Revisiting New Orleans Bouchercon 2016

Sadly, one of the mystery community's favorite events is in danger of being missed by many this year.

Last year's Bouchercon in Sacramento was cancelled due to COVID, although many events were handled via Zoom.

This year's event has not been cancelled, but the rates of infection from the new COVID Delta variant is causing many, with fair reason, to rethink their plans about attending.

I love Bouchercon.

And I love New Orleans.

Being in New Orleans in 2016 for Bouchercon was one of the most fun cons ever. 

Heather Graham, Connie Perry and their entire crew did an amazing job, and set the bar extraordinarily high for future events.  Events including this year's B'con, again being coordinated by Heather and Connie and an amazing group of volunteers.

 I have tons of 2016 memories and TONS of photos.

One very personal memory that I will be awfully proud of for a lifetime is having a short story included in the 2016 New Orleans Bouchercon Anthology, Blood on the Bayou, edited by Greg Herren.

If you don't have a copy of this Anthony Award winning anthology - Why NOT?

A few of the authors included are David Morrell, Alison Gaylin, Gary Phillips, Elaine Viets.

My story is about Marie LaVeau.  A woman I've been fascinated with for a long time.  

Visit my webpage to find yourself a copy of Blood on the Bayou, and read my entry, Voodoo at the Jitterbug -  https://kayewilkinsonbarley.com/books/anthologies/

It seemed only fitting that I pay a visit to Madame LaVeau while I was in New Orleans so I could thank her for her inspiration.

For those of you who are sad to miss Bouchercon in New Orleans this year, maybe seeing pictures from Bouchercon in New Orleans circa 2016 will bring back some fond memories.

Enjoy!

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2016/09/bouchercon-2016-new-orleans-part-1.html

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2016/09/bouchercon-2016-new-orleans-part-2.html

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2016/09/bouchercon-2016-new-orleans-part-3.html

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2016/09/bouchercon-2016-new-orleans-part-4.html

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2016/09/bouchercon-2016-new-orleans-part-5.html

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Remembering New Orleans - Palace Cafe Crabmeat Cheesecake

It's impossible to visit New Orleans and not eat well.  This, however, was probably my favorite meal.

Crabmeat Cheesecake
Palace Café
Serves 8

Palace Cafe's Crabmeat Cheesecake

Pecan Crust

• 1/4 cup pecans
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons butter, cold
• 3 tablespoons ice water

Filling

• 1/2 cup onion, small diced
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 4 oz crabmeat
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup Creole cream cheese or sour cream
• 2 each eggs
• 1 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (we use Crystal brand hot sauce)
• Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Meuniere Sauce

• 1 each lemon, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 lb Butter, cold, cut into small cubes
• Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Garnish

• 2 cup sliced mixed wild mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 24 each crab claw fingers
• Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preparing the Pecan Crust

Preheat oven to 350°. Finely grind pecans in a food processor. Add flour and salt. Mix well. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and cut in butter, working butter into flour with two knives until dough is in crumbs the size of small peas. Add ice water and evenly incorporate into the mixture, which should remain fairly crumbly. Roll out dough to an 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Press dough into a lightly greased 9" tart pan, starting with the sides and then the bottom. Bake crust for 20 minutes or until golden. Note: dough can be made ahead of time. If doing so, wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Allow dough to come to room temperature before rolling out.

Preparing the Filling

Sauté onion in butter until translucent. Add crabmeat and cook just until heated through, then remove from heat. Blend cream cheese until smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle or by hand using a wooden spoon. Add Creole cream cheese and mix well. Mix in eggs one at a time. Gently fold in crabmeat mixture. Stir in hot sauce and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Spoon filling into prepared crust. Bake at 300° for 30-40 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Preparing the Meuniere Sauce and Garnish

Combine lemon, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce in a heavy saucepot. Reduce over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until mixture becomes thick and syrupy. Whisk in heavy whipping cream. Reduce heat to low and slowly blend in butter one cube at a time, adding additional butter only after previously added butter has completely incorporated into the sauce. This process is called "mounting the butter." Remove from heat and continue to stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Strain through a fine strainer and keep warm. Sauté mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until tender and all moisture has cooked off. Excess water from the mushrooms may break your sauce if it isn't cooked off. Stir mushrooms into meuniere sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan and warm crab claws over low heat.

