Author: Emily Gautreaux

Pet Friendly Beaches for the Summer Ahead

When you have some time off and you want to hit the road with your family on that vacation you’ve been thinking about for months, you want to take the entire family, dog included. Oftentimes, finding a beach that allows your dog to run freely can be hard to find, but that’s just where Southern Living’s rundown of the best pet-friendly beaches in the south will save you stress allowing you to enjoy your beach trip with the whole family.

While the point of a vacation is to relax care-free, no one wants to feel that sudden pang of guilt when you imagine your pet in a boarding facility or doggy daycare while you’re out having the time of your life in crystal blue waters beneath a radiant sun. So, if you intend to bring our four-footed best friend along with you on your next beach trip, it’s proactive to do your part and research which beaches allow dogs on their sandy shores ahead of time.

Brunswick Islands, North Carolina

Standing proudly as an absolute stunning jewel of the south, North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands are often heralded for the sheer amount of experiences and pristine beaches that are located off-the-beaten path meaning that they’re less crowded and more enjoyable. The Brunswick Islands region is located in the southern corner of North Carolina, and it’s the last of the Tar Heel State’s coastal treasures before you get to South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach.

The total region of the Brunswick Islands is made up of five barrier islands that encompass richly lush maritime forests, freshly-caught local seafood, expanding saltwater marshlands, and the federally-protectedIntracoastal Waterway that connects them all.

A well-known resource for all vacationers who travel with pets is Tripswithpets.com, and this reliable authority on which destinations are the best for pet-lovers has named North Carolina’s Oak Island and Caswell Beachesspecifically among the “Top Five Dog-Friendly Beaches in North Carolina.”

Many of the coastal beaches throughout the Brunswick Islands allow (and even encourage) dogs to run across their sandy shores; this includes the popular, well-reviewed beaches of Oak Island, Freeman Park, Emerald Isle, Kitty Hawk, and Bald Head Island. Check out which of your preferred beaches in North Carolina allow for dogs at this well-researched resource and ensure that you and your family pet can enjoy the natural beauty of the Brunswick Islands on your next adventure!

Ocean City Beach, Maryland

This location has not only been named one of TripAdvisor’s top ten beaches in the country, but its three-mile boardwalk featuring amusement activities, arcades, and waterside shopping looks well-placed when you take in the jaw-dropping sights of the Atlantic Ocean behind it. At the right time of day, it becomes no wonder why this fantastically versatile beach is located alongside the appropriately named Ocean City, Maryland, especially with its offerings of surfing, fishing, kayaking, and canoeing along its shores and waters. Though, one of the highlights of this beach is that throughout the months of October-April, you’re allowed to bring your leashed companion along the boardwalk and throughout Ocean City.

The finer details indicate that all dogs must be leashed when walking in Ocean City at all times, and while leashed pets are allowed onto the Assateague National Park Beach year-round, they are not allowed on the Assateague State Park Beaches, which is an important distinction.

So, begin planning your trip out to Ocean City and the greater Assateague Island today to enjoy its unforgettable offerings of sandy, picturesque beaches, coastal bays, maritime forests, and salt marshes that will surely make you think you’re seeing the inspiration of many postcards you’ve been sent over the years.

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Double-Smashed Cheeseburger Recipe

While the method of cooking a smash burger has been around for decades ever since the act of smashing a hamburger patty firmly against a griddle to increase the crispiness of its texture was first popularized in the Midwest, the recipe for smash burgers has only been perfected ever since. This is most clearly seen in this recipe for the “Ultimate Smash Cheeseburger” from Serious Eats, in which you get twice the patty, texture, and flavor with every bite.

