Loves

There are some things that I love. Some..."favorite things." These are a few...of my favorite things...

King King Cakes -- Wonderful shop for Mardi Gras king cakes, authentic New Orleans coffee and great beneigt box mixes, but by far the best part are their king cakes. We threw a fabulous Mardi Gras themed Superbowl party last year and ordered cakes from King King Cakes. Awesome. Check out the blog post and pics here.

Le Creuset -- every cook needs a Dutch oven, so get one of these. And they have lots of pretty colors.

Mardi Gras Outlet -- A one-stop shopping trip for your Mardi Gras themed parties. Beads, masks, dubloons...they've got it all and in bulk. They're the Costco of Mardi Gras.

Paul Prudhomme -- Magic Seasonings; despite looking like a nicer Dom DeLuise, he's a great chef and I actually love his seasoning blends. Even the best cook gets lazy and needs a fast blend in a pinch, and his are great.

The Barefoot Contessa -- one of my culinary idols and probably my greatest influence in American cooking.

The Foodnetwork Website -- despite still promoting that idiot Sandra Lee, you can occasionally scavange through the archives and get a good recipe from Flay, Lagasse, de Laurentiis, or Batali.