I spent most of last week in Southern Mississippi, via travel through New Orleans, and far far away from a Trader Joe’s. While this post in no way captures the breadth of Southern cuisine, I thought I’d share a sampling of what I ate with you (and share a
very simple dish or two I made while I was there). I forgot my camera back in San Diego, so all the photos are taken with my new iPhone – please excuse any blurriness or other issues as I fumbled with my phone taking shots of the meals. Upon landing in New Orleans, we met up with my husband’s parents (who
live in Mississippi) and headed over to Drago’s Seafood Restaurant 
where we enjoyed their famous Charbroiled Oysters. The crew put on quite a show (dangerous prying with sharp knives, setting tall flames, and a few tiny pearls they gave us) as the kids and I watched them shuck and cook the oysters. The oysters were fresh and good – lots of butter, garlic, spices and salt (maybe a bit too much salt for me…) It was balanced out with a nice Mediterranean salad tossed with a vinaigrette and topped with fresh lump crabmeat (and a lemon slice dipped in red pepper to squeeze over it all). More than anything it shows the importance of freshness of your ingredients – in seafood-oriented places like New Orleans, take advantage of local and fresh seafood when you can.
My father-in-law Larry (who has been featured on our blog making his Fish Court-Bouillon ) asked my kids what the
y wanted to do in Mississippi. They both excitedly replied, “fishing!” so we set out a few days later to catch dinner. We drove to a friend’s man-made pond stocked with fish an hour or so away. On the way there, I heard Larry make a call to someone named Dickie Joe telling him, “If you see someone fishing in your pond, it’s just us so don’t shoot.” I think he was joking… maybe. We caught plenty for dinner and a few hours later we were back home with cornmeal-dusted and panfried fillets on our plates. Now that’s fresh. While my mother-in-law Mary was preparing some grits and a squash casserole, I found some nice asparagus in the fridge that we could add to the meal. Asparagus is an early season crop and there is plenty of nice and well-priced asparagus in the stores and at farmer’s markets this time of year. The stovetop was busy, so I roasted it in the oven, which is a great way to prepare anything from Brussels sprouts to bell peppers to potatoes to green beans to carrots.
Roasted Asparagus
One bunch of asparagus
1 Tbsp olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2.) Toss asparagus with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in oven for about 10 minutes if asparagus is slender, longer for harder or thicker vegetables.
Looking around, I found a bag of mixed greens in the fridge, a ripe avocado, some nice-looking tomatoes, and some French feta (milder and creamier than Greek feta) that I crumbled on top. Salads are so easy and you can be very casual and playful with the ingredients. Use whatever you have on hand. For an easy dressing, make a vinaigrette by mixing 2 parts oil to 1 part acid: that’s the magic ratio. For example, you can use olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which most people have in their cabinets. No balsamic? Use lemon juice, lime juice, or another favorite 
vinegar. For an Asian dressing, maybe seasoned rice vinegar and a touch of sesame oil. If you like, add fresh herbs, add a little kick with a stoneground mustard or a little chili oil, stir in some garlic, or add a little sweetness with agave or honey. I added a little honey to ours since my in-laws also have their own bee hive out in their woods! Can’t get honey that’s more local than that!
Easy Salad Vinaigrette
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey or agave nectar
Optional: fresh herbs, 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 clove crushed garlic (or 1 cube frozen Crushed Garlic )
1) Whisk together all ingredients, drizzle over salad, and toss.
When asked what I wanted to do during the trip, I thought it would be great to visit some antebellum homes. Natchez, Mississippi has a really nice collection of historic homes, several of which are still in the hands of the families that originally owned them. All the docents are dressed in period costumes, and it’s kind of magical to hear them talk
about growing up in the house or saying something like, “that was my great-great–great-grandaddy’s desk.” Neat! In the town of Natchez, we grabbed a bite at the Stanton Hall restaurant. My mother-in-law Mary had been there before, so when it came time to order, I said, “I’ll have what she’s having.” It turned out to be Tomato Aspic followed by a plate of classic Southern Fried Chicken and sides. If you’ve never had Tomato Aspic, it’s a very old-fashioned food and I can only describe it as a mold of V8 Jello. Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Mary mentioned that she hardly ever sees Aspic served anywhere and wondered why. “Perhaps it’s the name,” I suggested. (If I ever want to have an immature Beavis & Butthead-style chuckle, all I have to do is say,”Tomato Aspic” out loud and that seems to do it).
On our way out of town, we spent an afternoon back in New Orleans, strolling the French Quarter and visitng a few art galleries and antique shops (most memorable being M.S. Rau Antiques – an amazing museum-caliber collection without the intimidating atmosphere one might expect of a place where nearly everything is too expensive for price tags). We grabbed a bite a
t Luke’s Brasserie, which is a John Besh Restaurant. I ordered a Louisiana Shrimp “En Cocotte” (means served like a small casserole) with McEwen & Sons White Corn Grits and Poche’s Andouille. I also ordered a Grilled Paillard of Organic Chicken with Local Greens, Crostini, and Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette. The chicken was exceptionally tender with fantastic flavor, and the shrimp was fresh, complex, and spicy (a bit too spicy for the kids, but they happily ate the chicken).
Later in the day, we made a stop for beignets (French doughnuts topped with tons of white powdered sugar) and coffee with chicory. Cafe du Monde is the most famous stop for beignets, always crowded, and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week! My two new rules for eating beignets:
1) Never wear black when eating beignets.
and
2) When taking a bite, do not sharply inhale or else you will choke on the powdered sugar, cough on the beignet, and cover the table with a white cloud of powdered sugar. At which point refer to rule #1.
If you like joining us for eats on the road, check out our travels to Scotland and Venezuela .