Arnaud's - New Orleans

Mike Poor, Hal Pomeranz and I went to Arnaud's in the French Quarter. We set on the side of the restaurant with the jazz band. Mike is a good customer so they gave us a free appetizer. We ordered two appetizers for the table, alligator sausage and crab claws. Hal, ordered a Jameson, Mike ordered a Perrier and I drank tap water.

Both Hal and Mike ordered a filet dish called Plat du Jour and I ordered Fish Pontchartrain. Each of us killed our mains and joined the clean plate club.

For dessert Mike ordered a Praline Crepe and Cappuccino, Hal passed and I ordered a brandy.

Sugar bear and his band were excellent and played for our table twice. Great food, great jazz, great conversation. I am not sure I like New Orleans, but I do like the restaurants.
Update February 5 2013, I saw a link posted by Josh Wright on Youtube of Mike Poor playing with the Gumbo Trio; good on you Mike.

Brennan's - New Orleans

After the college meeting, Toby, Jim, David, Ray, Kathy, and I went to Brennan's for a working dinner. We are seriously behind on our self study and we strategized on how we could play catch up.

We got there right as they opened so it was quiet for our entire meal. Some of the dishes included the Shrimp Samantha, Pepper Filet, Filet Brennan, Tournado Rhys, and Kathy had the Trout Nancy and I had the Redfish Perez. Everyone appreciated the food and the service was excellent as well.

Palace Cafe - New Orleans

It was raining and cold and we went to Palace Cafe which is across the street from the Sheraton. I try to go there at least once every time we come to New Orleans. I had the crusted fish and LOVED the beurre blanc sauce and asked for extra. Yum! Kathy had three sides as a main, turtle soup without the extra sherry, crab claws ( do not miss this starter, it is incredible), and the shrimp remoulade.

Sheraton Canal St - New Orleans

Gosh, this is still a great hotel, but the quality of the food has gone in the tank. I guessed they lost their chef. The crab cakes were not edible. The chicken was dry and tasteless. Even the egg dish, fritatta, this morning was off. I asked if the chef had changed and they said no. Curious.

Daisy Dukes - New Orleans

Yesterday we went to Daisy Dukes. I had the Alligator half Po Boy and Gumbo and Kathy had a salad. The Gumbo was different from any I have had in New Orleans. It tasted great, but it was really thin as if they did not use a Roux. It was more food than either of us could eat, but I did not choose to get a box.

Last night on Kauai - Pono Kai current

Tomorrow we fly for SANS SecEast in New Orleans. Kathy and did manage to go swimming today, lots of sun. There has been a high surf advisory for East shore, but the ocean did not look too bad and I have definitely seen and swam in larger waves. But these were coming in again and again very quickly and the current was the strongest I have seen. It was literally like an infinity pool. With fins on you could hold your position relative to the beach, but it took pretty serious energy to gain ground. We only spent about half the time we usually spend swimming, wanted to have plenty energy if we needed extraordinary effort to get out. But it was not a problem the waves push you into the beach and there was not much of a shore break either.

Dinner party with the Manicos

Don't have time for all the details, but here are a couple of recipes from our party last night with Jim and Tracy Manico.

Cold Tangerine Coconut Soup
Squeeze 6 - 8 tangerines, scoop out the seeds using a fork
Open a can of chilled coconut milk, take only the cream ( you can think of something creative to do with the rest), use a whisk and stir.
That is it and you will enjoy.

Clam and Potato Latkes
1 can clams, ditch the juice
Grated potato, microwave for three minutes, they should be mostly cooked before adding to the dish
Grated cheese 1/4 cup
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flax seed flour
Mix, dish onto a non-stick pan in tablespoon size portions. I do not attempt to flip, I use my broiler to cook the top half.

Falafel Rustico
1 can garbonzo beans ( chick peas), crush so most are paste, but leave a few whole
2 eggs
1/4 cup grated cheese
2 tablespoons flax seed flour
4 tablespoons medium hot salsa

Happy New Years 2013

Last night all of Kauai turned into smoke and noise as the local people celebrate New Years Eve with every kind of firework you can imagine. There were some rather loud bangs, so some of this stuff was the serious dangerous kind. I always wonder what it is like at the emergency room, but maybe people are being careful.

Today is New Years, it is overcast, but I still hope to get into the ocean. Kathy and I slept in a bit and then made a classic breakfast, hash browns, an egg over easy, a couple pieces of chicken for lean protein and asparagus diablo.

I am not going to make a New Years resolution in the classic sense, because this is going to be a year of considerable change. However, I certainly plan to exercise some while I am here and watch my diet carefully. Right now, thinking about ten days is a lot easier than 365 days!