To Serve

Slice cheesecake and top each piece with warm meuniere sauce and three crab claws.

"oh, Kaye!"

First Sunday of the month - 

It's my play day at Jungle Red.

Today I'm chatting about my recent trip to New Orleans and hoping to give someone a lagniappe.

Come see what in the world I'm talking about - http://www.jungleredwriters.com/

New Orleans Bouchercon - Here I Come! (A Revised Post)

"Oh, Kaye!" Chats About Bouchercon in New Orleans

A version of this piece was posted at Jungle Red this past weekend.

In this version, you'll find some additional links from other sources about what to expect while in New Orleans.  I've placed them at the end of the post, and I'll be adding to the list over the next few days.

I did a post awhile back about my Bouchercon pre-reading and research as we draw closer to hopping on a plane to attend this annual event.  

As I mentioned then, I'm one who likes to read about where I'm going to get a feel for the city. Hank suggested that I report back on things I found to be of particular interest.

Since Boucheron is in New Orleans this year, it's been some fascinating reading. 

That, of course, is not to say I don't enjoy the spontaneous adventures that come with traveling.  

What's more fun than stumbling into a delightful little bookstore?  The perfect cafe?

Or, as happened to us in Greece - a wedding.

We were having a late lunch at an outdoor taverna when a gloriously happy bride, groom and very large wedding party came out of a small church about a half block away from where we were sitting.

We were able to enjoy watching them having wedding pictures taken, posing in front of the church, in front on a fountain, sitting on an ancient wall, with church bells ringing and people laughing.  Pure sweet magic. 

It was fun for us to watch and try to figure out who was who - easy to figure out the mother of the bride, and the father of the bride - he was the one who thought no one saw him wipe away a few stray tears as he stood back watching his beautiful daughter as she smiled, laughed and hugged the many friends and family members. 

Serendipity.

That's a big part of travel, after all, isn't it?  Being open to whatever might happen.  As well as new ideas, new cultures?

  

I like to have at least a little smidge of knowledge about where I'm headed though.

The history, the culture, and in the case of New Orleans - the restaurants!

The French Quarter!

The Garden District!

Elegant homes, magnificent architecture and sumptuous hidden gardens.

This amateur photographer's dream come true.  I do intend to sign up for a walking photo tour, it's just trying to figure out when I can do it!

And the more I learn about New Orleans, the more interesting it becomes.

I've also learned that some of the things I thought I knew were just plain wrong.

Imagine that.

Proving, once again, that we might not want to believe everything we think.

I'm fascinated and intrigued by old cemeteries.  

There's an abundance of history and beauty in the cemeteries of New Orleans, and I was happy to learn there's an active group dedicated to the preservation of those cemeteries.  All 31 of them.

Save Our Cemeteries has been in existence since 1974.  It was through their webpage that I learned that not all of New Orleans' dead are placed in burial crypts above ground like I had always believed.  

This from their FAQ - "Are burials conducted in-ground today? Yes, many cemeteries offer single burial plots for burial in ground, with a simple marker, much like the rest of the United States. Modern pumping stations allow for this practice. However, the multiple burial above-ground system still remains the most popular, and traditional, mode of burial.

In addition to the Save Our Cemeteries group, there are other groups doing cemetery tours, as well. 

The one I've signed up to take, along with some friends, is a Cemetery/Voodoo tour.   (Note - Visiting the cemeteries is not one of those things you should consider doing alone)

Since the particular tour we've signed up for will include St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, I plan on paying Madame Laveau a little visit.

Marie Laveau was known as New Orleans' Voodoo Queen.  She still is, I guess, even though she died in 1881.  She has been, and continues to be, the inspiration of many books and novels. 

She's had songs written about her, and she's still a popular artistic figure.  

