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“We need Americans to come see us, meet us, and
hear our stories.”
The impassioned plea comes from Frank Brigtsen, James
Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Brigtsen’s Restaurant in New
Orleans. A native New Orleanian and protégé of
culinary great Paul Prudhomme, Brigtsen recently stood before a group of
volunteer chefs (myself included) who spent a week in his ravaged,
oft-forgotten city. “All they know is what they see on the news.
Our leaders do not represent us,” adds Brigtsen, who’s been
running his own den of superior Creole and Acadian cuisine since 1986
— but he’s not letting the politicians or the media get in the
way of his determination to get New Orleans back on its feet, which is why
he keeps cooking. “Food is the greatest medium to share with
people,” he declares — and then there is a pause:
“Socially, emotionally, and spiritually.”
It’s been far from easy in the Big Easy for
nearly two years, and, judging from my recent experiences working with
various relief and rebuilding projects, easy is a long way off. In a city
with this country’s deepest and richest culinary traditions, people
are hungry, queuing up for three hot meals a day at disaster-relief sites.
In a city known for its architecture, people are still living in FEMA
trailers. In a city known for its sense of community, many neighborhoods
are deserted, decimated, and destroyed. So why go, you might argue, if things are still so
bad?
Because if we don’t, we will collectively wipe
New Orleans from our hard drive, just as we’ve done with Africa. Here’s a recipe for Brigtsen’s bread
pudding, one of the most traditional New Orleans desserts, to get a taste
of what we’d be missing should collective amnesia set in.
Culinary questions? Contact Kim O’Donnel at
kim.odonnel@creativeloafing.com.
Chef Frank Brigtsen’s Banana Bread Pudding
Six whole eggs Three egg yolks 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Two very ripe bananas (“black-spot”
bananas), puréed 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 3 cups whole milk 1/2 can (or 10 tablespoons) sweetened condensed milk 12 cups stale French bread, diced into half-inch pieces (Note: Estimate two or three
loaves. You can improvise with any kind of white
bread; stay away from the sliced stuff in a bag.) 3/4 cup raisins Two ripe bananas (no black spots), very thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and yolks and
whisk until frothy. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, puréed bananas, and
vanilla. Whisk until fully blended. Add both sugars, and whisk until blended. Add milk and
condensed milk, whisking again until completely integrated. Add diced bread to the egg/milk mixture. Mix well
until bread has absorbed most of the custard mixture. Add raisins and
sliced bananas and stir to combine. Pour pudding into a shallow baking pan and let sit for
30 minutes. Place pudding pan in a slightly larger pan and add about 1 inch
of hot water to the large pan to create a bain-marie (water bath). Bake uncovered until the center of the pudding is no
longer runny, about one hour. Serve alone or with ice cream, whipped cream,
or caramel sauce. Makes eight to 12 servings.
This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2007.
