Barbecue Bites: Jay D's Chicken Quesadillas

Jay D's Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas

I enjoy fine dining just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you just want to settle down, lay low, and enjoy a hearty snack attack. Enter the barbecue chicken quesadilla: a righteous, no frills handheld delight.

Jay D's Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas
Makes 4 servings

8 ounces cooked chicken, shredded (use a rotisserie chicken from the store if you're fancy)

4 (12 in) flour tortillas

12 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese

4 ounces Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce

1 red onion, thinly sliced, divided into 4 portions


Layer half of each tortilla with 2 ounces of chicken, 1 portion of red onion, 4 ounces of Monterey jack cheese, and 1 oz. of Jay D’s Louisiana Barbecue sauce. Fold tortilla in half. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and lower the heat to medium. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Slice into 4 pieces and garnish with sliced green onions. Serve with Jay D’s BBQ Aioli.

Distiller's "Whiskey Deconstructed" Part 3 - Barreling & Aging: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Lock & Key

A few weeks ago I shared parts one and two of  Distiller's 'whiskeygraphics' called Whiskey Deconstructed which featured the ever-important mash and distillation process. This week we take a look at the final step in the process: barreling and aging. Obviously this is an important part of the whiskey process because all of the color and a lot of the flavor from whiskey comes from the barrels in which the spirit is aged. Un-aged whiskey is just often sold as white dog, white lightning, or moonshine, however once you put whiskey in a barrel some magic starts to happen. This 'whiskeygraphic' shows off different types of barrels and give you some notes on the aging process. Bourbons, Scotches, and other whiskeys all differ in the aging process, and it is important to understand the difference.

While these whiskeygraphics are great for a visual representation of whiskey making process, nothing compares to actually tasting different whisk(e)ys and enjoying the unique products themselves. Head on over to the Lock & Key Whiskey Bar if you're in Baton Rouge and enjoy a whiskey flight, flight school or Women & Whiskey for yourself!

Louisiana Culinary Trails Taste-umentary

Throughout early 2014 I helped produce a gastronomic video series with tommysTV for Louisiana Travel called Louisiana Culinary Trails. This project spans across the entire state of Louisiana highlighting the cultural stomach lining of our state's different delectable regions. From Prairie Home Cooking to the Creole Crescent Trail, we came across a gumbo of characters and learned the culinary blueprints of our neighbors. The most important takeaway from this video series is that there's a lot to be said about traveling within the state, especially through your taste buds! There are eight regional videos to come, but to get things started take a look at this overview video of what the Louisiana Culinary Trails has to offer:

Gnarly BarleyQ: A New Brew is Born

Photo Credit: Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.

The Gnarly Barley Brewing Co. in Hammond is one of the newest breweries along the Louisiana Brewing Trail. Co-Founder and Brewmaster Zac Caramonta found himself drawn to the sense of community that came with skateboarding as well as the do-it-yourself aspect of building ramps, which ultimately fueled his initiative to build beers. Once the production became too much for their home-brew garage to handle, Zac and Cari Caramonta decided to take the next logical step: turn it into a commercial brewery. Currently operating on two flagship beers, Gnarly Barley has a knack for creativity and bending the rules of brewing when it comes to flavor profiles. While, their Catahoula Common and Radical Rye P.A. have already hit the Baton Rouge, Northshore, and New Orleans markets, this October their Korova Milk Porter steps onto the scene.

Zac & Cari Caramonta rocking
their first bottles of Jay D's back pocket stye.

As a longtime lover of barbecue and beer, team Bite and Booze is taking Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce down the road to Hammond on Oct.18th from 1-5pm for the Gnarly BarleyQ. Foaming to the brim with good times, the Gnarly BarleyQ is a grand tour celebration of Gnarly Barley's new release.

A ticket to this righteous event gets you  scrumptious barbecue featuring Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce and Iverstine Family Farms pork, a look at the Gnarly Barley facilities, and up to 5 beer samples for those 21 years of age and older. What could make this already radical event even better? Will Vance and the Kinfolk will be providing live jams from 2-4pm.

Tickets are on sale now at gnarlybarleyq.eventbrite.com. Tickets are only $20 thru Oct. 4th, $25 Oct.5-18th (until 1pm), and $30 at the door. 

Brenne: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Lock & Key

Brenne Single Malt French Whisky

Whisk(e)y Wednesday goes to France for the first time... which may be surprise because who has ever heard of French whisky? Wine or brandy, sure, but whisky? Believe it or not (you should because I've had it), there is a single malt French whiskey named Brenne which is aged in Cognac barrels. This rare find is available for $14 at Lock & Key and is definitely worthy of a taste. The nose starts with pure butterscotch. A sweetened butter candy aroma, seriously, straight up Werther's in a bad ass way, gives way to a creme brulee taste on the tongue with a soft, sweet, and clean mouth feel that goes down just as delicately. The whisky has a mellow medicinal quality upfront from the cognac barrel which gets drowned out quickly by the buttery candy all the way down. Though not very complex, the Brenne presents an amazingly balanced whisky with a totally unique flavor profile. There's no reason not to give it a try!

Brenne Single Malt French Whisky
Average Score: 78.25

Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by the Lock & Key Whiskey Bar. Lock & Key has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, Irish, and other whisk(e)ys available for on premise consumption. This WW feature was scored by Jay Ducote from Bite and Booze, Arthur Lauck from Lock & Key, Jeremy Spikes from Old Maul, and Natalie Parbhoo from International Wine and Spirits. Scores are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, and Balance and Complexity using our own proprietary scoring system. Marks are then added and averaged, leaving us with a final score out of a 100 point scale. Our scale should be looked at on the full range of 0-100 rather than an academic range where 70 is passing and anything less is failing. A 50 should be considered a very mediocre whisk(e)y (though not undrinkable) while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 80 is rather extraordinary and anything above 90 is world class.