Author: Emily Gautreaux

Pressure Cooker Ribs That are Quick and Easy

Ribs are always the perfect go-to for summer meals. This Easy 4th of July BBQ Ribs recipe was posted by the Pink Cake Plate. The best part about this recipe is that it can be cooked in your electric pressure cooker! And then place them on the grill in order to add that crispiness everyone loves. We have also included an easy potato salad recipe that pairs perfectly with the ribs.

Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Ribs

  • 4 pounds of country style spare ribs
  • Seasoning Rub for Pork
  • 2 cups of your preferred BBQ Sauce. Sweet Baby Rays original is always a good place to start

Instructions for Preparing the Ribs

If you are cooking with a pressure cooker, the first step is the cut the protein. When cutting the slabs, make sure they are small enough to fit in the pressure cooker you have. Once the ribs are cut into slabs, rub the seasoning all over the slabs. Once each slab of meat is covered in the seasoning, place the ribs in the pressure cooker. Make sure to place the cover on and lock the lid. The cooker should be set on High Pressure. The timer should be set for 45 minutes.

Once the timer goes off, you will hear beeping sounds, the pressure will need to release so make sure to leave the lid on. Turn the pressure cooker off, and once it is safe to open remove the ribs. Place them on a plate or platter to allow them to dry off for a little bit.

Once the ribs have been taken out of the pressure cooker, heat the grill up to high heat. Place the them on the grill. Pour the BBQ sauce in a bowl and brush the sauce on both sides of the ribs. Grill the ribs for about 5-7 minutes. They should be browned and crispy. You might have to lower the heat if the ribs start to burn.

Potato salad is the perfect side to pair with a nice plate of ribs.

All Recipes has a quick and easy potato salad recipe that fits perfectly with these summer ribs.

Ingredients

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the potatoes in a large pot and boil them; sprinkle with salt and place the lid on top. Once they are boiling, reduce the heat to a medium/low setting and let them simmer. The potatoes should be tender (this should take about 10 minutes) and once they are, drain them. Place the potatoes in the empty pot.

Mix the pickles, hard boiled eggs, red onion, celery, mayonnaise, mustard and apple cider vinegar. Sprinkle with the black pepper and salt. Place the potatoes in the mixture and stir everything together. This should chill for about 6 hours, or even leave it to chill overnight, before it is served.

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Louisiana Desserts Worth Trying

Louisiana is often known for its fantastic seafood, but what about its amazing desserts? Only In Your State lists 10 of the amazing, unique, desserts that you can find in this beautiful southern state known as Louisiana. We are here to share our top 7 from that list.

Bananas Foster Dessert

This dessert was invented by a man named Paul Blange at a restaurant that was opened in 1948 called Brennan’s. This became a very popular dessert due to the large import of bananas in New Orleans. And who doesn’t enjoy ice cream?! This dessert is perfect year round.

Sno-Balls

No, snow-cones and sno-balls are NOT the same thing. Snow-cones are often made from crushed/shaved ice that is more grainy and crunchy. Sno-balls have a fluffy like texture because of how finely the ice is crushed up. Sno-balls are often topped with different toppings and they can even be filled with cream.

Calas Fried Rice Fritters for Dessert

Calas Fried Rice Fritters are often compared to dumplings. They are made up of yeast, rice, sugar, flour and eggs, this is then fried and that’s how the fritters come to life. The best part about this dessert is not only its taste, but also the history behind it. Creole street vendors, who were often women, would sell the Calas Fried Rice Fritters early in the morning in the French Quarter.

Due to the popularity of the beignet, Calas became a less popular dessert. Often being made in home by using leftover rice.  Thankfully due to the work of food preservationists the Calas Fried Rice Fritters have been making a comeback.

