Author: Emily Gautreaux

The Best Recipes for Grilled Chicken

Grilled chicken, for many, is a dinnertime classic staple dish and oftentimes a lifesaver for those cooking in a pinch or on a budget, and with this survey of Martha Stewart’s Greatest Grilled Chicken Recipes, you won’t be without ideas the next time you decide to serve white or dark meat.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Oregano

Let the citrus and herbs of this recipe delight you and your guests’ pallets and savor the utterly sun-filled flavors of the Mediterranean with this dish. You’ll marinate a halved chicken in chopped fresh oregano, lemon zest, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Let it rest for a few hours (but you know it’d be better left overnight) and then cook it over a medium heat and plan to move it to a cooler part of the grill if you find the outside burning too quickly. Cut, serve, and enjoy this juicy and savory treat.

Grilled Whole Chicken with Barbecue Sauce

If you’re grilling a whole chicken, and you want it to be absolutely perfect, a great barbecue master knows that it takes a whole heap full of patience and restraint to get the job done right. This recipe suggests setting up your preferred grill for indirect heat and cooking the chicken for an hour and a half, brushing the bird with homemade barbecue sauceduring the last 15 minutes on the grill for the best results.

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

While you have that grill out, let’s fire up some deeply delicious buttermilk chicken that’s as flavorful as it is moist and tender. This recipe asks you to marinate it in tangy buttermilk, garlic, and fresh rosemary or thyme. If you’re looking for a more heavenly aromatic essence, try infusing the chicken by grilling it alongside orange segments and rosemary springs for a hint of herbal and citrus smells and flavor that will have your tablemates smiling and salivating.

Grilled Chicken with Mango and Mint-Lime Dressing

This grilled chicken recipe has a great half-dressing, half-marinade recipe that will make your next break room lunch feel like it’s tableside at the downtown restaurant of your choice. The flavorful and versatile concoction has you combine lime juice, garlic, and fresh mint together for a lively mixture perfect for its dual purpose. Top your favorite saladgreens with the other half of the dressing/marinade and pair it with watercress, mango and charred radishes for a great addition to any “sad salad.”

Barbecued-Chicken Salad

Speaking of salads, you don’t have to only have a barbecue chicken salad as an inevitable use for leftovers from your latest Sunday barbecue. Instead, plan ahead and use an unforgettable smoky marinade made from lime zest, lime juice, garlic, paprika, and honey. Brush that onto the chicken before you grill and then use the remaining bit to dress the salad that you’ll pair the chicken with alongside cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, avocado, and lettuce of your choosing.

Smoky Grilled Chicken with Sweet Vinegar Sauce

This light dish is a combination of salty richness and tart, sweet flavors as the chicken is brushed with a robust vinegar sauce before hitting the grill for that extra charred, smoky flavor and can’t beat texture. The dual purpose marinade and dressing is made by combining paprika, mustard, sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper, and the entire dish is perfect for your next served appetizer or full-course staple. 

Cashew-Chicken Kebabs

If you’re looking for an aesthetically-pleasing treat then look no further than these chicken thighs that are brushed in a mixture of red curry paste and ground cashews for these skewers that are inspired by Thai cuisine. They grill quickly, and when served over a rice noodle salad, they’re sure to disappear quickly too!

For more delicious recipes, click here.

New Scholarship Awards Nicholls’ Upperclassmen

This month, Nicholls State University is receiving a new scholarship from Mike and Christine Bourgeois to benefit upperclassmen, as reported by a Nicholls Press Release.

The Bourgeois family donated $30,000 to the Nicholls State University Foundation to create the Michael C. and Christine P. Bourgeois #4 Endowed Upperclassmen/Alumni Scholarship, making this the fourth scholarship created by the family. Their precious scholarships were aimed at benefiting first-generation students and those enrolled in the School Psychology Specialist program.

Mike and Christine Bourgeois wanted to give back to those students often overlooked by financial aid and scholarship opportunities, the upperclassmen, stating, “so much money is geared toward freshmen, but what happens in the years after that? We want to help those students finish school, so that’s why we brought in juniors and seniors with this scholarship. Nicholls has opened a lot of doors for us and prepared us for successful careers. This is a way we can give back.”

Applicants wanting to benefit from this scholarship must be graduates of any Lafourche or Terrebonne high school and be enrolled at Nicholls as a junior or senior with a cumulative 2.0 GPA or be an enrolled graduate student with a cumulative 3.0 GPA. Up to three students meeting those requirements will be awarded $200 per semester.

The Executive Director of the Nicholls Foundation, Jeremy Becker, commented, “Mike and Christine are alums that are not only supportive of Nicholls, but also concerned with creating opportunities for students to be successful. By creating their now fourth different scholarship opportunity for Nicholls students, they are leaving a legacy that is admired by the university, the Nicholls Foundation and the community.”

