Trem 's Cooking: The Culinary Legacy of a Historic New

1
Tremé's Cooking  The Culinary Legacy of a
Historic New Orleans Neighborhood 
2
Index

• History of Faubourg Tremé
•     The French and the Spanish
•     Jumballaya Recipe
• The Africans and the Native Americans
• Congo Square   
•     Creole Calas Recipe
• Early Residents of Tremé
•     Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs
• The Catholic Church in Tremé
•     Sisters of the Holy Family
•     Marie Laveau's Tomb
• Italian Immigration
•     St. Joseph's Day 
•     St. Joseph's Day Cream Puff Recipe
• Storyville
• Jazz Funerals and Second Line Parades
• Restaurants in Tremé
• Markets in TreméDorothy JohnsonTremé's Recipes

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History of Faubourg Tremé
 Marker on Esplanade Street August 2009
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History of Faubourg Tremé

•         Faubourg Tremé was developed on the
  natural levee at the trunk of Bayou St.
  John/Esplanade Ridge. It became New Orleans
  largest faubourg or neighborhood.        By
  1798, Claude Tremé, Faubourg Tremés namesake,
  began selling lots along his newly laid-out
  streets. Most of the plots were 60-by-180 feet
  and were purchased by French and Spanish colonial
  settlers, other European immigrants and gens de
  couleur libre (free people of color). Faubourg
  Tremé was one of the first diverse communities in
  the United States and remained that way for more
  than a century. It was the home of the historical
  Congo Square, Storyville red-light district,
  Jazz, the Iberville Housing Development, Second
  Line Clubs, Super Sunday Parades and Interstate
  10.         The historical legacy of Tremé
  embodies the rich history of its former diverse
  residents, elaborate festivals, markets, heritage
  sites, religious events and music traditions.
  

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Tremé

•  The historic district of Tremé today is bounded
  by Lafitte Avenue, Canal Street, Rampart Street
  and Claiborne Avenue. Traditionally, the borders
  extended to Esplanade Avenue.

6
Claude Tremé

•           In 1783 Frenchman Claude Tremé arrived
  in New Orleans from France with the promise of
  the New World. As New Orleans' population and
  city expanded outside the old city limits, the
  Vieux Carré (French Quarter), he envisioned a
  community and financial opportunity for himself
  and his family. Tremé, a hat maker and real
  estate developer, subdivided the former Morand
  plantation into plots of land to be sold to a
  diverse population including many free people of
  color, recently manumitted enslaved Africans,
  Caucasians, Haitians, Cubans and other recently
  immigrated people of color from the Caribbean.
  Faubourg Tremé became an epicenter of culture,
  racial tension, class struggles, political
  strife, triumphs, tradition, rich cuisine, music
  as well as a strong sense of community.

7
The French and the Spanish

•         The French and Indian Wars,
  175463  ended disastrously for the French and
  even worse for the citizens hunkered down in the
  malarial swamp of La Nouvelle Orleans.  In a
  desperate attempt to keep the entire Louisiana
  territory from falling into the hands of the
  Protestant British, King Louis XV secretly ceded
  it to his Bourbon cousin, King Charles III of
  Spain. On 3 November 1762, France and Spain
  agreed to the Treaty of Fontainebleau by which
  the Louisiana colony was transferred from France
  to Spain. France was thereby sacrificing about
  seven thousand of its Louisiana subjects, but to
  King Louis XV, Frances interests took precedence
  over these faraway people. In truth, as long as
  France could retain their lucrative sugar island
  production on Ile St. Dominique (Haiti), they
  were not upset about unloading the financial
  sinkhole of Louisiana.
•  

The Louisiana Territory, hand drawn map (left).
 Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville statue in
the French Quarter, known as the father of New
Orleans (right). 
8
The French and the Spanish

•         It was not until April 1764 that King
  Louis XV got around to telling his former
  subjects in La Nouvelle Orleans that they were
  now subjects of Spain.  Needless to say, the
  citizens were rankled at their abandonment by
  France. Most importantly they feared that the
  Spanish could terminate their freedoms and
  sources of income.  Prominent citizens conducted
  mass meetings demanding that France continue
  their control of Louisiana. The Spanish continued
  to rule.
•  

• Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Viscount of
  Galveston and Count of Gálvez, statue in front of
  the World Trade Center, New Orleans, LA. Governor
  of Louisiana and Cuba in the 18th century and
  military leader during the American Revolution
  and their fight for independence

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The French and the Spanish

•         However, it was during the governance of
  Esteban Rodriguez Miró that the neighborhood of
  Tremé would become a haven to many French and
  Spanish and gens de couleur libre (free people of
  color). In 1782, Miró, formerly the second in
  command to Governor Galvez, took over as the
  Spanish governor of Louisiana, serving during a
  pivotal period in the history of the city and the
  early development of the Tremé. 
•         Creoles of Spanish descent served as
  influential inhabitants of Tremé in the mid-18th
  century and their descendents would become active
  parishioners of St. Augustine Parish in the 19th
  century.

Portrait of Esteban Miró
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The Great Fire

•         Tragedy struck the city on Good Friday,
  March 21, 1788 when fire rapidly spread through
  the French Quarter, destroying 856 buildings out
  of the 1,100 original French structures in the
  area. The citys two horse drawn fire wagons were
  also consumed by the flames. Many of the newly
  homeless fled the city for the safety of
  the countryside. New Orleans suffered more than 
• 2,595,000 damage from the great 
• fire. Governor Miró quickly set up 
• tents and provided food and other
•  supplies for the traumatized 
• populace. Another consequence 
• was the demand for land, which 
• possibly created an opportunity 
• for Claude Tremé and his 
• subdivided plots for sale outside 
• of the Vieux Carré.

Map of the destruction of the fire. 
11
Spanish Influences

•         The Spanish ruled Louisiana for 34 years
  (1769-1803) and New Orleans was historically
  linked in cuisine, culture and economically to
  the flourishing Spanish settlements in Texas to
  the west Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and
  Puerto Rico to the southeast and Central and
  South America. However, the culture of Louisiana
  never ceased to be French, with many resisting
  all efforts to convert themselves into Spaniards.
  
•  

•        Although the French period officially
  ended in 1762, French administration continued
  until 1769. The Spanish Colonial period was from
  1762-1800 (1769-1803).  Effective control by the
  Spanish began in 1769 and officially ended in
  1800 when Spain ceded it back to France. However,
  the French only re-assumed control about thirty
  days before the Louisiana Purchase, leaving the
  Spanish as administrators until 1803.

