Carmen's Chronicles: LA

Showing posts with label LA. Show all posts

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Welcome Home, Shawn - April 10, 2014

Tuesday night, my oldest son, Shawn Smith, who is with the USAF Reserves, landed at the
Sacramento airport, with part of his squadron of the AFRC 945th, based at Travis AFB,
California. Shawn, who is a master sergeant, has been a reservist almost twenty
years now and had been deployed with his group to Kuwait for six months. I
hadn't seen him in nearly a year, though, since I went to India in June.

We often miss each other like that. In fact, Shawn, who was supposed to be best
man at his brother, Alex's wedding, was deployed to Germany one week prior and,
since the whole unit had to fly together, he wasn't allowed to delay for that special
occasion. That's life, however, in the military - and he has spent a lot of his reserve
life on active duty - not that he's complained. He likes the Air Force and has
enjoyed his years there, moving up the ladder to his present rank.

This is a photo of all three of my sons taken a year ago the night

Harper Ann was born. Shawn, who some think resembles George

Clooney, is the shortest of the three.

I didn't get any pictures Tuesday night as they landed about 10:40PM. Alex picked them
up at the airport while I stayed home to fix one of his favorite cocktails - also, my
favorite from New Orleans nursing school days: the Sazerac. Before I moved out
of the house we shared when my job ended, it was often enjoyed when we weren't
planning on driving anywhere. One Sazerac is best when one doesn't have to
drive and a good night's sleep is soon to follow!!!

Laura made chocolate chip cookies which were a perfect accompaniment to the
drinks and Shawn presented his niece with her gift from Kuwait: a stuffed camel!!
Harper Ann woke up when she heard all the commotion.

For those of you who have never had a Sazerac, I am including the recipe I use.
One should really use rye whiskey, NEVER bourbon

I've adapted several recipes to my taste and this is how I make my Sazerac. I
normally use Old Overholt Rye Whiskey ( 4 yr old ). Another good rye is
Rittenhouse.

-1 teaspoon absinthe or more, or Herbsaint (a New Orleans brand of anise liqueur)

Two good absinthe brands are St George, Kubler from Switzerland and St.

George from San Francisco. Avoid absinthe from the Czech Republic.
-1 teaspoon of simple syrup (or 1 sugar cube or 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar) -

I prefer the simple syrup since it dissolves completely - 1-1/2 parts of sugar to 1

part of water brought to a boil and cooled - can be stored in the refrigerator for

future use )
-4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
-1 small dash, a scant drop, of Angostura bitters (extremely optional; some feel it

helps open the flavors, but traditionalists may leave it out).
-2 ounces rye whiskey.
-Strip of lemon peel

Fill old fashioned glasses with ice to chill. Discard ice and swirl absinthe in glass to

coat completely, then discard. Blend with whiskey, bitters, simple syrup and an ice
cube and stir. Twist the lemon peel over the glass so that lemon oil cascades into the
drink, then rub the peel over the rim. The twist should NOT be put into the drink or as
Stanley Clisby Arthur says, "Do not commit the sacrilege of dropping the peel into the
drink." ( funny, but, most of the time, when I get a Sazerac in a restaurant, the lemon
peel is IN the drink! ). Remember that the flavor of the absinthe should be there, but in
the background. It should not dominate. If mixing ingredients in a cocktail shaker, stir
gently but don't shake!!!

We enjoyed a couple of rounds of these and sent Shawn on his way back

to Travis AFB, with a designated driver. I had no problem sleeping Tuesday

night and dreamt of long ago student nurse days, Dixieland jazz, raw oysters,

and good times in New Orleans.

The following morning, Harper Ann was up bright and early, enjoying her Kuwaiti

camel from Uncle Shawn.

Good grief, Nana, isn't that enough pictures!!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Alphabe Thursday - "N" Is For New Orleans - July 21, 2011

Yesterday, I said a sad farewell to Martha Meaux Genin at San Francisco International
Airport as she headed home to New Orleans. We met in that exciting city in September
of 1962 as we began our nursing studies at Charity Hospital and we have remained
friends for nearly 50 years now. Our two week visit passed all too quickly, in a flurry of
long hours spent catching up on life, reminiscing on "the old days", dining out all over
San Francisco and nearby cities, and just cherishing our precious time together, knowing
that we might not ever again have the opportunity to spend so many days with each
other. Somehow, once you reach the second half of your sixties, you really do come
face to face with your mortality.

