Daisy and I started our day pretty early by driving over the edge of Lake Pontchartrain on our way to Baton Rouge. I was going to visit Susan, a family friend whose Christmas party I had missed because it was the day I drove up from Miami. We sat and chatted for a good while, then Daisy joined us and Susan took us on a tour of Baton Rouge! Our first stop, of course, was to Louisiana State University.
The basketball stadium was pretty cool looking
Susan and one of her co-workers were talking about how we needed to visit "Mike the Tiger" at LSU. We assumed that they were talking about a statue. Until they mentioned how amazingly nice Mike's "habitat" was. That's right, Mike is a real tiger. This is Mike 6, and yes, his habitat was very nice and included a lot of information about tiger conservation efforts - it was really interesting and informative.
Sleepy Mike
The enclosure, including plaques awaiting future Mike's
History of Mike and the work that the school does on tiger habitat conservation
The Mike statue that we expected
The tiger habitat
Baton Rouge hosts a Mardi Gras parade every year in Spanish Town. To announce the ball that starts Mardi Gras, the organizers place large plywood flamingos in the lake, which people row out to "kidnap" and "relocate" to their own front yards, and now the flamingo has become a neighborhood mascot/Mardi Gras symbol (so once you start looking you suddenly see them everywhere). I'm not sure what the symbolism is behind a beheaded flamingo but I'm sure we could come up with some creative suggestions...
After returning from Baton Rouge (after a delicious croissant omelet sandwich at La Madeline), we hung out at Cate and Joe's for a bit (making Tom and Jerry batter, explained later) before relocating to my Uncle Tom and Aunt Andre's house for Christmas, part two. This is their cat, Annie, enjoying the Christmas tree
Andre making muffuletta sandwiches, another classic New Orleans food. It's made on round Sicilian sesame bread, filled with a selection of cold cuts like mortadella, salami, prosciutto, and/or ham, along with provolone cheese and olive salad. You can either toast the bread in the oven before hand, or put the whole sandwich in after it's assembled to get the bread a little crispy on the outside.
Assemble, cut into wedges, and enjoy!
My cousin Allie with her second cousin, Eva
Previously I had never heard of a drink called a "Tom 'n Jerry" but apparently it was a family Christmas tradition before it kind of faded out about 20 years ago (hence Cate actually had a Tom and Jerry "set" with a big bowl and 8 mugs). To make it you whip egg whites with powdered sugar until they reach a meringue consistency (stiff peaks), then fold them into egg yolks that have been similarly stiffened with powdered sugar, then beat the two together with allspice, cloves, and vanilla. In each cup you put a shot of bourbon or whiskey, a large scoop of the egg "batter", and mix it with a little hot water, then top with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Tastes a bit like a strongly boozy eggnog, but kind of light and fluffy instead of thick and creamy.
Pearce learned how to make them from Pa, so he was in charge of serving drinks
Ma with her Tom 'n Jerry
Cheers!
The decimated pile of Christmas crackers, the tradition we brought from Mom's side of the family. You get in a circle and each person crosses their arms in front of them, holding the end of a cracker with each hand. On the count of three, everyone pulls, and each cardboard cracker pulls apart with a bang. Inside there's always a paper crown, a joke or a riddle, and a gift - in the ones we had when I was a kid it would be something like a plastic parachute toy solider or a plastic ring, but in these fancy ones you get metal bookmarks and luggage tags, last year I even got a re-usable shopping bag that folds up in the corner, printed to look like a strawberry ;)
Aunt Cate with her crown
Daisy
With Mom
Andre and Tom
Christmas present madness starts again!
Brett and a very tired Eva
A "banana split" pie, essentially a banana cream pie topped with whipped cream, nuts, chocolate sauce, pineapple sauce, and cherries.
Maggie loved having Daisy around - someone who will play with her all the time!
Awww
