NOLA, I love you and I haven't even met you.

In 2007 I fell in love with New Orleans chef, John Besh, when he was on The Next Iron Chef. Everything he cooked just screamed out to me. I wanted to taste every. single. thing. he made. I've always had chefs that I like but Besh is the first one that I love. It also doesn't hurt that he's pretty handsome for an older dude. If I ever met him in person I'm sure I would make a total ass of myself. Like the time I met Dr. G: Medical Examiner at Brick and Fire Pizza. I was so nervous that I told her that if I ever died a mysterious death I would want her to do my autopsy. I said this in front of her kids. Yeah, it was awkward.
Besh made it to the finals but lost to Micheal Symon who is also amazing, but there was still something about Besh that just called to me. It was then that my obsession with Creole and Cajun cooking started. And New Orleans in general.
I started reading more about NOLA like Mardi Gras and the French Quarter and started to learn more about Cajun foods like the holy trinity, crawfish, and Andouille sausage. I made a list of restaurants I wanted to visit if I ever went there. I took notes from people like Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain when I watched the Travel Channel. Places like Mother's, Cochon, and Antoine's head the list along with some of Besh's restaurants like August and La Provence.

Around this time I met Tim. My friend started dating this guy and Tim was that guy's roommate. I was busy dating some other douchbag so I didn't pay to much attention to him but we'd chat a little if I ever saw him out at a bar or something. I learned that Tim was from New Orleans and given my new obsession, it would often come up in conversation. I broke up with the douchbag about a year ago. Me and Tim started talking more, then hanging out more, then we started dating. It's been about six months now. Lauren is happy.
Tim is my living reference when I have anything to ask about NO or it's food. We ate at Mojo Cajun Bar and Grill a while back and it totally blew. He ordered the Jambalaya with red beans and rice. He said that both of those are staples and not too hard to make so if they get it wrong, they must really suck. Well, they got it wrong. Here is my review on Yelp.

For Christmas the first thing on my list (yes, I still make a list) was My New Orleans, The Cookbook, by John Besh. My brother got it for me and it was one of my favorite presents. Not only do I read it sometimes at night like it's a murder/mystery book or something, but it's my go-to cookbook for pretty much anything. Not only is there over 200 recipes but in the beginning of every chapter, JB tells a personal story and gives a little history lesson on what the chapter is about. This book made me fall more in love and have an even deeper appreciation for New Orleans.
My first attempt at a traditional Cajun dish was red beans and rice. Up until I read the recipe I really had no idea that it took so long. I followed John's recipe exactly except for instead of using butter I used duck fat. It took about three hours simmering on my stove. It was delicious except for the ham hocks. I don't know what kind of hocks Besh uses but the ones I got were almost inedible. I understand using a cut of meat with the bone in so I think next time I'll use one for flavor but use ham and Andouille to actually eat and throw the ham hock away at the end.

I went shrimping last weekend. It was a pretty slow night. Caught about four dozen. The next night I made some "bang bang" shrimp and some peel and eats with a homemade smokey cocktail sauce. I had onions, celery, and carrots in the fridge so I saved the heads and shells and made some shrimp stock. I, of course, referred to My New Orleans for guidance and I will use it again when I use my stock to make Barbeque Shrimp or Shrimp and Grits.

In 2008 I went to the Abacos, Bahamas for two weeks. Shortly after I planned to go back for my 30th birthday. I've recently changed my mind. I'm going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. While I'm there I plan on going to a few of the restaurants on my list. My nephew is going to be back from Afghanistan by then but will still be at 29 Palms til' next May until his career as a Marine is over. He told me he plans on using some of his leave time to meet me in Nawlins for my birthday. Damn, NOLA, you in trouble.