New Orleans & More!!! Mmm-Mmm Good!!

We had a great, long weekend in New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana! I got to 'meet' Russell's hometown and 'stomping grounds,' as well as experience New Orleans for the first time!

Highlights of our weekend:

Thursday night dinner with the Whitty's (Jenn's parents) - Po' boys, traditional submarine sandwiches from Louisiana, stuffed with meat and served on a French baguette. We had a yummy variety! One was stuffed with fried shrimp, one with fried oysters and one with roast beef. We also had a ginormous Muffuletta, which consists of a large, round muffuletta loaf, split horizontally, then covered with a marinated olive salad, followed by layers of capicola, salami, mortadella, emmentaler, and provolone. I enjoyed each sandwich, and I was stuffed! However, that did NOT stop me from endulging my pregnant self with Jenn's freshly baked Kahlua cake, topped with Bluebell homemade vanilla icecream! We all then waddled ourselves to the Whitty's sofa and watched Dan in Real Life. It was a fun evening!

Above, traditional shrimp po'boy. Below, traditional Louisana Muffuletta.

Friday morning breakfast with the deVilleneuve's (Ryan's parents) - strawberry smothered pancakes, bacon, sausage and a yummy orange-grapfruit juice punch! My compliments to the chefs, Mr. Doug & Miss Linda, "YUMMY!!" :)

Friday in New Orleans - This was my first experience through one of the United States' most historic cities. Although hot and humid, evidently a typical Louisiana summer day, the city was beautiful! I enjoyed snapping shots of the architecture, the cultural aspects of the city and, of course, the people...

Notice, the piano man just playin' along in the middle of the street!

Friday Night Dinner in New Orleans: Palace Cafe - So, what do you do in a city that knows food? EAT! The four of us had reservations at the recommended Palace Cafe, where we absolutely endulged ourselves, yet again. Note, there were only 4 of us, and we ate ALL of the below:
Appetizers:
2 orders of Crabmeat Cheesecake - Baked in a pecan crust with a wild mushroom sauté and Creole Meuniére
Seafood Gumbo - shrimp, oysters and okra, served with white rice
Entrees:
Gulf Fish Pecan - pecan-crusted with Creole meunière sauce, spiced pecans, popcorn rice and vegetable du jour
Grilled Gulf Fish Panzanella - served with housemade olive bread croutons, local cucumbers, Creole tomatoes, grilled eggplant, capers and spinach tossed in an Italian parsley pistou
Andouille Crusted Fish - pan-roasted and served with Crystal buerre-blanc, chive aïoli,
rissole potatoes and vegetable du jour
Polenta Crusted Diver Scallops - topped with sautéed jumbo lump crabmeat, grilled corn,
tomatoes, peppers and red onions, accompanied by a thyme infused crab broth
Desserts:
New Orleans Amber Rum Cake - topped with fresh peaches sautéed tableside in butter and brown sugar, flambéed with amber rum & peach nectar, served with vanilla bean ice cream
Bananas Foster - Fresh bananas sautéed tableside in brown sugar and cinnamon, then flambéed with banana liqueur and rum, served over housemade vanilla bean ice cream
Mississippi Mud Pie - Layers of chocolate mousse with an Oreo crust topped with whipped cream & chocolate sauce
Housemade Blackberry Sorbet

We all agreed that we ate too much, but it was worth it!

Saturday was a fun day, too! We visited with friends, went swimming, rested and then headed back over to Ryan's parents' for another fun dinner! We had chips with homemade salsa from homegrown tomatoes, veggies & dip, fresh guacamole, Miss Linda's potato salad, baked beans, fresh homegrown cucumbers soaking in vinegar (my favorite!) and all kinds of grilled meats! Of course, we also had desserts!

Sunday morning, we awoke to Mr. Chris' (Jenn's dad) fresh Belgian waffles & maple syrup. YUM! I love breakfast food!!

It was just a perfect vacation weekend! We had lots of fun, tons of interesting & tasty foods and fulfilling fellowship with great people! I missed everyone's company so much that I cried when we got home last night! It was just too quiet, and I missed all the good night wishes and hugs from everyone that I'd that been receiving for the last few nights!
Couldn't resist sharing this picture! Rollins is a stud in his sunglasses, and he was a trooper for our 5 hour drive back to Birmingham. "Way to go, Buddy!"

More pics here!