Game Night snacks not so trivial

 

Next Question!

Games night at my house could be Scrabble, every single time. 

I love the challenge of setting those tiles down to spell fancy, unusual, tight-fitting and big-scoring words. I'm pretty good at it. Much better than I am at sports.

Many board games at my house came from the church garage sale over the years. This year I'm giving them back to the same sale. Turns out, I love Trivial Pursuit, but don't have the patience for a board game. My family indulges me as I just hold the cards and ask questions to the general population. No scoring, no competition and we all learn something and have a laugh.

This month I'm speed reading questions from several varieties of the game. I’ve got to read them all before the sale! Here’s some versions I have:

• Original - Some of these topics and answers seem very old and outdated. They’re hard to play with “younger” folk.
• 80s – I’d like to say these are my specialties, but some of them are tough! If they deal with pop culture, I’m on it. Game pieces look like a computer, CD and Mead notebook.
• Saturday Night Live – These pieces are fashioned like famous characters, including Land Shark, Mary Katherine and Mango. I remember some of the sketches way back to Gilda Radner, and I’ve had fun looking up sketches I’ve missed over the show’s more than 50 seasons.

Pros and cons of “vintage” boards

• You can really tell your age by recalling when some of these subjects actually happened. 
• This is actually learning in disguise.
• Learn more about friends when they share their experiences behind the questions and answers. It's a "Where were you when" kind of thing. 

About the game

            Canadian journalists released this game in 1981 and created it after discovering they were missing pieces from a Scrabble set. Categories played to different strengths. Sports fans could play with movie buffs. They were:

·        Entertainment

• History
• Arts & Literature
• Science & Nature
• Sports & Leisure

THE SNACKS

Culinary Thrill Seekers want their snacks. On a board game night, try dry popcorn and pretzels so no one gets their greasy hands all over your nice clean game.

If you are a frequent game night kind of host, you’ve got this down. When I hold the cards, we might be snacking on the following:

* Sprite and wine punch, with frozen cubes of fruit floating around in the bowl

*  Chips and dip, but make it “extra” like blue corn tortilla chips and your own salsa.

* Hot and spicy pickles on a crystal platter

* That go-to of pepper jelly over cream cheese and good crackers

* Mixed nuts

* Roasted chickpeas

* Edamame

* Cheese tray

* Veggies and hummus

* Fruit tray

 

Game Night Pasta Ideas

“101 Things to Do With Pasta” is for any level of cook. Donna Kelly has beginners covered. Skilled cooks will love the reminders and ideas. If you’re ready to host a game night or any other type of gathering, You’ll be pasta perfect with this read.

Everything Bagel Spaghetti is in my lineup. I have a jar of Everything Bagel spice that has more flavor than I have ideas for. It’s going on my pasta with bacon and eggs, cream cheese and Parm.

Confetti Pasta Salad will come together quickly as a meal before game night. Try tiny shells with frozen peas, diced carrot, red bell pepper, onion, cheddar, mayo and Italian salad dressing. You’ve got color, texture and taste for the masses.

Cheesy Pasta Crisps with Pesto Dip is warm delight with help from Greek yogurt. Mason Jar Asian Noodles is a good-to-go peanut butter and sriracha mixture you can make ahead to take to work the day after your gathering.

Every page in this book has ideas and they come from all regions of the globe. Pasta is an easy fix everyone loves!

Darragh Doiron is a Port Athur area foodie who thinks if it’s about food, it’s not trivial at all! Share your foodie fun facts from your own game of life via panews@panews.com

Grab the Tony's

 

In the Cajun Capital of Texas – that’s Port Arthur if you didn’t know – there’s likely a green can of Tony Cashere’s at the ready for just about anything we cook. It’s one seasoning that is probably used once a week or more to pair with the Cajun Trinity. That’s Tony Chachere’s.

This Creole Seasoning, also big with Cajun cooks, is a fast favorite we don’t want to be without. My mom kept “Tony Chachere’s Cajun Country Cookbook” on the shelf  T.C. was from the Opelousas, Louisiana area. His line is familiar to us all in this region. The first printing was in August of 1972 and Mom’s was the 23^rd printing of October, 1990. It’s time to pass it on. My nephew is getting the book.

            This doesn’t fall into the category of Millennial Inheritance. He wants this book and is eagerly awaiting its arrival. Likely it will be delivered to North Carolina with some boudain that he always requests. I’d say he misses “Southern” cooking, but he’s doing well up there with the ingredients he has.

