Muffaletta

  A local sandwich invented by a Sicilian grocer. A big sesame seed bun with salami, ham, mozzarella, and Italian olive salad ( olives, carrots, onions and spiced mixed in an olive oil dressing.) You might start with a quarter. A whole "muff", like the po-boy, was made to feed a family of four. A New Orleans original , they ain't got 'em in Italy!

Beignets

 French for doughnut. Deep-fried squares of dough served with café au lait (coffee with milk) at Café du Monde, open 24 hours since the 1890's. Like the muffaletta, a New Orleans original, they have something in France called a Beignet, but its not the same. ( I found out to my disappoinment)

PoBoy

 Po-Boys or more precisely "poor boys" are sandwiches our hoagie or subs. They were invented during the Depression when the poor boys working on the ships and docks would go to the restaurants after lunch or dinner service, and the cooks would sell them the leftovers in a big loaf of French Bread for 10 cents. Usually out the back door and "under the table." One loaf could feed a family of four.

Nowadays, a Po-boy usually costs about 10 dollars ,but can easily feed two people.. They come in many varieties. The favorites are fried shrimp and roast beef.

Oh yeah , if a waiter asks you if you would like to eat that po-boy "dressed" or "undressed," this does not mean clothing optional. Dressed means with lettuce tomato and mayonaise. The best places to get po-boys are corner groceries or small po-boy delis like Johnny's.
 
Hurricane

 This concoction was created during World War II when liquor such as whiskey was in low supply. In order to purchase just one case of whiskey, liquor salesmen forced bar owners to purchase as much as 50 cases of rum, which was plentiful. In an effort to use the abundance of rum that Pat O'Brien's acquired, the recipe for the Hurricane evolved with the help of an eager liquor salesman. The name came soon after when a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp was used to serve the fruity rum cocktail.

What is the difference between Creole and Cajun cooking? Most Louisiana chroniclers claim the answer is simple. Many Creoles were rich planters and their kitchens aspired to grande cuisine. Their recipes came from France or Spain as did their chefs. By using classic French techniques with local foodstuffs, they created a whole new cuisine, Creole cooking.

On the other hand, the Acadians, pronounced <uh-CADE-ee-uns>, later contracted to Cajun, were a tough people used to living under strenuous conditions. They tended to serve strong country food prepared from locally available ingredients. It was pungent, peppery and practical since it was all cooked in a single pot. Thus Cajun cuisine was born.

While both cuisines are distinct, there are cross references. Rice is a staple of both and Creole and Cajun chefs usually start dish by making a roux of oil and flour. In addition, there are many common ingredients such as crab, river shrimp, lake shrimp, oysters, crawfish, freshwater and saltwater fish, plus squirrels, wild turkeys, ducks, frogs, turtles, pork, homemade sausages, beans of all kinds, tomatoes, okra, yams, pecans, oranges and wines, liqueurs and brandy.

There is one rule that both the Creoles and Cajuns agree upon and that is that there is no one rule and no one recipe when it comes to matters of food. There are hundreds of different recipes for gumbo, jambalaya, turtle soup and they are all right because no one is wrong. Privately, they know that everything they cook is original, because their kitchens are kitchens of "ad lib". They are experimenting, creating, changing, always trying to make it taste better.

Because of the changes, it is difficult to get recipes. In restaurants, few chefs write recipes down learning from each other in the kitchen. In households, Mammas would verbally give the recipe to their daughters, who as they cooked the dishes added their own flavors and subtle changes.

Courtesy of Chuck Taggart and Gumbopages.com

[Edited by Chuck Taggart. Many thanks to Christopher Hébert for providing us with his Dad's writing.]