see a picture of home with them around.

Memory #158: Now they are a constant reminder that home has gone.

Memory #159: I put them in the bin and consign them to an eternity floating around the space ocean. I will have to go barefoot from now on. This place could really do with a shoeshop.

Memory #160: Instead of a shoeshop a new restaurant has opened whilst I was away. It is called Cashew’s. I am not sure who owns it but it certainly has a lot of cashews.

Memory #161: The Edward Woodward clan are gathered around a table eating thirty-one different varieties of cashew nuts from thirty-one bowls in the middle of the table.

Memory #162: From the four hundred-strong menu the clan have chosen the following types of cashew nuts: garlic, honey, rosbif, capuccino, toothpaste, earth, beer, orange, richter scale, lime, pepper, fruit pastilles, cajun, seaweed, cajun seaweed, conker, paper, cumin, thyme, peanut, pineapple, hip-hop, ink, dew, tomato, cobweb, revenge, dystopia, onion, dandelion and chocolate.

Memory #163: Thirty one? Yes, there had been a new addition to the clan – Ebjarb Joobjarb, the bouncing baby son of Ebwarb Woobwarb, father, and Ejwarj Woojwarj, mother. I congratulated them and contemplated the stitched-together name.

Memory #164: I envisage generations and generations of oddly named children until the name Edward Woodward is completely lost, the years carrying it further and further away until it is all but burnt in a huge wicker effigy.

Memory #165: Back in the here and now they all seem to be enjoying their cashew nuts so I glance quickly at the menu which also includes: mango chutney, pesto, plastic, story, vanilla essence, sweat, asparagus, old rope and absinthe but, deciding I am not in the mood for cashew nuts I leave it for another day.

Memory #166: The opening of Cashew’s has affected the trade of the the space-ship-shop-shippitity-shop-ship-shop-open-non-stop (to give it its full name) and so I go there to show my support and buy some whisky and another toblerone. Chocolate, like cheese, just seems better in triangles.

Memory #167: It is nice to see out of the window into space again. The fish peer in at me as if we had a casual relationship like perhaps we meet at bus stops and since they had not seen me for a while they had wondered where I was. They had no idea where to start enquiring about me. Of course we do not know each other but we exist on the fringes of our respective memories.

Memory #168: I curl up on my rounded plastic seat and enjoy falling asleep in it. Soon though I slide off the seat again. I think it has been polished whilst I was away.

Memory #169: Now seems like as good a time as any to try out Cashew’s. My stomach seems to be revolting at just being fed endless toblerones.

Memory #170: The food at Cashew’s is quite expensive and so I must go to a cash machine on the way. I take my bank cassette out of its plastic case and insert it into the hole. The machine fluuurrps it in. The cassette is a modern space invention which stores information on miles of magnetic tape. This space age invention is not without its problems – the tape often becomes tangled and can completely confuse your important finance details.

Memory #171: Today it is happy to give me money and so I take some out and at Cashew’s I order the autumn leaves flavoured cashews for my stomach and a portion of chewing gum flavoured cashews for me.

Memory #172: I like to think whilst I eat. I think about floating in space. Have I always been floating in space? I can’t remember. I can’t remember not floating in space and I can’t remember getting on the spaceship. But then, I have a memory of a home. Once. A long long woolly way away. Away from where I am floating in space. I must have always been floating in space.

Long Beach Crawfish Festival | 2008. 2+ lbs of live steamed crawfish, red baby potatoes, corn on the cob, cajun dipping sauce. Awesome.

HAD to eat it again, but boy is it hard to find. Eventually got word that live crawfish might be at a certain major asian supermarket, so we went to the major-est one. No dice. Tried another. Live, no. But frozen, YES! Fully cooked and pre-packaged, but close enough! Into the shopping basket went 2-5lb packs of frozen Cajun seasoned crawfish. From China. Meh, close enough.

With the pack opened back at home, we could tell that they indeed were definitely from China: Dirty on the bottom, and seasoned with what looked like paprika (and probably with some lead sprinkled in there somewhere). Hmm.

Round #1: Did an actual Louisiana Crawfish Boil, complete with boil seasoning actually obtained FROM Louisiana (thanks, Helen).  Pimped it up with corn-on-the-cob, hot links, and potatoes. However, crawfish FAIL. Dry, rubbery, overcooked. Sides were awesome though (but really, how can you go wrong with corn, hot links, and potatoes?).

Round #2: Steam. Since the Chinese crawfish were so dirty, I was hoping that boiling them would clean them out, but that didn’t go so well when it came to flavor. The steaming method would involve having to scrub them all clean, and then re-season. Ok, fine. Gave them all a good scrubbing and re-seasoned with our secret (more like I don’t remember what was in it) seasoning (see pic above). Crawfish WIN, kind of. Good taste and texture, they were clean,  and life didn’t suck. Still not as good as the festival’s, but then again we were faaaaaaar from the festival crowds, parking, and parking, which is a HUGE plus in my book (I HATE parking). Gotta steam them live, though. That’s gotta be the key.

For now, this satisfied the crawfish craving. But only barely. The quest continues. Live crawfish: you will be found. Oh yes, you will be found.