Bite and Booze Radio Show: CAUW Jambalaya Jam and Triumph Kitchen

This week the Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket featured some charitable acts that are sure to please your palate. Kendall Hebert joined me from the Capital Area United Way to discuss the 2013 Jambalaya Jam that is coming up on October 10th.  You can find tickets at CAUW.org/Jam.  Abby Cook from Dow also came in studio to support the Jam.  Also, Chef Chris Wadsworth from Triumph Kitchen came in studio to tell us about how his new cooking school for at-risk and underprivileged youth. Thanks for listening and helping share this very exciting episode of the show!

The Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket airs on Saturdays at 5 PM on Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge.  It is also available on iTunes.  The show's sponsors include Calandro's Supermarket, Visit Baton Rouge, Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, Louisiana Cookin' Magazine, Juban's Restaurant, the Tin Roof Brewing Company, and the Louisiana Culinary Institute.

LSU Tigers vs Florida Gators Gameday Tailgating

The Florida Gators came into Baton Rouge for a showdown of ranked teams on October 8th.  With such a huge game coming up and the Tigers of LSU carrying the weight of being the number one team in the country, the tailgating atmosphere on campus was electric.  Courtney, my LSU cheerleader friend, and I set out with our camera man Garrett to find the best campus eats with our eyes on the real prize... I was determined to find at least one tailgate cooking a whole gator.  Fortunately, I found two, and a whole lot more!

I hope you didn't miss the cannibalistic Gator fan with the pony tail!  Classic... but he forgot his jorts!  I'm also really glad I got to go by Second String Tailgaters with by buddies Rob, Drew, and more, as well as the Chili Cookoff at the Vet School, which I also judged!  Oh, and then there was this guy:

Teriyaki Rotisserie Gator.  Doesn't get much better than that!

Homecoming Tailgating: On Campus for LSU vs ULM

This past weekend I found quite a few treats around campus, though tailgating was a little slow compared to the week before when Bama was in town.  Still, I ate well as I came across a gumbo cook-off and a group that had boiled crabs, boiled shrimp, jambalaya, and white beans.  I also got to hang out with Mike the Tiger and watch the Golden Band from Tiger Land start their march.  Enjoy, and Geaux Tigers!

Make sure to check us out again for the Ole Miss game on November 20th!  It is the last home game of the year, and I'll be competing in the Tony Chachere's Tailgating Cook-off.  Voting will be going on from November 19th to 30th, so make sure to a true Louisianian by voting early and often!

Schedule:

LSU vs. West Virginia

LSU vs. Tennessee

LSU vs. McNeese State

LSU vs. Alabama

LSU vs. ULM

LSU vs. Ole Miss

Capital Area United Way's Jambalaya Jam

There are 40 teams competing for the top jambalaya cooking title, and yours truly, Jay D. Ducote, author of Bite and Booze, has been selected to serve as a celebrity judge for the event!

The Capital Area United Way’s 2010 Jambalaya Jam competition scheduled for Thursday, September 23rd is spicing things up this year with a new venue and time for this traditional event.

Over the last eight months a team of volunteers from the community have been working with United Way staff to add a fresh look and feel to the twenty-third annual event sponsored by Dow Chemical Company. The committee composed of volunteers, non-profit agency representatives, marketing professionals, and United Way and Volunteer! United Board Members have been planning exciting new things to generate more revenue, create a signature downtown event, and involve more downtown partners and businesses.

The event, typically held at lunch time, is moving to an evening lineup from 5: 00 – 8:00 pm on Third Street. Forty competing teams will be stretched on the sidewalk areas between North Boulevard and Main Street serving up some of South Louisiana’s best jambalaya. Guests will be encouraged to stroll the area, interact with the competing teams, and flow in and out of the local participating restaurants and bars which will be featuring live entertainment and specials.

A team competes in last year's Jambalaya Jam

The Roux House, Happy’s Irish Pub, Schlittz and Giggles, Boudreaux and Thibodeaux’s, Lucy’s Retired Surfers Restaurant and Bar, The M Bar, Stroube’s Chophouse, Red Star, The Office, and Punchers are also joining the event lineup this year. Thanks to the support of Glazer’s, individuals that purchase the 3rd Street Sampler pass will be treated to a special tasting of various drink samples at the bar and restaurant locations.

