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Tuesday, December 30, 2014
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| The Mardi Gras Gumbo Cook-off occurs Feb. 14, 2015. Photo by Buzzy Gordon |
Thanks to the popularity of Cajun
cuisine, Louisiana cooking has become world famous. And as a big fan myself, I
thought I knew most of what there is to know about the food. Until I went to
Southwest Louisiana for Mardi Gras, and attended the annual Gumbo Cook-Off in
Lake Charles, that is.
This is nothing like any other BBQ
or chili cook-off you may have ever attended. More than 50 krewes and other
competing teams filled a hall of the Lake Charles Civic Center, spilling over outside
adjacent to the lakefront promenade. The noise level is astounding: krewes are
also competing to win the “spirit stick,” by engaging in raucous revelry.
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| Mardi Gras krewes vie for the coveted Spirit Stick! Photo by Buzzy Gordon |
As the smells of simmering roux
start to activate the salivary glands, you begin to wish the tasting would
commence. But the teams have been admonished not to serve until the judges have
collected their samples. Finally, lines begin to form; and one by one, krewes
begin ladling out their savory offerings. These are no measly samples:
styrofoam bowls are filled to the brim with the steaming samples.
I did my best to try them all, but
after 20 or so half-bowls, I had to call it quits. But I managed to taste a bit from each
category: traditional chicken and andouille sausage; seafood; and wild game.
Some of the latter were quite exotic -- like pheasant and elk sausage.
Alligator featured prominently, along with rabbit, and even the occasional
squirrel.
While most of these mouth-watering recipes may be available to the public to eat only once a year, you'll be glad to know that the best in the professional competition -- as awarded in two of the three categories in 2014 -- comes from the kitchen of the Jack Daniel's Bar & Grill restaurant at L'Auberge Casino Resort. Professional seafood honors went to the Krewe de Sauvage, while Krewe de Mischief danced away with the coveted Spirit Stick.
For the aspiring chefs who want to make their own gumbo, check out this "How to Make a Gumbo" video by Chef Scott Landry.
For the aspiring chefs who want to make their own gumbo, check out this "How to Make a Gumbo" video by Chef Scott Landry.
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| Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
January 6 . . . a date known by many names. Many
churches call it Epiphany. In Mexico, it is the Day of the Holy Kings. To the
Irish, it is Little Christmas. Roman Catholics know it as Joan of Arc’s
birthday. But here in Louisiana, it’s Twelfth Night!
Twelfth Night
marks the beginning of Mardi Gras season. In Lake Charles, we celebrate with an
annual Twelfth Night Extravaganza!
At this much-anticipated event held at the Lake Charles Civic Center, the royal
courts of local krewes parade through the arena and make their exit, thus
paving the way for the new krewe kings and queens. In typical Mardi Gras
tradition, it is a night of glitz, glamour, pomp, and pageantry.
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| Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
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| Photo by www.lindseyjanies.com |
Balls, parades, king cakes, gumbo cook-offs, trail rides, chicken runs, giddy merriment, indulgence . . . to me, it was all new, magical, mysterious. Mardi Gras continues to be a source of curiosity, fascination, and bemusement for me.
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| Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
Most of these krewes join the celebration at Twelfth Night Extravaganza. The costumes are colorful, sparkly, feathery, elaborate, and truly something to behold. Revelers on floats toss candy and shiny Mardi Gras beads to the enthusiastic crowd. Each person in attendance receives a small piece of King Cake. Twelve lucky winners find the “baby” in their piece of cake and win fantastic prizes.
Whether it’s a family tradition or your first time to attend, make plans to see the Lake Charles Twelfth Night Extravaganza January 6, 7 p.m.
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| Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
Tickets are $5 in advance, $6 at the door. Children 5 and under admitted free. Tickets may be purchased at Joseph’s Electric, Gordon’s Drug Store, Party Time Store, and Moss Bluff Flower.