Beignets for Dessert

Speaking of beignets, this famous New Orleans treat brings visitors from all around the world. Beignets are made from different varieties of dough and are best served hot. They are deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It can get pretty messy, so you might want to stay away from dark clothes while eating them. If you’re feeling adventurous, try adding your favorite fruits on top. Typically they are enjoyed as a meal for breakfast paired perfectly with a nice cup of chicory coffee or even some hot chocolate, but also recommend giving them a go after as a dessert too.

King Cake

The Louisiana style KIng Cake is most commonly known to be popular around the time of Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday”. The New Orleans style is often made of a mixture of coffee cake and cinnamon rolls. These cakes are then iced and sprinkled with Mardi Gras colors: green, purple, and gold.

Remember, if you get the slice with the baby, you have to buy the next cake.

Pecan Pie

Pecans are often found in southern states, meaning Pecan PIe is a perfect recipe. This recipe calls for a filling of butter, sugar, and eggs. Including white or brown sugar. These pies are often associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas too.

Doberge Cake

This cake is layered with cake and dessert pudding. This dessert originated in a New Orleans bakery in 1933. Beulah Levy Ledner developed the idea based off of the Hungarian/Austrian Dobos Cake. These cakes are often filled with half chocolate pudding and half lemon pudding. This dessert is the perfect option for those who need more than one flavor.

For more Louisiana related articles, click here.

 

 

Nicholls Summer Camps to Enjoy

Nicholls Performing Arts Camp has put on another show! This magical performance transported its viewers to the magical world we all have experienced, Dr. Seus’s world. The Fifty-three campers, ages that range from as low as 7 to 17, participated in the production of “Seussical, Jr.”. The performances were held at the Mary and Al Danos Theater on June 13-15 at 7p.m. and June 16th at 3p.m.

Nicholls website states that the show will:

“Transport audiences from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, the Cat in the Hat narrates the story of Horton the Elephant, who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos. Horton must protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, and he must also guard an abandoned egg that’s been left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him.  Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant!”

“Seussical” originally debuted in 2000 and has done two U.S tours. It was written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty who have both won Tony Awards.  “Seussical” is often also a pick for school productions and regional theatre productions.

Not only were there multiple performances, but on Saturday, June 15th there was a brunch that was hosted by the cast. This brunch only cost $25 and the cast actually performed skits from the production. The general admission tickets were only $10.

This is not the only summer camp that was offered by Nicholls. Their Continuing Education page has an entire list of all of the camps that are offered this summer. Here are a few that might be as enjoyable as the Performing Arts Camp:

Cooking with Chemistry Camp 

This camp will teach campers how to use chemistry and biochemistry to make materials that are edible and it is done in an actual science lab

Greek-Roman Mythology Camp

Who doesn’t enjoy learning about all of the ancient Greek and Romans gods and goddesses. Their myths will be explored and games and crafts will also be included.

Optical Illusion Art Summer Camp

The idea of an optical illusion is to present something that actually isn’t there. This camp will teach the campers how to apply this to the aspect of creating art.

Chess Camp

Mike Papa, was awarded the title of National Master from the United States Chess Federation in 1985, will be the instructor of this camp. Beginners are welcomed and so are those who are on a more advanced level.

Coding Wizard! Computer Coding Summer Camp

This camp not only dables in the use of coding over 70 apps, but campers will use their own wands to control them. This Hogwarts themes coding camp is perfect for those who love computers but also love the magical.

Colonel Artist Summer Camp

This camp is not the typical art camp, it included multiple different types of materials and concepts to create multiple different pieces of art. This week long camp will end with a gallery show!

For more education related information, click here.

 

Cod Recipes for the Summer

Cod is a an easy summer go to that everyone should try at one point or another.  Cooking dinner every night can be a hassle and sometimes leftovers just won’t cut it. Today.com not only shared an awesome Cod Filet Dish but the leftover fish from this meal can be used to make another recipe. What is better than two dinners coming from one?

COD FILET DISH

INGREDIENTS

UTENSILS

  • Baking dish

INSTRUCTIONS

The oven first needs to be preheated to 375 degrees; this gives you the perfect opportunity to use butter to grease the baking dish. Take the finely sliced onion and place it on the bottom of the baking dish. Place the Cod filets on top of the onion.