Four ticket types are available including the following options:
To-go plate dinners - $7.00
All-you-can-eat jambalaya - $10.00
3rd Street Sampler (includes all-you-can-eat and a drink tasting at participating bars) - $25.00 (How could you pass this up?)
Exclusive VIP Lounge located at the 2nd floor of Boudreaux & Thibodeaux’s - $75.00 (Join me after I judge!)

In addition, several local eateries, such as Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, LLC and Brew HA-HA are also joining the event and will be handing out free samples of their products.

To purchase tickets and to learn more about the event, please visit CAUW.org.

2010 Sponsors: Dow Chemical Company, Glazer’s, Red Six Media, Baton Rouge Coca-Cola, The Roux House, Happy’s Irish Pub, Schlitz & Giggles, Boudreaux & Thibodeaux’s, Lucy’s Retired Surfers Restaurant and Bar, The M Bar, Stroubes Chophouse, Red Star, Puncher’s, The Office, vitaminwater, Louisiana Fish Fry/Tony’s Seafood, Krazy Kajun, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, The Advocate, WBRZ-TV Channel 2, 225, Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, The Boot Magazine, Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry & Distinctive Gifts, Baton Rouge Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Les Zydeco Da Baton Rouge featuring Mel Chavis, 484 Southband, Smoothie King, The Camelot Club, Brew Ha-Ha, Rex Photobooth Company LLC, Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, LLC , EMCO Technologies, National World War II Museum, CC’s Community Coffee House, Silk Screen Shop, City of Baton Rouge, Around Town TV Show, Jean Pierre’s Special Blend Season-all, New Orleans School of Cooking, Court of Two Sisters, Holiday Inn-Downtown Superdome, and YMCA.

Fiber Fete: Here's To Our Connected... Stomachs!

Fiber Fete kicked off this afternoon in Lafayette, Louisiana and I am excited to be a part of it.  The event is designed to be a meeting of the minds about our "connected future" where we will have speakers and discussions about the future of high speed broadband access.  Included in these talks will be a conversation about what can be done with the new and innovative fiber-to-the-home network in Lafayette that serves as a beacon of technology on a global level.  While I am attending the three day event to focus on the connection between broadband and health care, for the purposes of this blog I made sure to also examine the bites and boozes, which were plentiful and fantastic!

The "Fiber Fete Quartet" Played Some Cajun Tunes

Fiber Fete is being held at LITE, the Louisiana Immersive Technology Enterprise center, which has been built to help drive digital and technological economic development in Lafayette.  Tuesday's kickoff included comments from Mayor Joey Durel, Louisiana Economic Development Director Stephen Moret, and some other influential people in Lafayette's rise to prominence in fiber networks.  Secretary Moret claimed that Louisiana  will be a leader in digital technology, and after seeing him take the Louisiana film industry from non-existent to third in the nation in just seven years, I don't doubt him.  

Alright, enough about that, how about some food?

Crab Cakes and Crawfish Boudin Balls

The post-speaker reception featured a great collection of finger foods with Cajun flare for the guests from around the country to enjoy. Pictured above are some mini crab cakes and a batch of crawfish boudin balls. Neither impressed me all that much being from Louisiana and eating this cuisine all the time, but they were certainly tasty.  I'd give the slight edge to the crab cakes out of the two.

Crawfish Pies and Fried Alligator

Fiber Fete also had some international guests, though many other European invitees were unable to make it because of flight cancellations due to volcanic ash.  I guess not even home-to-home fiber networks can stop Mother Nature!  Still, that didn't stop those of us who did attend from eating crawfish pies and fried alligator.  Both of these dishes were superior to the first two.  The alligator in particular was some of the best fried gator I've ever had!

Crawfish Enchiladas and Veggie Pastalaya

Two other dishes that I thought had some promise were the crawfish enchiladas and vegetable pastalaya.  The enchiladas featured even more crawfish, which I though ended up being a little bit of an overkill.  I didn't need crawfish boudin balls, crawfish pies, and crawfish enchiladas.  While I do love crawfish, I also love shrimp.  Just sayin'.  Oh, and I didn't try the pastalaya.  If you are confused, pastalaya is a term for a Cajun jambalaya that is cooked with pasta instead of rice.  First, a veggie jambalaya is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.  Just call that rice with vegetables and stir-fry it!  Second, this didn't remind me one bit of jambalaya or even pastalaya.  I was really just a vegetarian pasta dish that they tried to give a Louisiana name.  For shame.

