Louisiana

My parents, Floyd and Anne, plus family friend, Beverly Judge came for dinner! The previous night they had gone to see a performance of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band with the Nashville Symphony - we kept that theme going with Bobby's Louisiana Burgers (page 48 of Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes). Before the guests arrived I prepared the spicy remoulade and burger rub from the recipe. The remoulade was a mixture of mayo, mustard, chopped pickles, onion, parsley and Louisiana Hot Sauce. After mixing, I put the remoulade in the refrigerator so it would be ready when the burgers were. The rub was dry and was a combination of paprika, ground black pepper, kosher salt, thyme, onion power and cayenne. In addition to the spices (especially the hot sauce) taking us to the Crescent City, the grilling technique was all New Orleans as well. We blackened the burgers. Rather than putting the burgers right in the grill grates, I put some Canola Oil in a cast iron skillet and placed the skillet on the grill. I generously applied the spicy rub to the surface of one side of the burgers and put them in the skillet when it got hot enough to simmer the oil. The spices cooked right into the meat forming a crust. I turned the burgers over after about three minutes and reduced the grill heat down. I grilled potato wedges with a spice rub like the one I used for the burgers and toasted some thin wheat buns on the grill allowing colby-jack cheese to melt into the bun. Dorothy made some cole slaw following another Bobby Flay recipe, I spooned the remoulade over the burgers and we were all set.  The blackened burgers were spicy, the cole slaw was cool - we all thought it was a great combination - but we did need to fill the ice water glasses a few times! 


What to drink? This was celebration with family and friends, so we started with Mumm Napa Brut Prestige Sparkling Wine from Rutherford, California with strawberries that my parents brought and chocolates that Beverly brought. With the Louisiana Burgers planned, we knew going in we could not have a wimpy wine. We went back to a wine that always comes through against strong spices - Ancient Vine Zinfandel from Cline Cellars of Sonoma - it was a perfect match!


Weather Report. Compared to recent weeks, it was warm in the courtyard, but still in the 30's. Everyone came outside as I was making final preparations to Grill It, but soon Dorothy was delivering blankets for the ladies. My father said he was going to tough it out in the cold until he could first smell the food. The spices on the Louisiana Burgers hitting the grill (skillet) didn't disappoint and soon I was once again alone in the courtyard - just me and my grill.  


What was on? Conversation. Laughing about good times past, planning for good times to come. Topped off with Dorothy's southern tradition Red Velvet Cake - also a perfect match!


Paul