Restaurants throughout the country are adding comfort food at reasonable prices to attract customers and Macaroni and Cheese tops the list on menus today.

Macaroni and cheese is a dish that, in its simplicity, becomes all about balance. In texture, that means pasta that still has some tooth and cheesiness that’s also satiny smooth. The flavor should have a foundation of richness and a good contrast between creaminess and tang. Creamy, rich, satiny, delicious. And just a little decadent.

Although people have been combining fish and shellfish with spicy sauces since ancient times, the "shrimp cocktail," as we Americans know it today, belongs to the early 20th century. A survey of American cookbooks confirms the combination of shellfish and a spicy tomato-based sauce (usually ketchup spiced with horseradish, tabasco, and cayenne) served in tiny cups as appetizers was extremely popular in the early part of the 20th century. Shrimp variations were popular in Cajun/Creole cooking before they begin to show up in "mainstream" cookbooks. Once again, New Orleans was at the culinary forefront with  the first variation-- Chevrettes a la Sauce Tomate-  published in the Picayune's Creole Cook Book in 1909.  New York followed suit during the peak of its popularity with published recipes in Mrs. Allen on Cooking, Menus, Service in 1924 and the New York Times in 1926.

Spirit-Spiked Sorbetti and Gelati from La Divina Gelateria
While living in Florence, Italy, Katrina and Carmelo Turillo fell in love with the Italian passion for the simple, wonderful pleasures of everyday life. The epitome of this lifestyle was the leisurely evening stroll, the passeggiata, when the whole city poured into the streets to see friends and neighbors. Often, the evening was capped off with a scoop or two of Italian ice cream, gelato.

Inspired to bring this experience to New Orleans, the Turillo's traveled across Italy and studied the artisanal method of making gelato and sorbetto from scratch.

Carmelo and Katrina modeled “La Divina” after the “bars” in Italy where one passes many periods of the day for an espresso, a bit of breakfast, a panini, various liqueurs--aperitifs and digestifs, and of course-gelati and sorbetti.

I just returned from a Trans-Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2. We boarded the luxury liner in New York City and settled in for a 6 day, fabulous food-filled excursion across the North Atlantic to Southampton, England.

Upon arriving at our stateroom, we found amongst the lavish ” welcome” goodies of fresh fruit, flowers, chocolates and sparkling wine—a silver tray of canapés. I was drawn to the tray with guarded optimism. Unfortunately, Cold Canapes have fallen into a questionable category in the American culinary repertoire-- considered to be attractive to the eye, but flat in flavor. As we exited New York Harbor, I chose from smoked salmon with crème and caviar; foie gras mousse with a sliver of strawberry; poached shrimp with cocktail sauce; and grapes with cream cheese and pistachios. As I said goodbye to the Statue of Liberty, I also said goodbye to my pre-conceived canapé considerations. I was now among the “canapé converted".

Pat Gallagher is back! Restaurant enthusiasts on the North Shore are happy to have Pat back behind the grill at his newly opened eatery on Tyler Street ( Hwy.21) in Covington --appropriately named Gallagher's Grill. He has re-opened the space previously housing the Seafood Galley, just a stone's throw north of St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Before opening, Pat completed a full kitchen overhaul and added an industrial charcoal grill ( think Pat's famous grilled quail). Rounding out the pre-opening facelift and finishes were a fresh coat of paint and the placement of beautiful metal sculptures of Louisiana birds and flora in both the interior dining room spaces, the courtyard and exterior of the building.