New Orleans Daiquiri Summit

In Norway they may think that Barack Obama has a great knack for peace, but around here his forte seems to be stirring up strife. New Orleans is mad because Obama’s visit was little more than a whistlestop. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is mad because New Orleans gets all the attention, such as it is, while the lingering effects of Katrina over there are ignored. (At least Galveston isn't crying big tears cause Obama didn't visit!) And from southwest Louisiana comes the cry, “What about Rita, Gustav and Ike? The president really needs to take a look at Cameron Parish.” Obama is also being denounced for an apparent lack of curiosity about the incredible shrinking wetlands. The original announced White House plan was for Obama to fly way down yonder merely in order to hold a “town hall” before beetling off to California for a fund raiser. (Nobody even mentioned his stop at Texas A&M.) Members of Louisiana's congressional delegation took turns demanding evidence (on the visit) of a little more concern for the state of the recovery, and the protests did not go unheeded. Soon came the announcement that Obama would make time to visit the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward. That did not smooth over any feathers in other parts of the region, where hordes of bedraggled storm victims grow weary of the constant harping on the Lower 9th. Congressman Steve Scalise called a press conference at the 17th Street Canal in Lakeview to declare, in an authentically New Orleans metaphor, that his constituents deserved more than a “drive-through daiquiri summit.”

Kids Day

Kids were all over the news yesterday. The little buggers!! As my daughter said, "seems like all the children of the corn were out in force."
First was the group of nuts who built a space ship type thing, filled it with helium and made it available to their 6 year old. Granted that when, after calling out the National Guard helicopter, involving law enforcement agencies in a huge area and delaying flights at a major airport, the little darling was found upstairs in a box hiding. Hey parents, keep up with your kids. Gives new meaning to the acorn (nut) not falling far from the tree. Evidently the parents consider themselves free thinkers who are challenging their kids. How about challenging them to think about their actions?

Then there was the little autistic boy in Houston who preformed the Heimlich maneuver on his teacher when she chocked on an apple. He had been taught by his Scout group and when an emergency happened he knew what to do and did it well. There are parents and leaders who are doing what needs to be done. And they are raising a little hero.

The little black boy who got on stage with Obama in New Orleans at UNO and with a truly concerned look on his face ask. "Why do people hate you?" was a favorite of mine in the day of kids. He was really worried and I'm fairly sure he didn't understand Obama's answer that it was 'politics' and that since he got elected president some people liked him. Perhaps Obama should see the kids question as a simple plea for a re-uniting of this country.

But the best question I heard was from a little boy in Biloxi who ask, "Why didn't Obama come here if he is going to take care of us? He went to New Orleans. Doesn't he know we got hit by Katrina?" Excellent question! Bush came to the Ms. Coast 13 times. Obama 0.

Somebody Get This Pussy Off Me!!

Hog Killin' Day

Suppose to be cooler on Fri. At least down in the 50's. This time of the year I want pork. Pork chops, sausage, ham, bacon. . . any of it. And I remember pork that didn't come from Wal-Mart. I think it goes back to hog killing day when I was a kid. My grandma and grandpa raised hogs and in early winter, after the first freeze they killed at least one hog to supply meat for the year. I never went over there until after the animals were dead and the operation was under way. There was always two of three water filled cast iron pots boiling over an outdoor fire. There were used to dip the hog into before scraping off the hair. The skin was used for pork rinds and cracklings. I remember the day was always cold, usually with a misty wetness combining with smoke in the air. It was heavy coat weather, requiring caps or hats. It turned your fingers and nose red. Does it even get that cold anymore here in the south? I watched my grandma grind the meat into sausage and season it with red pepper, and other seasonings. After she had cleaned the intestines she stuffed the seasoned meat into the casing. Some of the intestines were also saved to cook as chitterlings.

Chitterlings are the intestines of the hog. They are washed thoroughly, cut into pieces and boiled until tender. Like tripe, this boiling stage gives off a strong, distinctive odor which can permeate your house.