Seared Tuna and Andouille Sausage Stuffed Dates

The highlight of the appetizer selections came from the platters that Prejean's, the restaurant that catered the event, had their staff carry around.  The above spread feature bite-sized morsels that might have been my favorite treats of the evening other than perhaps the fried alligator.  The sesame crusted seared tuna was masterfully prepared and topped with a bit of a wasabi based sauce.  The tuna melted in my mouth while the wasabi added a hint of spice and flare to the dish.  But, as good as the tuna was, the winner of the entire evening came in the form of the andouille sausage stuffed dates that were topped with goat cheese.  These dried plums were sliced down the middle and loaded with a seasoned sausage before being topped with a strip of soft, creamy goat cheese. The flavors blended together in an inspired harmony and proved that you could bring such different things together for the common good.  Okay, maybe I'm stretching too far to make an analogy to Fiber Fete, but still, it was damn good!

Gigabit IPA from the Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland, Oregon

The City of Portland, Oregon sent an offering of craft-brewed beer to Fiber Fete in order to congratulate the city on the success of its fiber network.  The Gigabit IPA was named as a response to Google's program to select a city in which to implement a similar fiber network as a pilot for future infrastructure initiatives from the website giant.  The organic ale tasted smooth and hoppy.  It left a clean aftertaste compared to many Cascade-hopped IPAs, which I really enjoyed as it tasted like a great pale ale while still being refreshing.  I'll take any shipments of beer from Portland that they'll send, so I was happy to indulge!  Feel free to send me more, Hopworks.  Just message me for a shipping address!

Festive Louisiana Dinner

The opening evening of Fiber Fete concluded with a festive Louisiana dinner, more cocktails, and quite a bit of mingling, connecting, discussing, and imagining.  I was able to have quite a few conversations with industry leaders about health care and broadband, and of course the conversation also shifted to food blogging, barbeque, Cajun food, and southern hospitality.  The dinner feature some eggplant, seasoned corn, real jambalaya, and crawfish etoufee.  Highlighting the plate were some stuffed and bacon wrapped fried shrimp and a heaping serving of bread pudding.  The shrimp were insanely good.  The jumbo Gulf shrimp that I had been craving earlier were stuffed with cheeses and other spicy treats, then wrapped in bacon, battered, and deep fried until the inside melted together while the outside turned crispy.  What a sensational shrimp.  I'll certainly give props to Prejean's for that one!

Here's to great people, visionary leadership, wonderful food, delicious craft beer, and looking forward to day two of Fiber Fete, which you can read about here!

    

Acadian Frame and Art for a Hannah Lane Paintings, Wine, and Dine

Here's my favorite thing about art shows: free wine and food!  A little while back I had the pleasure of attending a show featuring Hannah Lane's work.  Hannah is a great childhood friend and local Baton Rouge painter and illustrator who does amazing work on the canvas.  This past show took place at the Acadian Frame and Art in the Drusilla Shopping Center where the wine and food did not disappoint.

Jambalaya in Front, Fried Catfish Fingers to the Back

Free food is always a good method to draw a crowd and I was impressed with the spread at Acadian Art.  The jambalaya shown above was a classic chicken and sausage Cajun dish that hit the spot.  Equally tempting were the catfish fingers in the background.  These catfish fingers were fantastic, fresh, and crispy finger foods that dipped well into the accompanying tartar sauce.  But, the real reason I attended the show was to see Hannah and the art!

Hannah's Painting on the Wall of the Acadian Art Gallery

You can't see Hannah in this picture but she is back there showing off her paintings to some art show guests.  This wall featured a lot of her work including the crab, pelican, and pear paintings that you can see here.  It is always great to catch up with her and her family, of which saw Papa Robert and Mama Elaine as well as Chelsea at the show.  One member of the family that was not present was the younger Robert who happens to be in New Zealand right now.  You can read about all of his adventures here!

Blueberry and Cherry Cheesecakes

The cheesecakes for dessert were without a doubt the culinary highlight of this evening.  As good as the other foods and wines were, these homemade cheesecakes took home the prize.  The blueberry cheesecake tasted like a slice of heaven in my mouth and I knew from the first bite that I would need to blog about it.  Each additional bite reinforced how creamy and wonderful this treat can be.  I was impressed to say the least.  Thanks for the invite Hannah!