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Jumballaya

•  
• A Spanish Creole Dish
•  
• Wash one pound of rice and soak it an hour. Cut
  up a cold roast chicken, or the remnants of a
  turkey and a slice of ham, and fry them in a
  tablespoonful of lard. Stir in the rice, and add
  slowly while stirring in, a pint of hot water.
  Cover your pot, and set where it can cook slowly,
  until the rice is nearly dry. One or two
  spoonfuls of cooked tomatoes give it a very good
  taste. Jumballaya is very nice made with oysters,
  shrimps or sausages.
• -      An early 20th century recipe in Cooking In
  Old Creole Days, C. Eustis, 1903

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        On December 20, 1803, France sold
Louisiana to the Americans. On April 20, 1812,
Louisiana entered the Union as the eighteenth
state of the United States of America.
The Louisiana Purchase
The ceremony of the transfer of Louisiana to the
U.S.
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This painting depicts the claiming of the
Louisiana territory by French explorers. 
The Africans and Native Louisianians
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The Africans and Native Louisianians

•         The institution of slavery was one of the
  principal forces that shaped New Orleans,
  Louisiana, the United States, and the New World. 
  It was the enforced labor of Africans and their
  descendants whose sweat hacked through razor
  sharp palmetto to clear the land, planted and
  harvested the crops, made the bricks, cut the
  wood and milled it, built the masters palatial
  homes and houses of worship, cooked the masters
  meals and reared his children, and in some
  instances, bore his children. However, in New
  Orleans the focus of the community was the
  Catholic Church built upon the backs of slave
  labor. Interestingly, in New Orleans enslaved
  Africans from the Morand Plantation were the
  first to manufacture and lay the bricks to build
  Faubourg Tremé that rose from the Cypress Swamp.

Depictions of slaves working Using a sugar mill
(left) and planting cotton (right).
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The Africans and Native Americans

•         Most of the cooking was done by  enslaved
  Africans and Native Americans. Because the early
  French colonists to Louisiana had a shortage of
  familiar food supplies from their own country,
  dependence on local foodways and food prepared by
  slaves was crucial to their survival. 

• Faced with a shortage of flour, colonists made
  roux by cooking either sliced okra or powdered
  sassafras in a slowly heated oil. They added
  seafood, poultry, meat, or any combination of
  these ingredients. Gumbo, the finished product
  comes from the Angolan word for, Okra, which is
  Guin gombo. The Choctaw word for sassafras powder
  was kombo ashish.
•  
•  --Barbara Trevigne, What is a Creole?
• 2006
•                                                   
               -

Photos Raw Okra (left) and gumbo (above).
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Culinary Traditions

•         Native Louisianians continued to market
  sassafras or filé powder into the twentieth
  century. Both early enslaved Native American
  cooks and enslaved African cooks culinary
  traditions became the nucleus of New Orleans
  cuisine. 
•         
• The evidence of these two culinary and
  cultural influences are still apparent in modern
  day Tremé. They can be seen in the food and
  cultural festivities of one particular Tremé
  tradition, the Black Mardis Gras Indians. Their
  parades and festivities always include
  celebratory food. The herb filé or sassafras, a
  gift from the Choctaw Indians, is used in filé
  gumbo, and okra, the epitome of African food, is
  used in okra gumbo. Furthermore, the West African
  staple of rice and beans became a Monday ritual
  in New Orleans as seen in the preparation of Red
  Beans and Rice. Also, calas, the fried rice
  fritters that were sold by merchants on street
  corners for most of the 19th century in Tremé,
  the Vieux Carre (French Quarter) and other parts
  of New Orleans by enslaved African women or free
  women of color came directly from West Africa.
  The fusion of Native American, European and
  African culinary traditions spilled into the
  birth of the Faubourg Tremé and through cultural
  memory it continues to invite other cultures to
  contribute to New Orleans cuisine.  

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        Benjamin Kendig Sales April 1856 reads in
one sales ad (sold at Banks Arcade 33 Camp St.),
The slave man JOE, aged 26 years, a first rate
meat and pastry cook, capable of taking charge of
the cooking department of a first class hotel,
boarding-house or restaurant he is fully
guaranteed in every respect. The slave can be
seen at anytime by calling at the auctioneers
office, 33 Camp Street.(Photo taken by Zella
Llerena, July 2009 at the main New Orleans Public
Library) In other entries, slaves who were
skilled culinary artisans went for a higher price
than field slaves and many were enslaved African
men who were sold for sums as large as 1,500 in
1855. Many of these highly skilled enslaved
Africans in culinary artistry lived in Tremé.
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Congo Square

•         Located in Tremé, historic Congo Square
  sits on Rampart Street in a corner of the Louis
  Armstrong Park Complex. The area was renamed many
  times, from Place Congo to Circus Square, then
  Beaureguard Square in the 18th and 19th centuries
  before it was finally changed to Louis Armstrong
  Park in the mid 20th century. Beginning in the
  earliest days of the city, it was one of several
  locations where enslaved Africans as well as some
  free people gathered for the purposes of dancing,
  merriment and recreation.  Beginning in 1817 as
  an effort to control such activities, the mayor
  restricted all such assemblies of enslaved people
  to this one location on Sunday afternoons.

Photo of Congo Square plaque.
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Congo Square Vendors

•         The marketing that took place during
  those gatherings was well established,
  economically profitable, and historically
  significant as sellers and buyers were largely
  enslaved people. Marchandes, marketers, the
  majority of whom were women, both enslaved and
  free, carried on cultural practices as well as
  food-ways from African traditions. 
•         Their food items included candies made
  with molasses, peanuts and pecans that came to be
  known as pralines ginger cakes called estomac de
  mullatres (mulattos belly) also known as stage
  planks and calas, a small, sweet rice pastry of
  African origin. 
•         The beverages included lemonade, coffee,
  and the most popular one, la bierre du pays or
  ginger beer made with fermented apples, ginger
  root and pines. Another name for this beverage
  was Creole beer and reportedly, women of African
  descent held the recipe in secret.

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Congo Square

•         These marchandes did not limit such
  marketing practices and food ways to Congo Square
  nor to Sunday afternoons. Market women and men of
  African descent conducted petty marketing in New
  Orleans every day of the week during the
  antebellum period into the early1900s. Among the
  many who sold food were The Praline Madame,
  The Taffy Candy Man, The Vegetable Man and
  The Cala Man.

