Sunday Recipe: All on a Mardi Gras Day Gumbo

As regulars know, I love all things New Orleans (except that nasty baby jesus king cake -- yech) and recently returned from a blissed out week of food, drink and music in the Crescent City. Today, to a soundtrack featuring Dr. John, Big Chief Bo Dollis, Ingrid Lucia, Trombone Shorty, Kermit Ruffins and others, Geargirl embarked on some serious gumbo research. (I fiddled around with said soundtrack on iTunes -- because I'm helpful that way.)

If you're expecting seafood in this gumbo, move on. Seafood gumbo is not in season in NOLA, so this is the winter version, with andouille sausage and chicken. There is a third variety of gumbo -- a green gumbo which I do intend to try to make when summer's bounty is available -- and I'll be using the recipe of the incomparable Leah Chase. At any rate, this is a gumbo based on that at Liuzza's by the Track. And if you happen to be in NOLA, do go to Liuzza's and eat some gumbo for me. (If it's a Monday, do get the red beans and rice.)

Sunday Recipe: Best of NOLA, the Food (and Beer) Edition

A solid week in New Orleans is only a fraction of the time you need to eat your way through the city and while I didn't have a single disappointing meal, these are the culinary highlights of my trip.

The Dooky Chase experience. Dooky Chase has been around since, well, since forever and chef Leah Chase (pictured above outside her magnificent restaurant) started working her magic in the kitchen in the 1950's. Miss Leah has been described as the Queen of Creole Cooking, but I always tell friends that she is to creole soul food what Lidia Bastianich is to italian. Yeah, Leah Chase is just that good. According to what I've read, she isn't at the restaurant full-time anymore, but we had the luck to have lunch on a day when she was there and we had a few minutes to chat with her when she stopped by our table. (Now I can die in peace. Seriously.)