Tony C. had many careers, including drug rep and insurance salesman. He hunted and cooked enough to become famous for it. Now, with a little shake from the green can, we cook like he did. In this book, some suggested uses include Tony’s on hogshead cheese, liver, lamb fries and tripe.

Here’s some of the book’s recipes that could use some Tony’s:

·       Fried Frogs

·       Turtle Stew

·       Fish Croquettes

·       Tony’s Nutria Sauce Piquante

·       Tony’s Barbecued Alligator

·       Baked Juicy Swamp Rabbit

·       Broiled Brandied Shrimp

·       Coot in Soy Sauce

·       Dove Casserole

 

No Need for Tony’s:

Not every dish calls for the seasoning. Her’s an exception: Louisiana yam, coconut and orange casserole.

 

Lagniappe from the book

·       Filé – Make your own by breaking sassafras branches in an August full moon.

·       Cucumber Soup, made with margarine, flour and egg yolk.

·       Crawfish Crepes, from Executive Chef Hans John of the Shamrock Hilton  in Houston.

·       Basic roux is one of the first recipes in the book. The final page offers a deviled ham dip that calls for pimento cheese spread, mayo, deviled ham and grated onions. It doesn’t even call for Tony’s, but I’d put it in there, me cher.

 

 

Footnote

I recently passed a billboard for Tony’s company store in Louisiana, but it was not on my way. I have to save that for later. When I got to my hotel in Baton Rouge, there was a display of Tony’s seasonings for sale in the lobby, near a big stuffed to a big stuffed toy of Mike, the LSU tiger.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie craving some Cajun and Creole flavors right now. Share you memories with her via panews@panews.com

Doiron crosses state line for family; food

 

This third edition of Doiron Family Reunion in Starks, La., was Culinary Thrill Seeking across the state line. There was some praying, some eating and some visiting.

It’s important to remember that I was raised Catholic over here in Texas. The Starks Doirons meet at First Pentecostal Church, where many of them attend. This town has two Pentecostal Churches. A relative of my said Starks folk even has Baptists, and welcome everyone, as we’re all trying to get to the same place. This year, they welcomed my husband, who finally got to attend.

I again visited Dress Like an Angel, a shop where church ladies of any denomination will find fancy, modest attire. There’s a huge crystal chandelier and even a playpen area so mama shoppers are free to peruse racks of ruffles.

The Doirons met in the gym, across from the church. When got another load from the car,  I noticed people with signs along the road, inviting drivers to pull over and pray. I walked over, sat in folding share in the shade, and got a whirlwind of prayer from three people. They gave me a cloth with oil and spoke all at once. I felt like I could make out words like “gratitude,” “family” and “abundance” as they gave me their all. 

Door Prizes:

Back inside, women were setting up a massive door prize area. I came home with a hummingbird feeder and a garden sign. I’d left copies of cookbooks my mother had written and sundry items to make a fair trade.

What was on the tables: Potholders, scented lotions, puzzles, candles and such

What I shared: Mint plants, vintage cookbooks, nice wooden cigar boxes, Mom’s clip-on earrings for wearing or crafting and such

            I dubbed a relative “The Crafty Lady” after she told me all the lantern centerpieces were from her stash. She also collected grapes, including the décor around the main table. One bunch had an international family story connected to it. Later I asked if she’d made one of the grape salads on the table. I was told the grape salad nearly didn’t make it to the event, as it was so tempting in her kitchen. I made sure she went home with my “craft box” door prize.

Let’s Eat!

The potluck table was set with venison sausage, brisket, shrimp pasta, chicken spaghetti, dirty rice and more. I brought a corn, bean and cranberry relish concoction.

Desserts: Oreo pudding concoction, banana pudding, bread pudding (I mean I hear it was there but I didn’t catch it), peach cobbler and cupcakes. On this hot day, I was grateful for watermelon.

On the Path

We also enjoyed the cypress and waterside at Alligator Park and Niblett’s Bluff. Someday I may get an invite to cruise on one of those boats with the country music tunes streaming out in the wake.

When locals say they have to go to town to shop, they mean Vinton. The Market Basket Smokehouse is well known, and we returned to Texas with some smoked boudain.

The vigil Mass at St. Joseph Church in Vinton was the next stop. Everybody knows I love finding pennies. I found a $20 bill in the parking lot. The Spirit moved me to leave it in the collection plate. We all prayed for blessings during hurricane season.

Small World

Last year I'd told someone I was going to Starks before I went, and she happened to have lived there and told me tidbits about the area.

