Laurel Peterson is a community college English professor who lives and works in Connecticut. She has published two mystery novels, Shadow Notes and The Fallen and several books of poetry. Learn more about Laurel and her books at her website.
The Charms of New Orleans, Food and Otherwise
One of the attractions of attending conferences is the cities in which they are held. Years ago, before Hurricane Katrina hit, I paid my second visit to New Orleans for the Associated Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference. After the requisite number of panels and readings (I always reach a point after which nothing else can be absorbed!), I headed out to explore the city, spending an afternoon in the New Orleans Museum of Art, where they had an impressive blown and pressed glass collection, including some Chilhuly, followed by a late lunch in the French Quarter. The restaurant I chose—I’ve forgotten the name—put me at a table looking out over the street, and the waiter brought me a plate of divine oysters (broiled—don’t even talk to me about raw) with some sort of creamy, garlicky sauce. Here are some of the various ways oysters are cooked in NOLA: Oyster Recipes. I imagine that restaurant is gone now, a victim of Katrina or the vagaries of the restaurant business.
New Orleans’ charms (and the horrors of Katrina) lingered in my imagination, and later gave birth to the character of Kyle DuPont, a black police officer who served during Hurricane Katrina, and then came north to Connecticut because of racism and corruption in the force. In my latest novel, The Fallen, Kyle must return home after one of his officers is shot because he believes some threads from his past may be threatening his future, especially his future with Clara Montague, the psychic protagonist of the series.
While Kyle’s food preferences aren’t mentioned in the novel, he does have fried chicken and a Southern pecan cake (Lee Bailey's recipe here: Yum!) after church with his family, and he makes a beef stew with cumin for Clara upon his return to Connecticut, over which they discuss what he’s discovered about an old nemesis and whether he is safe now. (He’s been shot at twice, so it’s a reasonable question!)
While doing my research for the novel, I got to explore virtually this wonderful city, including a little airport along Lake Ponchatrain and the Garden District where Kyle’s mother lives in the family home. As well, I looked at photos of Houma and “drove” on Google maps down to the bayou where a modern-day healer/witch shelters a young girl pregnant by a gang member who may be threatening Kyle. Her concoctions tend toward herbal teas that make Clara see purple smoke. What does that mean?!
Clara, of course, saves the day and Kyle, and the book wraps with them eating at my favorite local Italian restaurant, Pasquale's Restaurant, Norwalk, CT, martini in hand. Isn’t it grand to live through the characters? They get to do all the things I haven’t been able to during COVID.
What ways have you found to travel and eat yummy things during the pandemic? Is there a place you’ve been longing to visit? Thanks so much for dropping by!
The Fallen
A Clara Montague Mystery, Book 2
Clara Montague is having dreams again, the kind that should steer her away from trouble but always lead her to it. She survives a drive-by shooting that takes the life of a cop but complicates her new romantic relationship with police chief Kyle Dupont. Her conservative tony town isn’t thrilled to have an African American chief or have him dating on of their own. The deeply hidden motives behind the shooting eventually lead Kyle and Clara to New Orleans. Will Clara’s visions be enough to keep them safe from Kyle’s past?
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