Asparagus as a comfort food? You bet!

When you think asparagus, most people think of the sad, limp spears that come in a can. Some people toss fresh ones in their stir-fry or bake them in the oven, but most people aren't quite sure what to do with them. One bad experience and poor asparaguses (or is it asparagi?! That may be …

Easy, creamy Maple Fudge

Mmmmmmm! Maple fudge is one of those special little tastes of heaven that is vastly underrated and often shunned for the more popular peanut butter or chocolate fudges. Most people will also think of rocky road, chocolate with nuts, and even vanilla fudge. But make no mistake, maple fudge has a place in your fudge …

Shrimp and crab casserole

One of the easiest, most looked-forward to dishes in my family has always been shrimp and crab casserole. Depending on the availability of seafood, sometimes it's just crab casserole, sometimes it's just shrimp casserole. It's easy and forgiving, not an exact science. You really can't mess it up. Once you taste it, you can tweak …

Simple, amazing, not overpowering 3 ingredient peppermint bark

Peppermint bark is one of those candies many people taste and hate but that's because their first introduction was made with cheap chocolate, too much peppermint, or hard and strong peppermint topping. Peppermint bark is supposed to be sweet, delectable, with a little kick of peppermint. It's supposed to be so smoothy and creamy with …

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yesterday I made a birthday cake, it was a traditional buttercake with a delicious pineapple filling between the layers. At first, I was going to use a good Vanilla Buttercream frosting. No one can argue that the traditional buttercream frosting is universal. Most people love it, it's versatile, easy and hard to beat; when done …

It’s Fall Yall!

There's something so special about Autumn in New Orleans as those long summer days get shorter and the evenings get longer. Yeah we still have some toasty, humid days down here, sha, but those become breezy, dry, perfect evenings. The skies look clearer, the air feels lighter, and come on, we're raised on voodoo, the …

Hurricane lessons learned

I always jot notes at the end of each big holiday, celebration, or even after hurricane season and send them to myself via futureme.org at a relevant time, things I want to absolutely remember. Lessons I learned about what worked and what didn't. Over the course of my adult years as a Hurricane Lane southerner, …

Italian Artichoke Balls that are truly fast, easy, and scrumptious

'Tis the season for scrambling to find new and tasty holiday party options. Whether you call them nibbly bits,  hors d'oeuvres, or tidbits, the finger food dishes you put out on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve have to meet certain qualifications: They can't be messy. They HAVE to be easy to pick up with a …

The BEST, Creamiest, EASIEST Peanut Butter Fudge IN the world

Peanut butter fudge is either a disaster or delicious. What we don't want in a fudge is a gritty or crumbly texture. You also don't want something that is squishy (stay away from any recipe that calls for marshmallow fluff in a peanut butter fudge recipe).  This recipe is three years in the making. I …

Shrimp Mirliton Dressing

Every good southern cook (or at least the cajun southern cook) has a good mirliton recipe to turn to for the Thanksgiving and/or Christmas feast. It's something special, a once-a-year tradition because historically, the mirliton used to only be available around the hols. The mirliton (Meh-la-taw) is a pear-shaped member of the squash family and …

Easy Crawfish or Shrimp Party Pasta

So many people have abandoned the beloved alfredo sauce because it's pretty high in calories. I'm not going to lie, this one is not something for a weekly meal but it does use half and half and 20% less fat Velveeta cheese which cuts the calories and fat a little without sacrificing ANY flavor or …

Autumn

Autumn is my faaavorite time of year. As the days get shorter and the evenings take on that cool, dry, crisp feel, the south lets out a sigh of reprieve. New Orleans is made for Autumn and Halloween, if there's a perfect time of year to be in New Orleans, it's October through New Years. …

What our state should learn from Ida

In the coming days, our government will start tooting its horn, bellowing all of the wonderful things that went right for the storm, patting its own back for the levees that held, the low death rate, and the overall handling of this catastrophic storm. No doubt there were many things that went well. This storm …

Ida thought we would have electricity by day 10

Well, today makes ten days since Hurricane Ida swept through Southeast Louisiana and left a trail of destruction, despair, collateral damage, power outages, and boil water orders. Excitingly, our boil water order was lifted yesterday afternoon for Jefferson Parish, a modern convenience not everyone has and I will never, ever take it for granted again. …

Checking the oil in your Generac Whole House Generator

The easiest guide (with pictures) to teach you to check and fill your oil on your generac generator.

Generators

Okay, I am NOT a sales person nor am I any type of expert but over the years, this lil Southern Girl has learned more than most about a lotta things generator. The differences, the pros/cons, setup, and YES, even maintenance. In the pages that follow, I'm gonna simplify it all for you and water …

Hurricane Guides

HURRICANE PARRRRTTTYYY. Okay, not really. In the pages that follow, I'll cover some hard lessons learned personally, and those passed down from MaMere and my parents. As New Orleanians, my family is now Katrida Survivors. We evacuated before Katrina hit, we stayed for the entire Ida ordeal from the storm to the recovery. We have …

Your Whole House Generator 101: Installation

Whole House Generators are the wave of the future, with waiting lists across the entire Southeastern US that spa six months to a year to have installed, it seems our home gas lines will be put to the test and hopefully, we can handle the influx and not suffer broken lines or other issues. Whole …

The Crash Course to Generators

Generators are such a hot commodity these days. No matter what state you live in, a generator can be a lifesaving grace when used properly. A disclaimer: I'm not a sales person nor am I a generator expert, I can't tell you how to service your broken generator but my parents have had a generator …

This time last week

Wow. It is almost unimaginable that this time, last week, the reality was really hitting. This monster was preparing to challenge Louisiana to the fight of its life. It's funny because in the days leading up to the storm, I was calm and in preparation mode. I took comfort in knowing my whole house generator …