When Louisiana summer heats up, Louisiana food cools down. Seldom does gumbo appear on the home dinner table when temps approach 100ºF and the clamor to escape the stifling heat includes the menu. Ice-cold watermelon, sweet-churned ice cream, syrupy sno balls and pitchers of freshly squeezed lemonade are just a few of the warm-weather tricks…
A July 4th Tradition: The Bluesiana Burger
The Fourth of July holiday is my favorite family holiday: no last-minute dash for flowers, no arduous trek to the mall for gifts, not even a holiday card. It’s just a leisurely American celebration of family and freedom. And it’s the perfect day to fire up the grill. I’ve always had a hunger for hamburgers,…
Coffee-Rubbed Short Rib Burger
Fire up the backyard grill for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend; it’s time for a classic hamburger. With my recipe for a Short Rib Burger featuring a spicy seasoning with Louisiana coffee, I am out to create a new classic burger. I’ve done it before, and it’s high time to do it again. It’s been…
5 Keys To The Perfect Muffuletta
Here in Acadiana, we love a celebration, and with Mardi Gras coming up, our party season is just getting started. Parties, balls, parades — the Mardi Gras celebration in Louisiana doesn’t really stop until early March when the Lenten season calms things down. So, with plenty of party planning still ahead, it’s time for a…
Fried Oyster Sandwich on Brioche Bun
This sandwich is perfection on a bun. Crispy, flash-fried Louisiana oysters nestled in a soft, brioche-type bun, studded with jalapeno peppers and slathered with sauce. It is crave-worthy indeed. Rachael’s Cafe in Lafayette, Louisiana, is home to this sandwich perfection. Just off busy Kaliste Saloom Road and tucked into a nondescript strip shopping center that’s…
Overstuffed Fried Crawfish Po’Boy
It’s the crispy crunch of the first bite into this sandwich that signals all the good things to come. It’s sensory overload when hot, right-out-of-the-fryer crawfish tails meet the perfectly dressed French bread loaf in the po’boy of my dreams—the Overstuffed Fried Crawfish Po’Boy. Whenever I get close to New Iberia, Louisiana, my car has…
Who Has The Best Burger in Acadiana?
It’s burger season, ya’ll! National Hamburger Week and the Memorial Day holiday are all the signals South Louisiana needs to fire up the grill and break out the buns. Put away the propane crawfish boiling rigs; summertime backyard burger bashes are firing up all over Acadiana. “Who has the best burger in Acadiana?” is the…
Pulled Pork Sandwich on Sweet Potato Waffle
This creative, open-face sandwich is piled high with flavor. If a mound of fall-apart tender pulled pork weren’t reason enough to come to the table, then layer the pork atop a piping hot sweet potato waffle crowned with tangy Southern slaw. Pass the sauce and start soppin’ up this delicious Pulled Pork Sandwich on Sweet…
Frostop and The Lot-O-Burger
Fresh hand-pressed beef griddled on the flat-top is dressed to impress on a sesame seed bun; it’s my all-time favorite fast-food burger—the Lot-O-Burger, my teenage years between two slices of bread. High school reunions come at you fast. They come in 10s and 20s and 30s as capsuled packets of time that shine light like…
Cajun Cuban Sandwich
With the crunchy snap of your first bite into my Cajun Cuban Sandwich, you just know this one is special. With the unmistakable punch of Creole mustard and the ooze of melted pepper jack blending with all the traditional ingredients in this multi-cultural version of the famous sandwich, this recipe will up your kitchen cred…