Weekend Recap: NOLA

Hello Loveys!  Sorry for the delay, I got stuck in NOLA for one more day after my flight got canceled but let me just say - WHAT.A.WEEKEND.  Holy Moly, where to begin!

E's bachelorette party got started with a bang on Friday with some fun details, food and drinks in the room and then we hit Bourbon that night.

our mini set up in one of the rooms at the W.  yes, I traveled with all that nonsense.

 

little gift cups for all the girls.  got these at target for only 58 cents each and

added names and filled them with pool ready essentials.

 

 

This was my first time to NOLA and I have to say, I was a little surprised by how chaotic and dirty it was.  EVERYTHING smells, it's just crazy.  As E's fiance later put it: "doesn't it feel so good to leave that place?" Haha. 

 

Smells aside, we had fun and got to check out a few local haunts.  We had breakfast at Mother's, which featured all the classic southern dishes like baked ham, sausage, eggs, grits and biscuits but the general consensus was that only the biscuits were really remarkable.

 



via. yes, this is the creepy street corner of mother's.

 

We later hit up Johnny's Po Boys for lunch where the po boy was invented, also a questionable interior with lots of greasy soul food, but significantly better - try to muffalata - i know, weird choice.

 

And some of us checked out Palace Cafe on Sunday for brunch.  This was my second favorite meal with a bloody mary bar, banana beignets and eggs benedict with debris.  Debris you say? like Trash? Ah yes, this is a common meat term in NOLA that refers to either beef or pork shreds that fall off when roasting - they are served with a light gravy (no cream) on biscuits and it is like eating a delicious heart attack on a plate.  Been there. Done that. Not going to happen again for my health.  Seriously though, the Palace Cafe was beautiful and quaint in such a way that only a little french restaurant can be - caned back bistro chairs, lots of heavy wood work, black and white octagonal penny tiles - be still my heart!

 

and this is their sign out front.  isn't it darling?

 

So if you're keeping track, Palace was only my second favorite restaurant - because we went to Luke for dinner Saturday and it was INCREDIBLE.  Probably one of the best dinners I've ever had - easily in the top 10.  Like Palace, this was a traditional southern take on French food with all the delicious pomme frittes and bearnaise sauces a girl could want.  The service was excellent, the menu had something for everyone and I feel that the price was a deal considering the quality of food and presentation.  two thumbs up!



 

loved the design of the Luke menu.

 

 

You'll notice that this post doesn't detail any of the debauchery of the trip - let's just say we had our fun and NOLA won't be forgetting these 8 girls any time soon.

 

night two. W lobby.

 

Especially after this. We love Texas and the USA what can I say?

 

and you can totally tell the part where none of us knows the words. perfect.

 

More house stuff later this week once I got started on the detox that my liver and heart so desperately need.

 

xoxo,

KC

 

 

 

 

Friday Foodie

So D finally emailed me the rib recipe, and I see that it's lacking the rub part - no malice on his part, probably just forgot. Here's what we know to be true: the cooking method is just as important, if not more so, as the flavor.

We usually use this rub that we get in Nashville from the greatest grocery store EVER - Fresh Market. We don't have a Fresh Market in St. Louis or even Missouri for that matter due to some crazy (to me) grocery labor unions. This is also the travesty the prevents us from ever getting a Super Target with legit grocery - painful. I digress. TFM has tons of rubs for poultry, steaks, potatoes, you name it there's a rub for it, but we always use the "Anything Goes" rub which includes: sea salt, paprika, sugar, cumin, fennel, brown sugar, coriander, mint, red chili flakes, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne, in that order so you could probably guesstimate this. We ran out of the mix so we added in most of the above and ground it together with a mortar and pestle.

Once you have your rub fixed up, you follow the below instructions. It should also be noted that this is Big T's recipe that he has worked on for a LONG time and consulted lots of local butchers, chefs, etc. on. We keep using baby back ribs because that seems to be what's most readily available here in St. Louis but regular back ribs will be slightly more fatty but will also yield a more tender finished product - baby backs are fine, you just have to watch them and adjust accordingly if things look like they're drying out too much.

"Big T's Ribs"

adapted by D

with clarification notes by katie

Purchase Back Ribs or Baby Back Ribs. Remove membrane from bone side of ribs. Do this when they are all together before cutting racks into smaller sections. Easiest to work on this with a tea towel rather than paper towels to get a better grip - this is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF GETTING TENDER RIBS.

Blot dry with paper towels.

Generously apply rub (see above) and brown sugar (about a cup total across 4 full racks of ribs) to both sides of ribs. Push spices in deep. Wrap each section of ribs tightly in plastic wrap and

cover in an aluminum pan overnight - in the fridge, duh. There's no time limit here but we usually prep them around 12 or 1 the day prior to cooking to give you an idea.

Next day, remove plastic and place all ribs in aluminum pan bone side down. Recover pan (with aluminium foil or the topper that came with it) and bake 3-4 hours at 225.

Put on grill on low-medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side. When they begin to get crispy, it's time for barbecue sauce. You can use whatever sauce you'd like. We usually use whatever's regional (as in nashville sauce in nashville, stl sauce in stl, and even Toronto bbq sauce when we were in toronto earlier this summer)

Move to indirect heat. Then brush sauce on heavily. Then grill on low heat for ten minutes. Brush again and grill another five to ten. Take off grill and eat. um i love that last part.

So there it is - enjoy! I usually serve this with these green beans a la my hero.

via. pretty sure i could be happy as a clam living in the hamptons,

cooking in this kitchen and being the barefoot contessa in training.

I'll be getting my foodie on in NOLA this weekend for my bestie's bachelorette party! Pics with the cute deets I've been crafting when I return. Hopefully we stay dry, apparently someone named Nadine is trying to crash the party.

xoxo,

KC