To read more of Angie's adventures, check out her blog, angiekaydilmore.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
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| Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com |
Calling all sportsmen (and women and children, too)! On
January 9-10, 2015, the coastal town of Cameron will host its annual Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival.
This popular event has been entertaining festival-goers
since 1955 and highlights duck and goose calling, retrieval dog trials, nutria
and muskrat skinning, trap setting, skeet shooting, and oyster shucking
competitions.
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| Duck Calling Contest. Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com |
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| Oyster Shucking Contest. Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com |
In addition to the usual fair fare, food vendors also sell alligator sausage, jambalaya, boudin, gumbo,
smoked sausage, and crawfish.
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| Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com |
A gumbo cook-off is also a part of
the yearly festivities. Thrilling carnival rides will entertain people of all
ages. The Pageant Queen, King, and attendants of the Fur and Wildlife Festival
will be crowned on Friday evening.
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| Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com |
The fun continues on all day Saturday. Sign yourself up for a
morning 5K run. Stroll through the antique car show. Watch the festival parade at 1:30 p.m. Observe an alligator skinning demonstration at 4:30 p.m.
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| Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com |
The exciting musical
entertainment lineup includes Bag of Donuts, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp
Band, John Dale Hebert, Water’s Edge, and Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Road
Runners.
For a complete schedule of events, see the festival website, http://lafurandwildlifefestival.com.
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| Photo by www.parkerbrandcreative.com |
All
events will take place on the fairgrounds located at the former Pat’s of
Cameron (513 Marshall St.) in Downtown Cameron unless otherwise noted.
To read more of Angie's adventures, check out her blog, angiekaydilmore.blogspot.com.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Growing up, my father’s photography studio was located in
downtown Lake Charles in a historic building from the early 1900s. I spent many summers there helping in the
office, answering phone calls and assisting in photo shoots. My brother and I would even play hide and
seek when we were kids. Those old homes
have lots of hiding spaces!
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| The historic Locke mansion located at 929 Broad St. in Lake Charles, La. was built in 1910. Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
After my dad bought the home in the early 1980s, they did
some renovations and found some pocket doors.
In the pocket doors, they found newspaper articles stuffed within the
walls from the 1800s. I always thought
that was so cool and I think that’s what started my fascination with the
Charpentier Historic District. Charpentier
is French for carpenter, by the way!
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| Learn more about the Charpentier Historic District at www.visitlakecharles.org/historic. Photo by Marty Solis |
Recently, the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention
& Visitors Bureau developed a free Lake Charles Historic Tour App. It brings the Charpentier Historic District
to life through a guided tour of the 40-block area of homes in the National
Register of Historic Places. You can
choose a 30 Minute Tour, One Hour Tour or Ghost Stories Tour.
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| 1911 Historic City Hall has a permanent exhibit on the Great Fire of 1910 and is featured on the One Hour Tour. Photo by www.lindseyjanies.com |
The haunted legends tour, or Eerie Calcasieu Tour, as it is
named in the app, has some pretty crazy stories included. There’s even a video that captures some great
stories of the local ghosts. There are
also videos on the Great Fire of 1910, Lake Charles Architecture and the
History of Lake Charles.
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| The Eerie Calcasieu Tour features haunted sites throughout Lake Charles. |
The app promotes social network sharing and even allows the
user to create a post card from the district. It's available in multiple languages and Closed Captioning, which is great if you have friends from other countries who are visiting and would prefer to experience the tour in their native language.
Download the free app in your app store by searching for “Lake Charles
Historic Tour.”
Learn more about the
Charpentier Historic District at www.visitlakecharles.org/historic.
Check out this quick video about the Lake Charles Historic Tour App.
Friday, December 5, 2014
The Golden Nugget Lake Charles is officially open for
business!
