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Double Chocolate Whipped Cream

This makes an delicious and elegant dessert that’s both light and incredibly rich at the same time. We serve this in martini glasses which make for a stunning presentation, especially when serving guests. This recipe came from the March 2025 issue of Food & Wine and we’ve made it a few times now!

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Mango Mint Ice Cream

I’m still on my experimental ice cream kick and was in the mood to try something new this weekend. Rummaging through the fridge, I found a ripe mango that I put inside a couple days ago, and mango ice cream seemed like a good idea. I was also weeding my garden earlier in the morning and found another shoot of mint growing in between the beets (seems like you can never really get rid of mint!). ChatGPT affirmed my hunch that the pairing would work, so I adapted my previous Strawberry Ice Cream recipe to swap out the mango for the strawberries.

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Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker that was given to me and which has spent the last few years sitting on a storage shelf in my garage, completely forgotten about. Which is a shame, I’ve now come to realize! That’s because this past weekend my mom dropped off a giant pail of ripe, fresh picked strawberries that I couldn’t possibly have eaten all of before they went bad (well, maybe I could have) and I had one of those ah-ha! moments of divine providence when the Cuisinart caught the corner of my eye and some synapse made an unconscious connection. Hmm, strawberry ice cream… Why have I not been doing this all the time?

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30 Minute Pizza Dough Recipe

Have you ever planned on making homemade pizzas as a fun family dinner on Friday night, only to run out to the grocery store last minute for some ready made pizza dough and find them sold out? This recipe is fast and just as good (maybe better!).

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Spicy Mango Salsa

Jalapeño pepper adds a kick to this bright mango salsa, which I like to serve with baked or broiled fish. This recipe is an accompaniment, but can easily stand alone as an appetizer with chips.

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Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

Jambalaya is as synonymous with NOLA Cuisine as Gumbo! There are vicious debates about whether the dish is of French or Spanish origin. The word itself is from the French & Spanish word for Ham, Jambon. The a la is French, and the ya is said to be an African word for “Rice”. Personally, I can’t see how someone could dispute the dishes similarity to the Spanish Paella, but hey, my opinion is like everyone else’s: Worthless. Here is what we do know about Jambalaya: It’s delicious! So everyone quick arguing and get cooking! (Although I love that people in Louisiana argue about food!) Here is my recipe:

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Red Beans and Rice

As I’ve said in the past, Red Beans & Rice is always fun for me to cook because I change the recipe everytime I make it. This one was probabaly the best batch I’ve made in years, so I’ll honor it with a side of Louis Armstrong singing and playing Basin Street Blues, because Red Beans & Rice just don’t seem right without Louis Armstrong.

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Creole Boiled Rice Recipe

The kind of rice I enjoy with Gumbos, Red Beans, Étouffée, etc., a lot of NoLA Cuisine dishes, is Creole Boiled Rice. I like it because the grains stay separate from one another, essentially, they let the main dish be the dish. Not that the rice is second fiddle, in fact, if your rice is terrible, it will ruin the whole dish. When I have a pot of Red Beans on the stove, my Rice is as important as my Beans, which means, Very important! I take Red Beans & Rice very seriously. Well, not too seriously, nothing should be too serious, but let’s just say I hold them in high esteem (more on Red Beans later). Anyway, this is a great, simple, Accompaniment Rice. Not great because it’s simple, just great!

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Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

My go-to website for cajun recipes, nolacuisine.com, has gone defunct. I’ll leave the link active here in case it ends up being a temporary issue, but in the meantime, here’s a copy of the chicken and andouille sausage recipe.

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Classic Honey Walnut Baklava

Baklava is one of the great desserts of the Eastern Mediterranean: dozens of delicate layers of buttery phyllo pastry wrapped around spiced nuts and soaked in a fragrant honey syrup. The magic of good baklava lies in contrast: crisp pastry, tender nut filling, and sweet aromatic syrup that soaks in without making the layers soggy.