How to Make Cafe au Lait

Cafe au Lait is a staple in most French restaurants, and it is a staple in the American South as well,especially in those cities like New Orleans, Mobile, Savannah and Nashville that have a rich French influenced history.
The traditional Southern way is to add chicory to a rich dark roasted coffee bean to make a thick espresso. Then heat whole milk until hot, but not boiling. When the skin forms, whisk the milk until it bubbles, then mix equal parts of the espresso and foamy hot milk, For a sweeter Cafe au Lait you can use sugar in the coffee,or use half and half instead of whole milk.
Because I am vegetarian, I use the above with unsweetened soy, it heats and bubbles just as well as the whole milk and I find it just as pleasing.
Cafe au Lait is divine with a bit of dark chocolate or a rich chocolate desert, and it is a flawless finish to a spicy dish like Gumbo.

It is always the perfect drink at a side walk cafe' and you'll find it on the menu at most coffee shops here. Barely a day goes by that I don't enjoy a delightful cup or two.

Antique Wardian Cases

When I moved into my present city apartment, a mere 680 square feet, Things had to serve a purpose. No longer could this antique wardian case hold trinkets for display, it had to be functional. So I gave up a rather large chunk of my micro kitchen to grow fresh herbs. I figure it is a fair trade off. I have a full spectrum vita light shining on the plants and they seem to do quite well in there. I adore wardian cases, terrariums and the like. They were a fixture in the Palace of Versailles like the one above, and later the Victorians made great use of them when it was discovered that they could successfully transport rare species of plants home from around the globe. I thought I would share some pinned photos of various styles.. Imitation cases are usually zinc and plexiglass ,like this one I spotted at a local market. You can tell the age of a real one by the thickness and color of the glass.The glass will most often be 1/4 inch to a 1/2 inch. They are always quite

Southern Bacon and Crawfish Cornbread Dressing

Imagine you are dining outside at Blake Shelton's house this Thanksgiving and deep frying some big turkeys. A crawfish dressing would probably be on the menu. Deep fried turkeys and outdoor dining on Thanksgiving day is very popular in the South. And while people don't wild catch crawfish like they did a century ago, crawfish are always popular on the menu. Here I have paired it with bacon, corn, mirepoix,and jalapenos to give you a dressing with real local flavor. Here is what you need: 5 cups crumbled cornbread 1 1/2 lbs boiled crawfish tails ( frozen is fine) 10 ounces bacon, cooked and coarsely crumbled 12 ounces yellow corn 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion 1/1/2 cups chopped celery 1/1/2 cups green red and orange bell pepper 1 jalapeno ( optional) 2 eggs beaten 2 cups chicken stock salt, thyme, and sage to taste. Fry your bacon until it is ready to crumble, remove from pan and set aside. Saute the mirepoix, (onions ,peppers and celery) corn and jalap

How to Restore Old Brass Without Losing Patina

Brass is really trendy right now. Much of the home decor brass commercially available is cheaply made and will not retain it's beauty long. But brass made in the first quarter of the 20th century and earlier, develops an exquisite patina. Assuming of course that it has had reasonable care throughout it's long life. Sometimes, a good piece of brass will have just a tiny bit of verdigris, that is the crusty blue green stuff caused by oxidation and tells you corrosion is setting in. I see this a lot on furniture with brass mounts, lamps, chandeliers and light fixtures. Most brass tutorials give directions only on bringing brass back to it's super bright finish. Many antique dealers restore brass to it's bright finish, removing the patina and then apply a commercial solution to darken it again. I can always spot those. They never look quite right. There are some pieces that devalue when you remove the patina. Natural patina enhances the beauty of a piece, like this cl

Oh La LaY'all......French Style and Southern Charm

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