               After this year’s reunion, I mentioned to table full of people that I'd just been to Starks. A set of twins told me they had attended school there.  It is a small, southern world.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie willing to cross borders for a good visit and good eats. Share with her via panews@panews.com

Judice family a part of Port Arthur tradition

 

Since 1927 the Judice family has called this area home. Their hearts have been full of Louisiana tradition and Texas innovation. Word spread quickly when Judice’s 1927 in Nederland recently announced their closing. Al Judice IV announced that a chapter is closing.

I reminisced about the Cajun Ambassador A.J. Judice that I knew from crawfish races, all the boudain we shared and the deli hamburgers I’ve enjoyed while parked along the seawall. I loved watching from all over the world pass by while enjoying a juicy local burger.

Then I thought about the Nederland restaurant and all those family photos on the wall sharing those family memories. Where they will go next?

 I pulled out my copy of “Cajun Cookin’ with Maw Maw Judice” and got all emotional flipping through the pages. Lariza Judice, who came here in 1927 with the family that opened Judice Grocery on Seventh Street. Boudain, seafood and Cajun staples made them famous. Her son A.J. became a Cajun Ambassador celebrity.

Lariza, or Maw Maw, wrote a book that sounded like her. Take the following as an example:

“Cajuns catch or trap anything that doesn’t eat them first.”

             This little binder book has some treasures.

Flip open to pages 44-45 and I’d take any one of the offerings that look easy to make and easy to enjoy: Sweet Potato Fluff, Cornbread Salad, Okra and Mushrooms, Maque Choux and Bacon Coleslaw.

I can imagine her family asking her to make that “good corn dish” with cans of creamed corn, flour and egg. She included it in the book and it’s called Good Corn Dish. Her extra note: “Especially good with fried chicken.”

Do these sound good?

·       Cow Bayou Cream of Crab Soup

·       Cajun Venison with Currant Jelly

·       No Fail Divinity

·       Frito Squash (the chips are a topping)

·       Blackeye Pea Casserole with rice and cream of mushroom soup

·       Acadian Couche Couche

 

Maw Maw Took Some Shortcuts

No Worry Jambalaya is made in a rice cooker and Kitchen Bouquet is in the gravy.

 

Something Old

Lots of life advice, remedies and tips are featured as “odds and ends.” Here’s one:

Leftover coffee makes a great addition to many foods: ice cream, chocolate sauce, spice or chocolate cake, icings or any chocolate dessert.

Something New

Do you know about benne pralines? I can’t say that I did. Benne is an African word for sesame seeds and can be substituted for pecans. I may have gobbled some up without realizing it.

From Lariza

Near the end of this collection is a note.

“Do things in moderation. Don’t overdo anything. Don’t over work, over eat or get over tired.”

Sounds good to me, Maw Maw.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie embracing her Cajun heritage. Share your foodie adventures via panews@panews.com

Jason's lets the pickles speak for themselves.

 

Why should you get to Jason’s Deli in June? Let the pickles speak for themselves.

The Dillicious Meal Deal is going on in June and elevates the moment pickles are having. The national deli that began right here in Southeast Texas has this ready for fans: pickle pasta and a pickle wrap. I got myself to the Port Arthur restaurant to try those out, so, more on those later.

Now, about Jason’s Deli in general:

I love sharing with people that this big chain started right here. That’s the Gateway Shopping Center in Beaumont, to be exact. I wonder what the most popular item was that opening day of Nov. 30, 1976.

Joe Totorice Jr. opened the first restaurant that seated 60 and offered 12 menu items. Now there are hundreds of locations. Recently I was at an airport and inhaled a familiar aroma. I looked up to see a Jason’s and it smelled like home

In the early ‘80s, Jason’s was a hot spot for my high school classmates and we loved a big old baked potato. We called them loaded spuds and they were enormous. It was a lot food and their toppings made it seem gourmet. When they opened a bigger restaurant in Beaumont’s West End and we felt fancy.

 My mom treated us to many a meal after Saturday evening Masses and I’m sure I got the salad bar every time. I considered myself an expert at layering and loading all those tempting toppings. Can’t beat those little toasts and muffins as lagniappe.

I have established that I love Jason’s and I’m not alone.

 

So, here’s some of what’s new, with details straight from the company:

 

“Jason’s Deli continues to roll through its spring lineup with menu items that extend into early summer, alongside its signature Garden-Fresh Salad Bar experience.

            The salad bar remains a defining part of the guest experience, featuring more than 50 ingredients that support a wide range of builds, from protein-forward combinations to lighter seasonal mixes with fruit, feta and vinaigrettes. Seasonal additions continue to keep the format fresh for returning guests and first-time visitors alike.

