Jimbalaya (Jambalaya) from the 1885 cookbook, La Cuisine Creole

From La Cuisine Creole, 1885, Lafcadio Hearn
(New Orleans writer of fiction and author of this cookbook)

Jimbalaya (Hearn's spelling of Jambalaya)

A fowl
1 cup raw rice
(1 onion)
(1-2 stalks celery)
(1-1 1/2 quarts water)

1 slice cooked, minced ham
Salt and pepper
(1/4 teaspoon powdered sassafras or filée powder)

Cut up and stew a fowl (with an onion and 1-2 stalks celery in 1-1 ½ quarts water); when half done, add 1 cup of raw rice, 1 slice of ham minced, and pepper and salt; let all cook together (covered) until the rice swells and absorbs all the gravy of the stewed chicken, but it must not be allowed to get hard or dry. (Now add the powdered sassafras or filée powder.) Serve in a deep dish. Southern children are very fond of this; it is said to be an Indian dish, and very wholesome as well as palatable; it can be made of many things.

Jane’s note: filée is powdered leaves of the sassafras tree and is an essential ingredient of Cajun cuisine. © 2009 All rights reserved.

Frosting - Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Frosting
Gourmet Filled Cupcakes
1204 Bienville Blvd., Suite 6
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
228-875-1027
Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
www.frostingshop.com


By Jane Feehan

A walk into Frosting is a walk into cupcake Disney World. The cheery pink and green décor plus the display and selection of their confectionary delights was enough to make a grownup downright giddy.

After trying one of their Cheesecake cupcakes (cheesecake filling oozed out of the little treasure) at a birthday party, I beat a path to Frosting to have another one of their creations. These are not your grandmother’s cupcakes – not with names like Peanut Butter and Jelly, Prozac, Piña Colada, and Fluffernutter. At my second Frosting experience I tried an Apple Cobbler cupcake dressed with a wonderful crumbled cobbler icing and filled with – what else – apples.

I brought home a Prozac they describe as classic chocolate/chocolate, a Red Velvet and yes, another Cheesecake. Different flavors are featured different days of the week: Monday you can pick up Carrot Cake or Lemon Berry; Tuesday, Orange Creamsicle … On Friday try Elvis’ Favorite (peanut butter icing).

This is only a sampling; check out their website above for the whole rundown. These culinary works of art come in different sizes and prices. Frosting also bakes up truffles, pastries and cakes.

Frosting is opening two other locations, one in D’Iberville and another in Gulfport. They need to open in a bigger market and they’d sell like hot … cakes. How about South Florida? Quick, someone get this place on the Oprah Show. © 2009 All rights reserved.

Camellia Cafe - Slidell, Louisiana

Camellia Café
525 Hwy 190 West (Gause Blvd. West)
Slidell, LA
985-649-6211
Monday-Thursday: 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

www.thecamelliacafe.com

By Jane Feehan

I’ve driven by this place a few times and always find its parking lot nearly full. A busy restaurant in Louisiana is usually a good restaurant, so I pulled in recently to sample a meal.

Camellia Café serves so many things – burgers, ribs, steaks, a good selection of salads, red beans and rice, muffulettas – New Orleanians’ favorite sandwich - oysters, and shrimp. Some items that day not always on the menu were an oyster and artichoke dish, and a shrimp and squash casserole.

I settled on shrimp corn crab bisque – and wow; it was exceptionally good with a generous amount of seafood. The bisque tasted like it was made from scratch in a home kitchen. I guiltily followed that up with one of their new dishes – fried shrimp (I know - overkill but I hadn’t had it in years). The shrimp were fresh and the batter was light. The cocktail sauce could have been spicier so I just added a few drops of hot sauce from a bottle already on the table. An additional condiment of mayonnaise and horseradish added zip to the meal. There was enough to bring home for an entire second meal.

What also impressed me was the way the kitchen and wait staff interacted with each other – they were actually having fun. Camellia Café is a fun place. Breakfast, lunch and dinner served. Full bar. © 2009 All rights reserved.

Manhattan Grill - Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Manhattan Grill
705 Washington Avenue
Ocean Springs, Mississippi 34564
228-872-6480
Tuesday-Saturday: 5 p.m. until

By Jane Feehan

Manhattan Grill’s food is as sophisticated as its name suggests. Many go here for steaks; I like the seafood, there’s something for everyone.

The menu is large – and so are the portions. One can make a meal off the list of appetizers such as crab cakes or salmon on a bed of spinach or a variety of meat offerings. I ordered a cup of corn crab bisque, which was quite good, and then barely had room for the pan seared scallops decked out with large pieces of lump crabmeat in a light blue cheese-based sauce. The meal was fantastic even though I had to send it back to get the scallops seared just a little more. They were gracious about it and brought the meal back on a new plate with fresh sauce. The side of sautéed spinach, dotted with fresh garlic pieces was cooked perfectly – perhaps the best I’ve had. They packed my leftovers in two containers to separate the entrée from the vegetable and included the bread from the basket I didn’t finish. That’s service.

