AficioNada

Found at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans, where you'll discover...

• chicory's roots (bad pun intended) as a coffee substitute
  
• why the sno-ball trumps any sno-cone you - or Snoopy - could ever fathom (it's the fineness of the "snow")
  
• the American history of the cocktail -  from the rise of Absinthe to the scorn of Carrie Nation to the drinking games and books of the 1960's and 70's (a lot of them look like Twister, which I always suspected was not for children under 21). Ed McMahon's Barside Companion anyone?

...and at least a dozen other rich Southern food histories - sugar, boudin, pralines, fried okra, hot sauce.

My wine Pairing for good ol, head sucking boiled crawfish? Minerally Chenin Blanc from Savennieres. Bone dry for the tail. Off-dry for the head fat. Think clean and lean, to offset all the dirty goodness of these freshwater bottom feeders. Mmm.

Hungry for other tips like how to shuck an oyster or make a roux? Head over to Lousiana Cookin's website. Instructive and delicious!