Sriracha Deviled Eggs

http://www.inner-gourmet.com/2013/03/spice-up-your-easter-sriracha-deviled.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheInner-Gourmet+%28The+Inner-+Gourmet%29

Louisiana Living

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2172553217001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAFYiOQk~,aIzxoReOlPYri4KvyWdegagPEq4JXfyQ&bctid=2257780845001

What Does 2000 Calories Look Like

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rgaqwFPU7cc&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrgaqwFPU7cc%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded

Sandwiches of New Orleans

http://nola.eater.com/archives/2013/03/26/here-are-15-of-new-orleans-most-iconic-sandwiches.php

The Best Guinness Beef Stew

Very important to include the last  ingredient in the recipe. Absolutely essential.
http://startcooking.com/guinness-stout-beef-stew

National Muffuletta Day

Today is National Muffuletta Day. The muffuletta has an obvious Italian ancestry, but it was created in New Orleans, from which it has spread to some other parts of the country in recent years. A well-made muffuletta is one of the world's best sandwiches, and a perfect lunch for a meeting that needs its brains cleared. (As long as everybody is eating it, anyway.)

Although it's obviously Italian, you won't find muffulettas in Italy. The word is a rarely-used Sicilian dialect word for a big, round, thick loaf bread. That's what a New Orleans Italian (there is dispute over who he was) used to make a new kind of panino in the early 1900s. The unique touch wasn't the bread but the dressing: a chunky salad of olives, peppers, garlic, and various marinated vegetables. Also in there are ham, Genoa salami, mozzarella Swiss cheese (at least), plus mortadella and provolone (perhaps). A muffuletta is essentially an antipasto sandwich. 

It's a fascinating battle between elements with powerful flavors (salami, garlic, olives) and those with mellow, moderating flavors (cheese, olive oil, and crusty bread). The ham centers everything else. It's a flavor like nothing else in the sandwich world.
Two controversies attend the muffuletta. The first is who invented it. We know that it came out of first-generation New Orleans Italian grocery stores in the French Quarter. The Central Grocery voices the loudest claim to have created the sandwich, but there are too many other stories out there to take that as gospel.
The other issue is whether it should be served hot, as it commonly is these days. It did not start that way, and the old muffuletta mills never have heated their sandwiches. I think that heating a muffuletta upsets the balance of flavors, makes the meats greasy and the cheeses slimy, and ruins the olive salad. But most shops now heat muffs automatically. This is a move away from the sandwich's origins, and it must be stopped. The New Orleans Menu Daily. Tom Fitzmorris

Had my first muffuletta at Central Grocery several years ago. Not heated. Cannot imagine eating one that has been heated.

Buying Olive Oil

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/3-things-know-buying-olive-oil-143300463.html

How to Use Lemongrass in Your Cooking

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Z7pogJMaE70&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZ7pogJMaE70%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

Ma Po Dofu

Recipe adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop

Ingredients:

1 block tofu (approximately 500g in total), cubed - I used egg tofu which is what I prefer although traditionally white tofu is used, choose according to what you prefer
3 stalks green onions, sliced (save the green parts for garnish)
2 cloves garlic, minced roughly
2 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 pound minced chicken, pork or beef
2 tsps ground toasted Sichuan peppercorns
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp sugar or to taste
1 tbsp light soy sauce or to taste
3 tbsps daobanjiang (chilli bean paste)
2 tbsps potato flour mixed with 3 tbsps water (use corn starch if not available, potato starch makes the dish glossier)

.Method:

Bring a wok of lightly salted water to a boil.  Gently place the cubed tofu into the water and turn heat down to medium and allow to simmer for about 2 minutes.  Remove tofu and drain.  Set aside.

Heat your wok until almost smoking.  Add 2 tbsps cooking oil.  Turn heat to medium-low and quickly add in the garlic and green onion slices.  Stir around to avoid burning and add in the minced chicken or the meat of your choice.  Turn heat up and stir around till lightly browned.

Add in the daobanjiang and black beans and stir chicken well to mix.  Stir-fry for about 30 seconds on high heat.  This gives the dish the essential 'wok hei' or wok's breath.

Add in the drained tofu gently to avoid breaking and pour in the chicken stock.  Mix the tofu gently with the chicken by using a very light hand. Do a taste test and add sugar and light soy sauce.  Do another taste test and add more if desired.  Turn heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for about 8 minutes.  

While the tofu is simmering, prepare the potato starch mixture.  Add in the starch tablespoon by tablespoon, while mixing well.  Once you see the sauce thickening and the tofu appearing glossier, turn off heat and dish out.  Garnish with some green onions and add another sprinkling of ground Sichuan pepper if desired.  Serve hot.

Cajun Chicken & Sausage Pasta

Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta:

from MyRecipes.com 

Ingredients

• 1 tbs butter
• 1 lbs medium-size fresh shrimp, peeled and deviened
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 – 2 lb chicken boneless, skinless, dark or light meat, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1  (12-ounce) package fettuccine
• 1/2  lbs Andouille sausage, chopped
• 1/2  cup  butter or margarine
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 1  small green bell pepper, chopped
• 4  celery ribs, chopped
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teas red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2  tbs salt-free Cajun seasoning
• See my Sept 12 post on Colonel Paul's Cajun Seasoning
• 3  tbs all-purpose flour
• 2  cups  chicken broth
• 1 1/2  cups  heavy cream
• 6  oz pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed (Velveeta)
• 3/4  cup  chopped green onions
• 1/3  cup  grated Parmesan cheese
• 3  tbs chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

In a large non-stick skillet melt the butter over medium heat and cook shrimp until no longer pink, 3 minutes a side. Set aside and cover.
In a large stock pot, or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat oil until shimmering. Brown chicken on all sides 5-10 minutes. Check for doneness and place chicken in a bowl and set aside. Cook sausage 10 minutes, until browned. Add to chicken in bowl and cover.
Meanwhile, prepare fettuccine according to package directions; drain and set aside.
In the same stock pot, add onion, pepper, celery, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes. Stir in Cajun seasoning and flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly stir in chicken broth, whisking to avoid clumps. Increase heat to medium-high heat and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce to a simmer and stir in heavy cream and pasteurized cheese; stir to melt cheese.
Stir in reserved chicken, sausage and pasta. Toss to coat evenly. Add shrimp, green onions, Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Serve.
Stir in chopped green onions, Parmesan cheese, and chopped fresh parsley.