“The opening of the Golden Nugget has been highly
anticipated for the region,” said Megan
M. Hartman, senior marketing manager for the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana
Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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| Corner Suite by Landry's, Inc. |
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| Double Room by Landry's, Inc. |
Foodies will be delighted to know there are nine restaurants to
choose from! Just a few of the examples
are fine dining at Vic & Anthony’s, legendary Gulf seafood from Landry’s
Seafood House, and casual 24/7 options at Claim Jumper. Their extensive,
Vegas-style buffet even offers hand dipped strawberries!
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| King Room by Landry's, Inc. |
Although Golden Nugget Lake Charles is the fifth Golden
Nugget property by Landry’s, Inc. chairman, CEO and sole owner Tilman J.
Feritta, it is really the flagship since this $700 million resort is the 1st
resort they built from the ground up.
But golfers hold tight.
The 18-hole championship golf course, the Country Club at the Golden
Nugget, is set to open at the end of April just in time for the start of
summer.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
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| www.nhmsc.com |
Yesterday I was standing on the shoreline of Lake Charles
right where the National Hurricane Museum & Science Center will be located
one day among elected officials, community leaders and employees of State
Farm and Entergy. It was surreal because
this dream of building a one-of-a-kind education center has been a long one in
the making.
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| Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
State Farm and Entergy each gave the National Hurricane
Museum & Science Center $500,000 and I feel with these large
corporate donations, other companies will step up to give. We are two more steps closer to the reality
of breaking ground on the center!
Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach mentioned how the center will
be a national tourist attraction. And
while it will tell the stories of how hurricanes have impacted the people, land
and economy, the educational components on hurricane preparedness and recovery
will be included, too.
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| Mayor Randy Roach. Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
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| The sign, held up by two Entergy trucks, said it all. Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
“The center represents more than just a facility,” and it can help “education, inform and inspire young people,” said Mayor Roach. “It can make them realize it’s not what happens to you that counts. It’s what you do in response.”
The center could bring in as many as 220,000 visitors a year
and provide the region with a $55 million annual economic impact.
To learn more about the National Hurricane Museum &
Science Center, log on to www.nhmsc.com.
Monday, December 1, 2014
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| Southwest Louisiana Marsh by www.monsoursphotography.net |
To me, there’s nothing more peaceful and beautiful than
watching the Southwest Louisiana sun rise in a duck blind with a cup of hot
coffee sitting next to me dad. My dad,
who is also a photographer, always told me that Southwest Louisiana has the
most gorgeous sunrises than anywhere else in the world! Who’s gonna argue with that?!?
Duck hunting has been a strong family connector in the
Monsour household. I’ve been hunting
with my dad since I was two years old.
We’d have father-daughter duck hunts at the camp in Johnson’s Bayou for
as long as I can remember.
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| A father teaches his children to call ducks. Photo by www.monsoursphotography.net |
My dad would always have a string of calls around his neck,
but my favorite was the old wooden Faulk’s call. It just looked more rustic than the synthetic
calls, and I’m sure it sounded better!
Faulk's Game Calls was
started by Clarence "Patin" Faulk. Patin was a local guide and a
trapper in Big Lake, Louisiana. He made duck and goose calls at his home
starting in the mid 1930s. His son Dud Faulk learned about call making from
him. In 1951, Dud created a full line of calls and started going to trade
shows. Dud won the International Duck Calling Championship once and the
World Champion Goose Calling Championship twice. He continued to grow the business
with his wife Rena at his side.
Today, Dud's wife Rena,
daughters and grandchildren assist in running the business in Lake Charles, LA.
Faulk's Game Calls is still producing quality, hand tuned calls with the same
attention to quality calls that they started with in 1951.
A Few Duck Calling Tips from Canaan Heard with Faulk’s Game
Calls:
- Don't
over call. - Call when the ducks are flying away from you or are passing in front of you.
- Don't call when they're flying at you.
Check out this video of avid outdoorsman Hal McMillin during teal season. To learn more about duck hunting in Southwest Louisiana and to find guide services, go to www.visitlakecharles.org/hunt.
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