Praline Seller
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Congo Square

•         The popularity of the calas vendor is no
  doubt linked to the pastrys African origin and
  its role in New Orleans culture. Among African
  descendants, calas along with café noir or café
  au lait for adults and weak coffee called
  choo-loo-loo was served with plenty of cream or
  warm milk for children and became an integral
  part of First Communion breakfast, wedding
  breakfast, the first breakfast during Lent, and
  Sunday breakfasts. During the 1940s, male
  marchand Richard Gabriel, who lived on Burgundy
  Street, still made a living selling hot calas and
  hot coffee from his push-cart. His Sunday morning
  route included the Creole houses of Tremé as well
  as the more modern ones near the neighborhood
  known as Pilots landing. On Sunday mornings,
  Gabriel, pushing his cart along the route, could
  be heard with his vendor call

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Calas Vendor Call

• We sell it to the rich, we sell it to the
  poor,We give it to the sweet brown-skin,
  peeping out the door.
• Tout chaud, Madam, tout chaud!
• Git em while theyre hot! Hot cala! One cup of
  coffee, fifteen cents cala,
• Make you smile the livelong day.
• Cala, tout chaud, Madam, tout chaud! Getem
  while theyre hot! Hot cala!

Calas Vendor
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•         Other popular calas vendors included
  Tante (Aunt) Caroline, Tante Clementine, and
  Tante Toinette, the latter of whom peddled her
  calas every morning beginning at five o'clock.
  Her best business reportedly came on Sundays at
  the corner of Ursuline and Chartres from
  parishioners of St. Marys Church and housewives
  coming from the French Market. Among the oldest
  calas vendors was Madame Edouard, who also
  operated her business on the corner of Chartres
  and Ursuline Street. A common chant of the calas
  vendors was Belle calas! Tout chaud, Madame,
  two cents! Fine calas!  All hot, Madame, two
  cents! New Orleanians who provided interviews in
  1940 during the Works Progress Administration
  Project gave the following arrangement for a
  typical calas vendors chant.

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Calas Recipe

• In 1940, during Federal Writers Project
  interviews, Remy Morand, who lived on St. Philip
  Street in Tremé, provided the following recipe
  for calas.
• Creole Calas4 cups flour 
• 1 cup rice½ cup sugar 
• ½ yeast cakeDIRECTIONS Cook rice to soft
  creamy mush, add sugar and stir well.
• Dilute yeast in lukewarm water, add to rice and
  sugar, 
• then stir in flour.
• Let batter set to rise over night. Fry in deep
  fat oil (lard may be used).Sprinkle with
  confectioners sugar. Serve hot with cocoa or
  coffee.

Madame Barbara Trevigne re-enacting a
19th century Praline Vendor
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History of Coffee in Tremé

•         Coffee vendor Rose Nicaud also transacted
  some of her best business on Sundays at her stand
  near St. Louis Cathedral. She began her
  enterprise in the 1840s while enslaved, and by
  the 1850s, her daily profits from the sale of
  coffee by the cup ranged from 50 to 60.  During
  that time, her thriving business required
  eighteen gallons of pure milk per day.  Nicaud is
  recognized by many as the first coffee vendor in
  New Orleans, and reportedly secured a coffee
  stand in the French Quarter that offered seating.
  In her honor, Café Rose Nicaud, located on
  Frenchmen Street, bears her name.

        As indicated, Sunday was not the only
good business day for African descendants who
marketed at Congo Square.  Some of them sold at
other locations in the city on Sunday mornings
and came to Congo Square in the afternoons. Such
entrepreneurship and business success explains
why some enslaved marchandes, including Rose
Nicaud, were able to earn and save enough money
to eventually purchase their freedom. 
27
Modern Day Tremé

•         In modern day Tremé, food and beverage
  street vendors can be seen at Second Line
  Parades, St. Joseph night, Super Sundays, Mardi
  Gras and outside of many bars on the weekends.
  Conceptually, food is an integral part of Tremé
  culture as well as the people who cook and sell
  the food. In Tremé, at the Backstreet Cultural
  Museum, an altar bearing a photo of a deceased
  beverage vendor with his beverage cooler was
  donated to honor his life and service to the
  community.  And on any given day, the Okra man
  can be heard on a loud speaker from his pickup
  truck throughout Tremé and the Faubourgs calling
  to his patrons, I got fresh okra, I got
  strawberries! To this day, pralines and many of
  the foods that were eaten hundreds of years ago
  are still sold throughout many of the Faubourgs,
  including Tremé. The entrepreneur spirit and
  honoring of those who cook and mix drinks both
  dead and alive still reigns in Tremé. 

The Okra Man's Truck. 
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Okra Man on Esplanade Street (left), "Walking
Liquor Store"  at a Secondline Parade in Tremé
(center), and Tyrone Peters, deceased walking
liquor store vendor in the Backstreet Cultural
Museum (right).
29
Early Residents of Tremé 

•         The traditions and spirit of Faubourg
  Tremé played a crucial role in shaping New
  Orleans culture. Many of the early residents of
  Tremé were free people of color, Catholic,
  property owners and entrepreneurs. Their culture
  and traditions were rooted in African, French,
  Native American and Caribbean customs. The
  amalgamation of these cultures would forever
  leave an indelible mark on the culinary legacy of
  Tremé.  

Photo (left) of Louis Charles Roudandez(1823-1890)
physician to the Sisters of the Holy Family,
activist and owner of the Tremé black paper
LUnion and later La Tribune de la Nouvelle
Orléans,  the first black bilingual newspaper in
the United States.  Photo (right) taken in July
2009 at the Sisters of the Holy Family convent of
a direct descendant of Roudanez , Mark Roudane
and Sister Eva Regina of the order.
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Early Residents

•         According to author Brenda Marie Osbey,
  Faubourg Tremé had a strong sense of community
  during its early inception, especially for free
  black residents, many of whom were former slaves
  who saw the need to create a mutual aid society
  to not only help free people of color but many of
  their relatives who were still enslaved. In 1783,
  the Perseverance Benevolent and Mutual Aid
  Association was founded to assist the collective
  needs of people of African descent for the
  greater good of the community. The society
  offered a variety of services including loans,
  legal advice, carnival organization and medical
  care. In many instances, food was the tie that
  bound the community through celebrations and
  defeats. (It is rumored that at many of the
  'coloured' balls in Tremé 12 different types of
  gumbo were served.) 
•  

Photo of Perseverance Hall No. 4 on St. Claude
Ave. Built in 1819 and was originally a Masonic
lodge but was used for jazz concerts for both
blacks and whites, Monday night banquets, dances
and other social gatherings.
31
Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs

•         In every event, food was an integral part
  of the meetings and festivities. Some of the past
  and present organizations have built halls that
  were used to feed members of clubs and the
  community organizations such as La Société des
  Artistes (The Society of Artists, 1834) Société
  dEcónomie (The Economy Society, 1834) Les Jeunis
  Amis (The Young Friends, 1867)  and the Zulu
  Social Aid Pleasure Club (1916). 
•         At any Second line parade today, members
  of a particular social aid and pleasure club can
  be seen giving homage to watering holes that are
  owned by sponsors or by various club members.
  Both food and beverages are served to the members
  and sold to the second line goers. A participant
  can find gumbo, fried chicken, and many other
  treats. 