A Culinary Adventure on Government Street Part II: Opie's Cajun Cafe

Eusebio and I continued our culinary adventure on Wednesday by moving down Government Street from Bistro Byronz to Opie's Cajun Cafe.  Opie's creates two more food dishes that I was told I needed to try, so we wanted to make sure we ordered those and whatever else looked good.  We walked into Opie's and loved the place at first glance.  The entrance to the restaurant is through the bar area which has a very classic, old school feel to it.  We sat down at the bar and waited for someone to greet us.  It wasn't long before we had three people, including the owner and his son, asking what they could do for us.  I ordered a glass of Maker's Mark bourbon with a splash of Diet Coke and Eusebio had some Jack Daniels whiskey with a splash of Sprite.  They made the drinks right for us (as in very strong) and we began looking over the extensive cajun menu.  Opie's is the kind of place where they leave the remote control for the TV on the bar for the customers to change the channel at will.  We put the main TV on the USA v. Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying match and were able to watch the USA tie the game off of a corner kick in stoppage time to secure first place in the CONCACAF qualifying efforts.  Geaux America!

One of the items that I was told I needed to try were the boudin balls.  I had only previously had boudin balls at Tony's Seafood and The Chimes, so I thought it was a great idea to branch out a little more.  We started with the appetizer sampler which contained boudin balls, blackened shrimp, and crawfish pies with a bit of remoulade sauce for dipping.  The boudin balls were way more similar to the balls at Tony's than The Chimes.  Their cylindrical shape and crispy exterior created a perfect casing for the warm, moist boudin in the middle.  The flavor and texture were great, but I could have gone or a little more spice.  Still, Opie's has a great boudin ball and a good alternative to the other ones in town if you are in the mid-city area.  The crawfish pies were filled with Opie's crawfish etouffee and were scrumptious.  The fluffy pie crust encased the rich and savory etouffee nicely as each bite was filled with flavor.  The blackened shrimp were a good addition to the sampler platter, especially when dipped in the remoulade sauce.  They were simple, well seasoned shrimp that were bite-sized, blackened deliciousness.

Opie's Sampler: Crawfish Pies, Blackened Shrimp, and Boudin Balls

Our next direction was to sample a couple of traditional Louisiana staples, jambalaya and gumbo.  The Opie's Cajun Trio entree came with a small bowl of each along with a couple more crawfish pies and a fresh dinner roll.  The jambalaya had a strong vegetable oil taste immediately when you put it in your mouth.  Once there was some time for the flavors to get around, the rice mixture had some good flavors and was as spicy as I wish the boudin balls were.  It was good, but not like Maw Maw makes it!  The chicken and sausage gumbo was really pleasing for a restaurant version.  All too often I find that restaurant gumbo just does not compare to what you can find at people's houses and tailgate parties but Opie's was an exception.  The gumbo was a little thick and heavy on the roux for my own personal preference but Eusebio mentioned that it was exactly how he likes it.  It is amazing how we always go back to our childhood memories of taste to decide what we like today.  My family's gumbo was typically a bit thinner with a liquid broth that was seasoned with the roux, so now that is how I like my gumbo.  Eusebio had clearly grown up eating a gumbo with that thicker, heavier roux, and so now prefers it that way.  Either way, Opie's gumbo had a great, well seasoned flavor with chunks of chicken and sausage throughout.

Opie's Cajun Trio: Jambalaya, Gumbo, and Crawfish Pies

The final dish that I was told I had to try at Opie's Cajun Cafe was the Crawfish Ravioli.  The pasta itself was stuffed with cheese and then topped with a creamy crawfish sauce.  It was a good dish but probably could have been better if the stuffing had some of the crawfish sauce mixed in with the cheese.  Just a thought.  Still, the ravioli was tasty and I really enjoyed the sauce with crawfish tails, and the dinner roll to sop up the extra sauce was clutch.

Crawfish Ravioli at Opie's Cajun Cafe

Much like Bistro Byronz from earlier in the evening, Opie's had a homemade bread pudding on the menu that we thought we should take home, eat, and then compare.  Their version was a dense, flavorful bread pudding that was topped with a Jack Daniels sauce that was loaded with the tang of the Tennessee whiskey.  While the pudding itself was good and the sauce was fantastic, I couldn't help but notice that the bread pudding was overpowered with the tastes of cinnamon and nutmeg to the point of taking away from the dessert but not so much that it was ruined.  I like cinnamon and nutmeg, but it was difficult to taste any of the other flavors with those two being so strong.

All in all it was a great culinary adventure on Government Street.  I really liked the laid back atmosphere at the bar at Opie's Cajun Cafe.  The food was delicious, and I'm sure I'll be back to see the family-run establishment again.