Once the filets are in the baking dish, season them with freshly ground black pepper, coriander, and salt. Take the parsley leaves and place them on top of the filets. Place the orange, lemon, and lime slices in an alternate pattern on top of the filets to ensure that the juices are evenly distributed. Top it off with the extra virgin olive oil.

Place the baking dish into the oven and cook for about 10-15 minutes. The fish should flake easily when it is touched with the fork. Once the filet has cooled a little, remove the slices of citrus and serve the cod.

The best part about this recipe is the fact that you can use the leftover Cod to make other recipes. Start off with the Citrus Baked Cod on Monday night,and use the extra filets to make dinner the next night.

COD TACOS WITH CREMA AND CABBAGE SLAW

INGREDIENTS

  • Leftover Cod, or you can make a new batch
  • Cabbage Slaw Ingredients
    • 1 pound of shredded cabbage
    • 1 small jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
    • 2 limes, fully juiced
    •  ½ cup of cilantro, finely chopped
    • ¼ cup or red onion, finely sliced
    • 1 teaspoon of salt
    • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • Chipotle Crema Sauce

DIRECTIONS

Making the Chipotle Crema Sauce

Take the small bowl and add all of the ingredients for the Crema Sauce. Whisk the ingredients together, cover the bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until the recipe is ready to be served.

Making the Cabbage Slaw

Take the shredded cabbage and add it to a medium/large sized bowl. Make sure to toss the cabbage with the salt first. Add the oil and lime juice next, making sure to toss every time a new ingredient is added to make sure everything is distrusted evenly. Add the onions, cilantro, and jalapeno.

Making the Tacos

Heat up the cod in a pan to the desired temperature. Warming up the tortillas is the next step, they can be heated up in the microwave. Pro tip: tortillas that are cooked over an open flame on the stove for 30 seconds can make a huge difference in the way the tacos taste. But be careful!

Place the heated fish on a plate and break apart to make it easier to serve. Set up a Taco Station with the Cabbage Slaw and Crema (and any other toppings you would like). Place the fish on top of a warm tortilla and top it off with the crema and slaw! Serve hot for the best flavor.

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Nicholls In Top 25 Affordable Online Programs

Nicholls State University was recently listed as on of the top 25 affordable online programs.  Online education has radically changed the landscape of education. We’re learning in a new and more efficient environment, one with endless opportunities for students of every kind. The virtual learning environment (VLE) is innovation that is replacing an office-building’s worth of administrators, teaching assistants, file cabinets, and paperwork. VLE such as Blackboard, Canvas, and Renweb extend both the classroom and the administrator’s office. Automatically handling teaching and administrative duties such as gradebooks, auto-scoring, attendance sheets, enrollment, updating class lists, auto-sending emails for absent students, notifying people of unpaid bills, and tracking payroll and accounting information.

Along with the convenience and efficiency, online learning is moving more toward heavy use of mastery learning which requires students to master a concept or skill before moving ahead. Instead of treating a 60 or 70 as a “passing grade,” students have to demonstrate mastery in that topic by answering all or almost all of the questions correctly.

Our own Nicholls State University has been ranked one of the top 25 Most Affordable Online Business Bachelor’s Degrees by College Choice (CollegeChoice.net) which is an online resource that aims to help students and their families as they research and compare colleges to find one that fits their interests and needs based on its research and analysis.

Nicholls earned the 25th spot out of 30 and is one of four to make the list from Louisiana. College Choice analyzes several factors to come up with their list including the cost of the degree, the value of the degree and the convenience of the degree.  Nicholls charges no out-of-state fees to distance learners and  “there are no set login times for online classes; it’s important for students to be independent and self-motivated.”

Nicholls has been ranked among the nation’s Top Public Schools  and Best Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News and Worlds Report.

