Chocolate Espresso Pecan Pie

Homemade Pie. Those two words alone have the ability to transport you to a different era. A different era because, let's face it, homemade pie is not part of our era. This may be due in part to the reality that people don't take the time to make their own pie crust anymore. Sure, you can make your own pie with a pre-made, frozen crust, but that's not homemade pie. That's homemade filling. Or maybe its because pie is now losing ground to the cheesecakes, bread puddings and creme brulees of our modern day tastes. But as good as the latter may be, they just don't seem to satisfy my craving for pure comfort like pie does. This thanksgiving Lauren took on the challenge of making her first pecan pie. She decided to take this to another level and make it a chocolate, espresso pecan pie. Boy was that a great idea. The light, flaky crust topped with the dense, rich concoction of roasted pecans and decadent chocolate was sensory overload for me and for all that managed to score a slice. Luckily, there were many takers of the pie, otherwise I'd have a few extra pounds to show from my holiday eating.

Rib Stickin', Finger Lickin' Good Thing Going Here

The ribs were awesome. The pasta and salad equally delicious. The fact that everyone is pulling out all the stops to make every Eat Together a great time, leaves me at a loss for words. Are there more gourmet cooks in my family than I realized? Yes. But, what is being revealed on a monthly basis goes far beyond what's on the plate. Everyone is trying, and succeeding on all levels. There's been no wishy-washy commitments or second-guessing suppers. You are opening your doors, showing us a little more of who you are and sending us on our way stuffed like a turkey (thanksgiving pun.) For this is not merely an opportunity to show off your cooking skills, but in a much bigger picture you are in fact showing us your version of "passing a good time." No one will argue that as New Orleanians we like to eat and be merry. And as the old adage goes, where there's food, there's people. But aside from all the great menus we are putting together, we're creating comfort, memories and an experience. We're past all the small talk now, for just below the surface, there is a tradition brewing. Or maybe it's a ritual, or maybe it's just what we should have been doing all along. Whatever you want to call it, it seems to be working. In this week of giving thanks, I say thanks to all of you for making this such a great family.

Po Boy Festival...yeah you right!

I wanted to help put the word out on this one. The definitive New Orleans food now has it's own one day festival. On Sunday, from noon-6:00 you can sample some of the finest poboys New Orleans has to offer. All the happenings will be taking place between the 8100-8300 blocks of Oak St. over in the riverbend. Oh, and most importantly they will have a big TV set up for the Saints game so all can watch while stuffing their face. See everyone tomorrow.

Spirit of Giving - Donors Choose Campaign

In the spirit of the season I am challenging members of my family to donate to a worthy cause. There is plenty to read and learn about Donors Choose and please do so at www.donorschoose.org, but in a nutshell this is a non-profit organization that receives proposals from teachers all across the country and allows those who wish to contribute, to sign on to the proposal(s) of their choice and thus donate to or raise money for the project. It is a donation marketplace and the best part is that it will go directly from us to the school to fulfill the needs. You will see displayed on the blog a fundraising graphic which will monitor how much we have raised for the project. Click on the green tab below that reads "Donate To My Challenge" and this will bring you to the donation page where you are then able to click on the project to learn all the details of the teacher's proposal, including itemized costs, implementation of the donated materials and goals of the project. Among the many proposals to donate to, I have chosen this one because it is based on teaching low income, immigrant children all the benefits of cooking and eating meals together, and how cooking knowledge lends itself to a better understanding of math, reading and science. I am excited to take on this challenge and even more excited to get others involved. Please also feel free to involve extended family and friends that are not members of our blogging community. Happy Holidays!

The German Pretzel Project

Making pretzels from scratch takes a while. In fact it takes just long enough to qualify as a project and not just a recipe. However, this is one project that rewards you for all of your hard work. Fresh, warm pretzels are as satisfying as a homemade bread or a pizza crust made just before you baked it. This process starts with making a yeast dough, kneading it for a bit then letting it rise for a while. Then kneading the dough again and rolling it out into seperate sticks and letting it rise or puff once again for a while. Then boiling the sticks for about thirty seconds and draining them to dry. Then egg-washing each stick and sprinkling vigorously with kosher salt before you slide them into the oven. The result about 10 minutes later are soft, moist, delicious, salty pretzels. Great on their own but even better dipped into german or yellow mustard.

Lunch, Love & LSU in Lakeview

Now that we are "NUMBER 1" in all the land, we thought we'd have over the "NUMBER 1" family over for eats and drinks. Please join us this Saturday, November 17th at 2pm at 5907 Catina St in Lakeview, LA. If you need directions, look the LSU flags!!! We're looking forward to making new Hollier family memories!!!

Farmer's Soup

Although it's not actually cold as of yet, the first sign of fall and I immediately want soup. Usually it's soup of the heartier kind - gumbo and french onion soup - because it's comforting and it's what I know how to make. However this weekend I thought I'd expand my horizons a little bit and make a soup as a farmer would. This actually turned out to be easier than I thought and just as comforting and nourishing. It's a pretty simple formula. Start with your favorite beans (baby lima, black, kidney, white, etc.), add to that a combination of a little bacon, shallots and leeks, then throw in the vegetables that are in season (I used turnips, celery root and carrots), add chicken stock and some fresh herb (I used thyme) and let all the flavors simmer down. Adjust the seasoning to your taste then done deal and delicious. I think I have often been intimidated with making soup on a regular basis because of the time commitment I was used to with making gumbo or onion soup. This is simple though and really focuses more on the freshness of the ingredients. Soup is good food!