The day Meaux arrived, we started our culinary adventures with lunch in Daly City at
a lovely, peaceful spot called the Burma Cafe. It is decorated with my favorite animal,
elephants, and all their dishes, that I have tried, are delicious.

This was my second visit to Burma Cafe. We had two of the dishes I'd eaten previously
- the wonderful lamb curry and their tea leaf salad, a crunchy delight of marinated and
fermented tea leaves, lettuce, tomato, peanuts, fried onion, sesame seeds, fried broad
beans and split pea. We also had a stir fried prawn dish that was also superb.

The second night of Meaux's stay, I took her to eat at Zingari, a wonderful Italian

restaurant at the Hotel Donatello in San Francisco and, afterwards, we got to see my

favorite piano player, Shota Osabe, and vocalist Anne O'Brien. Both had been informed

ahead of time that my friend would be in town so Anne sang one of our nursing school

favorites, "Scotch and Soda" - I can't remember how many of those we drank during our

three years at Charity - and Shota played, "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New

Orleans", as only he can. It was such a terrific evening!

We went up to West Sacramento for a three day visit with my middle son, Alex, and

his lovely wife, Laura, and, of course, my two granddogs. The first day, while Alex

had classes, we met Laura's mom, Christine, at a gourmet spot called Pizza Rock, for

dinner. That was really fun.

This pizza trio we shared was an interesting combo - the first was arugula, tomatoes,

and proscuitto, the second was a scrumptious meatball pizza and the third, a dessert

offering, had apples, brown sugar, goat cheese and a caramel glaze. We also had a

wonderful vegetarian Neopolitan pizza. Their menu has all sorts of unusual combos.

Here's my son, Alex, with Taffy. All he got for dinner was pizza leftovers but the study

paid off - he got an 87 ( B ) on his linear algebra exam!

Bucky and Taffy HATE being relegated to the rug while we eat! They try to inch

forward but don't make it far before a stern glance sends them back. They really are

pretty well trained dogs!

Another night, we went to dinner at Manivanh, my all time favorite restaurant

( Thai ) in San Franicsco. It's located near San Francisco General Hospital and I don't

exaggerate when I say I've probably eaten there at least 1000 times in the past 15 years.

The Douangpanya family, originally from Laos, who own Manivanh, are like family to me.

I've eaten at their home, am often invited to their family gatherings and even have a dish,

"the Carmen's Special" ( I concocted it ) , named after me!

This is me with my "baby" - Jeremy will be 27 in November. He is a Cal Poly

graduate where he was a decathlete and he constantly is trying to get me to lose a

hundred pounds and to become healthier.

Meaux is the godmother of my oldest son ( 40 ). She was the maid of honor at my
wedding to his father and practically did all of our wedding arrangements for the event
which took place in New Orleans. My folks lived in Georgia and Ed and I were living in
the Boston area at the time. Guess where we honeymooned? SAN FRANCISCO! I've
always loved this place!

This is one of my favorites, Manivanh's duck salad and the picture below is the Carmen's Special.

This past Monday, my dear friend, Silvia Solorzano, joined me and Meaux for lunch. We

went to San Francisco's Richmond District to India Clay Oven for their wonderful buffet.

I should have taken more pictures there but I was too focused on the good food!

Before we headed home, Silvia took us to the most amazing place in San Francisco's

Mission District, near Mission Mental Health where she used to work. She'd been

asking me, for years, to go see this Buddhist temple. I was so totally suprised to see

this serene and lovely place of worship in the city's Hispanic district. I will do a post

on it another time so I'm only going to show a picture of one of the Buddhas inside.

The nuns and staff we so wonderful and I left there with such a sense of peace.

To end Meaux's visit, we drove to Palo Alto where she lived as a young RN. We tried to

find her apartment, without success, but we drove to El Camino Hospital in Mountain

View where she was a pediatric RN. Afterwards, we went back to Palo Alto for lunch at

Staits Singapore Restaurant, one of my favorite spots. I had a ginger drop martini ( I've

since perfected their recipe and, on special occasion, make a batch of them ) and we had

a fabulous meal.

Entrance to Straits

All Straits restaurants have a Buddha, placed prominently. I suppose Chris Yeo must be

Buddhist. He certainly shows his love for the world in the fine dishes he prepares.

