Monday Munchies: Oysters and Blue Cheese

All in all, yesterday was a pretty cool birthday – laidback and stress-free – and even better, I was able to spend it with two of my favorite “creatures”: the hubby and the kitty.

Although I relished my first official tarot-card reading at Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, my fondest moments naturally involved some of my favorite foods. In lieu of a fancy birthday dinner, in fact, Dan and I decided to eat at two of our favorite casual restaurants in the French Quarter – Oceana Grill and Yo Mama’s Bar and Grill – both of which I’ve raved about on my American Nomad blog.

At Oceana on Conti, we opted for two beers and two dozen raw oysters, which are truly some of the largest, freshest, cleanest, and least expensive oysters in the Quarter. Needless to say, we go there a lot for our oyster fix. (And while my cell phone’s camera doesn’t really do them justice, I couldn’t pass up a chance to share them with you.)

Later, following my private tarot-card reading in the back room of Marie Laveau’s, Dan and I strolled over to Yo Mama’s on St. Peter, which offers some of the best burgers in the city. And I’m proud to say that, though it was a special occasion (and reason enough to indulge), we decided to share a blue cheese burger, a salad, and a loaded baked potato – in lieu of ordering two full burgers with the requisite side dishes. Of course, we did swig several Abita beers between us, but we could hardly help ourselves. We were, after all, watching the New Orleans Saints kick the New England Patriots’ collective arses... which I like to think they did in honor of my birthday. Hehehe.

As an aside, I know it might seem as though Dan and I never stop eating, but, well, what can I say? We both appreciate the diversity of cuisine on this planet – and New Orleans alone has oodles of yummy treats – which is, of course, going to make the diets we started today that much tougher.

Weekend Mishmash: Mark Twain's Birthday

My thirty-third birthday is tomorrow. According to my mom, I was born at 10:21 a.m. in Metairie – a suburb of New Orleans – in a place once called Lakeside Hospital. I know this because, every year, she calls me precisely at 10:21 a.m. – just to sing me a bar of the “Happy Birthday” song. I must admit that, despite the fact that I’m in my thirties, I have yet to tire of this tradition. Actually, I find it kind of sweet.

Still, I have mixed feelings about birthdays. (Of course, who past the age of twenty-one doesn’t?) As each year passes, I’m often forced to reconsider my goals, to once again reassess my dream of being a published novelist, and to make the sad realization that I’m not much closer to achieving it than I was a year ago.

But life isn’t about such lofty ambitions. It’s about all the little moments – the memorable experiences that fill each day – and today was filled with plenty. Dan and I drove from New Orleans to Baton Rouge to spend the morning with my teeny-tiny grandmother and the afternoon with my mom. Following a Thanksgiving-like lunch at mom’s house (complete with smoked ham, cranberry sauce, spinach casserole, potato salad, and pumpkin pie), Mom, Dan, and I saw the 3-D presentation of A Christmas Carol, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And then, as with any birthday weekend in my family, more food was involved.

So, despite my misgivings about getting older, I’m grateful for what I have: a loving family, good friends, and an awesome kitty (who was in fact last year’s birthday “present”). Besides, it just so happens that I was born on Mark Twain’s birthday – which I like to consider a positive omen that my fiction-writing dreams will someday come true. Hey, whatever works, right?

Friday Fantasies: Holiday Movies

While I dabbled on the computer today, working on my latest American Nomad post and waiting for Dan to come home from his mad Black Friday dash to Best Buy, I could sense, in my post-Thanksgiving haze, that the Christmas season was well on its way. So, to get fully into the spirit, I watched two of my favorite “holiday” movies: Better Off Dead (1985) and While You Were Sleeping (1995), both of which never fail to bring a grin to my face and to make me wish for all the Christmas trimmings posthaste.

So, what are some of your favorite holiday movies?

Thoughtful Thursday: Giving Belated Thanks

By now, you might have guessed that I’m a bit of a procrastinator. I’m often late with my blog posts – and I have no good excuse, except that I’m juggling a few too many things at any given time – and I’m not certain that I’d have it any other way.

So, in classic procrastinating fashion, I’m offering thanks after Thanksgiving dinner – not before. But my thanks are nonetheless heartfelt. No matter the pitfalls, deadlines, and doubts that might plague me at times, there are several people (and other entities) for whom I’ll be forever grateful.

Thanks to my folks and the rest of my family for taking care of me when I was young, for ensuring that I was warm and fed and well educated, and for believing in my dream to be a published writer.

Thanks to my in-laws for welcoming me into the Martone fold – and for encouraging my writing, too. My mom-in-law is especially supportive of my travel guides... and my current novel.

Thanks to the teachers and editors who have taught me and believed in me. Their support has meant more than they’ll ever know.

Thanks to all the friends (in-person and online) who have touched me, made me laugh, enriched my life, and supported me every step of the way.

Thanks to Bogie, Pawws, Gypsy, and Ruby – the animals that have made an incredibly positive difference in my life.

Thanks to the universe (or genetics?) for instilling within me enough creativity, intelligence, and ambition to pursue this crazy little thing called publishing.