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Early Residents...

• The vendor of fowls pokes in his head at every
  open window with cries of Chick-en, Madamma,
  Chick-en! and the seller of Lem-ons-fine
  Lem-ons! follows in his footsteps. The peddlers
  of Ap-pulls! of Straw-bare-eries! and
  Black-Brees!-all own sonorous voicesThen there
  is the Cantelope Man, whose cry is being imitated
  by all the children                              
         
• Cantel-lope-ah!                                
           Fresh and fine                          
             Jus from the vine,                    
              Only a dime!" 
• -with the old cries added to the list the
  calas and plaisir and other Creole calls.
  (pg. 1-2, Voices of Dawn)
•  

•         In 1885, journalist and food
  lover Lafcadio Hearn published La Cuisine Creole
  which gave a vivid glimpse of 19th century Creole
  cuisine and a idea of what it was like to walk
  down the streets in Old New Orleans.

33

• In the same cookbook, Hearn offers a recipe for
  turtle soup or cowan gumbo, a true identification
  of New Orleans Creole cuisine and a staple in
  Tremé
• Turtle Soup for a Large Company, No. 1
• Cut the head off the turtle the day before you
  dress it, and drain the blood thoroughly from the
  body. Then cut it up in the following manner
  Divide the back, belly, head and fins from the
  intestines and lean parts. Be careful not to cut
  the gall bag. Scald in boiling water to remove
  the skin and shell. Cut up in neat pieces and
  throw into cold water. Boil the back and belly in
  a little water long enough to extract the bones
  easily. If for a large company a leg of veal will
  also be required, and a slice of ham, which must
  be stewed with the lean parts till well browned
  then add boiling water, and the liquor and bones
  of the boiled turtle. Season with sliced lemon,
  whole pepper, a bunch of parsley, two leeks
  sliced, and salt to taste. Let this all boil
  slowly for four hours, then strain. Add the
  pieces of back, belly, head and fins (take the
  bones from the fins), pour in half a pint of
  Madeira wine and a quarter pound of good sweet
  butter, with a tablespoonful of flour worked in
  it also a lemon sliced thin. Let it boil gently
  for two hours, then serve.
•  
• In cutting up the turtle great care should be
  taken of the fat, which should be separated, cut
  up neatly, and stewed till tender in a little of
  the liquor, and put into the tureen when ready to
  serve. Garnish with eggs, if any if not, use
  hard boiled eggs of fowls.                      
                                                   
                                                   
              

34
The Catholic Church in TreméSt. Augustine Church
 St. Augustine Church (August 2009) at 1210
Governor Nicholls Street
35
The Catholic Church in Tremé
        Faubourg Tremé's population increased
profoundly as the Vieux Carré became overcrowded
and as the Haitian Revolution of 1791 brought
many immigrants fleeing the bloody revolt. And
although Tremé was predominately
African-American, it was one of the most diverse
neighborhoods for its time in the United States.
Still one religion bound New Orleanians
Catholicism. In the late 1830s, when free people
of color got permission from Bishop Antoine Blanc
to build a church, the Ursulines donated the
corner property at Bayou Road (now Governor
Nicholls St.) and St. Claude, which they had
bought for 10,000 on the condition that the
church be named after their foundress, St. Angela
Merici. However, circumstances dictated that the
church be named St. Augustine. The church was
built by slaves and immigrants and became one of
the first churches in the United States where
free people of color, whites and enslaved
Africans could worship under the same roof. The
church is located at St. Claude Avenue at
Governor Nicholls Street and 1 block north of
Rampart Street.  
36
The Catholic Church in Tremé

•         St. Augustine from its inception fed many
  from the Tremé and from other Faubourgs. On
  special religious holidays such as Easter, St.
  Josephs Day and during Lent, women from the
  community would cook while the men would take
  charge of putting up the chairs and seats. There
  were also pot lucks, picnics and Friday Fish
  Fries during Father Jerome Le Doux's 16 years at
  St. Augustine Church (1990-2006). 
•         After Hurricane Katrina, St. Augustine
  opened a food bank for victims of Katrina. 
  People from all over the city came to the
  churchs food bank. Shortly after, the Catholic
  Archdiocese decided to close St. Augustine Church
  due to property loss and a decline in
  parishioners, despite the fact that the church
  was a tremendous asset to the community. St.
  Augustine parishioners were outraged. Many
  barricaded themselves in the rectory, and
  eventually a documentary called Shake the Devil
  Off (2007) was filmed to get national attention
  on the closing of St. Augustine Church.  St.
  Augustine Church remained open even though Father
  LeDoux was transferred to a Catholic church in
  Fort Worth, Texas.  St. Augustine remains a
  pillar in the Tremé community.  

37
The Sisters of the Holy Family

•         Henriette DeLille, a free person of color
  was born in New Orleans in 1812. She, along with
  her close Cuban-born friend, Juliette Gaudin,
  vowed to dedicate their lives to care for the
  poor and the enslaved, to provide education for
  their children, and to tend to the elderly and
  the sick in the Tremé. In 1842 DeLille founded an
  order of nuns called the Sisters of the
  Presentation. Women of African descent had not
  previously created an order of nuns, and the
  order was not immediately recognized by the
  Vatican.
•         DeLille purchased a home with her own
  money on Governor Nicholls Street between
  Rampart  Street and St. Claude Avenue, putting
  them one block from St. Augustine Church.  

Photo of Henriette DeLille, foundress of the
Sisters of the Holy Family order in Tremé
(1813-1862) c. 1850 
38
Sisters of the Holy Family

•         Immediately members from the Tremé
  community  began bringing food, shoes and coal
  during the winter to the Sisters. The order began
  feeding  many who were in need and to this day
  continue to serve food to those in need with
  paper bag lunches, dinners and holiday feasts.
  According to Sister Goodo of the current order,
  food that was fed to those in need would probably
  have been hominy grits and fatback. The sisters
  had to beg for food to feed the needy during the
  early years of their inception. A Lifetime Cable
  movie was made in honor of DeLille called The
  Courage of Love (2001), which starred Vanessa
  Williams. In recent news, Henriette DeLille was
  nominated for canonization by the Sisters of the
  Holy Family and the Catholic Archdiocese of New
  Orleans as a saint. 

