Beef: Braised Sirloin Tips

Mushrooms Image by Getty Images via @daylife

From Denny:  Want a low maintenance meal to throw in the oven during the holiday season while you tend to other things?  A hearty casserole is always welcome when the weather turns chilly.  You might want relief from dining on turkey.  Why not try this easy braised sirloin tips recipe?

Besides, it has brain food:  mushrooms.  During the holiday season it's easy to get frazzled and it sure is fun to know that mushrooms are available to get our overloaded brains back on target. :)

This recipe was featured in our local newspaper last year where local great cooks often share recipes.  Try this easy recipe and maybe it will become a holiday favorite:

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Image via Wikipedia

From Denny:  Red Bean and Rice is a traditional recipe in Louisiana that was the original Wash Day food every Monday, in every household in New Orleans, rich or poor.  These beans could simmer on the stove for hours, leaving time for household chores.

Living in Louisiana, sometimes I forget some people don't know how to make this simple delicious dish.  It's seems when I am researching up pops something else that I just know you will want to see.

I've been thinking lately of how to get more beans into our diet by adding to traditional recipes and found some awesome recipes from the various bean grower sites that I will be featuring soon on all my food blogs.  If you are not yet sold on beans as a healthy and inexpensive food, this dish would be a great introduction.

New Orleans Chef Sclafani Silver Medal Winner: Seared Scallops, Truffled Corn Pudding

Another scallop recipe by ulterior epicure via Flickr

From Denny: President Obama is a huge fan of scallops, often ordering them when he dines out.  Yeah, me too, as long as they are those huge honking ocean scallops!  The beauty of scallops is they cook up quickly and are a light food for the summer heat.

This is one of the winning recipes from last week's New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE), one of the top food and wine shows in America. The five-day event entertained a hungry and discriminating crowd in the Crescent City.

Baton Rouge Ruffino's Italian Restaurant's new chef and co-owner, Peter Sclafani from New Orleans, won two Fleur de lis Culinary Awards Medals at the prestigious event: one gold and one silver for his tasty creations. He competed against dozens of great New Orleans chefs. He won the gold medal for his recipe of "48 Hour Pork Belly with Candied Bacon Jam and Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding."

While there still exists the friendly rivalry between New Orleans and Baton Rouge chefs, the two cities are beginning to blend more into one mega-city mindset. New Orleans has discovered there is cooking talent in Baton Rouge since so many moved here after Hurricane Katrina five years ago.