August 25, 2016 | Louisiana Kitchen & Culture

August 26, 2016

Greetings from Shreveport!

I drove up Monday for meetings and to attend the Lt. Governor's 2016 Tourism Summit. And to be honest, to catch up with a lot of friends I don't get to see as often as I'd like.

Monday night I met up with LK&C columnist Chef Hardette Harris, owner of Chef Services, Inc.; popular local blogger Jada Durden; and Panderina Soumas, founder of Somas Heritage Creole Creations, a line of all natural mixes, sauces, spices, etc. that celebrate her Creole heriage. We had a great dinner at the recently-opened Stone Forks restaurant; we talked for hours, and ate way too much good food. Last night I went to a private event at Red River Brewing, one of the many fantastic craft breweries popping up around the state. Today, I'm making my way back home to New Orleans. Next week we'll return to our regular format.

Many of you have written to ask what you can do to help us out in the wake of the unprecedented flooding earlier this month. The very best thing you can do is plan a visit to Louisiana! While the devastation in the affected areas was awful, and in many cases complete, the vast majority of the state is open for business. We're heading into our second big festival season of the year, and we'd love to see you! Meanwhile, below is a partial list of the organizations seeking donations specifically for helping those affected by the floods.

As I wrote last week, the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank flooded; they are actively seeking donations to help rebuild. Until they can get back up and running, Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans and Acadiana is filling in; the Acadiana office has flood victims in their area also. They are requesting non-perishable food, cleaning supplies, paper goods, and/or cash donations; if you are not local, you can make a cash donation on their website. Every dollar helps.

Groups across St. Tammany Parish have formed STPCares: details here.

The American Red Cross has this page set up for donations.

The United Way of Southwest Louisiana has this page set up for donations.

Lighthouse Louisiana's Baton Rouge facility was damaged; donate here.

First, there are people across South Louisiana that need assistance. If you're able, please consider making a donation to the Louisiana Flood Relief Fund by clicking here.
If you or a loved one has evacuated and needs a place to go, we encourage you to click here and check this list of up-to-date shelter locations.
Click here and visit FEMA's Louisiana disaster page to stay up-to-date with the latest information.
Click here to find open shelters, contact and locate loved ones, and stay prepared with the Red Cross’ disaster recovery guide.
If you've been impacted by this flooding, it is critical that you register with FEMA at www.disasterassistance.gov. This is the first step in getting you the assistance you need as quickly as possible.
If you need any additional help, please feel free to contact the Governor’s office at (225) 342-7015
You can follow the Governor’s office for continuously updated information on Facebook and Twitter.

Our governor sent out the following links this afternoon:

Subscribe to Louisiana Kitchen & Culture if you don't already; enjoy this week's recipes, share them with family and friends, try to stay cool and, as always, let me know what's on your mind.

Susan Ford

Susan Ford, Publisher

Louisiana Kitchen & Culture

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Tip of the Week:

Do I Have Enough Propane to Grill all That?

Miss last week's recipes?

• Smothered Chicken Fricassee (most viewed last week)

• John Besh's Smothered Okra and Tomatoes

• Garlic Shrimp

Looking for a specific recipe? We have over 1,300: Click here!

Resources:


	Seafood-Stuffed Bell Peppers Most stuffed pepper recipes have you cut the top off, clean them, stuff them, and bake them whole; cut down on baking time by slicing them in half lenghwise and stuffing them. Extra bonus, you'll have more of that delicious, crispy browned crust!

	Bacon Cheeseburger Soup If you're like me, you prepare WAY too much food when you're hosting a gathering; I'd ask the earth to swallow me whole if someone left my house hungry. Here's an excellent solution for what to do with leftover hamburger or cheeseburger patties after a Labor Day or tailgate party.

	Spicy Glazed Drumsticks Drumsticks, salt and pepper, and pepper jelly. It doesn't get any simpler than this. Although I'll happily complicate matters by suggesting you sub in your favorite fruit jelly, and melt it in a saucepan over low heat with two tablespoons of a fruity balsamic vinegar. I'd add a good pinch of cayenne pepper to the glaze, but that's just me.