Tag Archives: Jimmy Ford

Carrot Cake. Lost and Found in New Orleans.

21 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Dessert

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Two weeks ago, a friend of mine, Jesse Bascle, messaged me that he “had the best story and recipe ever” for this blog. From the message I inferred excitement, and this is unusual for Jesse.

First, I have known Jesse since he was a kid. His mom, Sue Ford and his step-dad, Jimmy Ford, are great friends. Jesse and his brother Jonah, have always been a comedic duo. They are each other’s yin and yang. Jesse the calm cerebral type. Jonah the excitable sarcastic type. Together they have always kept me rolling in laughter. Jonah gets excited about something and makes a joke. Jesse is the calm rebuttal in the background who grounds Jonah.

So when Jesse got excited enough to tell me a story, I knew it had to be good. Before Jesse shares his story and recipe, I want y’all to know that Jesse and Jonah have their own podcast where they discuss sports, life and you can get a sense of their comedy. You can check out the Bascle brothers podcast at the following and it is also available on iTunes:

http://basclebrothers.libsyn.com/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/thebasclebrothers

Lost and Found by Jesse Bascle

When Jonah and I were kids, we would go over to Jimmy’s parents’ house. His mom was Evelyn Ford. She always made a cake for when we went to visit. Most of the time it was a carrot cake. The kind with 3 layers and icing. We loved it. I loved it. It was my favorite. She would always give Jonah and I a fourth of the cake. We had to eat it at her house so she could watch us enjoy it. She knew how much we loved it.

She hardly ever gave her recipes to anyone. Well not that I know of. Only people she cared about or she knew how much they loved what she made. So one time I was over there, and she gave the recipe. Jimmy’s dad worked for the New Orleans RTA (Regional Transit Authority). I am pretty sure he worked the streetcars. So she unfolded this old RTA pink newsletter. The recipe was on the newsletter, and I copied it from her.

I took it home and made it a couple of times. It is so delicious. But then Katrina happened. I thought the recipe was downstairs in the kitchen, and it had been lost with everything else downstairs because of the water. Plus she passed away and then Jimmy’s dad passed away so there was no way I was ever going to see that recipe again. I just thought it was lost forever.

The other day, my mom was cleaning out some things and in this shoebox with a bunch of random stuff was the recipe. I don’t know how it got in the box or where it has been. It has holes and water stains on it, so I don’t know if it was downstairs and somehow survived and got put in the box. Or if it was upstairs in the box all along, but I don’t know how it could have been upstairs. It’s just a mystery. But now after all this time we have Jimmy’s mom’s carrot cake recipe. It is my favorite.

(Note: I asked Jesse if he would photograph the recipe and send it to me. He did and the photo is as follows…)

Evelyn Ford’s Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

for cake:

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cup cooking oil

4 eggs

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped pecans

for the cream cheese frosting:

1 pound powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

8 oz cream cheese

1/8 cup butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

1. Beat sugar & oil until blended

2. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

3. Sift dry ingredients into sugar-oil mixture.

4. Add carrots & pecans, mix well.

5. Grease 3 9-inch cake pans. Batter into pans.

6. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 min.

7. Cool.

8. For icing, beat all ingredients together and ice cake layers.

Jimmy Ford’s “CLASSY” Appetizer

28 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

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The first time Jimmy Ford made this appetizer for me was at my house in Santa Fe. When he said “caviar”, I paused. I then asked “what are you trying to do? Class this joint up?” His reply “I do what I can.” So I have named this Jimmy Ford concoction the “Classy Appetizer.” As he cooked in my house, his wife Sue explained that on their first date he had made the same thing for her. She said to herself after eating this: “any man who can cook like this I had better keep my eye on.”

The Fords live in New Orleans and run “The Ford Clinic.” Once a year (more for those of us who need a bigger dose of the city), they graciously allow us to slide into their world. And what a world it is. Food, drinks, music, friends, stories…all the things that make you feel like sometimes friends are like the family you would choose to have if you could. When I called Jimmy to ask for this recipe, he said “I’ll try to get it right but if I don’t blame 44 years of marching with the Lyons Club.” (The Lyons Club is Uptown marching club which begins in the Irish Channel and marches between the parades of Zulu and Rex on Mardi Gras day.)

As far as the recipe goes, Jimmy says he made it up off the top of his head. “I don’t use recipes unless I am doing something like cornbread. I just see it in my head and then I make it.”

Now about the stories. Well Jimmy Ford has more than a few. When I asked him for some, his reply: “if I think of any fit to print I will call ya back.” So let me as an avid listener of Jimmy Ford stories clue you, the reader, in.

Jimmy Ford can spin a story. He can tell you about how he inspired the character Sluggo in his friend’s Walter’s Mr. Bill series on SNL. He can tell you about the days with Richard Hell or the Gun Club. He can tell you about going with the Meters to NYC to play SNL, and how Randy Newman ended up being the musical guest. He can tell you about how at this last SXSW, he somehow ended up cooking for Lil Wayne and Cash $ Productions ( he was in Austin to play music, not cook). Jimmy Ford can tell you about every inch of the city of New Orleans.  He can tell you about bars and Bourre’. He can tell you where to eat and drink. And most of all he can tell you about fishing. But since none of these stories are fit to print, (I am still waiting on that call Jimmy!) let me tell you how to get a story out of Jimmy Ford.

The next time you go to New Orleans, let me know and I’ll give Jimmy a call. He can meet you at a bar, Ms Mae’s for example. Then if you buy him a round or two or three of “Jimmy Fords” (yes the man has a drink named after him), then I am sure he’ll tell you all those stories that aren’t fit to print. In the meantime, make these appetizers and you’ll instantly feel classier.

(oh and if you would like to check out their new band DiNOLA ,with Sue Ford, Eric Laws, Eddie Payne and Jimmy Ford, here is their link on FB. Recorded at the Rancho de La Luna recording studio which has hosted artists such as Queens of the Stone Age, Victoria Williams, P.J. Harvey, Masters of Reality, Dessert Sessions, and earthlings?, their debut album is in the finishing stages but you can hear some selected tracks at the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/DiNOLA/305193072869494?sk=app_120183798044738

Jimmy Ford’s Classy Caviar & Shrimp Appetizer

Ingredients:

shrimp-fresh, small or large, peeled, deveined and butterflied (Number of shrimp determined by the number of appetizers you are making)

soy sauce

Cajun Magic or similar seasoning

Olive oil

garlic

Sour cream

Carr’s water crackers (the ones in the black box)

caviar

Rooster sauce

Black pepper

Optional ingredients: bell peppers, cilantro, scallions

1. Peel, devein and butterfly the shrimp

2. Marinate shrimp in a mixture of soy sauce and Cajun magic seasoning for about 30 minutes

3. Cook shrimp in olive oil and garlic

4. CHILL SHRIMP

5. On a cracker put a scoop of sour cream

6. Add a shrimp (or half a shrimp depending on size of shrimp you are using)

7. Add small scoop of caviar on top of shrimp (NOTE:Jimmy notes that the caviar you can use can match the season. For example at Christmas he uses red caviar and green bell peppers or for Halloween he uses the black caviar and the orange bell peppers.)

8. Add 1 drop of rooster sauce on top of caviar

9. Add optional cilantro, scallions and black pepper

10. Chill for 5 minutes and then serve