Photo of the Sisters of the Holy Family and the
elderly, date unknown.  
39
Photo taken at the Tremés Cookin' event at St.
Augustines 2007
40
Marie Laveau's Tomb in St. Louis Cemetery

•         The tomb of Marie Laveau at St. Louis
  Cemetery Number 1 in Tremé at 420 Basin Street is
  always overflowing with offerings. Infamous Marie
  Laveau was known as a Voodoo practitioner in New
  Orleans. Many visitors to Laveaus tomb offer
  food, alcoholic beverages and other items that
  would please her, hoping to get their wishes
  granted.
•  

Photos of the Marie Laveau's tomb
41
 The Italian Immigration

•         History states that during the Middle
  Ages there was a severe drought and subsequent
  famine in Sicily. The people of the region prayed
  to Saint Giuseppe (Joseph), Patron Saint of
  Sicily, imploring him to deliver them from peril.
  They promised that if he answered their prayers,
  they would prepare a large feast to honor him.
  According to legend, first the rains came, then
  fava beans. Before fava beans were only used to
  feed farm animals. However, fava beans grew in
  abundance and helped sustain the starving people
  of Sicily. Giving food to the needy is a St.
  Joseph's Day custom. 

• Sicilian immigrants to Tremé, the first picture
  was taken c. 1936 and the second picture of the
  little girl c. 1921 on Governor Nicholls St. 

42
St. Josephs Day 

•         The celebration of the La Festa di San
  Giuseppe was transplanted to New Orleans and St.
  Augustine Church by immigrants from Sicily.
  Between 1850 and 1870, the U.S. Census Bureau
  estimates that there were more Italians in New
  Orleans than in any other U.S. city. By 1910, the
  population of the city's French Quarter, adjacent
  to Tremé, was 80 percent Italian.  By the late
  twentieth century, there were 200,000 Americans
  of Italian descent living in greater New Orleans.
  Many were born and raised in Tremé along with
  Irish, Germans and Greeks. Many became grocers,
  restaurateurs, bar owners, candy makers, bakers
  and butchers. Tremé continued to be a diverse
  community up until the 1960s when an urban
  renewal project tore down a large portion of the
  area, including small businesses and homes owned
  by many Tremé residents.

• The Treme Market Branch, 800 N. Claiborne, corner
  St. Ann. This building, just across the street
  from the other Treme Branch, was built in 1924 as
  a branch of Hibernia Bank. For many years it
  housed the Pizzo Leather Company. Today, it
  stands boarded up and vacant.

43
St. Joseph's Day Altar

•         In Tremé and other faubourgs were
  Italians resided in New Orleans during the early
  20th century, a fresh green branch was hung over
  the doorway of each home, indicating that the
  public was invited to view the altar, to
  celebrate La Festa di San Giuseppe, and to share
  the food.  Each item on the altar, from the
  candles to the cookies, is blessed by a Catholic
  priest in a special ceremony the afternoon before
  an altar is 'broken.' 

•         Although there are perishable foods on
  the altars, a large portion of the breads,
  cookies and cakes are wrapped so that they may be
  given to charities after the altar is broken. The
  altar is broken after a ceremony reenacting the
  Holy Familys asking for shelter called Tupa Tupa
  (Italian  for Knock Knock). Children dressed in
  costume knock at three doors asking for food and
  shelter. At the first two they are refused. At
  the third door, the host of the altar greets them
  and welcomes them to refresh themselves. 

44
        The food served to visitors on St.
Josephs Day is a fulfillment of the promise made
long ago by Sicilians to St. Joseph for delivery
from famine. Small bags are given as keepsakes to
all visitors. Each bag may contain a blessed
medal, holy card, fava beans, cookies or bread. 
45
St. Joseph's Day Altar

•         Perhaps the universal symbol to be found
  on all altars is the lucky Fava Bean. Legend has
  it that the person who carries a 'lucky bean'
  will never be without coins. The fava bean is a
  token of the St. Joseph's Altar, and a reminder
  to pray to St. Joseph for the needs of others. 

•         Cuccadati are the traditional decorative
  loaves of bread that are formed in a variety of
  symbolic shapes like a staff or crown of thorns. 

        Le Vastedde is a Sicilian tradition that
consists of latticework covered with branches of
myrtle, bay leaves, oranges, lemons and the small
decorative breads. 
Fava Beans and Le Vastedde (above and to the far
right). Cuccadati (center)
46
St. Joseph's Day Altar

•         The specially prepared decorative breads
  on the St. Josephs altar take many forms,
  including the shellfish eaten during the Lenten
  season, symbolic carpentry imagery specific to
  Joseph , the peacock representing the glory of
  man, and breads with a decorative interlace
  filled with figs alluding to the fig orchards of
  Sicily. They also reflect Christian symbols such
  as the Crown of Thorns, palm fronds that refer to
  both martyrdom and a symbol of eternal love, a
  dove representing the Holy Spirit, and a lamb or
  fish showing Jesus as the Lamb of God and the
  Fisher of Men. In addition, a heart pierced by a
  dagger also refers to the grief of Mater Dolorosa
  and may bear the names of recently departed loved
  ones in the family of the maker of the bread.
•  

47
On the Altar...
        Citrus fruits, especially lemons are
common both in the orchards of Sicily and in New
Orleans.  Some swear it is good luck for a woman
who wishes to have a baby to "steal" a lemon from
the altar, leaving hidden coins behind for the
poor.
        Mudica (bread crumbs) represent sawdust
and are served as a  garnish over the Pasta
Milanese on St. Joseph's Feast Day

•         Wine bottles on the altar represent the
  miracle of Cana and the twelve whole fish
  represent the twelve apostles and the miracle of
  the loaves and the fishes. 

        Pupaculova is a baked bread with a dyed
Easter egg encased in the crust, which represents
the "coming of Easter". 
        Pignolatti, are fried pastry balls
constructed in the shape of a pine cone
representing "the pine cones Jesus played with as
a child."
48
SFINGE DI SAN GIUSEPPE (St. Joseph's Cream Puffs)
Place water, butter, granulated sugar, lemon
rind, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a
boil, and as soon as the butter has melted,
remove from heat. Add the flour all at once,
stirring constantly.  Return the pan to the heat,
and stir constantly until the mixture forms a
ball and comes away from the sides of the
pan. Cook just until you hear a slight crackling,
frying sound. Remove the pan from the heat, and
cool slightly. Add the eggs, one at a time. Be
sure that each egg is thoroughly blended into the
mixture before you add the next. Stir until
smooth and thoroughly blended. Add the
vanilla. Cover the dough and let it stand for 15
to 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Drop
the dough by heaping tablespoonsful on a buttered
cookie sheet or onto parchment-lined sheet
(better!), leaving 2 inches between the
sfinge.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden
brown Remove from oven and cool.

