Hurricane Prep – New Orleans Style

Those of us living along the Gulf Coast – often referred to as the Cone of Uncertainty – are encouraged to begin hurricane preparation in June, the official start of the season. Most of us put it off until July, feeling sure that a “big one” won’t come along until August. It’s a dull task, as we prepare for the worst and hope for the best, buying canned food we don’t want to eat, plastic bottles of water we don’t want to drink, and batteries we hope won’t be needed. Paring down items in the refrigerator and freezer is another part of the seasonal preparation. One of my neighbors, a creative chef and artist, takes this part of hurricane season preparation to a new level.

Every year, about mid-summer, Susan hosts several Hurricane Season Clean Out The Freezer dinners. If you were to come to my home for such a meal, you might get leftover red beans served over freezer burned rice. One or two lonely hamburger buns, frozen since a Memorial Day barbecue, might round out the meal. For dessert, perhaps limp strawberries, frozen remnants from the April strawberry season. But at Susan’s home, au contraire! The table is elegantly set. A hand-scripted card with original art rests at each guest’s place, listing the courses for the evening, and a dinner fit for the most discerning gourmand is served.

This past July, my husband and I were guests at Susan’s 2023 inaugural HSCOTF dinner. We began our evening with flutes of bubbly rosé, nibbles of stuffed Eggplant Phyllo Bites, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Creole Tomato Aioli.

The Amuse Bouche that evening was Sea Scallop Pea Puree with pea tendrils and prosciutto wafers. A goat cheese ravioli with roasted beets and red onion compote with walnuts followed with, of course, the appropriate wine pairing.

The entree, a Catalonian Seafood Stew with local seafood, was served with saffron rice and “crystal” toast, highlighting our hostess’s culinary skills. Our wine glasses were topped again. We groaned a bit when the lovely lemon tart dessert was served, but I noticed that not a crumb of crust nor dot of crème fraiche was left on any plate.

It is this joie de vivre, which is so present in the hearts of New Orleanians, that gives us the courage to live in the Cone of Uncertainty. It was this joy of living that demanded we celebrate Mardi Gras less than one year after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and host The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival that spring. We decorate our street potholes with Christmas trees in December and dance at outdoor festivals on the hottest days in August. We mourn the loss of loved ones at a burial and celebrate their lives with music after they are laid to rest.

It is this joy of living that gives our community resilience. Storms will come. We will prepare for them, but there is no way we can stop them. We may fear them, but we won’t cower beneath their clouds of darkness. For we know that not merely staying alive, but being alive, is a glorious gift.

PostScript: Beginning September 25, 2023, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum will host the exhibit, “Documenting Dinners,” which will focus on the history and cultural impact of dinners. It will include the story of Susan Henning and her friends,Pam and Steve Fritch, and their 40+ years of cooking Thanksgiving dinners together and Pam’s and Susan’s tradition of creating watercolor menus for the guests. The exhibit will also feature many of the menus that Susan has painted and written over the years of hosting dinner parties, including the Hurricane Season Clean Out The Freezer dinners.