Crossing the River: Things to do in Louisiana

One of the best things about living in Southeast Texas is being so close to Louisiana, and one of the best things about Louisiana is the Banners Cultural Series in Lake Charles, a program of McNeese State University.  Bill & I found out about this by accident last year, bought season tickets (for $150 for the WHOLE SEASON, not one show!), and have renewed our tickets this year.  Last year we saw such great musical acts as Arlo Guthrie, Karla Bonnoff and Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and enjoyed unclassifiable events such as the Short Circuit Film Festival, Chinese acrobats and an avant-garde puppet show that told the tale of Troy.

One of our favorites from last year was a short film shown at the aforementioned Short Circuit Film Festival, called I Always Do My Collars First, in short, a film about ironing.  The documentary follows four dynamic Cajun women as they go about their daily lives demonstrating how the simple ritual of ironing weaves its way throughout the fabric of family life and their sense of identity.  We loved it so much, we bought copies for our family.  I can't wait to see what we discover at this year's Film Festival.

This year, we're looking forward to Zachary Richard, Avner the Eccentric, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band - the list goes on and on (a different show every week, February - May!).  This is a HUGE bargain and with the first show on February 20th, there's still time to get your tickets.

And, of course, a girl's gotta eat - Lake Charles has some great restaurants.  Some of our favorites are Tony's Pizza (try the Deep Dish!), Mazen's Mediterranean Foods, and Mama Rosa's.  Hhhhmmm, I sense a theme here.

You should go!

Valentine's Day Sweet: Crostata di Ricotta

Yesterday morning, the day before Valentine's Day, I awoke to find Bill already gone to work and a note stuck in the handle of my coffee mug that read, "Belle, for Valentine's Day, please, please, please choose one of these desserts."  Under my mug was a sheaf of battered xeroxed pages from a cookbook, Italy - The Beautiful Cookbook, that he's obviously had for years.

I flipped through the pages and was tempted by such recipes as Torta di Meliga (Cornmeal Cake), Crostata di Crema (Lemon Cream Tart), and Polenta Dulce (Sweet Polenta).  However, since it IS Valentine's Day, chocolate is a must, so I chose the following recipe.  I made some mistakes along the way, which I'll share, but still recommend you try this - if you have at least a half a day of free time.

Crostata di Ricotta
Ricotta Pie

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 oz butter (melted?)
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup superfine sugar
2 TBSP all purpose flour
1 cup milk
3 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup maraschino liqueur (I didn't have this, but I did have a large jar of maraschino cherries, so I used the juice from those)
8 oz ricotta
pinch of ground cinnamon
grated rind of 1 lemon
reserved egg white, beaten

1.  For the pastry, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 3 egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and the butter and mix into a dough.  Form into a ball, cover with plastic and let rest in the refrigerator while preparing the filling. (Here's where things went awry and why I think, perhaps, the butter should be melted.  Lacking direction from the recipe, I proceeded as with all pie crusts - cutting the butter into the dry ingredients, then adding the 3 yolks, which was in no way enough liquid to form anything resembling a dough.  I'm truly stumped here - so if anyone knows for sure about melting the butter, please let me know.  What I did at this point was to add splashes of milk until I got the right consistency.  Of course, I added too much milk and adjusted by kneading in more flour.  It all turned out o.k. in the end, but I was completely frustrated!)
2.  For the filling, beat 3 egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar until light.  Add 2 TBSP flour and the milk and cook the mixture in a double boiler over simmering water until thick.  (Note:  since it doesn't say HOW thick, I went by the standard, "does it coat the back of a spoon" test.)  Melt the chocolate with the maraschino.  Stir into the egg mixture and let cool completely.
3.  Put the ricotta through a sieve.  Gradually stir in the cooled custard, cinnamon and lemon rind.  Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.
4.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter and flour a 10" pie pan.  Roll out 3/4 of the pastry dough in a circle and line the pan with it.  Pour in the prepared filling and roll out the remaining dough into a circle to cover the top.  Crimp edges together.  Brush the top of the pie with a little beaten egg white and bake for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Let cool before serving. (Since it was Valentine's Day, I cut a heart out of waxed paper to make a stencil, placed the stencil over the pie and dusted with powdered sugar).

Notes & Variations:  Consider decorating with slivered almonds or pine nuts.  Also, I think I may do away with the persnickety crust altogether and serve the chilled filling in cups with whipped cream - sort of an Italian Pots de Creme.  I might even try various liqueurs, such as:  Amaretto, Frangelico or Kirsch.

What's for Dinner: Veggie Tamale Pie

Recently, a coworker told me that she and her hubby made a resolution to eat one meatless meal a week.  Here's a recipe from Vegetarian Times for a dish that's so hearty you won't miss the meat.  Bill & Patrick, die hard meat eaters, loved this!

Veggie Tamale Pie

TOPPING
1/2 cup dry polenta or corn grits (I used polenta)
1/4 cup grated sharp Cheddar Cheese

FILLING
1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 bell pepper (I used orange), diced
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano (Mexican, if available)
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can tomato puree
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
2 tsp. brown rice flour (I didn't have this so I used whole wheat flour instead)

1.  To make Topping:  Preheat oven to 375F.  Bring 2 cups water to a boil in saucepan.  Stir in polenta, reduce heat to medium and simmer 30 minutes (I found it took only 15 minutes to get a really thick consistency), stirring OFTEN.  Stir in cheese and set aside.
2.  To make Filling:  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, then add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.  Add zucchini, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, cumin, and oregano.  Cook 5 minutes more.
3.  Stir in beans, tomato puree and corn.  Mix flour with 1/4 cup cold water; stir into zucchini mixture.  Cook 3 minutes, or until mixture thickens slightly.  Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
4.  Spread Filling into 8" square baking dish.  Spread Topping over Filling.
5.  Place casserole on baking sheet.  Bake 40 minutes, or until filling bubbles and top is golden.  Let stand before serving.
Serves 6 at 195 calories per serving

Variations:   Next time I make this, I'll add a small can of chopped green chiles (preferable hatch) and maybe substitute hominy for the corn, because I just really like hominy.