Though, the scholarship from Mike and Christine Bourgeois isn’t the only effort Nicholls is making to make the financial stresses of its students less menacing. Due to the restrictions placed on the campus as a result of Covid-19, the annual Sponsor A+ Scholar Wine and Food Tasting Extravaganza will not be held in person, but it will instead be a rolling donation drive over a two week period. Peoples Drug Store in Houma is the headline sponsor for this year’s event.

In November, alumni, community members, and more are invited to donate to the scholarship fund, and donors with gifts of at least $75 will receive a limited edition set of wine glasses bearing the Nicholls logo, while supplies last.

This annual event has been greatly impactful on the university’s campus, as 159 scholarships worth $125,500 have been awarded over the past decade. These scholarships are awarded each fall to full-time Nicholls student leaderswho have a 2.5 GPA or high school students actively involved in their communities who hold a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 and a minimum ACT composite score of 21.

Monique Crochet, who earned a Bachelor’s of Science from Nicholls in 1998 and a Mastery in Education in 2000, is the executive director of external affairs. Crochet lamented on the pivoting of the scholarship drive from an in-person event to an ongoing virtual one by saying, “while we are sad that we cannot host the A+ Scholar Food and Wine Extravaganza in person this year, we are excited about the opportunity to continue to raise much-needed scholarship dollars for our students. Now more than ever, scholarships are a necessity for our students so that they may continue to pursue their dreams of a college degree.”

For more information on the Michael C. and Christine P. Bourgeois #4 Endowed Upperclassmen/Alumni Scholarship applicants can visit Nicholls’ Office of Financial Aid’s dedicated scholarship listing, and those wanting more information on the Sponsor A+ Scholarship fund can visit this information hub.

For more education related information, click here.

Historic Hotel Stays To Consider

Who says that the destination of a vacation or weekend getaway needs to be a large spectacle; sometimes you need only book a stay in a historic hotel that has an actual legacy and story to its accommodations rather than one resembling a condominium, and it’s easy to book with this listing of the most historic hotels in each state, as curated by TravelPulse.

Concord’s Colonial Inn, Massachusetts

The accommodating destination of this historic hotel is a prime fit for those interested in both Revolutionary War-era history and the literary-great, Henry David Thoeau, as he lived in this inn while attending Harvard. Built in 1716, this inn became the site of the Revolutionary war’s First Battle of Lexington and Concord. In 2016, this locale celebrated its 300th anniversary, and it’s located in Concord’s Monument Square, just a stone’s throw from other prominent historical landmarks.

The Candler Hotel Atlanta, Georgia

Found in downtown Atlanta, this historic hotel was built in the early twentieth century by Asa G. Candler, the founder of Coca-Cola. This 17th story behemoth is a Beaux-Arts building with exterior carvings of prominent historical figures such as William Shakespeare and Michaelangelo. Though now it’s a boutique hotel, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, this building used to house several businesses such as banks.

The Plaza, New York

Few hotels are as iconic as The Plaza, New York’s most well-known accommodating stay. This glorious hotel has been hosting the elite since 1907 in its French Chateau-inspired Beaux-Arts building with over 1,600 crystal chandeliers. This hotel is the very idea of lavish living, and its had Frank Lloyd Wright, Greta Garbo, the Vanderbilts,and Frank Sinatra as guests. Though, for many children, Eloise, the famous children’s book character, immediately comes to mind as The Plaza’s most famous guest.

The Pfister Hotel, Wisconsin

One of the Midwest’s best known hotels is Milwaukee’s own Pfister Hotel. Built in 1893 in a Romanesque Revival design by architect Charles Koch, this was America’s first hotel with individual thermostats in each room. In addition to its forward-thinking amenities, this hotel contains the largest Victorian art collection in the world, and it’s found in the heart of Downtown Milwaukee and its stunning views of Lake Michigan.

The Omni Homestead Resort, Virginia

Built in 1766 in Hot Springs, Virginia is this hotel that is referred to as a healing retreat by the locals for its hot springs, manicured gardens, bubbling brooks, and golf course. Recently celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2016, this is the oldest continuous hotel to be found in the United States, and it even housed its fair share of celebrities and presidents, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Woodstock Inn & Resort, Vermont

Originally built on the site of the town’s first tavern, this historic hotel is now a modern-day golf and ski resort.  It became a hotel in 1830 and later became the apple of Laurance and Mary Rockefeller’s eyes as they used this location to create their dream of an eco-friendly hotel, and that legacy lasts to this day, as it’s locally-known as a great setting for reconnecting with nature.

