BRINGING HOME THE BACON

J accepted a new job a few weeks ago! His last day with his old company was this past Friday and he started his new position this morning! I grabbed a quick pic of my little fraud and forensic accountant before he left for work...

he spilled water on his pants :(  but it'll dry

He is now working for Bourgeois Bennett, a local Louisiana firm. They have 4 different office locations in Metairie/New Orleans, Houma, Mandeville, and Thibodaux. J was fortunate enough to receive multiple offers during his recent job search. Offers from small local companies all the way up to large international firms like Ernst & Young. The decision was incredibley difficult but after much prayer and discussion we decided Bourgeois Bennett was the best fit. He will have little to no travel which makes for a very happy wife and allows ample evening study time as he finishes up his masters degree and starts his CPA certification. Congratulations on your new job baby! I'm so proud of you!

ALL HALLOW'S EVE

Happy Halloween Y'all!

The pumpkin I carved at work this year...

Mr. Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Some of the other entries that my Audubon coworkers did for the annual carving contest (prepare to be amazed)...

The bumble bees in the mouth pumpkin ended up winning.  My poor Jack Skellington just couldn't compete.  I'll get 'em next year though!  We'll end with this... J and I hope your Halloween doesn't suck like a vampire. Or how about... we hope you are able to dance like a ghost this Halloween and BOOOOgie! Or maybe... the skeleton laughed so hard at our blog that it tickled his funny bone.  Hahahahaha.  You get the idea. 

THANKSGIVING PREP

The man needs no introduction but in case you have been living in a culinary hole for the past decade, that's John Besh, chef extraordinaire! He was recently featured in Country Living magazine and shared some family recipes with readers. They all sounded delicious but there were 2 in particular I'm excited to make and try for Thanksgiving this year. I thought I'd share them (below) so if you need an extra side dish or 2 for Thanksgiving, it's your lucky day.  What is great about these 2 recipes is they cook at the same oven temperature (425 degrees) for almost the same amount of time (30 minutes vs. 35 minutes) and seem easy peasy to throw together.  Enjoy :)

Olive Oil Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Serves 12
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Oven Temp: 425

Ingredients
· 2 head(s) cauliflower, cut into florets
· 1/4 cup(s) olive oil
· 2 clove(s) garlic, sliced
· Salt
· Freshly ground pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower, oil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat once more. Transfer cauliflower to a large baking sheet and roast until golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Sweet Corn Pudding Recipe

Serves 12
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Oven Temp: 425

Ingredients
· 1 stick(s) unsalted butter
· 1 medium onion, chopped
· 2 clove(s) garlic , sliced
· 12 ear(s) (about 9 cups) corn, kernels cut off the cob, or 3 (12 ounces each) frozen bags
· 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
· 1 quart(s) heavy cream
· 1 cup(s) (about 6 tablespoons uncooked) cooked grits
· 3 tablespoon(s) minced canned jalapeno or chile peppers
· Salt
· Freshly ground pepper
· 9 eggs, beaten
· 1 cup(s) (about 4 ounces) shredded white cheddar

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add corn and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes more. Add flour and stir for 1 minute, then stir in cream. Continue to stir until mixture comes to a boil, about 15 minutes. Add cooked grits and remove pot from heat. Stir in jalapenos and season with salt and pepper. With a handheld immersion blender in pot, puree corn mixture while slowly adding eggs until thoroughly incorporated. Pour mixture into a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until center puffs and top turns golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

I'm thinking this will end up being my menu for Turkey Day...

Turkey
Honey Baked Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Olive Oil Roasted Cauliflower (John Besh recipe)
Sweet Corn Pudding (John Besh recipe)
Bread/Rolls
Stuffing

Marshmallow Coconut Fruit Salad
Green Bean Casserole

Stuffed Zucchini
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Apple-n-Praline Pie

Chocolate Wafer Cake

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

HAWAII

BREAKING NEWS:

Benjamin & Alisha are moving to Hawaii!  I can picture them now.... fresh pineapple for breakfast, a walk along the beach making it just in time for their surfing lesson, mahi mahi for lunch, followed by a hike on a volcano....

