GREAT EATS HAWAII: EMERIL'S DELMONICO

EMERIL'S DELMONICO

NEW ORLEANS, LA

I am a big fan of Chef Emeril Lagasse. I love his original Emeril's restaurant in New Orleans but wanted to try his steak house. The 2012 Gayot Dining Guide named this restaurant one of the top 20 steak houses in America. First off, the service here is impeccable. From the time you enter until the time you leave the waiters are there to service you. These are very well trained professionals who really want to make your dining experience special. We started with the Cajun Charcuterie. A massive plate of cooked meats for $28. Below is a list of what was on the plate. While I couldn't tell you what was on the plate, I can tell you that just about everything was really good. Followed up the Charcuterie Platter with the Heart of Romaine Salad ($9). Nice salad with great anchovies but I really did not care for the dressing. The star of the meal was my steak. A 20 ounce hand cut Bone In Ribeye that was dry aged and broiled at 1200 degrees ($45). The steak was served sizzling with a nice bit of compound butter melted over the top. The steak was seasoned and cooked to absolute perfection. THIS WAS HANDS DOWN ONE OF THE BEST STEAKS OF MY LIFE.

CAJUN CHARCUTERIE Post Author: Marcel Bienvenue

According to the FOOD LOVER’S COMPANION, by Sharon Tyler Herbst, the word charcuterie (schar-KOO-tuhr-ee)means “cooker of meat.” In defining the word, Herbst explains that it has been considered a French culinary art since the 15th century. “It refers to the products, particularly (but not limited) to pork specialties such as pates, rilletes, gallantines, crepinettes and such.

But in south Louisiana, the local charcuterie includes some products that may, or maybe not, be household words, depending on where you live. So that you’ll understand just what boudin or tasso is, here is a quick rundown of the local products. ANDOUILLE - (ahn-doo-ee) A popular pork sausage made with lean pork and seasoned with garlic, salt, and cayenne. It is used to flavor many Louisiana dishes and is usually smoked, but fresh is sometimes available as well. It’s similar to the Polish sausage kielbasa.BOUDIN - (boo-dan) A sausage favored by the Acadians made with rice, ground pork and liver, onions, bell peppers, celery, green onions, and parsley. The locals eat it practically all day. For breakfast or a snack it’s tucked a link into a slice of bread. Sometimes it’s served, cut into bite-size pieces, as an appetizer.CHAUDIN (show-dahn) and PONCE (pawhnss) As with a number of dishes in Acadiana, there is some discussion about the two. There are those who will tell you that a ponce is the stomach and once it’s stuffed it’s chaudin. Other will tell you that a ponce is a beef stomach and chaudin is the pork stomach. Where I come from, we called chaudin a stomach stuffed with seasoned ground pork and sometimes sweet potatoes. It’s baked then sliced for serving. CHAURICE (cho-reese) A local smoked sausage similar to the Spanish chorizo, varies from cook to cook, from butcher to butcher. In some versions the pork is cut into small chunks rather than being coarsely ground. It’s heavily seasoned with salt and cayenne, garlic and parsley.CRACKLINGS, sometimes called grattons (grah-tohns). Little chunks of fried pork skin. People in these parts eat cracklings like other Americans eat popcorn. HOGSHEAD CHEESE, sometimes referred to simply as head cheese. It’s a jellied concoction usually made by boiling the head of the pig (from which the gelatin comes) with lean pork, and the usual onions and bell peppers. The boiled pork is then ground and combined with the cooking broth, chopped onions, bell peppers, parsley, green onions and seasoned with salt and cayenne. The mixture is usually poured into a loaf pan and after it sets, is turned out and cut into slices or chunks to be eaten with crackers or French bread. TASSO (tah-so) Long ago, tasso was made from the trimmings after a hog was butchered. The strips, much like jerky, were dried and smoked, then used to flavor vegetables, gumbos and stews. These days most tasso is made with good quality lean pork and smoked.