Homegrown is best

Hello my friends in food!

A few weeks ago I became motivated to grow a few things after my dismay at the lackluster, flavorless produce available in the market.  I grew up with fresh veggies being served almost daily and in the off season I was offered fresh frozen all straight from my Dad's garden. 

I hate to be sentimental but I miss the taste of a warm sun ripened tomatoes fresh off the vine or snacking on a fresh picked cuke.  I have attempted to grow veggies here before but with limited success.  The insects here have proven to be formidable foes.  My last years crop of tomatoes, eggplant and squash yielded very little and what it did was almost all infested.  I did have good luck with basil and oregano and they paired well with my homemade mozzarella and local fresh tomatoes.  I'll have a mozzarella lesson soon.  I need to order some rennet first.

This year I decided to grow a few things that I know grow fairly well here and one that I don't have a clue about.  I planted spinach, snow peas, grape tomatoes, crook neck squash, romaine lettuce and asparagus beans.

So after watching and watering I finally was able to taste the first of what I hope will be a continuous cascade of crunchiness!

Here it is in all it's glory!!!

I clipped only the larger outer leaves as I hope that it will continue to produce new leaves all season long. It was crisp without bitterness a great improvement over store bought.  My garden is limited to a few boxes.  I've only been gardening in Mississippi for a few seasons so I'm going to experiment to see what works before I go on to a larger plot.

Here's my little garden.

Out of sight are my tomato plants.  I plant them near the house so the warmth of the bricks radiates to them at night.  If you notice in the 3rd planter I have green onions popping up.  I planted them last year from seed and they spontaneously came back!

I recommend everyone try to grow at least a little something they enjoy eating.   It can take a little time and it can be frustrating but...the rewards of eating something you have grown on your own are immeasurable.

Ah the zen of fresh lettuce!!

"Chow For Now"

Pete

Half Shell Oyster House

Hello my fellow Freaks in food!

Tonight I had the pleasure of eating at the Half Shell Oyster House in Gulfport.  We started the evening with Voodoo Shrimp.  A tasty combo of fried shrimp in a sweet yet spicy sauce.  I really liked the flavor and the shrimp were cooked to perfection.  Terri, my faithful culinary companion, really loved these and they are definitely on the must get list next time we go.

For our main course Terri had ordered the Half Shell Pasta with grilled shrimp and I ordered the Seafood Pasta and upon the recommendation of our waitress Brianna I orderd a crab cake on the side. 

Our pasta came with a nice salad with homemade dressing.  Terri went for thousand island and I went for ranch.

First I must say the greens in the salad were very fresh and the salad was a perfect size to tempt the taste buds.  The dressing was fantastic and not over seasoned.  This is very important to me because I love to taste everything as it should be, not masked by spice or salt.

On to the pasta.  There was a bit of an oops here as Terri ordered shrimp and it came with chicken.  No big deal since she had already gotten her shrimp fix.  Brianna was more than apologetic and offered to re-do the order or even take it off the tab.  We reassured her that it was fine and we proceeded to induldge.

My pasta came with shrimp, crab and crawfish tails in a spicy alfredo type sauce and mushrooms.  Terri's was also in a similar sauce.  I will note the dish normally comes with artichokes but Terri isn't fond of them so they removed them for her in the kitchen.

The crab cake was well seasoned and came with a wonderful sauce that I can't put my finger on.  Sort of tangy like tartar sauce yet with it's own personality.

The food was overall wonderful.  I really appreciated the quality of the food.  Everything was fresh and according to Brianna the restaurant tries to buy locally and also tries to introduce ingredients not normally on the food scene in this area i.e., microgreens etc.  I think it's very important to support local growers and establishments.  It's part of the personality of a town. 

On to the service which Terri and I agreed  was great .  When we arrived there was a little crowd but not too terrible.  Unfortunately the hostess wasn't there to seat people as she was with other customers.  Brianna to the rescue!!!! She sat a couple before us and quickly came to assist us.  Not only did she quickly get us a table, she even sat the other couple in another of the wait staffs tables.  This is a big deal to me because she could have easily loaded her own section to maximize tips but she shared the customers.

Our glasses were always full and the food came out like clockwork.  It's nice to see the kitchen staff and wait staff work well together.

Overall The Half Shell gets 2 big thumb up.  Quality food obviously prepared and served by people who care about their product and their customers!

We will definitely be back and will spread the word!

"Chow For Now"

Pete

Sushi Spot Biloxi

Hello my Friends in Food!