• SFINGE
• Ingredients
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1 TBSP sugar
• Grated rind of 1 lemon
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 TBSP vanilla
•  

49
SFINGE DI SAN GIUSEPPE(St. Joseph's Cream Puffs)

• FillingMix the ricotta, confectioners' sugar,
  vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, and
  pistachios.Just before serving (so they don't
  get soggy!), cut off the tops of the sfinge and
  fill.Place top back on after filling.Arrange on
  platter, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and
  garnish platter with lemon 

• Filling2 cups ricotta cheese1/2 cups
  confectioners' sugar1/2 tsp. vanilla1/4 tsp.
  ground cinnamon1/3 cup grated dark chocolate2
  TBSP finely chopped pistachios  
• GarnishPowdered sugarLemon rind  

50
Storyville
Basin Street, Storyville New Orleans, Note Tom
Andersons restaurant on the corner.

• Just one to two generations removed from slavery,
  New Orleans and especially Tremé could boast
  themselves as being the creators of Americas
  only indigenous art form Jazz. They could also
  claim to house one of the most notorious
  neighborhood within a neighborhood--Storyville,
  which was right in the middle of Tremé. 

51
Storyville

•         While St. Augustine Church served as the
  spiritual heart of the Tremé, sinners in the
  early 20th century were just a few blocks away
  from a walk on the wild side. Officially
  chartered on January 1, 1898, The District became
  the only legally operated red-light district in
  the Victorian era in the United States. 
•         
•         The District encompassed sixteen square
  blocks from Iberville to Basin Street, St. Louis
  to Robertson Street. The site was chosen because
  it was adjacent to the Burnham train depot on
  Basin St., one of New Orleans main railway
  stations so that it was easily accessible to
  visitors. Many of the houses or cribs that were
  rented out were owned by descendants of free
  people of color or Creoles, Irish, German and
  others. Storyville real estate boomed. 
•         An average Creole cottage would run for
  42 a night, or 294 per week in comparison to
  other Faubourgs that rented at only 15 a month.
  Storyville was commonly referred to as the red
  light district because a red lantern would be
  placed outside the door to let customers knew
  they were open for business.

52
Storyville

•         According to a redrawn map of Storyville,
  New Orleans in 1900-1915 made in 1944 by Paul
  Edward Miller and Richard M. Jones, there were
  over 60 saloons, cabarets, dance halls, honky
  tonks, restaurants and food stands. There were
  oyster, praline and fruit stands. There were many
  grocery stores such as, Colans on Rampart,
  Panquals on Franklin and Johns on Marais and
  Bienville. 
•         In addition, a mid-sized Chinatown in
  what was called Elks Square on Rampart and
  Tulane served Chinese food and had a fruit stand.
  Many of the dance halls and saloons in Storyville
  also served food. The map noted Nicks Italian
  Restaurant and Saloon on Rampart, a Greek
  restaurant on Rampart plus wine store, Geddries
  Allen Restaurant on Howard and two of the most
  famous saloons with restaurants, Tom Anderson's
  and Mahogany Hall.

53
Storyville

•         Tom Andersons saloon on 209 N. Basin
  Street was owned by himself, a politician of the
  fourth ward known as the 'Mayor of Storyville.'
  In 1892, Anderson opened up his restaurant at 12
  N. Rampart. Anderson's Famous Cafe and Chop House
  fed many politicians and policemen. The
  restaurant's motto was "The Best of Everything."
•         Lulu White, a woman of color from the
  West Indies known as the Queen of Storyville
  built the Mahogany Hall for 40,000 on 235 N.
  Basin Street. It was later renamed by musician
  Spencer Williams as the Mahogany Hall
  Stomp. Mahogany Hall was one of the larger if
  not the largest saloons in Storyville. Built with
  mostly marble and mahogany, four stories high,
  five parlors and one of the most expensive
  saloons for entertainment, gambling and dining,
  Lulu Whites saloon rivaled many of her
  competition such as Willie V. Piazza (Famous
  "Jelly Roll" Morton used to play his piano at
  Willies), and Emma Johnson, a Cajun known for
  being a madame with a bad reputation. 

"Basin Street Up the Line".Early 20th century
postcard view of the high-rent section of the
"Storyville" Red light district. 
54
Storyville

•         According to a photo in Al Roses
  book, Storyville in New Orleans (1974), Mathew
  Antoine Desiré Dekemel, known as Buglin Sam the
  Waffle Man played jazz on an army bugle from his
  food vendor cart where he would sell hot waffles
  and Chero-Cola for 5. 
• "The Waffle Man was a familiar figure in the
  red-light DistrictA mule-drawn wagon kept a coal
  fire aboard, along with a huge cast iron waffle
  maker. The tender, a man named Dekemel, would
  make the waffle on the spot, dust it with
  powdered sugar, and hand it over to the
  purchaser. The presence of the waffle man in the
  neighborhood was loudly announced by blasts from
  an army bugle." Al Rose, Storyville New Orleans,
  1974 pg.58 

Scanned photograph of a waffle vendor and his
wagon in New Orleans during the 1940's,
55
Storyville's Demise

•         Just blocks away laborers, tradesmen and
  seaman would buy alcohol, food, and indulge
  themselves in other pleasures in some of the
  cribs nearby. However during Jim Crow, black
  men were barred from many white establishments.
  Nonetheless, black saloons, cabarets and brothels
  in Storyville oftentimes served both black and
  white clients since many of the owners were
  people of color or passing for white. Although
  racist and restrictive laws against Blacks in New
  Orleans were harsh, Storyville and its patrons
  crossed racial lines many times. For twenty
  years, the experimental Storyville district would
  become a cross-cultural cauldron where men and
  women of all socio-economic classes and races
  could soak up the sounds of ragtime and Jazz,
  gamble, get a good meal, and enjoy other vices.
•                                    
                                     
•         In 1917 The District was officially
  closed down by the U.S. Department of the Navy.
  Within twenty years, the once bustling red light
  district had become a decaying slum.  The Housing
  Authority of New Orleans (HANO) was chartered in
  1938 to rid the city of the slum.  By 1939 it had
  demolished most of Storyville to make way for
  seventy-five brick row-house style buildings with
  858 low-income apartments. The Iberville Project
  was conceived as a panacea for the depressed
  economy and served as the prototype for HANOs
  subsequent low-income housing developments in
  other parts of New Orleans. It was also an
  attempt to wipe out all memories of the red light
  district therefore even the once grand mansions
  along Basin Street were demolished.  Basin Street
  was renamed "North Saratoga" (although the
  historic name was returned some 20 years later).  

