Cochon Butcher

A friend of mine owed me a meal so I had her take me to Butcher. More than a butcher shop, Butcher is part of the Donald Link restaurant group. Browse their counter for house cured meats and sausages, order exotic meat like rabbit, venison or a whole pig or sit down at one of their tables for a sandwich or bar food.

I went for the Cochon au lait po-boy. The sandwich wasn't one of those horrendously oversized po-boys but, rather, a decent size for a single individual to eat. The meat was tender and the mushroom gravy were delicious. I would have preferred less cheese on top but, as it kept the meat from falling out, it ended up being a good match. The house made potato chips were pretty tasteless, though.

My dining companion had the tomato pesto sandwich which she almost enjoyed as much as the BLT she had gotten the last time. We split the pancetta mac and cheese (good but not a lot for $6) and I also got a pretzel. Good strong mustard came with it and it reminded me a lot of German pretzels from Oktober Fests. Both of us were kicking ourselves for skipping over the bacon praline--I guess I'll just have to go back.

The one real issue is how cramped the place is. There are not that many tables and they were all full when we showed up at 1:30pm. We ordered our meal to go and it still took 30 minutes for the order to come up. Not ideal when there were four people behind the counter.

I certainly enjoyed my meal and want to try a few of the other items on the menu but I will probably call ahead to pick up my order. I'll also probably stick to Rare Cuts for my butcher needs--$16/lb for bacon is a little out of my price range!

Pork Shoulder

My father went hunting for deer this January and came back with a wild pig. I took the shoulder and I did a paint on it of mustard and herbs and then cooked it low and slow in my Weber kettle grill for three hours.

As wild pig has a little stronger taste than domesticated pork, the paint added a good flavor. I also basted with leftover apple cider that had a little apple cider vinegar added to it.


The barbarians who came for dinner must have thought it was edible.


Old South Louisiana Paint:

1/2 cup Creole mustard
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
2 T cup dried rosemary leaves, crushed

Mix all together and spread on meat in a thin coat. Refrigerate any remainder in an airtight container.

Pimm's Cup

Carnival season in New Orleans lasts from Twelfth Night (January 6) to Fat Tuesday. Today was Mardi Gras and it was quite warm, so I took the opportunity to work on my Pimm's Cup. I really like the version served at Napoleon House in the French Quarter but wanted to have a version that I could recreate at home. After a few attempts of trying to strike a balance between sweet and sharp, I think I've come up with a delicious version



Pimm's Cup

1.5 ounces Pimm’s No. 1
3 ounces lemonade (I used Tropicana)
Ginger Ale
Cucumber spear

Mix together Pimm’s and lemonade in a 12 oz glass. Top off with Ginger Ale and ice. Stir. Garnish with cucumber spear.

High Hat Cafe

I joined a fellow board member from the LGBT Community Center to continue my eating journey down Freret Street. We went to High Hat Cafe. Right across from the Sojourner Truth Academy, it delivers on the promise of casual dining with locally sourced food.

I started with a Satsuma Lemonade and was convinced by the waitress to come back later to give their Satsuma mojitos a try.

My lunch was the fried chicken plate that came with pimento mac & cheese and a bowl of greens. The coating on the chicken was cornmeal and it delivered a nice crunch. The chicken itself was juicy and tender. I really enjoyed the mac & cheese and tried to get my dining companion to eat my greens. A pescetarian, she tasted the hamhock that the greens were cooked in and wouldn't take more than that single bite. She enjoyed the BBQ shrimp and a side of the stone ground grits, which she raved about. We finished the meal with the chocolate chess pie. The crust was flaky and the filling delicious, making the pie itself the perfect Southern ending for the meal.

We very much enjoyed our lunch and I'm looking forward to returning to try the catfish and their full bar.

Hot Mulled Apple Cider

When the Mardi Gras season is chilly and damp, I make a crock pot full of hot apple cider, mulled with spices and citrus zest. My crock pots holds three quarts so I usually buy a quart and a half of unfiltered apple juice and then make up the remainder with the cheapest apple juice I can buy. Make sure you're buying 100% apple juice and not a blend.



Per one quart of apple juice:
One stick of cinnamon
Twenty whole black peppercorns
Three whole cloves
Two tablespoons honey (or brown sugar)

In addition to these four ingredients, use the zest from half a lemon, lime, or lemon-sized orange for each quart of apple juice.

Toast the cinnamon, peppercorns and cloves in a saucepan. It will only take a couple of minutes for them to release the oils. Pour in apple juice and the sweetener to dissolve. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Pour through a strainer into the crock pot and simmer for 1 hour. Turn low and it will be good all day.

To adultify—add a half ounce of blood orange liquor or limoncello to the mug. Stir with a cinnamon stick.

Pizza Tonight!

I love pizza and I always keep the ingredients for it on hand for those nights when I have a craving. My personal favorite is pepperoni, mushroom, artichoke hearts. I use frozen artichoke hearts rather than canned, as they don't taste quite so citrusy from the anti-browning agents. While you can buy ready to go pizza dough from the grocery store and even some pizza parlors, for this quick pizza I use a tube of pizza dough.

