Benedict “Benny” Moliere was my parrain, or godfather, and one of my favorite people: a massively strong man who could work and drink with the best of them, he also had a quiet nature that bordered on shyness. According to my father, as Uncle Benny saw it, a chuck roast was just a “steak” and he’d cook one up… Read More Parrain’s Pot Roast
As the only person in my tribe who had never eaten a tea cake, I felt it was my duty to finally tackle this entrenched southern confection. My good friend and sorority sister, Donna, declared with all seriousness, “Nicole, a good tea cake will change your life.” Getting someone to share a guarded family recipe was no easy… Read More Tea Cakes: Part 1
I love barbecued shrimp, but I hate to have to don a HazMat outfit to eat it. This traditional New Orleans dish is indeed finger-licking good, but peeling shells off of buttered-up jumbo shrimp can wreck havoc on your fresh Polo button down. Here’s how you can have the magnificence of the sloppilicious version… Read More Barbecued Shrimp Kabobs
Confession: sometimes I dare myself to cook things just to see if I can do it good enough to not totally embarrass myself. Tonight I was thinking of my sweet sis-in-law, Sonya, and her delectable lace cookies, and I said “Hot damn, let’s do it!” My first try was hideous. FrankenCookie hideous. But not one… Read More Pecan Lace Cookies
I walked down the long gravel driveway and crossed Old Highway 161. There on the other side of the road was our old haunt, The Sandpit. It was a big hole in the ground, about the size of a football field. For decades it had been dug into, deeper and deeper, to supply soil to… Read More SoulCreole: Ghosts in the Garden, Part 2
One of the easiest quintessential southern desserts is pecan pie. This recipe is so simple, you could make it every night. But don’t. But you could. But don’t. It’s easily customizable for folks who like their pie just a little sweet or for those who like a little pie with their sugar. However you like it,… Read More Pecan Pie
The screen door was hung tight, like all screen doors in the country seem to be, and it slammed as I walked out into the cold afternoon air. A striped-back chipmunk scurried past my feet at lightning speed, hanging an impossible left toward the carport wash room and a work table full of baskets of… Read More SoulCreole: Ghosts in the Garden, Part 1
Shrimp and Grits always reminds me of the kind of humble-but-awesome dish that my uncles might have made while working on shrimp and oyster boats down in Plaquemines Parish, with fresh seafood plucked straight from the bayous and the Gulf of Mexico. Almost every celebrity chef and notable restaurant has an iteration of it these days, but… Read More Shrimp and Grits, Version I
The first sit-down restaurant experience that I remember was of Morrison’s Cafeteria in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. Back in the seventies, the waiters at Morrison’s still wore tuxedo-like uniforms and carried your tray to your table. My seven- or eight-year-old self was impressed beyond belief not just with the waiters but with the seemingly… Read More Rice Pilaf
Arugula, kale and Swiss chard may be the cool kids of salad greens, but those of us who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s remember when iceberg lettuce reigned supreme – mostly because that’s all mama served! Iceberg gets kicked to curb these days, but I decided to give it a little love and… Read More Wedge Salad with Chicken and Creole Vinaigrette
Nicole Moliere 