Cheeseburger Ingredients

Cheeseburger Recipe

  1. You’ll begin this recipe by preparing your burger bun. You’ll do this by laying your toppings of choice atop the bottom half of the bun. You’ll want this bottom bun nearby for when your burger is cooked, as the smash burgerbenefits from the freshness of the final product.
  2. Next, take a large stainless steel sauté pan or skillet and preheat it over high heat for about 2 minutes. After you’ve divided your 4 oz. of ground beef into two 2 oz. balls of beef, place the balls into the pan, and smash them down using the foolproof smash burger method of pressing the patty down with a stiff metal spatula and using a second spatula to add pressure. Smashed patties should end up slightly wider than the burger bun.
  3. After it begins to solidify beneath the spatula, season the burger generously with salt and pepper, cooking them until the patties are well-browned and the tops are just starting to turn a combination of a pale pink and gray coloration. This will take approximately 45 seconds. Then, using a bench scraper or the back-side of a stiff metal spatula, carefully scrape the patties from the pan and ensure that you get all of the browned bits.
  4. Flip your patties over, and then immediately place a slice of cheese over one patty and then stack the second on top, covering the cheese. Immediately remove this smash burger from the pan and transfer it to the burger bun that’s lying in wait nearby.
  5. Serve & enjoy!

Notes:

A properly prepared smash burger attributes its unique texture to the method in which the ground beef patty is cooked. As the name suggests, the chef smashes the beef patty firmly into an ungreased skillet or pan, which increases the points of contact between the cooking surface and the patty itself. This results in the overall texture of the burgerhaving as much “crust” or crispiness as possible while also enriching the flavor.

In order to ensure that your smash burger is the best it can be, time, attention, and care must be taken into the specific cooking instruments you are using in the smashing process. This recipe suggests utilizing the sturdiness and reliability of a stiff spatula or a bench scraper so that you can scrape up the burger from the skillet in one fluid motion, retaining the crust and beef patty integrity.

One of the criticisms often attributed to the smash cheeseburger isn’t regarding its taste or texture, but people take umbrage with its size. Sure it’s wide, but it’s often called “too thin,” but that’s just where this Serious Eats recipe comes into play. By cooking two separate 2-ounce patties per burger instead of the traditional single 4-ounce patty, you’re able to slide a piece of meltable cheese in between the two burgers; this will not only keep your meat base moist and crispy, but it will bulk up the overall burger.

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LDOE Distributes $17 Million in Teacher Support Grant Funds

In recognition of the tremendous amounts of effort towards uninterrupted learning that they’ve put forward during the coronavirus pandemic, child care providers have been approved to receive a second round of teacher support stipends and wage supplements by the Louisiana Department of Education, according to a March 17th news release.

It would be a massive understatement and misaligned judgment to not consider Louisiana’s child care providers as essential frontline service workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic. As reported by the LDOE, the pandemic has significantly impacted both the field of child care and in this case, especially child care teachers. These significant impacts continue to contribute to the ongoing issue of teacher turnover, as they join other stressors that child care teachers face.

A research study that was conducted by the University of Virginia found that over 30% of early child care educators reported difficulty in paying rent, 40% consider themselves food insecure, and over 50% report being unable to pay for medical expenses. In light of these distressing statistics, the LDOE has funded two rounds of the 2021-2022 Teacher Support Grant for open Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) child care providers.

The initial round of $10,681,600 in grant funds was distributed to over 600 open child care providers in the form of stipends and wage supplements in August of 2021, and recently, the second round of the Teacher Support Grant, amounting to $17,492,800, was distributed to over 700 open child care providers in February 2022.

Both rounds of the Teacher Support Grant have been funded and issued in direct response to an early childhood workforce report that was submitted to the Louisiana Legislature by the Louisiana Department of Education. The LDOE’s report detailed key information about the impacts, funding, and costs of early childhood care and education in the state of Louisiana.

Further detailed in the report, it was stated that approximately 35% of teachers in early childhood education leave their sites of employment or placement at some point each year, and that percentage is increased to approximately 44% in child care centers. The report also found that only one-third of the teachers observed in Louisiana’s publicly-funded early childhood classrooms are still teaching in that same location three years later, signaling distressing turnover.