This afternoon Terri's friend Leonie Johnston, owner of  Lavish salon in Biloxi, celebrated it's 4th anniversary so we went by to say hello and offer our congratulations. The place is awesome and is located in an older building with a wonderfully comfortable feel. Please give them a call and support a local business http://lavishsalon.net/index.php.  After we said our hellos we decided to go to The Sushi Spot in downtown Biloxi on MLK Blvd.  We had eaten here before but it was BB (before blog). 

Tonight we started with egg drop soup.  I am a soup freak.  I absolutely love soup and this was great.  Terri says it's her all time favorite egg drop yet!  Nice rich flavor, a smooth texture and sightly thickened.  We followed up with an order of egg rolls.  The order is small but it is an appetizer so it was just the right amount.  The sauce was sweet and spicy without being overpowering.  For entrees Terri had The Generals Chicken and I had stir fry shrimp udon.  The portions were large and required takeout for both of us. 

The udon was perfect! The sauce was flavorful and it allowed the noodles to take center stage as they rightfully should.  The shrimp were small but that proved to be an asset to the dish, although small, there was a large amount of them so you were able to get a taste of everything in every bite a definite plus in my book.

Terri enjoyed her chicken immensely so I think next time I'll get it for myself.  We are never shy about sampling each others food but for some reason we were content just savoring our own individual meals.  This was probably for the better because the strong flavor difference probably would have overpowered the noodles.

I would be amiss if I didn't mention the high quality service we received from Thuy.  She was professional, polite, and genuinely seemed to care about us.  She had a constant smile and was very attentive. Thanks a million Thuy!  You made our meal that much more enjoyable!!

I recommend The Sushi Spot whole heartedly.  Prices are reasonable, food is top notch and service is great.  I haven't tried lunch there yet but certainly will.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!  Especially my sweetheart Terri my constant culinary companion and sidekick!!

"Chow for Now"

Pete

Shaggy's In the Pass

Hello my Fellow Food Freaks!! 

Hit another new place last night in Pass Christian called Shaggy's http://shaggys.biz/

Weather was nasty and the week had worn me out but with a little coaxing and the promise of a fireplace off I went.  Shaggy's is located right at the harbor making it really cool to hang out at during the summer.  As for the current weather the restaurant is plenty warm enough with a fireplace right in the middle. 

As usual have to have tea.  Since I no longer partake of the grape it's my go to drink.  We started out with the Jamaican Jerk Shrimp for an appetizer.  The flavor was sweet and spicy with a good balance between flavors.  Good size shrimp didn't hurt. 

Main dish was the Crawfish and Mushroom pasta.  This was a tasty dish with plenty of crawfish tails in a nice tasso cream sauce. 

The service was fast and polite and glasses stayed filled.

A couple of notes:

1.  This is a family restaurant so dress is casual.
2.  Portions are ok but not great.
3.  Caution when navigating the stairs.  It was raining and they were slippery.

The above are not complaints just things to be aware of.  The food was wonderful and the staff went above expectations.  I am guilty of a bad memory or I would give a shout out to our waiter.

Give the place a shot.  Menu has a pretty good variety without being unmanageable.

"Chow for Now"

Pete

John Besh's Jalapeno Cheese Grits

Hello my fellow freaks in foodness!!

Well I decided to try and make Chef Besh's chese grits this evening.  Let me start out by saying that quality ingredients make a difference and with that in mind let's do it!

I didn't bother to take photos because it's grits.  If I would have done a plate with them I would have snapped away.

1st I took a jalapeno pepper and roasted it till it was well charred. I poped it into a small paper bag and let the steam from the pepper loosen the skin.

Once I could handle the pepper I peeled the skin, cut it in half and removed the seeds and ribs.  I tend to like a bit more heat but this was the first attempt and I had  my son Petes friend as a victim, albeit a willing one.  Diced that bad boy up and put to the side. 

To continue the prep work I pulled out 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of Marscapone cheese, and 4 ounces of Edam cheese.

After the prep was complete, I brought to a boil 4 1/2 cups of water with 1 tsp of salt. I looked hard for good old fashioned grits but the store only had quick cook.  Oh well!  I whisked 1 cup of grits into the water.  You need to keep stirring this stuff or you'll have lava like bubbles popping all over the stove and yourself.

5 minutes later I stirred in all my other ingredients and VOILA!!

They were a hit!  6 servings made I ate 1 put 1 in the fridge the rest down my guinea pigs throat.  

I felt bad about not going with a slow cook grit but I made up for it with quality ingredients, i.e., cheese and butter.

I purposely placed one of the servings in a round container in hopes it will solidify a bit.  I'm thinking of removing it from the container and grilling it till it's warm and topping with grilled cajun spiced shrimp or a crawfish and cream sauce.

