Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Day 116 - Visiting Baton Rouge, Christmas Part 2

Another day in pictures - much easier to catch up on entries this way, on days when I remembered to take a lot of photos!
Daisy and I started our day pretty early by driving over the edge of Lake Pontchartrain on our way to Baton Rouge. I was going to visit Susan, a family friend whose Christmas party I had missed because it was the day I drove up from Miami. We sat and chatted for a good while, then Daisy joined us and Susan took us on a tour of Baton Rouge! Our first stop, of course, was to Louisiana State University.
The basketball stadium was pretty cool looking
Susan and one of her co-workers were talking about how we needed to visit "Mike the Tiger" at LSU. We assumed that they were talking about a statue. Until they mentioned how amazingly nice Mike's "habitat" was. That's right, Mike is a real tiger. This is Mike 6, and yes, his habitat was very nice and included a lot of information about tiger conservation efforts - it was really interesting and informative.
Sleepy Mike
The enclosure, including plaques awaiting future Mike's
History of Mike and the work that the school does on tiger habitat conservation
The Mike statue that we expected
The tiger habitat
Baton Rouge hosts a Mardi Gras parade every year in Spanish Town. To announce the ball that starts Mardi Gras, the organizers place large plywood flamingos in the lake, which people row out to "kidnap" and "relocate" to their own front yards, and now the flamingo has become a neighborhood mascot/Mardi Gras symbol (so once you start looking you suddenly see them everywhere). I'm not sure what the symbolism is behind a beheaded flamingo but I'm sure we could come up with some creative suggestions...
After returning from Baton Rouge (after a delicious croissant omelet sandwich at La Madeline), we hung out at Cate and Joe's for a bit (making Tom and Jerry batter, explained later) before relocating to my Uncle Tom and Aunt Andre's house for Christmas, part two. This is their cat, Annie, enjoying the Christmas tree
Andre making muffuletta sandwiches, another classic New Orleans food. It's made on round Sicilian sesame bread, filled with a selection of cold cuts like mortadella, salami, prosciutto, and/or ham, along with provolone cheese and olive salad. You can either toast the bread in the oven before hand, or put the whole sandwich in after it's assembled to get the bread a little crispy on the outside.
Assemble, cut into wedges, and enjoy!
My cousin Allie with her second cousin, Eva
Previously I had never heard of a drink called a "Tom 'n Jerry" but apparently it was a family Christmas tradition before it kind of faded out about 20 years ago (hence Cate actually had a Tom and Jerry "set" with a big bowl and 8 mugs). To make it you whip egg whites with powdered sugar until they reach a meringue consistency (stiff peaks), then fold them into egg yolks that have been similarly stiffened with powdered sugar, then beat the two together with allspice, cloves, and vanilla. In each cup you put a shot of bourbon or whiskey, a large scoop of the egg "batter", and mix it with a little hot water, then top with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Tastes a bit like a strongly boozy eggnog, but kind of light and fluffy instead of thick and creamy.
Pearce learned how to make them from Pa, so he was in charge of serving drinks

Ma with her Tom 'n Jerry
Cheers!
The decimated pile of Christmas crackers, the tradition we brought from Mom's side of the family. You get in a circle and each person crosses their arms in front of them, holding the end of a cracker with each hand. On the count of three, everyone pulls, and each cardboard cracker pulls apart with a bang. Inside there's always a paper crown, a joke or a riddle, and a gift - in the ones we had when I was a kid it would be something like a plastic parachute toy solider or a plastic ring, but in these fancy ones you get metal bookmarks and luggage tags, last year I even got a re-usable shopping bag that folds up in the corner, printed to look like a strawberry ;)
Aunt Cate with her crown
Daisy
With Mom
Andre and Tom
Christmas present madness starts again!
Brett and a very tired Eva
A "banana split" pie, essentially a banana cream pie topped with whipped cream, nuts, chocolate sauce, pineapple sauce, and cherries.
Maggie loved having Daisy around - someone who will play with her all the time!
Awww

Day 115 - Daisy Arrives!

Day in pictures! We picked up my friend Daisy at the airport in the morning, arriving from Connecticut to travel with me for a week up to Virginia via Auburn and Asheville. Then all kinds of excitement ensued!

Cate with Maggie
Mural as we drove downtown
Daisy! Poor thing was so sleep deprived but was still game for adventuring and trying new foods
Panorama of the Mississippi river
Christmas tree across from Jackson Square, complete with fleur de lis on top. There weren't nearly as many artists around the square as there usually are when we visit, perhaps because of the cold or the proximity to the holiday?
Making pralines - yum!
Walking through the French Market, kind of a farmers market/food vending/flea market area
Balconies along the old Mardi Gras parade route on Royal Street
Gas lantern
Inside the St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. It was beautiful inside, but admittedly felt a lot more like a tourist attraction (lots of people wandering around talking and pointing at things) than a consecrated place of worship
We had lunch at Napoleon House, on Chartres. It was so named because there was (according to the menu and Wikipedia) a local plot to bring the exiled Napoleon to New Orleans, which of course kind of fell apart upon news of his death. They're famous for their muffaletta sandwiches and Pimms Cup cocktails, and although we didn't have either, Daisy did get to try gumbo and jambalaya for the first time, as well as a Sazerac, a classic New Orleans drink.
Walking down Royal, stopping in the art galleries and cooking shops
Funny grotesques
"One Day"
"Bang Head Here"
The original Cafe Du Monde in the Quarter had a line out the door, so we stopped at the one out closer to Cate and Joe's house
Cafe au lait with chicory, and beignets! They don't really serve anything else, besides soda/juice/milk, which is a pretty strong testament to how good the coffee and beignets are. Two more New Orleans foods for Daisy to try!
Cutting the next batch of dough
A tami!
Throwing dough into the fryer
We went to Mr. Ed's for dinner. I had a shrimp and crab stuffed mirliton, which I know in Arizona as a chayote squash, and it was delicious :) Daisy was three for three with trying new things at meals and had the stuffed catfish.
Daisy, Maggie, and the new toy
So cute!