The Executive Director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, Dr. Libby Sonnier, commented on the issue of child care provider retention and turnover by saying, “when qualified, experienced educators are constantly leaving the field, it’s inevitable that we will see direct impacts on quality. Either a program will have a ceiling of success that it will not be able to exceed, or worse, we will start seeing a reduction in quality as programs struggle to recruit and retain strong early care and education staff.”

This high percentage of child care provider turnover was just one of the contributing factors presented to the Louisiana State Legislature, contributing to them approving the second round of funding. Another contribution comes from the report’s analysis of how a child care provider’s annual pay compares to their school-based counterparts.

Recent data from the Department of Education showed that child care teachers make approximately $20,000 annually, which is less than half of a school-based childcare provider. This salary is less than the federal poverty level for a family of three, according to 2020 statistics, and an approximate 27% of child care teachers reported that they actively work a second job in addition to providing child care.

Dr. Cynthia DiCarlo is both a professor of Early Childhood Education at Louisiana State University and the executive director of the LSU Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool. Dr. DiCarlo commented on the wage disparity that the LDOE’s presented report in saying, “teachers working in early care and education are still paid less than their service-industry counterparts. Until we decide as a state to pay teachers at par with other job opportunities, we will not move forward with quality early childhood care and education in Louisiana.”

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Acadiana Recently Celebrated French Language Month

Taking great pride in their heritage, an estimated 250,000 French speakers today call Louisiana their home, but according to this in-depth article detailing the importance of French Language Month from The Daily Advertiser, that number has dwindled from the over 1 million Francophones calling Louisiana their home just a couple of generations ago.

As per a Lafayette Consolidated Government release, “celebrating the French language and culture is hugely important for a state with such a rich history and connection to the French-speaking world.” This in addition to the fact that French is the fifth most widely spoken language in the world, as spoken by some 369 million people, makes it obvious that Louisiana holds on tight to its Francophone roots in light of a decrease in use.

Warren Perrin, a 75-year old attorney and founder of Erath’s Musée Acadien, is a passionate advocate for the French Language, especially its history and usage in Louisiana. Perrin both practices law and teaches museum patrons of Acadiana’s history in an effortless switching between the English and French languages in a bilingual effort and display of linguistic pride. In speaking on the diminishment of French-speaking Louisianans, Perrin said, “our language is imploding as we don’t use it enough. We’re not expanding it in Louisiana. We have a very precious commodity. We’ve got to save it.”

This alarming decrease in popularity of one of the main points of pride for Louisiana citizens is the reason why it has become increasingly more important for leaders in Acadiana and Louisiana as a whole to signify March as “Le Mois de la Francophonie,” or French Language Month. This isn’t simply an event in nomenclature, but instead, it’s an opportunity for our state to participate in an ongoing global tradition of celebrating not only the French language but also Francophone culture and the diversity of those who speak it often.

One way in which both government officials and educators in Louisiana have been able to contribute towards the effort of growing the number of Francophones (french-speaking citizens) was through the Council for Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL), a state agency that was created in 1968 to supplement Louisiana’s history of suppressing of the Cajun French Language and culture.

This suppression was most commonly seen in French not being no being allowed to be spoken in the public school system or even in public places. But today, approximately 5,500 students are enrolled in French immersion programsacross the state with many of the French immersion teachers coming to Louisiana from French-speaking countries worldwide. For just the 2021-2022 school year alone, teachers came to teach in Louisiana public schools’ French and Spanish immersion programs from Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Cameroon, France, Mexico, Madagascar, Senegal, Spain, and Tunisia.

Peggy Feehan, CODOFIL Executive Director, praised these teachers’ dedication in saying, “these teachers have a remarkable impact. Thanks to their work in our schools, young Louisianans are gaining not only a second language but also learning about our state’s unique place in the world. Immersion education opens countless doors for these students and exposes them to cultures from around the world, all while shedding light on Louisiana’s own rich culture, heritage, and history.”

