Pintxos & Friends

Ever since I returned from Spain in January, I’ve been dying to try making Basque pintxos for myself. Dustin put me to shame by having a rival Pintxos & Friends party and preparing octopus! I planned to make a very tasty tortilla española served on toast with fresh roasted red and green peppers and aioli. Those ingredients were easy enough to find, but I traversed Greater New Orleans at will looking for specialty ingredients for the other dishes. For example, I couldn’t remember ever seeing boquerones, the white anchovies preserved in vinegar that are widely available throughout Spain, sold anywhere in the GNO. I was pleasantly surprised to find some at Martin Wine Cellar’s flagship store in Metairie. I served them on toasted baguette slices accompanied with a salsa-like vinaigrette that is common throughout the Basque Country. This recipe from Anya von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table is very similar to what I ate several times on pintxos in Spain:

Whisk together ½ cup Spanish olive oil; 1/3 cup white wine vinegar; and 1/3 cup each finely diced green pepper; red pepper; and white onion.

In Bilbao, I ate fried quail eggs placed perfectly on tiny baguette slices with smoked salmon and aioli. I thought to myself “so that’s what you do with quail eggs!” So cute and small, I had picked them up several times at Hong Kong Market and always wanted an excuse to buy them. I planned to make a trip out to the giant Asian grocer ASAP to pick some up.




I rounded everything out with some quick herbed goat cheese-stuffed pepadews and some Spanish olives.




I also went to a variety of wine stores in search of a txakoli. After all that, I learned the only place that sold it was a wine shop right by my house that I pass almost daily on my stroll- the Magazine Street branch of Martin Wine Cellar. I really felt like I was living it up when I forked over the $16 for it (I’m more of an $8 bottle type), but I’ve come to learn in reading The Basque Table by Teresa Barrenchea that “because txokoli are artisanal rather than mass-produced wines, they are rather expensive.” I also learned that they are “nice summer wines, and their low alcohol content make them good with lunch or aperitifs,” so I probably looked pretty lame when I was drinking them in San Sebastian at night in the middle of winter. Oh well.

Thanks to Caitlin for the photography!

Red Stick Farmers Market

Last December I was passing through Baton Rouge en route to the mushroom hunt, and I picked up some outstanding fresh black eyed peas at the Red Stick Farmers Market. I was so impressed with the variety of products available there that I returned last Saturday. Being a bit of a produce fanatic, I really had to hold myself back. We checked out Papa Tom’s stone ground oatmeal, grits, cornmeal, and cayenne pepper (apparently some of the hottest cayenne pepper ever). He encouraged us to sample his delicious broccoli cornbread. Rumor has it that his oatmeal is mind-blowing, so I picked some up.

The market was dominated by plump, red strawberries that looked ready to burst. Winter standards like beets, turnips, greens, and citrus were also widely available. Other highlights included buttery pecans and crisp red Russian kale.



I also picked up some sweet potatoes because as the weather is warming up, I’ve been seeing them less frequently. One shopper, clearly a regular, greeted the sweet potato farmer with, “How y’all doing? I see that you brought your bride today,” referring to his wife. Another woman chimed in, “what do you mean? He ain’t gonna trade her in for no new model.” I thought I should impart these words of wisdom on the blogosphere.

My favorite purchase of the morning was the yellow grape tomatoes. Smooth and bright red and yellow, they were very enticing, but I was afraid that I got carried away, that it was too early in the season for good tomatoes. My fears were put to rest when I sampled one- they were sweet and juicy considering they were grown in February. It made me anticipate summer and inspired me to purchase some vegetable plants of my own at the market. I chose a purple plum and a creole tomato plant, as well as a poblano and a orange bell pepper plant. I look forward to putting them in the ground once we get through this cold snap.

Mardi Gras 2009

In the words of Bobby Jindal, “Good evening, and happy Mardi Gras.” ;-) Sadly, Carnival season, my favorite time of year, came to an end this week. The festivities really got going on Thursday and didn’t stop until Tuesday night. That’s why it has taken me this long to muster the strength to post some pictures. Besides copious amounts of beer, we indulged in local seafood and the obligatory king cake here and there.

Mr. Okra even made an appearance.



I hope your Mardi Gras was fun too!!!