Students say that Nicholls does a great job of incorporating Project Based Learning (PBL) despite the challenges that online education present.  Online PBL programs cover all the main learning outcomes while also training students to share and organize responsibilities.  Students would be responsible for tasks such as: giving peer review, working in teams, engaging in self-directed learning, breaking down projects into smaller parts, and solving complex problems. To be successful, online ed students must stay plugged in to the process and will need to learn how to communicate with peers and be a good team player. A great deal of your online education success in a PBL setting depends on your ability to work with other students.

PBL helps to avoid the isolation that many online ed students face in poorly-designed programs.  It’s easy for online ed students to drift through their studies as strangers who never truly engage one another. Fortunately, Nicholls has made great strides to implement collaborative online learning strategies to confront this challenge.

In online education, collaborative learning is carried out by various programs and platforms to allow for video conferencing, texting, email, teleconferencing, and workflow programs. Chances are, you will use these programs and skills later on in your professional life as well.  Students claim feeling much more prepared for their careers after being trained in an online degree.

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Remembering Leah Chase, New Orleans Icon

Leah Chase, New Orleans legend, passed away at age 96.  She left an indelible impact not only on the New Orleans community, but the world at large.

Leah Chase was born to Catholic Creole parents and grew up Madisonville, Louisiana. Chase was one of 13 siblings and they all helped cultivate the land, especially on the 20-acre strawberry farm her father’s family owned, which Chase described as having significant impact on her life and her vast knowledge of food:

“I always say it’s good coming up in a small, rural town because you learn about animals. Kids today don’t know the food they eat. If you come up in a country town, where there’s some farming, some cattle raising, some chicken raising, you know about those things … When we went to pick strawberries we had to walk maybe four or five miles through the woods and you learned what you could eat. You knew you could eat that mayhaw, you could eat muscadines. You knew that, growing up in the woods. You just knew things. You got to appreciate things.”

Chase moved to New Orleans to pursue a Catholic education since her hometown did not offer a Catholic education for black people.  She started waitressing in the French Quarter and learned a lot about the restaurant industry.

Later on, she met and married jazz trumpeter Edgar “Dooky” Chase II. His parents owned a street corner stand in Treme and Chase began working in the kitchen at the restaurant.  Later on, Leah and Dooky took over the stand and converted it into a sit-down establishment and named it: Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. She eventually changed the menu to offer some of the Creole recipes she grew up with. These types of recipes, at the time, were only available in restaurants for white people, where black people were barred.

Dooky Chase’s Restaurant played an important role in the civil rights movement. Leah Chase and her restaurant have hosted Dr. King and the Freedom Riders at the restaurant for secret meetings. People in the African American community leaned on Dooky Chase for support and knew it was a safe place to go.  For instance, since there were no banks available to African Americans, Leah and Dooky would cash checks for trusted patrons at the bar every Friday. Friday nights at Dooky Chase soon became legendary, as people would cash their checks and have a poboy.

Leah Chase served famous people from all over the world, including Presidents and famous actors. The Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. liked barbecued ribs, while James Baldwin’s favorite was her gumbo. Nat King Cole loved a four-minute egg. She once had to stop Barack Obama from putting hot sauce in her gumbo and she fed President George W. Bush crab soup and shrimp Clemenceau.

“In my dining room, we changed the course of America over a bowl of gumbo and some fried chicken,” she was often quoted saying.

Chef Leah Chase also published several cookbooks detailing her delicious, tried-and-true recipes:

The Dooky Chase Cookbook (1990)

And I Still Cook (2003)

Down Home Healthy : Family Recipes of Black American Chefs (1994)

Princess Tiana, the first black princess featured in a Disney movie and the waitress who wanted to own a restaurant in the animated feature “The Princess and the Frog,” was based on Mrs. Leah Chase.

Mrs. Chase had intellectual curiosity, a deep religious conviction and always tried to lift others up, which would make her a central cultural figure in both the politics of New Orleans and the national struggle for civil rights.

For more Louisiana news and info, click here.