Essential Music of New Orleans: Professor Longhair and Dr. John

In this I will be posting various musicians and albums that are essential to the music of New Orleans. To start Professor Longhair, famous for his songs about Jambalaya, Tipitina (famous music club), Go to the Mardi Gras, Stag o Lee, etc.   A good place to start is his great album  of songs Rock and Roll Gumbo.

Here is a youtube of Go to the Mardi Gras:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wAMr3V5lN4

Here is Tipitina:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-lsiDJWMsQ

and

Jambalaya:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI85doNXwFk

Next we will introduce Dr. John and his music and his famous album: Dr. John's Gumbo. Here is a recent article about him in the Wall Street Journal.

Must do's for New Orlean's Articles

Today I am reposting an earlier article of must do's in New Orleans,  as well as this current one by Greg Dulli of his top 10 musts.  Among his picks are many in the Marigny, Lion's Inn area.  The bicycle tours start in Washington Park, just a few blocks away.  BJ's is within a 10 minute walk (heard Little Freddy King there recently, House of Dance and Feathers in lower ninth, visited him last time there with Jane,  I agree the Mariza's great experience,  and of course one of the prizes for watching the first four episodes of Treme is a gift certificate to the Joint.

The other article was by the actor that plays Sonny in Treme, Michiel Huisman: Experiencing New Orleans with fresh eyes and ears.

New Orleans Cocktail of the Week: The Sazerac, Quintessential Cocktail of New Orleans

Sazerac is perhaps the most well know of the canon of New Orleans Cocktails.  Here is an article on one of the old time crusty bartenders in New Orleans:Paul Gusting
This classic recipe for the sazerac is from David Wondrich, one of the Master's of Mixology and cocktail history:

Ingredients

• 1 sugar cube
• 2 1/2 ounces rye whisky
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• absinthe
• lemon peel

Glass Type: old-fashioned glass

Instructions

In an Old-Fashioned glass (not a mixing glass; it's part of the ritual), muddle a sugar cube with a few drops of water. Add several small ice cubes and the rye whiskey,* the Peychaud's bitters, and the Angostura bitters.**

Stir well and strain into a second, chilled, Old-Fashioned glass in which you have rolled around a few drops of absinthe (no substitute really works, but you can try either a mix of Pernod and green Chartreuse, or Absente) until its inside is thoroughly coated, pouring off the excess. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel (some insist that this be squeezed over the drink and discarded; Handy wasn't so picky).

* Use the good stuff, if you can find it: Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye (13 years old), or Sazerac Rye (18 years old).

** Optional. It's not in the original recipe, but it's traditional nonetheless, and it's not bad.

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Every field has its Connoisseur's Choice. For British Invasion bands, it's the Kinks. For sunglasses, it's Ray-Ban Wayfarers. For Renaissance epic poetry, it's Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. And so on. Supply your own. Considered objectively, the Connoisseur's Choice might not be the obvious or even necessarily the best example of what the field has to offer. But that's part of its appeal -- it's like a secret handshake, a decoder ring by which you can identify your fellow-obsessives. In the world of mixed drinks, this role is performed by the Sazerac, a venerable New Orleans specialty that possesses three things near and dear to the cocktail geek's heart: It uses rare, strongly flavored ingredients (including an obscure brand of bitters and absinthe); there's a special, unique procedure involved in making it (see recipe); and it's got a cool history.

Although the Sazerac's formula didn't see print until the early twentieth century, the drink is a lot older than that. Like the Brandy Crusta, it's a New Orleans riff on the original American "Cock-Tail," which consisted of nothing more than liquor -- any liquor -- stepped on with a bit of sugar, a dash or two of bitters, and some water, with maybe a little lemon peel thrown in at the end. Some time around 1850, one Sewell T. Taylor gave up his Merchants Exchange Coffee House (that "Exchange" meant it was in fact a bar) and went into the imported liquor business. Among his wares: a brand of cognac named Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. At the same time, Aaron Bird, a clerk, took over the Merchants Exchange and changed its name to the Sazerac House. Its main specialty was the "Sazerac Cocktail," a cocktail, as above, made with Taylor's Sazerac cognac and -- it is claimed -- the bitters that were being made down the street by a prominent local druggist, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. The Sazerac House changed hands a bunch of times after that, spending a good twenty years under the control of Thomas Handy, a Maryland man. At some point before his death in 1889, Handy wrote down or otherwise divulged the recipe for the house cocktail. However he got it, William T. "Cocktail Bill" Boothby published it in the 1908 edition of his The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them.

Only one little problem: Boothby's recipe -- which he claims came straight from Handy -- calls for not Sazerac cognac, but "good whiskey." Huh. There's a logical explanation for that, thank God, and it has to do with a bug. Back in the 1870s and 1880s, y'see, a little American aphid called Phylloxera vastatrix was chewing up the roots of vineyards all over Europe, not omitting those in the part of France where cognac was made. Between 1875 and 1879, total French wine production fell by two-thirds. All across the Anglo-Saxon world, folks who had sworn by French brandy were switching to whiskey. In New Orleans, the whiskey at hand would've been straight rye, traditional there ever since, back in riverboat days, the distillers of Western Pennsylvania used to float it down the Ohio to the Mississippi with the spring floods. Whatever the reason, it's a brilliant substitution. While we like our Sazeracs just fine with the original cognac, we positively slaver over them with rye. Handy's recipe also calls for a glass rinsed with absinthe, but that's just New Orleans being New Orleans.