While the amount of Francophones in Louisiana is decreasing, the effort to celebrate the culture and language continues in the form of not just museums and French Immersion programs but most notably, the annual festivals. The Louisiana community regularly celebrates its French heritage and love of the language at the two Acadiana staples:Festivals Acadiens et Créoles and Festival International de Louisiane.

As long as these events remain and the French-speaking history of our citizens continues to be passed down to the next generation and celebrated throughout “Le Mois de la Francophonie,” then our history will be retained for years to come.

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Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches with Honey Drizzle

A well-prepared plate of fried chicken and fresh biscuits is a southern delicacy that doesn’t only have to be enjoyed in a restaurant because this delicious recipe for Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches from Simply Recipes sets you up for flavor success right in your own kitchen.

Ingredients for Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches

1 ½ – 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Pickled vegetables like japaneños or onions, to serve

Chopped chives, to serve

3 drizzles of honey, to serve

¾ of cold butter, sliced into small pieces

¼ cup of melted butter

5 ¼ cups of cold, full-fat buttermilk

4 cups of all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon of baking soda

2 quarts of vegetable oil, for frying

3 tablespoons of crushed chilies, plus more for garnish, divided

1 teaspoon of ground mustard

2 teaspoons of celery seed

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika, divided

1 tablespoon of granulated garlic, divided

2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 ¼ tablespoon of kosher salt, divided

Maldon salt, for garnish

Recipe and Instructions for Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches

  1. You’ll begin your chicken marinade by combining 4 cups of your buttermilk, 1 ½ tablespoon crushed chilies, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 ½ teaspoon granulated garlic, ground mustard, celery seed, 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper into a large bowl or gallon-sized storage bag. Add in your chicken thighs, and toss to coat it in the marinade. Store this in the refrigerator to marinate for 2-4 hours or overnight. 
  2. When you’re ready to cook, start by preheating the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle flour atop it. Set aside until ready for use.
  3. In a large bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Place the cold butter pieces into the flour mixture and then use a dough cutter to cut the pieces of butter into the flour. You can use a rocking motion with the dough cutter to break up the butter into smaller pieces. Afterward, the butter should resemble a coarse meal.
  4. Create a well in the center of your flour mixture, and pour in your buttermilk. Fold the mixture together with a large spoon or rubber spatula until it all comes together into a shaggy, crumbly mixture. Be careful to not overwork the dough.
  5. Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface and press the dough together with your hands until it’s compacted together and no longer shaggy. Form the dough into a square and then roll it out into a ¾-inch thick square. Fold the dough in half about four to six times while lightly patting the dough down with your hands. You’ll do this in order to create layers in the biscuit; roll out the dough into an 8-inch square.
  6. While using a 3 ¾ to 4 inch round biscuit cutter or ramekin dipped in flour, begin cutting the dough without twisting the cutter. Be sure to flour the cutter between each cut and gently press together the remaining dough, forming it into a square. Roll out the remaining dough and follow the same step with the next pieces, and once all of the biscuits are cut, place them onto the baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkled flour, spacing the biscuits out 1 ½ inch apart.
  7. Place your biscuits in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool. Then, remove them from the freezer, use a pastry brush to brush the biscuits with butter, and bake them for 20 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
  8. Whenever you’re ready to fry the chicken, place a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat and pour in vegetable oil until it’s about ¾ inches deep. Using a thermometer to measure, heat the oil until it reaches 350°F. Meanwhile, set up two baking sheets with wire racks atop them. Cover one with a paper towel and set these aside until they’re ready for use.
  9. Make the dredge for the chicken by combining your flour, remaining chilies, paprika, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
  10. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk marinade and allow the excess buttermilk to drip off. Then, individually dredge each piece into the flour mixture making sure that the chicken thigh is fully coated. As you coat each piece, transfer it onto the baking sheet with the wire rack in order to prevent the coating from coming off.
  11. Preheat your oven to warm in preparation for the cooked fried chicken. Once your vegetable oil reaches 350°F, place three to four chicken pieces into the pan. Once the chicken is in the oil, the temperature will slightly drop, so be sure to raise the heat, and closely monitor the oil temperature.
  12. Fry the chicken for 14 to 16 minutes, turning each piece of chicken halfway through. Cook the pieces until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F and the outer chicken is of a crispy and golden brown texture. Remove the chicken from the coil and place them onto a clean wire rack. Sprinkle the chicken with Maldon salt and crushed chili, placing the first batch into the warmed oven. Repeat with remaining chicken in batches.
  13. You’ll serve by placing your cooked chicken onto the bottom piece of a cut-in-half biscuit and top with chives, honey, and pickled vegetables. Top each sandwich with the top half of the biscuit, serving immediately, and enjoy.