56
The community's frustration with Storyville can
be seen in publications such as this. Front page
of "The Mascot" newspaper, New Orleans, for 11
June 1892. 
57
The Tradition of the Jazz Funerals and Secondline
Parades in Tremé

• Secondline Parade in Tremé Summer 2009

58
Jazz Funerals and Second Lines

•         Brass bands from all over the city filled
  the post-Civil War (1861-1865) streets of New
  Orleans with Jazz. In Tremé, they played after
  church services (many Secondline parades to this
  day commence directly after St. Augustine Church
  services on Sunday), at dances, picnics, street
  fairs, political rallies, prizefights and
  carnivals.
•         The tradition of the jazz funeral evolved
  out of the Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs in the
  late 19th century, which functioned as burial
  societies to ensure that each member was provided
  with a dignified Catholic burial and a grave in
  one of their society tombs.
•  

During and After every Second Line Parade food
becomes an integral part of the festivities.
59
Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs

• "The property owningCatholic gens de couleur
  after Reconstruction found themselves considered
  equivalent to the freed slaves in New Orleans.
  Louisiana legislative code 111 of 1890 designated
  a person of any African ancestry as Negro.  This
  finalized a total change among the inhabitants of
  Faubourg Tremé. The war that resulted in freedom
  for slaves brought oppression to the former gens
  de couleur libres. They lost their white clients
  in all fields of business. Small businesses in
  the corner store-houses were barely able to
  operate, their customers being poverty stricken
  Negroes and Creoles of color who had lost their
  means of support. Real estate brokers lost their
  property. Housing patterns were altered. Many
  gens de couleur lost their homes and began to
  rent, often from white Creoles."
•  
• -New Orleans Architecture Vol. VI Faubourg Tremé
  and the Bayou Road, Roulhac Toledano and Mary
  Louise Christovich

60
Second Line Parades
 Super Sunday May 31, 2009
61
Jazz Funerals

•         The Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs
  proliferated in the mid 19th century during
  Reconstruction to provide social structure in the
  days when yellow fever could wipe out an entire
  family in a weekend and unscrupulous white
  landowners were bent on swindling property from
  the black populace. It is estimated that more
  than four-fifths of all people of African descent
  belonged to one or more benevolent societies by
  the early 20th century.
•         
•         
•         Even today as friends gather to mourn and
  to offer solace to one another, music sets the
  tone. After a long  emotional wake the night
  before, the body is transferred to the church in
  a solemn walking procession. The brass bands play
  a mournful medley of gospel, Bye and Bye and
  Just a Closer Walk with Thee. As the service
  draws to a close, hundreds of people gather on
  outside along Governor Nicholls Street and St.
  Claude Avenue. Pickup trucks often line the
  streets with barbecue pits grilling hot sausages
  and frying fish. Mostly men pull ice coolers with
  what they call walking liquor stores, filled with
  ice, beer, water, soft drinks, juice and hard
  liquor. Both women and men can be seen walking
  around with flat baskets and selling homemade
  pralines.

Photo of alcoholic beverages celebrating the
Sudan Social Pleasure Club Est. 1984 and Grand
Marshall, Benny Jones 2007. 
62
Jazz Funerals

•         Once the burial is complete the band
  returns to Tremé to resume the parade. After the
  body is cut loose (placed in the crypt), the
  mood of the parade makes the transition from
  mournful to joyful that the recently departed has
  taken his place with the Lord. Officials from the
  Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs often pick up the
  syncopation of the music as they follow the
  life-well-spent procession from the home of the
  deceased to a series of local bars and hangouts,
  where drinking continues.

Circa 1980s, Photos of Secondline Kings and
Queens and their engraved beverage cups. 
63
Restaurants in Tremé Past and Present
64
Chez Helene

•         Chez Helene once stood on North Robertson
  Street. The late Chef Austin Leslie known as the
  father of fried chicken in New Orleans bought
  the restaurant from his aunt in 1975. The
  charismatic chef who donned a boat captains hat
  and wore a necklace with a large diamond crab
  medallion cooked some of the best cornbread,
  fried chicken and Oysters Rockefeller in New
  Orleans. People from all over came for Leslies
  infectious smile and mouth watering food. In the
  late 1980s a television sitcom Franks Place was
  based on Chez Helene and Chef Austin Leslie.
  Unfortunately, Chez Helene closed in 1989, and
  during Katrina, Leslie spent two days trapped in
  the attic of his home. Although Leslie was
  rescued and flown to two different states for
  treatment, he died of a high fever. A Second line
  parade after Katrina in 2005 in his honor
  commenced at Pampys restaurant, the former Chez
  Helene, and then proceeded to the Backstreet
  Cultural Museum. 

Chef Leslie Austin
65
Dooky Chase's

•         Dooky Chase's is located at 2301 Orleans
  Avenue and has been in operation since 1941.
  Known for its traditional Creole cuisine prepared
  by famous chef Leah Chase. Mrs. Chase worked
  alongside her in-laws, the former owners, until
  she eventually became owner and chef. Eventually,
  the restaurant became a haven for Civil Rights
  activists, African-American artists whom she
  supported by hanging their art works, and her
  loving family. Chase is famous for her gumbo
  zherbes, shrimp Clemenceau, fried chicken and
  for maintaining Creole traditions and cuisine.
  Many famous people have eaten at Dooky Chases
  over the years even Ray Charles in his song
  Early Morning Blues sang of a meal he had at
  Dooky Chases. Leah Chase is now 86 years old and
  continues, along with her grandchildren and
  children, to run a successful restaurant even
  after Katrina nearly destroyed it. 

Photo taken (May 2009) of framed photo taken in
February 2007 inside of Dooky Chases restaurant
of soon to be President Obama dining at Dooky
Chase's.
66
Willie Mae's Scotch House

•         Willie Maes Scotch House located at 2401
  St. Ann Street serves some of the best fried
  chicken in the nation. Willie Mae Seaton moved to
  New Orleans from Crystal Springs, Mississippi
  with her husband. Trained in southern cooking by
  her mother, Willie Mae opened her restaurant in
  the late 1950s. It was originally a Scotch House
  until patrons started asking for some of the good
  smelling food she would cook for her family that
  they would smell from the streets. Willie Maes
  Scotch House to this day serves various kinds of
  pork chops, butter beans, red beans and rice,
  other dishes and her infamous fried chicken.

67
Others...

• Between the 1930s and 1960s these restaurants
  were the epitome of the Tremé culinary legacy
•  
•         Hanks served sandwiches and liquor.
•  
•         Lavata's was famous for their Oyster
  Sandwiches.
•         Mules, Italian owned, was where people
  went for sandwiches and draft beer. According to
  historian Barbara Trevigne, this is where all the
  men went on Friday's, including Fats Domino when
  he was in town. Mules is located one block off
  Claiborne and two blocks from St. Bernard Avenue.
          
• Trevigne also said that many Tremé
  residents would have what was called sweet
  shops in their homes where they sold Hucklebucks
  (now called frozen cups) all throughout Tremé.
  The treats were simply juice frozen in paper
  cups, but they were refreshing and delicious on a
  hot day!

