Mercredi

What New Orleans Lost in Cayne ~Karen Dalton-Beninato

BREAKING LEVEE NEWS:
Marinello's 'piece' to pen tell-all book

Creationism ban stripped, exorcized, from rules by fun'mentalists d'oh'minions of Darth Mon'Jindal

Being Bob Cerasoli
~Kevin Allman

New Orleans' 2007 census figure to be revised upward by 50,000

Good Job Brownie: Bushie’s remarks invite a blizzard of editorial reaction. Historical forecast? Ask the ghost of Herbert Hoover ~slabbed

Gulf Civic Works: Last chance for Gulf recovery? ~Facing South

Army Corps of Engineers' delays outrage state lawmakers
~Mark Schleifstein

Waggaman residents oppose corps' borrow pit proposal
~Paul Rioux

Is the Problem with Finger- Pointing That We're Using the Wrong Finger? ~Harry Shearer

Dam discharge that swamped Pacific, WA spurs finger-pointing

We misread the river, Army engineers admit, Corps officals embarrassed, apologetic over Pacific flooding~Mike Archbold

Take the Levees.org challenge ~Humid Haney

Crude Reality: How Long Can Oil Stay Down?~Andrew Mickey

FATA, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan: Threat Center of the World ~SEMP

Beyond Marriage: Broader Implications and Unforeseen Consequences of State Defense of Marriage Acts~Tulane Journal of Law & Sexuality

Writers learn about Cajun Mardi Gras~William Johnson
~While in St. Landry Parish, the group of writers from California, Indiana, New York and Canada, learned about rural Cajun Mardi traditions, which are more about costumed horse riders and chasing chickens than throwing beads from floats.

Abita brewery tank explodes
~Jeff Adelson

JEEZ De'Jesus!

African Americans and the Future of New Orleans

RISOTTO WITH SALAMI AND BORLOTTI BEANS

- makes 6 to 8 servings - Editilla T'n'T~Serious Eats

Reprinted from The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

Ingredients

3/4 cup borlotti or other speckled beans, soaked overnight
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 pound salami, skin removed, chopped coarsely
1 1/2 cups Italian short-grain, such as arborio, vialone nano, or carnaroli rice
1/2 cup well-flavored dry white wine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, or more if you wish

Procedure

1. Add the drained beans to a saucepan with 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently, covered, until the beans are tender—about 40 minutes. Add a little more boiling water from time to time if necessary to keep the beans from scorching. When the beans are done, set aside, but do not drain.

2. Bring the stock to a gently simmer and keep just below the boiling point while you prepare the risotto.

3. In a large heavy-duty saucepan, combine the onion and garlic with the oil and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until the onion slices and garlic are softened. Stir in the chopped salami and the rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the bits of salami are softened and the rice is well coated with the fat in the pan. Add the white wine, raise the heat slightly, and cook more rapidly, until the rice has absorbed the wine.

4. Stir in the beans with their cooking liquid and continue cooking until most of the bean liquid has been absorbed. Now cover the contents of the pan with a ladle or two of the not quite simmering broth, stirring to mix well. As the rice absorbs the broth, keep adding more, a ladle or two at a time, stirring as you do so, until the rice is done. The rice should always be just barely swimming in liquid but never awash and never let to dry out.

5. When the rice is done but still al dente, remove from the heat, taste, and add salt and pepper. Then stir in the 2 tablespoons of cheese, cover the pan and set aside, away from the heat, for 5 minutes or so to combine all the flavors well. Serve the rice, if you wish, with more grated cheese on the side.

Expanded SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival in 2009

Literary events in New Orleans ~Susan Larson

One-Named Guitarist Honors One-Eyed Pianist~Marc Silver

The Blue Note 7: Mosaic
~Between the Grooves