Tag: Gumbo

• Scent: Message Received

  Thanks to winter storm Jonas, a/k/a #Blizzard2016, I had an unexpected “winter break” from teaching, and I must say I have really enjoyed my #snowcation. Sandwiched nicely between my Christmas break and my Easter break, this one came with no expectations of shopping or meal planning. With my six school days I did some school…

  michardillo

  January 31, 2016

  Essay

  Al Di La, Aromatic Elixir, bread, Chris Grabenstein, Cinnabar, Clinique, crochet, Estee Lauder, figs, Freeport Sulphur Company, Gumbo, Janet Evanovich, Jonas, Katrina, king cake, Kirstin Chen, knitting, library, make-up, Mardi Gras, marmalade, Mississippi River, perfume, po-boy, Port Sulphur, Rachel Carson, reading, roux, satsuma, snowcation, Soy Sauce for Beginners, sulphur

• Comfort Food, or a Meal for Comfort?

  I was born and raised in southeast Louisiana. I didn’t go far for college, only 100 miles, and after graduation I stayed in my college town until I moved to the Washington, DC, area in early 1988. Thus, for over thirty years, I ate, drank, and lived the life of a true member of “GRITS”,…

  michardillo

  August 2, 2015

  Essay

  Bethesda, brownies, chicken, chocolate, comfort food, DC, Dorothy, Fire King Tulip Mixing Bowl, GRITS, Gumbo, Hurricane Katrina, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, potato salad, sausage, southern traditions, Toto, Washington

• À bientôt

  On Thursday, May 14, 2015, I said my final goodbye to my dad or at least my final goodbye in this life. Being a faithful Catholic, however, I truly believe that I will see him again in eternal life, so perhaps Thursday’s goodbye was merely à bientôt. His funeral was beautiful. My brothers and I…

  michardillo

  May 17, 2015

  Essay

  Catholic, death, faith, funeral, grief, Gumbo, Hallmark, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Mass, Plaquemines Parish, Port Sulphur, Red Beans and Rice, smothered chicken

• A Narrow Sliver of Land

  We all have our Proust moments: the singular bite of something that we loved and cherished in our childhood, re-tasted later as an adult, transporting us back in time to a particularly fond memory. Truman Capote, in his semi-autobiographical short story “A Christmas Memory”, describes in great detail the food of his childhood in the…

  michardillo

  February 15, 2015

  Essay

  Bayou, Bread Pudding, Catholic, Cherry Bounce, Citrus, Freeport, Gumbo, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Mississippi River, New Orleans, Old Fashioned, Peanut Butter Fudge, Plaquemines Parish, Port Sulphur, Proust, Red Beans and Rice, Shrimp and Crab Stew, Truman Capote