Potato Pirogi

I had a coupon for Mrs T's Pirogi. I bought the potato ones which to tell the truth are the only ones in the store. The best pirogi I ever had was at a restaurant in the Polish embassy in London. This is my version of it. Below is the butter and oil coming up to temperature

A whole onion sliced thinly

Into the pool with a little salt to bring out the moisture in the onions

The frozen pirogi

The onion at various stages. I have no patience so I cook on high heat and stir constantly to achieve the caramelization

The pirogi joining the fun

Almost ready to come out and go in my mouth

On the plate ready to eat

In future I will do two things different. I will blanch the pirogi so the dough on the edges hydrate a little. These edges were a little tough. Also I will get some sour cream to stir into it off heat. However this was fine. A little tough dough on the edge did not throw off my enjoyment.

El Tapatio Lunch

I have a lady that cleans my house every two weeks. Sometimes she is still at it when I get home (I only work to 1 PM) as she did today. I go to this venue as it is just around the corner from me. No pictures this time as I forgot my camera at home. You will just have to do with word pictures.

I like to have a something to start off with. However their so called appetizers are a full meal for one person. Luckily they have an a la carte menu. I chose a tamale this time. Another one of my favorites. They don't just send out a bare tamale they dress it first. Sprinkled with white melting cheese and taco meat then smothered in their ranchero sauce, it goes under a broiler to warm. The tamale itself is on the small size but well portioned. I solid core of tasty meat with a thin coat of masa. It is very good.

For entree I tried something different, Chile Colorado. Strips of tender beef that had been heated on a flattop until crispy then the ranchero sauce put on top. Spanish rice and refried beans with white cheese on top accompanied it as did some corn tortilla. The sauce is like a creamy tomato sauce with a medium spice level and deep flavors. This may be my fourth favorite meal here. I am sure I will eat number two and three sometime in the future.

I am finished with the review cycle and will try and catch up with posts here. starting tomorrow.

Frey's Crawfish House

I am trying a different tack with my reviews. Instead of posting them here I want people to read them in the Lagniappe. I will however post the pictures I took with commentary while I was in the process of reviewing the restaurant. I have set up a poll to measure the response to this. Take a vote if you so desire.

Here is the link

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/18160802/285271058

Also it may be a day or two before I post again as I am in my writing reviews cycle before my deadline. Should be Thursday at the latest.

Yank Sing

This small Chinese at 4626 Nelson road seems to be an often forgotten venue at least by me. I recently rediscover it and one of my favorite dishes. They have a small buffet but the menu is much more interesting. I tend to be there at the shank of lunch. Usually just me and the service staff. I kinda like it like. Not into big crowds. At that time nice friendly service and I am normally not in a hurry so they seem to relax. Pictured below is my favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant if they have it. Many do not. It is Pepper Shrimp or sometimes called Salt and Pepper Shrimp. It could be squid also but I went with shrimp this time. It is usually seafood. Each venue does it a little different which delights me no end. Here they coat the shrimp in light dusting of cornstarch then deep fry. It then goes into a wok with a seasoning mix of salt, a tiny bit of sugar, pepper flakes, and green onion tops. It is stir fried until most of the seasoning adheres to the shrimp. I absolutely love it


I visited again. The previous time I had tried steamed dumplings but they were so horrible I took no pictures of them. This time I got a spring roll. Nice little fried roll made with the thinner springroll wrapper instead of the thicker eggroll wrap. It had a nice blend of veg and pork in it. The condiments included gloppy sweet and sour, nose piercing mustard and chili flake oil

The main course was Ginger Squid. I love ginger and got it on just that basis. It turned out to be a stir fry dish of squid, ginger slices, bok choy, and green onions. The flavors were wonderful but most of the squid had been overcooked and a bit chewy. Some were OK but most not. The other thing about this establishment I love is that I can get a bowl of just plain white rice. While I like stir fried rice as a meal I want white to eat with my meal. Must be the Cajun/Coonass in me.

Think of this venue when all the rest of the cookie cutter Chinese in town wear thin.

Lagniappe Cafe (Warning Pig Innards Portrayed)

As promised I am giving equal time to Sean. About a month ago he started doing his pig feast on alternate Sundays. He is located at 1825 I-10 in the truck stop housing a casino. Give them a call at 436-1151 to see if they are doing it. He fixes three dishes and you can order separate but I always go for the trifecta. They are Chitlins, Tripe and Pigs Feet. All are braised until fall off the bone tender. The chitlins have a slight vinegar tang. The tripe not chewy. The feet succulent with lots of unctuous mouth feel. Pictured below is the bowl of delight.

















Here are the sides. Smoky, vinegary greens. Sweet luscious sweet potatoes and great hunk of cornbread to sop up the various juice. I left near to busting but happy

During the week they offer one of the finest plate lunches in the city with all BBQ on Saturday cooked before your very eyes out in the parking lot. At this point in time I consider the finest plate lunch in town

Gustav

Sorry about not posting the last couple of days. The title says it all. Worry and stress whether I made the right choice to stay are not muses for me. Also obsessive watching of the weather channel, local station, and going on the Internet to check the two hurricane sites I trust take up a lot of time and energy. I stayed home and in preparation started going through the refrigerator to eat all the perishables and freezer items. Over the course of three days I had two bacon and egg breakfasts (I usually average 1 every 2 months). One with English fry bread and one with grits. I made sandwiches from the ham roast and a one skillet meal (no great shakes) that I had a coupon for. I also noshed on home made cracklins and some blue cheese. This morning I made a sort of hash scrambled eggs dish with the last of the ham roast, some canned potatoes, sun dried tomatoes, chipotle peppers and eggs. Not the best looking stuff but quite tasty. Barring the intervention of Ivan things should be getting back to normal. I have some backlog from before the storm that I will post in the next couple of days.

Fresh Ham Roast

As you may know me and my cousin went in on a hog. I ordered the ham section (rear leg) not to be cured and smoked. I want to try it like fresh pork. Ham being part of a primary muscle has little intramuscular fat so I thought I would brine it to insure juiciness. Here is the 5 lb roast in its brine. I used a product I brought at the Williams-Sonoma store in New Orleans. It has not only the sugar and salt but a number of spices including thyme, sage, dehydrated orange peel etc





Here is the roast after a pat down. I forgot I was suppose to rinse it. That resulted in the outside being a tad salty (nothing I could not handle) but the interior was fine

I had some of this in the frig so I inject a couple of syringes into the meat

This is the roast sitting ready in my tabletop appliance. It uses both convection and light to cook.

The Thane Flavor Wave in action. If you google thane it will bring you to the site where you can get more info on this device. I swear by it. I even bake in it.

The roast at the halfway mark. Ready to be turned over.

Finally product. Total time 1 3/4 hours. Last 15 minutes I put an impromptu root beer glaze on it. The day before I had done refrigerator biscuit donuts and tossed them in a cinnamon sugar. I got to thinking. I did not have root beer but I did have root beer extract. I add a little of that to the sugar and some yellow mustard and then thinned it out to the consistency I wanted with a little blackberry wine I had in the frig. Came out very tasty

Final dish of sliced fresh ham with some pan juices, broccoli sprouts, and lima bean. I am stuffed like a tick