All that history and mixology aside, the Sazerac is a wonderfully butch sort of tipple. It's the kind of thing you'd put away a three-bagger of while sitting in some palooka dive two blocks down Eighth Avenue from Stillman's gym with your pal who works for The Sporting News, cracking peanuts and dissecting Sonny Liston's chances against Cassius Clay. A man's drink (although we've known plenty of dames who'd take one of these every time over some of the bellywash we see men drinking these days).

About the HOOD: Frenchmen Street (few blocks from Lion's Inn

Good introduction to the magic of music and culture on Frenchmen Street in our neighborhood.  A group of music and jazz clubs and street musicians and poets.

HBO Treme Series Sweepstakes

Just an update on the Treme Series Sweepstakes.  Those that watch the first 4 episodes will win a $15 gift to either The Joint BBQ, best BBQ in the city and our neighborhood,  or to Cake Cafe and Bakery , just down the block from Lion's Inn.

Now just added, those that complete the first season of Treme will get a Red Beans and Rice DIY kit, that will include Camiellia Beans,  Chaurice Sausage,  Tasso, and Creole Seasoning Blend!

Drew and Jocelyn were over the other night and we watched episodes 2 and 3 of the first season.  This is all honor system, and my intention is a deeper knowledge of the scene since Katrina, including, food, music, politics, police, .....


Next up for a post will be a start with the history of music in New Orleans

Red Beans and Rice: Monday's Historical Food

Red beans and rice are the traditionally served food in New Orleans on Monday's. This was the beginning of the work week, and  when the wash was usually done.  They put on a pot of red beans and rice, and knew that when they came back there would be that delicious pot, flavored by the ham bone from Sunday's dinner awaiting them.

The recipe in the above link looks pretty good and gives you the bones of the dish.  While last in New Orleans I made my first pot of red beans, which came out well I must say.  I always incorporate various renditions, then add a little of my own additions.  The brand famous in New Orleans is Camellia Brand.

The recipe that I have found to be the most interesting is from the gumbo pages which have a great selection of recipes:

The quintessential New Orleans dish, traditionally served on Mondays.

A lot of this is going to be trial-and-error, and it's going to take a little practice before you get it right. Me, I got good at it by making it once a week for over two years, and putting out an open invitation to my friends that there'd be red beans 'n rice at Chuck's place every Sunday (well, it was tough to cook on Mondays back then).

This dish holds a very special place in my heart. While I have many favorite dishes, and have had fabulous meals the likes of which come along very rarely ... this is tops. It's delicious, it's cheap, it's simple, and it makes me feel good. It's the number one comfort food in the world for me.

You'll probably want to fiddle with it each time you make it, and arrive at the exact, instinctual combinations of seasonings that you like. Feel free to alter this recipe to your taste, but don't stray too far.

You can make this dish completely vegetarian, and it's still really good; instructions are below.

This recipe is featured on pages 116-117 of the 2001 Frommer's Guide to New Orleans, for which I also wrote a bunch of restaurant reviews. Neato!

• 1 pound red kidney beans, dry
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 5 ribs celery, chopped
• As much garlic as you like, minced (I like lots, 5 or 6 cloves)
• 1 large smoked ham hock, 3/4 pound of Creole-style pickle meat (pickled pork), or 3/4 lb. smoked ham, diced, for seasoning
• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds mild or hot smoked sausage or andouille, sliced on the bias
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• As many dashes Crystal hot sauce or Tabasco as you like, to taste
• A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Creole seasoning blend, to taste; OR,
  • red pepper and black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice, links or patties, grilled or pan-fried, one link or patty per person (optional)
• Pickled onions (optional)

It's not necessary to soak the beans overnight, but you can if you want to. If you do, drain the water and cover the beans with a double volume of fresh water in the pot. (This helps reduce the, um, flatulence factor.) Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water, or they will discolor and get hard. Boil the beans for about an hour, until the beans are tender but not falling apart.

While the beans are boiling, sauté the Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the ham hock (or ham or pickle meat), smoked sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir occasionally, making sure that it doesn't burn and/or stick to the bottom of the pot. (If the beans are old -- say, older than six months to a year -- they won't get creamy. Make sure the beans are reasonably fresh. If it's still not getting creamy, take 1 or 2 cups of beans out and mash them, then return them to the pot and stir.)

If you can ... let the beans cool, stick them in the fridge, and reheat and serve for dinner the next day. They'll taste a LOT better. When you do this, you'll need to add a little water to get them to the right consistency.

Serve generous ladles-ful over hot white long-grain rice, with good French bread and good beer. I also love to serve grilled or broiled fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice on the side. Do not serve with a canned-beet salad, like my Mom always used to do. (Sorry, Mom ... try something interesting with fresh beets and we'll talk. :^)

I like serving a few small pickled onions with my red beans -- I chop them up and mix them in with the beans. It's great! Why does it taste so good? As my sister's friend (and dyed-in-the-wool New Orleanian) Cherie Valenti would say ... "It's da vineguh!"

YIELD: 8 servings

I used this and then improvised: adding some dried orange peel, some sherry vinegar, a dash of pomegranate molasses, and a TBS of brown sugar or the piloncilla they have in Mexican grocery stores.  

This dish is very similar to Feijoada, a Portuguese dish very popular in Brazil and Columbia. Here is another Feijoada recipe.

So enjoy!

Big Chief Howie