I'm open for suggestions!!

Give this recipe a shot it's suprisingly tasty

"Chow For Now"

Pete

A week in New Orleans

Hello my Fellow Fod Freaks!

Just back from a week in New Orleans.  I was attending a training session for my job at the VA.  To say I ate too much would be an understatement. The food options are so numerous I think you could eat at a new place every day and never eat at the same place twice.  With that in mind I'll hit some highlights.

1st up is Brother's Fried Chicken.  I ate there last night.  It's literally in a convenienc store on Common Ave.  At first I was a bit apprehensive but alas when in Rome!  The chicken put anything to shame I have eaten in the past. Juicy can't describe it and the coating was crispy and not greasy at all.  It came with a generous portion of steak fries and on the recommendation from one of the employees at the hotel I was staying I tried one of the meat pies.  HOLY NOM!  That little sucker had more flavor than I expected.  Nice and spicy!  If I would have had a fridge in my room I would have bought a dozen!!  Pie was only a couple of bucks chicken was $4.00 for 2 thighs and 2 legs.  This was also good since food in the city is OUTRAGEOUSLY high priced. 

2nd was The American Sector at the National WW2 Museum.  I had a corned beef on rye with hand cut chips, slaw and cheese grits.  The restaurant is owned by John Besh.  Not only a great chef but a Marine too!  Semper Fi!  There are some great reasons for the food to be so wonderful. First all meats are smoked and prepared in house.  Second they believe in sustainable local products and third it just tastes great.

Now I'm not a born and bred Southerner but I do enjoy my grits.  The grits at the American Sector taste so good it'll make you wanna slap yo mama!  They were spicy, creamy and cheesy.  I wanted to lick the bowl!!  I found the recipe and will be posting pics and the recipe later.

Although I didn't get to Cafe DuMonde I did have opportunity to eat some traditional New Orleans foods. Red Beans and rice at Mother's Cafe and a muffaletta at Cafe Maspero.  Mother's is crazy busy but the food was wonderful and service good an obvious favorite with the locals. 

Masperos got mixed reviews on Yahoo and I couldn't tell you why.  The sandwich was a beast!!  The darn thing wouldn't fit in my mouth!  Luckily I had a prybar.  This was a classic.  Tons of meat and olive salad dripping everywhere!

Unfortunately the prices in the city have risen sharply from what I remember.  It wasn't uncommon for a meal to run $30.00 or more WITHOUT drinks. There is a Harrah's Casino so lunch isn't too bad at $10.00 a head.  Keep in mind it is a casino buffet so the seasoning levels aren't typical of the local restaurants. 

Overall great food experience was had.  I would recommend you try to go where the locals go and roll with the flow as each place has it's own personality and style.

Helpful hint!!!!!  Take cash.  A lot of places don't take plastic or give seperate checks.  If you go with a group, which just increases the fun, let them know, ATMs abound but at an average of $3.00 a transaction it's not worth it.


Next week long trip will be to Jackson MS in April.  I wonder what culinary adventures I will find!

Until next time!!

"Chow for Now"

Pete

Aristo's D'Iberville

Hello my friends in food!

I was reminded the other day that I neglected the meal I enjoyed at one of the newer places in the area.  The Promenade in D'Iberville is loaded with places to eat.  You name it they got it!  Pretty much all the standard shopping mall eateries.  But there is a hidden gem tucked away and unfortunately a little out of site. 

Aristo's is a little piece of variety in the cookie cutter restaurants of mall land.  Terri and I where wandering one day and she suggested we give them a shot. 

We of course had to have our unsweet tea. and for an appetiser we tried the pita pizza mozz.  This was pretty tasty.  Warm pita bread with melted mozzarella and served with a feta ranch dipping sauce!!!!

We also tried the Flat potato fries.  It's a really cool concept. They slice a whole potato and deep fry it.  It had more of a home fry texture and I thought  it OK but I could take it or leave it. 

I followed up with the gyro with added feta.  I love me some feta!  I've had gyros all over the country and this was the first time it was suggested to me to try it with melted feta.  I didn't know what I was missing!! 

The sandwich was packed with gyro meat veggies and oozing melted cheese.  It was a very satisfying meal. 
Terri indulged herself in a grilled shrimp wrap that looked great.  Judging from the mmmmmmms and yummms we both agreed that there will be a future visit.

The wait staff was wonderful and attentive without hovering.  Glass was always full and food was hot and fresh.

Prices pretty good and you can tell the staff enjoys what they do.  Give em a try!  If we don't support these smaller businesses we will be doomed to chain restaurants and woe to the adventurous palate!!!

"Chow for Now"

Pete