With one brother in Japan soon and another brother in Hawaii soon, I will be extra busy planning some awesome vacations! :)

TENNESSEE TRIP

J and I left last Wednesday, the 12th, and drove northeast towards his hometown of Columbia, Tennessee.  Columbia is about an hour south of Nashville.  A majority of his family members (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) live in Middle Tennessee.  As always, the trip flew by and we wish we could have had a few more days to spend with everyone.  Friday we drove 90+ miles from Columbia, Tennessee to Clarksville, Tennessee and spent the day there.  We got to have lunch with Madison (J's best friend friend from high school and best man in our wedding) and then spent the rest of the day visiting J's Dad's side of the family... some of them anyway.  It's a big bunch since J's Dad has 7 siblings.  Can you imagine raising 8 children?  Whew, wears me out just thinking about it.  So anyway, we got to visit with Uncle Hilary, Grandma Anitra and Grandpa Ed.  In true Anitra fashion, J's Grandma had gone all out for our visit.  It doesn't matter if you tell her you've just eaten, she prepares a feast anyway.  There was so much catching up to do that I forgot to take pictures while we were there.  Saturday was spent with J's Mom's side of the family.  It was Nana's surprise birthday party at my in-laws!  J's Uncle Art & Aunt Carolyn were there, along with his Aunt Kathy all the way in from South Carolina.  We were hiding on the deck in order to (safely) shock Nana when she came outside but she showed us all by peering out of the blinds before coming out.  Oh well, we'll get her another year.  J and I truly had a wonderful long weekend away.  The gorgeous fall weather, nightly happy hour with Mr. Terry's homemade wine, and laughing until I cried moments made for a great trip!  A few pictures below.... (note that my mother-in-law isn't in a single photo since she was busy being photographer extraordinaire) 

10/14/11 - lunch w/ Madison @ O'Charley's in Clarksville, TN

10/15/11 - Nana & Papa

10/15/11 - Mr. Terry & J grilling ribs.  They were delicious!

10/15/11 - J's parent's backyard

10/15/11 - J's sis Jacqueline

10/15/11 - J relaxing by the cabin & pool

10/15/11 - Cesar Millan doesn't have anything on my J!

10/16/11 - Bayou & Walnut cuddling on the long drive home 

THE DUDE ABIDES

J and I watched The Big Lebowski last night under the stars courtesy of NOLA Drive-In.  We met up with some of J's friends from work.  The movie was screened on the rooftop of a parking garage (848 Carondelet Street) and was $5 per person for entry.  People came on foot, bikes, mopeds, and of course cars.  They had beer and pizza for sale once you reached the top level.  It was SO much fun!! I definitely want to go again!!  The weather was amazing and the skyline view was beautiful.  On the NOLA Drive-In Facebook page, they said they are thinking of doing a horror flick for Halloween.  I'm not a fan of scary movies but I'll go anyway just for the atmosphere of it all.  The only thing that would have made the night more perfect... a White Russian ;)

THE GRADES ARE IN

We completed our NOLA burger challenge a few days ago!  

Company Burger on 09/10/11

Cowbell on 09/14/11

Juicy Lucy's on 09/02/11

Tru Burger on 08/26/11

In all my broken leg hoopla, I had not gotten a chance to write the post.  First, let me share what J and I used to grade our burgers...

One of my amazing friends (love you Lizikins!) created the nifty hamburger grading rubric above.  She's a teacher in Northwest Arkansas.  Don't you totally think that is something a teacher would make?!?  She and her friends are still in the process of tasting their 11 burgers in and around the Fayetteville area.  Her exact words, "we put our quest on hold as we got a little burgered-out, but we hope to pick it up when it is cool enough to eat greasy burgers again."  With only 4 to try, J and I didn't run into that issue.

Okay, time for the grades.  Can I get a drum roll please...

COMPANY BURGER:
K = 15 pts & J = 17 pts

COWBELL:
K = 16 pts & J = 13 pts

JUICY LUCY'S:
 K = 12 pts & J = 18 pts

TRU BURGER:
K = 16 pts & J = 13 pts

Further broken down...

K's TOTALS 

1st - Cowbell / Tru Burger (tied)

3rd - Company Burger 

4th - Juicy Lucy’s 

J's TOTALS

1st - Juicy Lucy’s 

2nd - Company Burger 

4th - Cowbell / Tru Burger (tied)

Hmm, not a clear consensus.  Not to mention we weren't really thrilled with the way our tally turned out. So to determine the winner, we decided to go grab burgers for lunch today. Out of the 4 restaurants, where did we pick to go? What were we craving? Which burger truly stole our hearts? Company Burger! And there you have it folks, according to our expertise, Company Burger is the best new burger joint in NOLA! Stop the presses. Alert the media. Please keep in mind there were certainly no losers out of the bunch. Despite my last place ranking for Juicy Lucy's, I think they had the best onion rings. J ranked Tru Burger last, but they had an amazing peanut butter chocolate milkshake. So chin up to our 4th place contestants.