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Two Endowed Professorships for Coastal Studies Created at Nicholls

Nicholls State University is positioned to have new endowed professorships in coastal studies thanks to the generosity of the Callais sisters, a press release from the university announced.

The Callais sisters, Rachel and Leah Callais, have been supporters of Nicholls State University for years, having recently awarded $200,000 to the University’s College of Nursing for the creation of a computer lab in Ayo Hall. More recently, it was announced that each sister is donating $60,000 for a total donation gift of $120,000 that will be used to create two professorships in honor of their father, Mike Callais.

Their donation will be matched by the University of Louisiana System Foundation with an additional $80,000 added to the Callais Sisters’ donation. This total $200,000 gift will create two endowed professorships in coastal studies, each named:

  • The University of Louisiana System Foundation and C. Michael Callais Endowed Professorship in Coastal Studies.
  • The University of Louisiana System Foundation and Charles M. Callais Endowed Professorship in Coastal Studies.

A joint statement from the Callais sisters read, “our family has always been involved with the coast and the Gulf of Mexico, and that is why it was so difficult to drive around after Hurricane Ida and see the impact to our community. We know that someday it could all be gone, so we believe it’s important to preserve the coast, to do our best to keep it around and keep it alive.”

The University of Louisiana System Foundation gifted their matching donation of $80,000 in an effort to support and fund new STEM professorships. In 2019, the Chicago Community Trust had gifted the ULS Foundation $800,000 in order to support new professorships concerning STEM fields, or fields focusing on the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Along with their matching donation, the ULS Foundation emphasized that one professorship is to be awarded to a male and the other to a female.

The Nicholls press release also detailed that the Callais sister’s donation could not have come at a better time. This is due to the fact that a new Coastal Center is set to come to Nicholls’ campus to study the effect of land loss in the Terrebonne and Atchafalaya Basins, and according to Dr. John Doucet, the director of coastal studies and the dean of the College of Science and Technology, “these professorships will help the university attract and retain top coastal scientists.” The announcement of the new Coastal Center came from Nicholls State University and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority back in 2019.

Dr. Doucet shared more about how the two new endowed professorships will directly impact those scientists in saying, “those professors will, in turn, develop solutions to restore and protect coastal communities where the Callais and other families live and work. The Callais family settled in the coastal marshland of the Lafourche Basin in the early 20th century. Over several generations, they have seen first-hand the changes and challenges of our coast that Nicholls will address through the Coastal Center.”

Rachel and Leah Callais’ donation will be highly beneficial for the future of coastal studies at Nicholls and the Louisiana Gulf Coast for years to come, and the Callais sisters reported in their joint statement that it’s all thanks to their father. “If it wasn’t for our dad then we wouldn’t have what we have, we wouldn’t be where we are and we wouldn’t know what we know. He showed us how to be a part of a community, how to live the right way and he instilled in us that we have to do whatever we can to help because it’s the right thing to do.”

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