Union Station Hotel – Nashville, Tennessee

Originally built in 1900 as the city’s railroad hub, this grand, Victorian Romanesque Revival style building became one of the most unique hotels in the county in the 1980s after the station was abandoned.  Beneath the looming clocktower, this building features Gothic stone archways and curved windows in which the gorgeous spectacle of Downtown Nashville is viewable.

Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa, New Hampshire

Built in 1865 as a relaxing outdoor getaway, this resort’s signature porsche have been utilized by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stephen King, and many more, as the beautiful scenery and picturesque atmosphere make it an absolute must-stay.

 For more travel related news and information, click here.

The Cajun Hatter Returns to Cajun Country

This month a Louisiana hat-maker relocated his custom-made hat shop from New Orleans’ Magazine Street to the heart of downtown Lafayette in an attempt to reconnect with his cajun roots, as reported in an Advocate feature.

Colby Hebert, the owner of The Cajun Hatter, is relocating his shop to Jefferson Street so that he can connect with the culture that inspires a bulk of his commissioned orders. The decor of this new location, found on the main thoroughfare of Lafayette, Louisiana’s downtown scene, is aptly decorated with artifacts of Cajun culture at every turn. From the antique room divider in the front parlor space to the moss-laden accenta pieces, reminiscent of a swamp tour, the small Acadiana shop is definitively cloaked in the Acadian style.

Hebert moved his shop to its third location since starting the business; previously The Cajun Hatter had been located in New Iberia and Magazine Street in New Orleans. Hebert identified for The Advocate’s Julia Guilbeau that he felt as if he was doing something wrong by contributing to the legacy of his culture while being two and a half hours apart from it all.

Hebert had said that when in New Orleans, he “was working so hard and in so many ways not only to help with Cajun preservation but also just to step into that Cajun identity that I have in every way. It was at the point where I’m like, I can’t do this anymore and not be here in my culture and directly contributing to my culture.”

From a young age, Colby Hebert, a New Iberia native, was interested in hats as a fashion accessory and always found that he wanted to try his hand at creating something unique and bold in design. He began this journey as a hat collector, inspecting each piece and trying to understand the finer details involved in each hat’s construction. This natural curiosity soon led to Hebert making custom hats whether in his free time or as a part of his profession as a costume designer in the film industry.

From this experience in outfitting actors, Hebert began to see fashion not from the traditional perspectives of a wearer or an observer- but from that of a maker. Soon after departing from the film industry, he opened up a hat shop in New Iberia before later moving to New Orleans, and now Lafayette.

Back in Acadiana, Hebert remarked on the great opportunity he has with his business now by stating, ““we have a great thing here that a lot of people argue is dying out. Being here in that pivotal moment where we start to decide how we want to redefine culture here makes me feel good.”

As expected, each product made in The Cajun Hatter comes personally-crafted, as Hebert makes almost all of his hats by hand, using mainly wooden tools and decades-old traditional techniques of past haberdashers. In fact, the only “real machinery” used are his steamer and iron. Due to the notable quality of the materials, his prices begin at $400, covering the personalization of the product.

In true cajun-country fashion, the hats are being made with beaver, or more recently, felt nutria fur, which is such high quality that it’s likely to outlive the wearer. Hebert notes that nutria are quite an overpopulated species in Louisiana that continue to contribute to coastal erosion, so by using their fur, less overall waste is created.

“You want to make something that is sustainable, lasting and not something that is going to be material or consumer waste,” Hébert said. “[Customers] have chosen a type of fur that creates such a high quality felt that it might outlive you. It might outlive your children.”

For more Louisiana related articles, click here.

Green Bean Casserole from Scratch

Whether you’re practicing for Thanksgiving dinner or complimenting a savory dinner in July, a green bean casserole that’s made from scratch is always treasured and respected, and this simple, yet savory, detailed recipe guide from Gimme Some Oven hits the homemade nail on the head.

Ingredients

Green Bean Casserole:

  • 2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed, and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 batch of Mushroom Alfredo Sauce
    • 2 tbsp butter or olive oil
    • 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, thinly-sliced
    • 4 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
    • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup of vegetable stock
    • 1 cup milk
    • ½ cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
    • ½ tsp fine sea salt
    • ¼ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1 batch Crispy Onion Topping
    • 1 tbsp butter or olive oil, divided
    • 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly-sliced
    • ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
    • 1/4th cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
    • ¼ teaspoon each fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Recipe for Green Bean Casserole:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F
  2. Heat a large stockpot of water over high-heat until it’s boiling. Meanwhile, trim and cut your green beans, then add them to the boiling water. Cook them for 3-5 minutes, depending on your preferred level of crispiness, though it’s a good idea to undercook them, as they’ll cook more in the oven. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to transfer the beans immediately into a large bowl of ice water, and give them a quick stir, preventing them from cooking longer. Afterward, set aside.
  3. For the next step of this green bean casserole, melt ½ tablespoon butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes, occasionally stirring until the onion is partially cooked, still holding its shape. Transfer the onion to a clean bowl and add the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter to the sauté pan along with the panko and stir to combine. Cook this for 2-3 minutes, occasionally stirring until the panko is lightly golden. Remove this from the heat and transfer the panko to the bowl with the onions. Add in the Parmesan, salt, and pepper, and toss the onion mixture until evenly combined, setting it aside.
  4. Briefly rinse and dry the sauté pan; then return it to the stove. Melt the butter over medium-high heath, and add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring it occasionally until lightly browned and soft. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 more minutes, stirring occasionally until it’s Then, stir in the flour and sauté for an additional minute while stirring occasionally. Then, add in the vegetable stock and stir until the flour is evenly dissolved. Then, stir-in to combine the milk and Parmesan, and cook the sauce until it reaches a simmer and thickens. You can then remove it from heat and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Combine the green beans and mushroom alfredo sauce in the stockpot, and stir the green bean mixture until it’s all evenly combined. Transfer this to a 9 x 13 baking dish, and spread the green bean mixture out in an even layer, wherein you’ll sprinkle it evenly with the crispy onion topping mixture.
  6. Bake this dish for 25 minutes, or until the crispy onion topping is golden and crispy. You’ll want to watch this carefully so that it doesn’t burn, but if it begins to char, lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the casserole.
  7. Remove from the oven and serve this side (or main dish) warm, by garnishing it with extra freshly-cracked black pepper and parsley while plating.

Once comfortable with the ingredients and procedure for green bean casserole , feel free to spice it up by adding extra cheese, cajun seasoning, bacon, or a little “kick” with crushed red pepper flakes or jalapeno slices. Customize this traditional side dish, and upgrade it to an unforgettable main dish.

For more delicious recipes, click here.

Tips for Smart, Safe 2020 Holiday Travel

In a year like 2020, the warmth, community, food, and chance to travel that the end of the year holiday season brings is seen as a highly-needed break from the daily stresses of life.  However, now more than ever, caution must be taken to ensure an enjoyable, yet safe holiday season transpires.  Travel Pulse has compiled several steps travelers can take for safe 2020 holiday travels.

Monitor Your Destination Early and Often

While there are expected to be far fewer crowds than in previous years and simply no shortage of deals to be snagged for flights and resort stays, travelers shouldn’t be swept up in the excitement that a reunioning gathering of loved ones could generate, as the latest travel restrictions, quarantine orders and health and safety guidelines of your destination should be regularly monitored. So, as you are holiday shopping and planning, be sure to research what your destination requires of its incoming travelers, as some places are requiring visitors to self-isolate for a minimum of fourteen days, if they are hailing from a “hotspot,” while others are asking visitors to complete health questionnaires and/or submit a negative coronavirus test result prior to entry. As a general rule of thumb, as this tip is the most serious, travelers at a higher risk of severe illness should avoid areas with high infection rates or, at the very least, exercise extreme caution.

Purchase Travel Insurance

Sure it’s often ignored, skipped over, or hastily signed, as a traveler focuses more on the type of seat getting them to the destination rather than the worse implications, but travel insurance shouldn’t be taken for granted this year. It’ll be a great idea to research some travel insurance policies prior to departure or booking, as the right choice in policy could cover medical costs and even medical transport back home, in the event of a passenger becoming severely ill, whether or not due to the pandemic. In fact, look into your specific destination, because many resorts, such as Sandals are offering complimentary travel insurance to their guests for an added layer of flexibility and peace of mind in these times.

Wear a Face Mask

This travel accessory that for many was first observed in international airport terminals should not be overlooked this year, as it has become one of the most effective tools in the fight against all viruses, not to mention that its utilization has become a requirement in most places such as airports, airplanes, hotel lobbies, bars, restaurants, and indoor attractions. It’s suggested that those choosing to travel for the holidays embrace face mask culture or choose to stay home. So, plan ahead! Coordinate masks with your traveling party or commission some personalized masks; just be sure to pack several, ensuring a clean, effective, and stylish accessory every time.

Actively Practice Social Distancing

Ignoring the pandemic, nothing is worse than anticipating a trip for months or weeks, packing, stressing about getting to the airport on time, and getting sneezed on in public or noticing that the passenger near you has been sneezing for the past minute, thus you attive sick on day one. That can be mitigated every year by maintaining a safe distance of six feet between yourself and others, but special attention should be paid to the practice this year, especially if you’re traveling in a high-traffic hub like a train station or airport. Remember, the CDC’s updated guidelines define “close contact” as being within six feet of someone with the virus for a cumulative total of fifteen minutes or more over a period of 24 hours, so be practical, yet mindful!

For more travel related news and information, click here