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NOCE News:// Fall 2006
Dear Friends of the New Orleans
Cooking Experience,
I haven’t written in a while and thought you’d like
to know what we’ve been up to and how things are going.
An update on New Orleans:
We’ve made it through the historical peak of the hurricane
season, so keep your fingers crossed for us for another six weeks
or so. We survived the anniversary of Katrina. Most people observed
the day quietly with small dinners with friends and family to honor
those who were lost and those who lost so much. We are looking
forward to the opening of the Superdome for the Saints home opener
tonight. Season tickets are sold out – a first for us.
There is the belief that our population is almost half of our
pre-Katrina level. Most experts predicted it would take five
years for us to reach this level, so we think this is a very
good thing. This summer Congress finally approved additional
money for rebuilding homes and it is slowly trickling down to
actual home owners. The Corps of Engineers has missed many deadlines
on repair of the floodwalls and levees. If a storm comes this
season they will close the mouths of the canals where the breaches
occurred, but this will shut off most of the city’s pumping
capacity. So if there is a very wet storm, we will have the potential
for flooding from rain until after the storm passes and they
open the canals again.
We continue to have many heated debates about everything both
among ourselves and with others – coastal restoration, the Mississippi
River Gulf Outlet that we want closed, what should be rebuilt,
what shouldn’t, what should be bulldozed. Pot holes, water
pressure, the Mayor’s plan (or non-plan depending on your
position) and of course, insurance companies, FEMA and the Army
Corps of Engineers round it out. We still need housing for our
people and there is now a recognition that those with rental property
need help, too, to get their apartments up and running.
Looking back on where we were, we have made some major progress.
Most of us have reliable mail service now – including magazines.
Not much junk mail, though. Seeing a refrigerator on the curbside
is a rarity these days. We still have debris piles as people continue
to gut their houses. There is a rumor we will soon have twice weekly
garbage pick-up again. There is activity everywhere in the city
including lots of grass roots neighborhood movements.
Tourism was way off this summer, but the fall is looking brighter.
Even the cruise ships will be back soon. This is good news for
all of us in the hospitality industry. With Katrina arriving at
the end of a normally slow summer, we will have all endured about
15 months of slow to non-existent business. Many of the small,
unique shops and restaurants – especially in the French Quarter – are
hanging by a thread, so everyone will welcome October with great
anticipation.
The New Orleans Cooking Experience and the House on Bayou Road:
The House on Bayou Road has beautiful gardens once again. Cynthia
is working on fixing Bayou Self, the adorable private cottage that
got smashed by a falling tree. The people running Restaurant Indigo
on the property are not coming back, so Cynthia and I are thinking
about opening it up as a venue only so that weddings and large
events can return to the House on Bayou Road.
The cooking school is doing fine. Our Thursday night summer series
with restaurant chefs attracted a lot of local and regional business
and helped us get through the summer relatively unscathed. We are
going to continue doing some of these guest chef classes on Wednesday
nights in the fall, since Wednesdays are better nights for the
chefs to be away from their restaurants.
Frank Brigtsen is busy working on helping the seafood industry
get back on its feet and offering his services for charitable events
to support the restaurants of the city, too. Poppy was just named
by the New Orleans Times-Picayune as one of the 20 heroes of the
storm for her efforts to help our food suppliers, fishers and restaurants.
Jane, as I mentioned before, lost her house near the London Avenue
Canal. It was bulldozed two weeks ago. She was surprised that she
felt a great sense of relief, rather than sadness, to be done with
it and move on. They haven’t yet decided whether they want
to rebuild there or settle somewhere else in the city. Chiqui has
been teaching up a storm and doing some fancy catering, too. We’re
sad to say that Susan Ridgeway permanently moved to Baton Rouge,
so she won’t be teaching regular classes with us, but will
be with us occasionally.
A couple of more things:
New Orleans is definitely open and ready for business. All that
you love about the city is here, but many people are struggling
to keep their businesses open. So please pass the word along to
all to consider New Orleans if they are planning a trip soon. The
music is hot, the weather is cooling and the food is still some
of the best on the planet.