            The current lineup also includes Caprese and Chicken Caprese on herb focaccia, plus the Dill Pickle Club Wrap and Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, both made fresh in-house daily and available through June 30. These items reflect the brand’s continued focus on bright, tangy and herb-driven flavors across the menu.”

Also on an act-now basis:

Cheesy Chicken Truffle Pasta features grilled chicken, fresh spinach, and mushrooms tossed in a creamy truffle cheese sauce, all served over penne pasta and topped with Asiago cheese. My thought is if the word “cheesy” is part of the title, they better deliver. Jason’s does.

I tried these new things “with relish” and remain a happy Jason’s customer. New is good and I still love the classics.

            Let it be known, that if you come across one of those people who say they never eat anything green, treat them to the great expanse of a Jason’s salad bar and see if they accept the challenge.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie down for a Jason’s salad bar any time. Share your foodie adventures via panews@panews.com

When life gives you mint & getting your onions in a jam

  

            On Christmas day I finally saw a neighbor a few streets away outside and I hastened to greet him merrily and make my big ask. Could I get a few mint cuttings from his vast, aromatic spread. He welcomed me to do so and come again. After all, the mint was planted to keep some cats out of the bed, and the cats just moved to sleep by the cars, so the mint was abundant.

One day I noticed a “free mint” sign tucked into the greenery of a raised bed in my neighborhood. That made me smile. How thoughtful of the owners!

I’d always wondered if any neighborhood cameras might pick up my visits. I was always prepared to shout out “I was invited to pick the mint” to any cycylists/dog walkers passing by, while waving the complimentary herbage in hand. Turns out a another neighbor had kindly  made the owner “aware” of my foraging. So the lady of the house made the sign. Again, how thoughtful!

I made sure the mint planters knew how very many people they had made happy by saying “yes” on Christmas day. I’ve made fragrant bouquets to give to lots of people, even strangers. So many say that mint is a memory of their grandma or they used to have mint around when they were a kid.

The mint is a memory maker!

What do do with mint? These days everyone makes a joke about a mojito garden, with garnish growing handy. That’s not my go-to. I’ve soaked some leaves in water to make a water or tea fusion and many have told me theirs looks lovely floating in a cool pitcher of lemonade.

Pro tip: Mint can be easy to grow and loves water. It is very invasive, so put it in a pot. Good luck with the cats.

 

Onion Jam
     I could eat onions at every meal. The deterrent? It's not the breath thing. Family has been forewarned when I’ve had a fresh, crunchy bite. 

It's peeling the onions. It's tedious. When I found a recipe for making onion jam in the slow cooker that had you tossing in about six yellow onions with the skins on, I made haste to try it. These babies came out tender and aromatic. They popped out of their skins and were easy to remove. I couldn't wait for them to cool so I got the hot potato effect with hot onions. 

The recipe called for apple cider vinegar and brown sugar. I thought I had brown sugar but got distracted while looking in the pantry. I decided to use a 

Cool and barmy: Drink up

 

Who can resist cool, sparkling water on a hot summer day? Or any day, in my book. Friends recently served me a drink with frozen watermelon cubes as the “ice.” I was happy to bring this idea home and drop some fruit into my water for an after-dinner treat. A stemmed glass cooled by strawberries and melon hit the spot.

It seems to always feel like summer in Southeast Texas. In the fall I’d use a fluted stemmed glass and try this with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.

Barm anyone? – Are you a barm fan? I just learned that foam, topping alcoholic beverages in particular – is called barm. This word comes from beorma, an Old English term for ‘yeast’ or ‘leaven.’ Beer, ale and wine can have this going on. I usually remember to tilt the glass to avoid beer barm.

From the Classic Cookbook Shelf:

“Make Now Serve Later” – This Better Homes and Gardens hardcover from 1981 features those elegant table spreads such as crates, netting and candlesticks that hostesses went wild for in this era. Everything is brown and golden and I grew up wanting to give parties like these. This book is dedicated to the kind of dinner parties that people will be talking about the rest of the season.

Wouldn’t your guests love some Old-Fashioned Corned Tongue at your next gathering? This is one of the more unusual (to me) dishes, but most are very workable with today’s tastes. Lamb chops with mustard sauce and a chilled rice and pea pod salad sound great to me.

Overnight Sausage Salad would be lovely in the kind of silver-toned rimmed bowl with matching tongs that I see at every other estate sale. It’s a layer of lettuce, frozen peas, pepperoni, cheese and garbanzo beans. Top that with lettuce and spread a seal of green goddess and mayo. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 24 hours. This could work!

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who is sipping cool, avoiding the barm and cooking classically. Reach her via panews@panews.com