Manhattan Grill also features prime steaks, lamb, chicken, other meats, pasta and a variety of fresh fish. The lounge, which has tables for dining, draws friendly locals who stop by to catch up on neighborhood news or to watch a game on TV. Full bar. Moderate to expensive – and worth it. Best parking is along the street. Service: excellent. © 2009 All rights reserved

For restaurants in Oxford, Mississippi, visit www.eatingoxford.com

Vera's Seafood - Slidell, Louisiana

Vera’s Seafood
2020 Gause Blvd. #108
Slidell, LA
985-690-9814
Closed Mondays
Tuesday – Thursday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday- Saturday: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.

By Jane Feehan

Before Hurricane Katrina, Vera’s was lakeside with a view. It’s in a non-descript shopping center now but the food is still good.

They offer seafood dishes such as crab meat au gratin and shrimp several different ways. Lots of folks come here for the Po Boys decked out with hamburger, shrimp, roast beef or other items.

I ordered stuffed shrimp (crab meat and bread) and sweet potato fries. When the dish arrived, it looked more like hushpuppies with shrimp tails. Lots of stuffing around some small shrimp but it was tasty. The salad was mostly iceberg lettuce but the blue cheese dressing came with big chunks of the stuff.

Nothing of the meal, however, matched the dessert of wonderful bread pudding with raisins and small pieces of pineapple, topped off with a delicious plum sauce. This may be enough to bring me back. My meal came to about $18 without alcohol but there are plenty of ways to get out of there for less.

Vera’s has a loyal following. This is a casual place, very low on atmosphere. Beer and wine served.© 2009 All rights reserved.

Yuki's - Biloxi, Mississippi

Yuki’s
2389 Pass Road
Biloxi, MS 39531
228-388-2233

Monday-Friday:
Lunch 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Dinner 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday – 11 a.m.- 10 p.m.

By Jane Feehan

There’s a large, glitzy electronic sign in the baggage area of the Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport with a picture of a woman in ethnic garb beckoning visitors to Yuki’s – a Japanese steak and sushi restaurant.

Run the other way. It’s a dismal place that belies the cheer and sophistication of the airport ad.

Before I opened the door, the heavy odor of grease nearly stopped me in my tracks. Upon being seated, I was handed a four-page plastic bound menu that was falling apart and dirty. If they don’t care about the menu they show customers what the heck goes on in the kitchen?

I’ve been here several times since Hurricane Katrina. Many were grateful for an open restaurant after the storm; there wasn’t much to choose from. Yuki’s was a refuge – for a time.

Today, the sushi is just OK; most items on the menu are tempura cooked – fried – and taste of grease. The food in the hibachi side isn’t bad but it took two hours to get lunch one day. That was two years after the storm.

On my last visit – and it will be the last – I ordered stir fried vegetables and chicken, which was little more than bean sprouts out of a bag, some random pieces of broccoli and a few tiny bits of chicken.

Yuki’s seems to have declined since the storm. It’s not as clean, paint is chipped off the walls – and I don’t see Yuki anymore. Maybe that’s the problem. 2009 All rights reserved.

Biloxi Sunsets - Cosmic Compensation

No fall foliage here but the spectacular sunsets seem to be cosmic compensation.

Ole Biloxi Schooner Seafood Restaurant - Biloxi, Mississippi

Ole Biloxi Schooner Seafood Restaurant
871 Howard Ave. (Across the street from the cathedral, Nativity B.V.M.)
Biloxi, MS 39530
228-435-8071
Monday-Friday: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Closed Sunday
http://schooner.biloxi.tk

By Jane Feehan

This store front eatery, located in downtown Biloxi, draws the business community, legal eagles from the nearby courthouse and law offices, and workers from government buildings. Law enforcement also frequents the Schooner and that's usually a sign of reasonable and good food.

The restaurant has plenty to draw tourists from nearby Beach Boulevard, whether to an inexpensive breakfast, a lunch of local seafood favorites or a tasty special of the day such as meatloaf or baked chicken. One tourist of note, President George W. Bush, lunched at this spot on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina – no doubt to get a real feel for and taste of Biloxi.

Seafood gumbo, crawfish etoufee, crab burgers, crab platters, fried seafood and Po Boys highlight the lunch/dinner menu. I enjoyed a seafood salad top heavy with shrimp, lightly accented in crab meat and decked out in green and black olives and tomatoes. I indulged in a side order of delicious hushpuppies – piping hot and crispy on the outside and tasty with bits of onion on the inside – just the way hushpuppies should be.

Plans are underway for an oyster bar with cold beer in the same building. Currently, no alcohol served. Service: Good. © 2009 All rights reserved.