Tuesday night, we stayed home and planned our next get together. Hopefully, there will

be another one. I am still hoping to make that six month visit to India in mid-October but,

as soon as I can after I return home, I'll head to New Orleans to see Meaux. We can't let

too much time pass between visits. Life is too short, especially for those of us over sixty!

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's wonderful Alphabe Thursday ( though Thursday is

drawing to a close ).

Monday, October 25, 2010

Mellow Yellow Monday - New Orleans Drive In Daiquari Bar - October 25, 2010

When I arrived in New Orleans forty-eight years ago to start nursing school at Charity

Hospital, the legal drinking age was eighteen. We, however, did not have any

drive through daiquairi bars. They still did not exist when I moved away in 1969. At

some point in time, in recent years, I noticed several when I visited. I'm not sure they

are such a good idea, though, since they don't seem to discourage drinking and

driving.

When I was there last week for my nursing school reunion and my friend was driving,

we stopped so I could get my first ever "drive through daiquiri" and some photographs.

I can't say the quality of the drink was superior. Give me a Sazerac at one of the great

bars in New Orleans...none of this drive through stuff for me!!

You can't miss this sign!

It beats drive by banking, I guess!

$5.00 off gallons on Sundays!!

I'm participating in Mellow Yellow Monday.

Check out the other yellow posts.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Flash 55 Friday - Drago's Seafood Restaurant, Metairie, LA - October 22, 2010

I was barely off the airplane,

When I settled down to dine,

At a favorite New Orleans restaurant,

With dishes most divine!

We began with charbroiled oysters,

Then, much to my delight,

The waiter announced the special,

Soft shell crabs were on that night!!

Welcome back to New Orleans,

Land of jazz and great cuisines!

Carmen Henesy

Drago and his wife, Klara Cvitanovich, are descendants of New Orleans' Croatian
community, dating back to the 1800's. After working first at his brother-in-law's
restaurant, then the Acme Oyster House, Drago finally opened his own place in Feb
of 1969. It is definitely a family affair, with his wife welcoming guests and Drago, until
recent years, shucking oysters, tending bar, and buying oysters from Croatian oyster
men in Plaquemines Parish. His son, Tommy, now runs the restaurant and its second
location at the New Orleans Hilton.

Two signature dishes are their charbroiled oysters and Mama Ruth's gumbo.

The fire for charbroiling oysters

Oysters from Plaquemines Parish, LA - purchased from Croatian oystermen

Maine lobsters, waiting for hungry customers

Scrumptious charbroiled oysters

Cheers, with CA Clos Du Bois chardonnay

Soft shell crab on a bed of shrimp and crab

Oysters and shrimp in tequila, portobello mushroom

Our neighbor's ahi tuna

I'm participating in Flash 55 Friday, sponsored by Mr. G-Man - come join us.

Alphabe-Thursday - "E" is for English Turn - October 21, 2010

English Turn is a community located in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the Westbank

of the Mississippi River. Supposedly, it got its name, in 1699, when Bienville, coming

downstream at this bend in the river, met up with the British who had chosen this site for

a settlement. Bienville convinced Captain Lewis Banks that the French held the territory

and the British turned around, hence "English Turn." The site was actually considered as

a settlement or capital because of the heavy river traffic but it was abandoned because of

lack of shortcuts to the Gulf of Mexico.

English Turn is now a gated, affluent community of very high priced homes. Fortunately,
the area escaped damage during Katrina's visit to New Orleans. During my recent visit
( and on past stays in New Orleans ), I've spent time in English Turn. My closest nursing
school classmate and dear friend has lived there for about fifteen years and another one
of my classmates did for a number of years as well. Neither of the three of us, of course,
was born to such wealth. We all came from rather humble beginnings and it was difficult
for our families to afford to let us go to nursing school. It goes to show, however, that
with study, education, and hard work, one's circumstances in life can certainly change.
I might have ended up there had I remained in New Orleans and married my first love!

My friend's home is in a gated community which I find interesting because of the great
variety of styles of homes. Certainly, there is much Southern architecture, with stately
white columns but there are English Tudor styles and everything in between. I thought
you might enjoy seeing some of them. My friend originally lived in what she calls "the
large house" - a stately Southern home with eight bedrooms and eight baths ( I think ),
about 7,000 square feet. When her two daughters grew up and moved out of the house,
she decided she wanted to downsize and they bought "the small house" ( it only has four
bedrooms but it is still pretty large to me at about 4000 square feet! ).