Skillet Pizza
1 tube pizza dough
1 can tomato sauce
2 tsp dried sweet basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 small can button mushroom, sliced
1/2 package of pepperoni slices
6 or so artichoke halves, chopped
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put a 12 inch cast iron into the oven during the preheat.

Heat the tomato sauce in a small saucepan. Add in the seasonings and heat over a small flame. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Take the pizza dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 12 inches round.

Pull the skillet out of the oven and drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom to coat. Lightly sprinkle in some corn meal.

Place the pizza crust into the skillet and build up the edges. Brush with a little more olive oil and bake for 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven and put on sauce, meat, veggies. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes. Put on cheese and slide back into the oven for about 5 minutes more--pizza is done with cheese is golden and bubbly.

Let pizza stand for 3 to 5 minutes to keep from burning the roof of your mouth with that first bite. Cut and serve with a nice, full bodied red wine.

Venison Ragout

Both ragu (Italian) and ragout (French) are meat stews with a name derived from the root ragouter which means "to stimulate the appetite." The Italian version is usually made with white wine and is served over pasta. The French version uses red wine and is typically served with potatoes.

My version of Ragoo use vension roast for the meat. I served it over mashed potatoes. I also make my own Creole seasoning for reduction of salt and better flavor.

Venison Ragout

Makes 6 servings

2 pounds venison roast (or 2 lbs lean beef) cut into 2-inch cubes

½ cup flour
1 T Creole Seasoning
 (recipe below)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium-size onion, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cups beef broth or stock

1 cups dry red wine

1 cup canned diced tomatoes, with juices

1 bay leaves

1 T dried parsley flakes


Sprinkle the flour with the seasoning and stir to combine. Dredge the meat. Reserve the flour. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the meat evenly on all sides. Remove meat from pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the reserved flour and cook 5 minutes to start the roux. Gradually stir in the broth and red wine, and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves. Return the meat to the pan. Cover and cook over low heat for 1 ½ hours.

Add the parsley and serve over mashed or roasted potatoes.

Creole Seasoning Recipe

1/3 Cup Kosher Salt

1/3 Cup Paprika

1/4 Cup Granulated Garlic

4 Tbsp Onion Powder

1/3 Cup Freshly Ground Black Pepper

3 Tbsp White Pepper

2 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp Dried Thyme

2 Tbsp Dried Basil

1 Tbsp Dried Oregano

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight jar or plastic container.

The Company Burger

I'm continuing my food adventures down Freret Street. This time was a stop at The Company Burger. It is a pretty spartan place, with minimalist decor and concrete floors but they grind their meat and make their own pickles, so I was ready to be impressed.

I ordered the single cheeseburger that comes with bread and butter pickles and red onions. The bun was warm and toasty and the burger was very flavorful, although the slice of American cheese was almost too small. I tried my friend's turkey burger and it was astonishingly good.

We split onion rings (thin sliced and perfectly salted), French fries (crisp outside, soft interior) and sweet potato fries (yummy). I found out their bottle Cokes come from Mexico (where they still use real sugar) and ordered two. Very refreshing!

The ordering line is smooth but the wait at lunch for a table can be long and cut-throat. We finished our meal and had to endure the stink eye from several hunger diners as we wrapped up our conversation. Worth returning to but maybe I'll go next time outside of the lunch rush.

Drago's for Lunch

I met up with some friends at Drago's Seafood Restaurant in Metairie. I personally prefer that location over the one at the New Orleans' Hilton but I was also meeting up with people who were driving in from Lafayette, LA and, after lunch, catching a flight to Atlanta.

We started with a dozen charbroiled oysters that tasted a lot like more, so we followed them up with another half dozen.


I settled on the fried shrimp plate for my main course. While the side salad that came with it was mainly iceberg lettuce, the plate came with over a dozen lightly battered and delicious fried shrimp and a whole lot of French fries. I quite enjoyed my meal. My companions enjoyed their lump crab meat salads. They did say that the cup of gumbo they shared lost a bit in comparison to the version they had after their swamp tour in Cajun country.

All in all a fine dining experience, with the waiter checking in regularly and making sure drinks were quickly refilled.

Circles and Squares

This is a big football weekend here in New Orleans. The beloved Saints play the Detroit Lions on Saturday for the NFL playoff game and then the BCS Championship game between Alabama's Crimson Tide and Tigers of Louisiana State University is played on Monday. The city is filled with rapid football fans. It is also the beginning of Carnival Season (kicks off on Twelfth Night - January 6-- and runs until Mardi Gras - February 21).

In preparation, I made a big batch of my version of Chex Mix which I call Circles and Squares. I'm not a fan of the peanuts and pretzels, so mine is all Crispex and Cheerios.

Here is the recipe:


Circles and Squares

1 box Crispex cereal (15 oz) about 12 cups
1 box Cheerios cereal (8.9 oz) about 6 cups
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons seasoned salt
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder

Stir cereal in a large roasting pan to mix. Combine rest of the ingredients together and pour over the cereal, stirring well to coat evenly. Bake 1 hour in a 250 degree oven, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.