Some of my favorite New Orleans sandwiches from Central Grocery, Casamento’s, and Parkway Bakery and Tavern.

Many of you have emailed me about Catie’s King Cake Recipe. It’s here (below). To cheer on the Saints in the Superbowl, we had a big gathering. Among many delicious bites, we had Essington’s “I Guess I’ll Go On and Be Tender Now” Ribs, Muffalettas w/Central Grocery Olive Salad, Martha’s Bourbon Pralines, Indian-Spiced Wings, flaky [...]

My friend, writer and roadster, Pableaux Johnson, recently offered up a taste of my childhood to me in Florida where I was teaching a writing workshop. He pulled up with pressure cooker, rice, red beans, and Jacob’s andouille in his travel kit. In exchange for a walk on the beach and a peach bellini, my [...]

Just got back from the first weekend of Jazz Fest 09. Love: -prejean’s pheasant, quail, and andouille gumbo, and the softshell crab po-boy -the cochon de lait po-boy and fried oyster spinach salad -that jazz fest recycles -that Jayne gets us VIP parking and my friend, Joe, actually loved Jazz Fest this year -that people [...]

It’s a little late for King Cake, but since I no longer live in New Orleans, my friend Catie, baker and scientist extraordinaire, made me a birthday King Cake. The dough is soft and tender and we added cream cheese and almond paste and orange zest to the filling. For a moment, we thought about [...]

STONE SOUP The Art of Cooking 101 Great Dishes Out of (Almost) Nothing My father-in-law, Ferd Hoppe, could gather a bag of rocks, some twigs and a bunch of parsley, and from it, prepare a delicious meal. While that may be stretching his culinary prowess a tad, he was able to create some amazing dishes [...]

One of my favorite sweet treats is the tres leches cake at Riomar Restaurant in New Orleans. This pure indulgence is easy, decadent, and rich with coconut. Watch Chef Adolfo Garcia make tres leches. ADOLFO GARCIA’S TRES LECHES CAKE: If you want to save time, use your favorite store-bought sponge cake. For 1 (8-inch) Basic [...]

I’m teaming up with cottage living and myrecipes.com on a new series called Local Flavor with Kim Sunee. Click here to watch a Sneak Preview. The series will be available every Thursday at myrecipes.com

I’ll always choose salty over sweet and probably hot over sour, but my friend Catie makes the best lemony sugar-topped king cake. Two days before Mardi Gras, she made one and I smuggled half of it into New Orleans to share with other king cake lovers. I loved les galettes des rois when I lived [...]