68
Markets in Tremé
Market Photo taken in 1955.
69
Markets

• These were some of the public markets according
  to the city directory from 1933-1947.
•  
•         Lebreton Market  Bayou Road at North
  Dorgenois
•         Maestri C. N. Market 725 N. Broad
•  
•         Rocheblave Market 2509 Iberville and also
  203 Rocheblave
•         Tremé Market Orleans Av between N Villere
  and Marais 
•         Circle Food Store, 1938 Saint Bernard
  Ave. and Claiborne was also a historic grocery
  landmark and seen on TV during Katrina. Although
  Circle Food Store is not in the Tremé it served
  many Tremé residents

Circle Market in September, 2005.
70
Tremé Market
The Treme Market. Located on the neutral ground
of Orleans Avenue between Marais and North
Robertson Streets, the market building extended
over Villere Street, as shown in the photograph.
Built in the 1830s, the Treme Market survived
until 1932 when it was demolished so that Orleans
could be beautified in order to serve as an
approach to the new Municipal Auditorium. Stall
keepers moved into a new Treme Market in the 1500
block of Orleans.
71
Oral History Dorothy Johnson
Download Bethany Bultman's interview of Dorothy
Johnson here. She discusses the changes in the
Tremé neighborhood throughout her years and
shares some of her memories of the food and
culture of the area.
72
Classic Recipes from Tremé 
Picture of Antonia Marigny taken in 2007 at the
Tremes Cookin event at St. Augustine's Catholic
Church while Father LeDoux was still under
pastorship at St. Augustine
73
Bell Pepper Casserole 

• "My family and I lived in the Tremé area where
  there was always great cooking, wonderful music
  and fun parties.  This recipe came about as a
  result of bell pepper cost and shortage at the
  Treme Market and Circle Food Store.  Bell peppers
  became very costly, so as a result, I
  compromised.  I began to cut the bell peppers
  into strips placing the bell peppers strips in
  the bottom of the pan and covering with the
  stuffing mix.  This recipe is my signature dish
  at every family gathering."

Method  Place ground meat in a medium size
bowl beat eggs and pour into bowl with ground
meat Add season all Add (chopped) ham or smoke
sausage or both Fry seasoning with butter in
skillet (add to bowl) Add raw shrimp to
bowl Place raw strips of bell peppers in bottom
of pan (cover bottom) Place mixed a from bowl
over the peppers. Add a few pieces in between
stuffing mix. Sprinkle bread crumbs over stiffing
mix along with butter strips over top of bread
crumbs. Place prepared pan into oven at 350
degrees for about one hour and a half.     From
Dorothy Johnson
Ingredients 2lbs. of Ground Meat 1lb. of diced
Season Ham 1 lb of Shrimp cut in halves 3 cups
Bread Crumbs (gradually add water until bread
loosens) 2 Eggs 1 Stick of Butter 3 Bell Peppers
(place in bottom of pan, to cover the entire
bottom 2 quart aluminum pan) 1 chopped onion
(medium) ½ chopped bell pepper (place in sections
of stuffing) 1 tsp of season all A dash of salt
Smoked Sausage could be added if desired. 
74
Holy Thursday Lamb
This recipe came about from the reading of the
Holy Thursday Mass (Book of Exodus). In the
reading they served lamb, salad, bitter herbs and
unleavened bread. Each Holy Thursday we at St.
Augustine Catholic Church have a Seder Supper
after the Holy Thursday Mass. I would cook the
lamb, the parishioners did the salad and Father
LeDoux made the unleavened bread.  The
parishioners all gather in the church hall,
prayed before the meal and enjoyed a wonderful
lamb dinner and fellowship together.  

• Ingredients
•  
• 3 lb lamb (New Zealand lamb)
•  
• 4 gloves of garlic
•  
• Garlic power (to taste)
•  
• Creole seasoning (to taste)
•  
• 2 tablespoons of flour
•  
• 1 Large oven bag

• Method
• Wash lamb
• Stuff lamb with garlic
• Sprinkle garlic power and creole seasoning on
  lamb
• Place flour in oven bag and shake
• Place lamb in bag and close
• Cook for one hour and half
• After the lamb is cooked and cool, slice 
•     
•     From Dorothy Johnson

75
Nanas Sunday Tomato Sauce

• Every Sunday at 2 P.M. when my great
  grandmothers Big Nana, Francesca Paola Bambino
  Lecce., was alive, we ate in the dining room at
  her house across from St. Augustine on Governor
  Nicholls. Shed come to New Orleans in 1910 with
  my great grandfather from Palermo when she was
  38. 
• Our Sunday feast moved to my Nanas dining room
  at 6720 Canal Blvd. after Big Nana died. My Nana,
  Elisabetta lecce, had been 18 when her family
  immigrated. Wherever the meal was there was
  always vermicelli and tomato sauce with cheese.
  We ate this before the main course every Sunday.
  At Easter we probably had ham and lamb. At
  Christmas there was fish. Often there was roast
  chicken or pork roast or eel or veal or sausages.
  We went crabbing a lot, so there was often crab
  stew or something. There was always more than
  enough food, so people were always welcome.
  Sometimes my Dads family would come. They
  thoroughly enjoyed it, because it was so
  different for them. My Dad and his brother grew
  up around Cloutierville, LA, very French, but
  also very much old Louisiana, and Sicilian food
  seemed very exotic to them.

Ingredients ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1
anchovy, mashed 3 large onions, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced 1 stalk celery, minced
2 carrots, grated 1 small can tomato paste 5
lbs. tomatoes, put through a food mill, or 3
large cans crushed Italian tomatoes 1 cup red
wine 2 bay leaves, whole 2 tbs. dried oregano
Juice and zest of half a lemon Salt and pepper
to taste
Heat oil in a large pot with a heavy bottom.
Slowly sauté anchovy until it dissolves, add and
sauté onions, garlic, celery and carrots until
very soft. Add tomato paste and continue cooking
until caramelized. Add the tomatoes, wine, and
bay leaves. Stir. Cover and simmer for at least
an hour. Continue simmering uncovered to all to
thicken. Add oregano, zest, and lemon jice. Cook
15 more minutes and serve over spaghetti. Grate
parmigianoreggiano over the whole platter.   
 From Elizabeth Williams
76
July 4th Sicilian American Devilish Eggs

• My Nana, Elisabetta Lecce, grew up with a
  wonderful palette of flavors, all her own. After
  moving to New Orleans from Sicily as a child, she
  began to adapt what she thought of as American
  foods to her taste. One of the adaptations is her
  deviled egg recipe. She wanted to be assimilated.
  She wanted to be American. But American food
  still had to taste good and especially not be
  bland. So we at