New Orleans: The Final Act

Allow me to introduce you to the LUCKY DOG. These hot dog vendors can be found on every corner in New Orleans and they taste oh so good after midnight. Mustard and relish please.

I do have a recipe to share with you, but let me first round out my trip to New Orleans for you. It rocked.

Jim and I had a delightful lunch at Cochon, located next to a butcher. Now THAT is fresh meat.

I had braised pork cheeks on top of a crusty radish cake with goat cheese and arugula. I ate every bit of this.

I really enjoyed this ginger ale, it was SPICY and carbonated and very refreshing.

Jim had a creative bacon and grilled oyster sandwich.

He said it was "different" and it must have been good because he ate it all.

At one of the events we attended, Jim was pulled onto the dance floor by a dance performance team.

I couldn't let him have all the fun. Here we are posing with some performers.

What is a trip to New Orleans without a trip to Cafe du Monde.

Jim and I sat out on the patio and shared an order of their famous beignets. Covered in powdered sugar, you have to be sure not to inhale as you take a bite.

One evening, Jim and I visited W.I.N.O. which stands for the Wine Institute of New Orleans. You get a card that when inserted into the wine machines, allows you to serve yourself an ounce, two ounce or full glass of any of the wines they have hooked up to the machine.

This state of the art wine bar was so much fun. Here is Jim sipping and swirling.

We had perfect seats at the House of Blues on the front row balcony to watch the Spazmatics. This 80's cover band from Austin, Texas is highly entertaining and had us laughing, dancing and singing along with their crazy act.

One afternoon Jim and I went to the Aquarium and he was stoked to actually PET A SHARK! Although he tried hard to get me to play too, I told him I was strictly the photographer to catch his special moment with Jaws.

Here is a self portrait of Jim and I in the French Quarter.

My favorite boys (minus brother Brad) outside Pat O'Brien's.

My mom and I waiting in line at Pat O's.

Mandy meet the Hurricane. Here Mandy had 2 hurricanes!

One of the highlights for me was dining at Nola, one of Emeril Lagasse's New Orleans restaurants. Nola is a funky and informal restaurant with a fresh menu of New Orleans Creole, done Lagasse's way.

The days we spent in New Orleans were great. We made some wonderful memories with each other, with my parents who surprised me there and were able to dine on some fabulous creole, hear amazing music and party non-stop.

Which is probably why I got sick as soon as we returned. I'm going on day four of something awful. Feels like a cold, dripping into my throat, clogging my head. I've been feeling terrible, but I wanted to share with you the rest of our trip to New Orleans and ALSO explain where I've been the last few days...in bed...or on the couch... going through tissues and cold medicine like crazy.

I'll tell you what made me feel better, a hot steaming bowl of chunky and creamy chicken noodle soup.

Paula Deen's, The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup, served as my inspiration. I also read through Tyler Florence's Chicken Noodle Soup recipe to help me get started.

I started by defrosting a couple chicken breasts. Then seasoned with salt and pepper, placed in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until the chickens were cooked through.

To start with the veggies I placed two tablespoons of butter into my favorite green dutch oven.

I added some olive oil and let it heat up over medium heat.

Next, I chopped one yellow onion and added it to the dutch oven and let it saute for at least five minutes so the onions get translucent before adding more veggies.

The recipes I read included fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary and parsley. I only had tarragon, a fresh herb that I rarely cook with. So tarragon it is!

When the onions are ready...or when I was ready chopping the rest of the veggies... I add about four chopped celery sticks.

And a about three carrots, diced.

In lieu of fresh thyme, I added one teaspoon of ground thyme.

1 full tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Lot's of flavor here!

And one bay leaf... for good measure.

You know I HAD to add some garlic! I only added 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic here.

I didn't measure, but gave the veggies a nice even sprinkling of black pepper.

Then I gave it a good stir and let the veggies sizzle.

Following Paula's lead, I added 1/3 cup of dry sherry to the veggies and stirred until most the liquid was evaporated.

Next, I got creative and added 64 ounces of chicken stock and one small can of cream of chicken soup.

Here the soup starts coming together.

Once my soup was boiling I added two cups of dried egg noodles.

Because Paula did it, I also did it. One cup of cream.

My chicken is done, so I shred the meat with a fork.

It is seasoned well and stayed really moist.

Into the soup it goes.

Now I add my touch of cream to make this soup truly decadent.

Then add the chopped fresh tarragon.

Oh look at this! This homemade chicken noodle soup didn't take the cold away, but it surely warmed me up and filled my tummy with chicken and veggie goodness.

The Exam is Behind Me!

The photo is a tad blurry, but this is a picture of a random marching band that passed by Jim and I while we walked to dinner last night. It was great, you can definitely feel the heart and sole of New Orleans down here. When the sun goes down, the city comes alive.

My big exam was this morning, so last night needed to be a low key and early evening.

We dined at Red Fish Grill upon several recommendations from locals and the hotel concierge.

It was labeled a great restaurant for foodies on OpenTable.com so Jim thought it would be the perfect place to take me for dinner. And it was. It helped me stop worrying about the test and enjoy a nice evening away from my textbooks and flashcards.

I was thrilled to order the soup of the day, a shrimp chowder that was creamy and spicy with chunks of shrimp, corn and taso - a creole ham that has been seasoned and smoked. It was a bowl full of warm goodness!

Look at this! One of my most favorite bottles of wine on the menu for $50. Jim thought it was a misprint... I was stoked. Although I had to limit my wine to only one glass. I needed to be in bed early and able to wake up clear and refreshed for my test. You do the math...I had one glass and Jim had three - woo hoo was he a happy boy!

So let me fill you in on the test. It was long and hard... took me all four hours to complete but I felt pretty good about how I did when I left the testing room. I find out in six weeks. Man was I a bottle of nerves and I was so freaking happy to simply be done with this exam.

I walked into the hotel, completely spent... and you wouldn't believe who was sitting on the sofa waiting for me. My mom and dad flew in to surprise me! I completely lost it. It was a combination of being totally shocked and happy to see them in New Orleans and also a release of the tension and stress I had been carrying with this test. I can't tell you how good it felt to RELEASE and realize I was done (probably, I actually get my test results in six weeks).

My dad told me that Jim didn't know they were in town, and thought it would be fun to surprise him too. So I went up the room where Jim was pacing - he wanted to know all the details and how I felt about the test. I told him I was completely starving and that I would tell him all about the test while we walked to lunch.

Jim said, "you must call your dad, he's been blowing up my phone for the last two hours wondering if I've heard from you!" So we got in the elevator and I called my dad...ha ha ha... and when we got to the lobby and turned the corner, this is what happened.

Surprise... AGAIN!

Here is Jim and my mom. What a fabulous surprise!

We had lunch and walked around Jackson Square, then headed back to the hotel to rest up before going out tonight.

Jim and I will meet my folks in about 30 minutes for dinner and then the four of us will head to Pat O'Briens for a few hurricanes. Oh come on, I deserve a FEW hurricanes!!!