And thanks, of course, to the hubby. I’ve thanked him on this blog before, but it can’t hurt to thank him again! I love you, Danny (I mean, Mr. Potato Head), and I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Whimsical Wednesday: Sudoku

As expressed on previous Whimsical Wednesdays, I’m a huge fan of puzzles and games – many of which I first embraced as a child. Together, my mom and I assembled jigsaw puzzles, played silly games like Pass the Pigs, shared riddles, even passed our on-the-road time with auto bingo. To this day, we both share a passion for word games – from Jumble to acrostics to crosswords. But admittedly, she’s mystified by my love for number-based logic games like Sudoku – the ever-present diversion in newspapers across the country. What Mom finds tedious and time-wasting, however, I find curious and challenging.

The way it works is fairly simple. Each game is composed of nine grids, each of which contains nine spaces, where the numerals 1-9 must be placed in a precise order, so that each grid, each horizontal line, and each vertical line include all nine digits (with no repeats and no missing numerals). What makes it simple or tricky depends on how many numerals (and their positions) with which the game begins.

It probably sounds a little boring, but I find it soothing – so much so that Dan even bought me an electronic version a few years ago: The New York Times’ Touch Sudoku from Excalibur Electronics, Inc. Filled with nearly a thousand different combinations, this handy little gadget has followed me around the country for three years now, and I’m only on Game #253. So, it seems that I’ll be playing Sudoku on quiet, rainy afternoons for many years to come.

So, what are your favorite pastimes? Not active ones, but the kind that challenge the mind and soothe the spirit?

Tuesday Travels: Fishing in Louisianian Waters

Nicknamed “a sportsman’s paradise,” Louisiana lures all manner of outdoor enthusiasts, not the least of which are fishermen – or, in my case, fisherwomen. Despite the incredible loss of wetlands – due to hurricanes, oil and gas production in the gulf, and dams along the Mississippi River – the waters of southeastern Louisiana still boast an abundant supply of seafood, including speckled trout and redfish (my family's catch of choice).

So today, my father – an avid fisherman – invited me and Dan to join him on a fishing excursion in the marshes near the Pearl River, which separates Louisiana from Mississippi. According to the local weather report, it was supposed to be an ideal day for fishing: sunny and mild, with low wind. But, if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that meteorology is an inexact science – fraught with percentages that can lean just as easily to rain as to sunshine.

Needless to say, the weather reports were less than accurate. Although the day began promisingly enough – cold but clear at six a.m., when we arrived at Dad’s house – we knew we were in trouble by the time we hit open water. The sun hid behind gray clouds for much of the day, and the wind was stronger than predicted, creating choppy seas and muddy waters that chased the fish away. In fact, it was the least productive fishing trip that I’ve ever experienced with my dad. He and Dan each caught a redfish too small to keep (per statewide size restrictions), while I caught nothing more than weeds. By the fourth time I’d snagged the marsh, my dear father and hubby started calling me “Weed Woman,” and Dad even told my stepmother (via cell phone), “Laura keeps throwing in the weeds. Guess she’s trying to catch an alligator.” Very funny, Dad.

But, seriously, despite the nonexistent yield, the scary waves at one point, and the fact that I was dressed for winter most of the time, all three of us enjoyed being out on the water, where peace and relative quiet reigned. As the old saying goes, “A bad day fishing beats a good day working,” and while Dad – who is accustomed to fruitful fishing trips (and has a freezer full of fish to prove it) – doesn’t agree with the saying, I happen to think it’s true. Even with the gray clouds and biting wind, it was a lovely, relaxing day, spent with two of my favorite people in all the world. And, hey, at least the gnats were as elusive as the fish.

Monday Munchies: Turtles Revisited

Last Monday, I shared my passion for turtles – not the animal, of course... the cookie. The yummy chocolate-pecan-shortbread concoction that McKenzie’s, the now-defunct New Orleans bakery, used to make. Since McKenzie’s closed in 2001, I’ve done everything I can to reproduce the experience of savoring their turtles – from purchasing ill-advised cookbooks to trying the local Rouses’ supermarket version. But to no avail.

Then, last week, my good pal Becky suggested that I try Tastee Donuts, a local donut shop that has apparently adopted some of McKenzie’s old recipes. So, yesterday, Dan and I located a Tastee Donuts in Metairie (just outside New Orleans), and we were thrilled to see a sign in the window, promising McKenzie’s cinnamon rolls. Where there were cinnamon rolls, there were bound to be turtles... right? Finally, Dan would be able to sample the delicacies about which I’ve been blathering for years.

But, alas, we soon discovered that the turtles on display had not been prepared from McKenzie’s recipe. They were instead Tastee Donuts’ own brand – and they were fairly unimpressive. In fact, as we each scarfed one down in the parking lot (yes, we were that desperate!), we quickly decided that they were worse than Rouses’ turtles. But then again, the jelly donut I also purchased wasn’t half-bad – a jelly donut that I’d like to dedicate to my pal Christine (she knows why!).

Well, needless to say, the search is still on... So, what about you? Do you miss any particularly elusive childhood treats? If so, what?