What will J and I try next? Any suggestions? I'm thinking best charbroiled oysters or perhaps fried shrimp po' boys. I'll let you know once we decide.

FIBULA

I broke my leg yesterday :(

My fibula bone to be exact.  Dr. Peacock (isn't that an awesome name?!?) from East Jefferson After Hours taught me the leg has 2 bones.  A big fat bone called the tibia and a skinny bone called the fibula.  I broke the skinny one which means a much easier recovery.  Thank goodness!

The details?  Well, J and I were jogging around beautiful Bayou St. John with the pups in tow last night.  Trying to get in shape and all.  Most of the path is grass and dirt.  However, there are occasionally small squares of concrete near steps that lead down to the water.  There is a slight difference in elevation, maybe an inch or two.  As I was approaching the concrete slab I tripped and fell.  I immediately heard a *SNAP CRACKLE POP* and started to cry.  I couldn't move my leg, let alone stand up and try to walk home.  We were less than a mile from the house so J took the dogs and ran back to get a car.  He told me Walnut kept stopping to turn around and look for me the whole way home.  Bayou on the other hand... not so much.  He returned with the car and off to Urgent Care we went.  They gave me a temporary splint (as seen in the first photo above) until I could see an orthopedic surgeon this morning.  I was praying the whole way there I wouldn't have to get one of the hard casts made from plaster.  I lucked out and received the big and heavy black boot instead!  I get to wear this beauty for the next 6-8 weeks...

PIGSKINS & BURGERS

We have had some crazy weather in NOLA this past week... marsh fires in Bayou Sauvage and Tropical Storm Lee headed our way from the Gulf. Since my Labor Day weekend plans include watching some Ole Miss and LSU football on the flat screen, a little smoke, wind, and rain won't interfere.  HOTTY TODDY and GEAUX TIGERS!

And now, a quick burger update... 2 down and 2 to go...

Company Burger

Cowbell

Juicy Lucy's on 09/02/11

Tru Burger on 08/26/11

I'll share our personal pics and reviews once the list is complete.

BURGER JOINT JOURNEY

We are HOME SWEET HOME from our trip to Tennessee.  We got a lot accomplished and it was wonderful seeing J's side of the family.  Hopefully our next trip will be longer so we have more quality hangout time and don't have to feel so rushed to fit in the errands.  J's parents made sure we left with lots of goodies... homemade tomato sauce, jams, smoked sausage and wine.  We can't wait to dig in!  And speaking of food...

My youngest brother, Kyle, thinks I blog about food too much. But how can I not when living in a food mecca like New Orleans?!? So here I go...

Hamburgers come in all shapes and sizes...

cakes

beds

turtles

gummys

hats

motorcycles

And of course the tried and true form, my personal favorite...

"Why all this talk of hamburgers," you ask?  Well, Brett Anderson, the Times Picayune restaurant critic, recently wrote an article titled "5 new burger joints bring New Orleans closer to patty perfection."  He goes on to say "the culinary establishment's warm embrace of the synonymously American dish has given the hamburger something that seemed impossible a decade ago: increased ubiquity. Now, it no longer is necessary to settle for anything less than a hamburger made with quality beef surrounded by ingredients of similar stature. The latest phase of the hamburger revolution has made this true even at the lowest end of the price spectrum, as upper-echelon restaurateurs have seen the value of becoming hamburger specialists."

The 5 NOLA burgers Mr. Anderson recommends...

Company Burger
4600 Freret Street

Cowbell
8801 Oak Street

Juicy Lucy's
133 North Carrollton Avenue

Tru Burger
8115 Oak Street

Five Guys
70415 Louisiana 21

J and I are going to try each and every one!  Actually, we are leaving Five Guys off the "to try" list because we have eaten there before (the Pensacola, Florida & Huntsville, Alabama locations) and the Five Guys Mr. Anderson is referring to is actually in Covington, Louisiana which is 40 miles North of New Orleans.

First up, in no particular order, Tru Burger.  Possibly for date night this Friday?  I'll keep y'all posted as we move through the list.