No one seems completely sure where the real Madame Laveau ends and the fictional Laveau begins, but it's all interesting and compelling.

So.

What else do I plan on doing in New Orleans?

Besides all things Bouchercon, I mean?

Well, I've signed up to take a cooking class.

It's a two and a half hour class where we'll be leaning how to make gumbo, jambalaya, bananas foster and pralines.  I'm excited.

And I'll be doing some shopping, I'm sure.

A lot of walking, and some exploring via streetcar. Taking thestreetcar down St. Charles Avenue sounds heavenly. 

I'm interested in finding a shop by the name of  Maskarade, " . . . carries a large selection of masks from some of the best local and national artists whose fabulous creations are done in a variety of mediums. We also carry fine Italian masks handmade in the old traditional Venetian style by Master Maskmakers"  

I'll browse Royal Street, of course.

Also, one of the areas I hope to visit is Julia Street, also known as Gallery Row.  I enjoy seeking out the work of local artists and artisans, and this looks like an area of New Orleans I'll be able to do just that.

Esplanade Avenue is on my list to feed my interest in architecture and local history.  My camera is itching to get some shots of some of the charm of this historical treasure.  

There are some voodoo temples I'd like to visit.  In fact, one is included in our cemetery/voodoo tour.

As far as I know, there are no voodoo temples in Boone, NC, or the near vicinity, so I'm pretty excited about this.  I'm interested in learning a little more about this ancient religion which is believed in and taken quite seriously by many in Louisiana.

AND,

I'm pretty sure I'll be eating well.  Too well.

I'm going to be in New Orleans for quite a few days.  Going early and staying late, as are some Bouchercon Buddies.  It will be fun exploring New Orleans with these friends I usually only get to see once a year.

Who knows if I'll get to everything on my list or not.  We'll just have to see.  If I do, or if I don't, I have not a doubt in the world that it's going to be a pretty special trip.  And - I can always go back again, after all.

While the convention's going on I'll be involved with a good bit of volunteering.  

Which reminds me - if you're going and haven't signed up to help, I encourage you to do so.  It's a great way to meet some fun people, including the authors. And, since Bouchercon relies solely on volunteers, it's just a good thing to do.  

If you're interested, here's a couple email address for you - 

 moni46032@yahoo.com

and 

volunteer4bouchercon@gmail.com 

There are lots of different volunteer opportunities available.  Give it a thought.

I'm excited about the fact that I'm going to be on a panel Thursday at noon with my pals Lesa Holstine, Dru Ann Love, Kristopher Zigorski and Erica Neubauer, moderated by Penny Halle.  We're going to discuss books we recommend.  How fun is that going to be?  I'm pretty sure Bouchercon attendees enjoy talking about books, huh?  I hope to see some of you there!

AND, I'll be joining the contributors to this year's anthology, Blood on the Bayou, for a group signing on Saturday at 2:00. Hope to see you there too!  

I'm beyond pleased to be included and, truth be told, I thank Madame Laveau for her help in writing the story.  Which is one reason I intend to visit her in the cemetery so I can say "thanks."  

There are lots of us heading to New Orleans, and a lot of good posts about this upcoming trip are showing up at Facebook and other places.

I'm going to post links to a few of them here for fellow travelers and for those of you who are just enjoying reading about New Orleans, or Bouchercon.

A good first place to start is the Bouchercon New Orleans webpage 

- http://www.bouchercon2016.com/

The Bouchercon Facebook Page  -  https://www.facebook.com/bouchercon/?fref=ts

Kristopher's Countdown to Bouchercon – The BOLO Books Advice Column - 

http://bolobooks.com/2015/09/countdown-to-bouchercon-the-bolo-books-advice-column/

and his Bouchercon Extras – Before and During - http://bolobooks.com/2016/09/bouchercon-extras-before-and-during/

Stephen Terrell's "What to Do (and Not to Do) in New Orleans - http://speedcitysistersincrime.blogspot.com/2016/08/attending-bouchercon-personal-guide.html

I'll be adding to this list, so check back!