We have received a lot of questions about books on Katrina. I
have attached a list of some of the best books out there. I’m
sure Katrina will continue to be a great muse for both our writers
and our musicians for years to come.
The Holidays are coming and we have a discount on Gift Certificates
and Classes:
We have extended our summer discount rate of $150 through the winter.
We also have discounted our three-day and four-day vacation programs.
Give us a call if you are thinking of giving the gift of New Orleans
cooking.
~ Austin Leslie’s New Orleans Fried
Chicken ~
Below you will find a recipe from Austin Leslie. Chef Austin
was a true New Orleans icon and was known for making the best
fried chicken in the city at his restaurant, Chez Helene. He
was the inspiration for the CBS comedy, “Frank’s Place” in
the 70s and was the man in the kitchen who helped make Jacques-Imos
one of the city’s most popular restaurants. Chef Austin taught
in our restaurant chef series during the summer of 2005. Although
he had the means to do so, he, like so many others who had weathered
years of storms, did not evacuate for Katrina. He and his wife
ended up on the roof of their Gentilly home before being rescued
and dropped off on an overpass. They were there for several days
before being brought to the Superdome and then bused to Houston.
His family finally found them in Houston and brought him to Atlanta.
He died of a massive heart attack on his second day there. He was
71 and he was honored with the first jazz funeral after Katrina.
We so enjoyed his fun-loving style, his great cooking and his kindness
for spending time with us. So if you’d like to share in his
memory and taste the best fried chicken around, give the recipe
a try.
Best wishes to all,
Judy
Judy Jurisich
504/945-9104
866/500-NOCE (toll free)
2275 Bayou Road
New Orleans, LA 70119
www.neworleanscookingexperience.com
judy@neworleanscookingexperience.com
AUSTIN’S FRIED CHICKEN
Austin Leslie
Yield: 4 servings
Chef’s Notes: Austin began frying chicken when he was barely
out of middle school. In high school, he worked for Mr. Bill Turner
at Portia’s Restaurant on Rampart Street. Portia’s
served up crispy, fried chicken garnished with dill pickles. This
recipe was passed on to Austin. Over the past fifty years or so,
Austin has used this recipe to draw crowds from the four corners
of the globe to eat his fried chicken.
Hot tips for frying chicken:
1. Keep the oil clean and the temperature even. Bring chicken to
room temperature before frying. Cold chicken will chill your
oil.
2. Don’t let the milk soak into the skin or the sugars
in the milk will cause your chicken to turn black.
3. The perfect size bird to work with at home is 2 ½ to
3 lbs.
4. Fry the heavy parts (thigh, breast and leg) first. Put the wings
in last. But, never crowd your pan or fryer.
5. After about 8 minutes of cooking, pierce each piece of chicken
in its thickest part. The best tool for this job is a heavy, two-pronged
fork. This allows just a little bit of oil seep into the thickest
parts to cook the meat all the way to the bone. Don’t worry,
when you master the technique the way Austin has, your chicken
will not be greasy.
6. Be sure to use an oil (such as peanut oil, lard or shortening)
that can withstand high heat for relatively long periods of time.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups Peanut oil for frying
1 fryer, cut up, 3 to 3 ½ lbs
Salt and pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup light cream or half & half
1 cup water
½ cup all-purpose flour
Chopped dill pickles for garnish
1 tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
Page 2, Austin’s Fried Chicken, Austin Leslie
Preheat oil in frying pan or deep fryer to 350°. Wash chicken
pieces under cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Make egg batter by combining egg, cream, water, salt and pepper.
Dip pieces first in egg batter to coat and then in flour. Add chicken
pieces to skillet or fryer, meatiest parts first. Do not crowd.
Turn to brown on all sides. If oil pops, reduce flame. Cook until
meat is tender and skin is crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish
with pickles, parsley and garlic.
Reheating hint: bring to room temperature and heat, uncovered at
a slow heat (about 300°).
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