The head was scrapped of every scrap of meat for hogs head cheese. Pork chops were cut and wrapped for the freezer. The hams were taken to the smokehouse to be rolled in salt and the stuffed sausage were looped over boards hung in the top of the house. The oak fire was built in a metal pan on the floor, and smothered down with grass and then the meat smoked for weeks. I think it was suppose to be smoked and cured for 70 days. There was always cracklings and pork rinds. These came from rendering the fat into lard. This was before we knew about cholesterol. We used lard from hogs and butter from cows. The second round of rendering fat included scraps of fat and skin and had a slightly off white or light tan color and the residual meat left after the rendering was firmer and crispier. The skin made especially good cracklings. After the cracklings had cooled, they were ground up with the coarse blade of the food mill, stored in a stoneware crock in a cool place to be used for seasoning vegetables. They were especially prized for use in cornbread. My grandma Dovie always made a big pone of cornbread with cracklings on hog killing day. Then she fried some pork chops to go with collards and sweet potatoes. Yeah, it's about time for some pork with greens and baked sweet potatoes even it they have to come from Winn Dixie.

Dovie's Cracklin' Bread

1 cup self rising cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup pork cracklin's
1/2 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup and 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 450. Add 4 tablespoons to cast iron skillet and heat in oven til very hot. Mix other ingredients. Pour in skillet. Bake 20 minutes. Serve warm with sliced onions and a glass of iced tea for the best eating you'll do in the South.

Where's My Nobel?

Talk about getting the cart before the horse!!! Or in this case the cart before the jack-ass! What the hell has Obama done to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize? He called for all kinds of action after he received it, but wouldn't it be better to achieve some positive action before he is rewarded for it? Or maybe he got it just because he's not Bush and unlike George W. Obama has allowed everybody in the world to take a crap on the USA. Maybe we will all start getting the Nobel since they are giving the things away for nothing. One in Cracker Jacks or on the back of Cheerios boxes. Or use them for treats at Halloween and at birthday parties. A lot of folks in the USA are used to free give away programs anyway. I want mine enclose with my social security check. I'm sure the Nobel could be included in the welfare and Wic programs, the local handout organizations for the do nothings. They could be put in Christmas stockings and the tooth faerie could leave them under pillows. Or included in graduation diplomas. Maybe in a basket full as favors in bars and rolled in napkins in restaurants. We could collect one for not screaming in the dentist chair or on the gynecologist table. It seems reasonable to me. After all Obama got one for riding around on his unicorn, flopping his giant ears and blowing smoke out his ass!

Football

Southern Miss Pirogues

Ground Meat

Cajun Link Sausage

(Cut sausage into small pieces after cooking)

Italian Ground Sausage

Cheddar Cheese

Lee & Perrin's

Italian Spices

Meat magic

Tony Chacherie's Roux Mix

Rolls of French Bread

Cook each meat separately, mixing in spices as needed (to taste). Hollow out the bread. Mix meat, sausage, cheese. Use a small portion of the grease from the sausage to make a gravy; mix grease and Tony Chacherie's Roux Mix to make. Put meat mixture, gravy and more cheese on top in hollowed out bread and bake until the bread is browned and crispy.

A Southern Girls Guide To Football.
North vs South

Women's Accessories For Game
North- Chapstick and a $20 in jeans pocket
South- Louis Vuitton bag with colorstay lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of bourbon

Stadium
North-College stadiums hold 20,000 people
South-High school stadiums hold 20,000 people

Fathers
North-Expect daughters to understand Shakespeare.
South-Expect daughters to understand pass interference.

Getting To The Stadium
North- When you find it you walk right in.
South-When you are near it you'll hear it.

Parking
North-An hour before game time the university opens the campus for game parking.
South-RV's sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wed for the weekend game.

Tailgating
North-Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it.
South- Thirty-foot custom pig-shape smoker fires up at dawn.

Concessions
North-Drinks served in a paper cup.
South- Drinks served in a plastic cup, with the home team's mascot on it, filled halfway up to ensure room for bourbon.

When National Anthem Is Played
North- Stands are less than half-full and less than half the people stand.
South-A hundred thousand fans, all standing, sing along.

After The Game
North- The stadium is empty before the game ends.
South-Another rack of ribs on the smoker. Another trip to the package store. Planning begins for the next week's game.

GATOR BALLS

1 lb chopped alligator meat
1 egg 1 teaspoon finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 c bread crumbs
1 c cooking oil
Flour to dredge Combine all ingredients, form 1 inch diameter balls, allow to set one hour. Dredge in flour and fry till brown.
Serve hot.