Dig into your favorite meal, and then pack your bags. “We Live to Eat” is sponsoring a photo contest on its Facebook page beginning today through midnight on Friday, February 3, 2012.

Visit the contest at facebook.com/WeLivetoEat for the opportunity to win a pair of tickets from American Airlines*–to any destination in the domestic United States. Simply post a photo with a caption of your favorite New Orleans restaurant entrée to the contest any time through February 3. Once it’s posted, “like” the photo and encourage your friends and family to “like” it, too.

The photo post with the most “likes” at midnight on February 3 will win the grand prize, a pair of American Airlines tickets to anywhere in the domestic United States.*

Second place will win a $100 gift card to a New Orleans-area restaurant.
Third place will win a selection of WLTE merchandise.

*Some travel date and destination restrictions may apply. See rules for contest details at facebook.com/WeLivetoEat.

Click here for Official Contest Rules

Need a reason to get into the gym? Uniquely New Orleans dishes will give you several. At the beginning of 2012, the last thing you want to do is eat more calories than you burn while exercising. Achieving a balance between calories in and calories out is certainly within your reach.

Below, our top three food choices for this month which are worth an extra trip to the gym:
cal children.

1) Shrimp Remoulade. This dish typically uses gulf shrimp and coats them with a delicious mayonnaise-based sauce with a variety of spices. A signature dish at Broussard’s Restaurant, Galatoire’s Restaurant and Arnaud’s Restaurant; the Remoulade sauce which originated in France can be found in a variety of dishes at these French Quarter restaurants as well as many others and the taste is worth an extra 30 minutes on the treadmill.

2) A classic po-boy. The French loaf that this sandwich is served on is what you can hold as inspiration to finish a few more reps during every set. Locations for this simple but scrumptious meal are endless within the city; it’s a constant quest to locate the best po-boy in the city. In fact, Oak Street Po-Boy Festival sets out to throw some of the best venues into the arena at the same time each November, forcing consumers to decide. We like Freret Street Po-Boy & Donut Shop, Mahoney’ Po-Boys, and Mother’s Restaurant but the jury is still out, feel free to recommend your favorite.

3) Anything Au Gratin. Another term which originates from French cuisine and always involves a large quantity of butter, but the finished product is well worth the calories. Bon Ton Café offers Crabmeat Au Gratin, Dickie Brennan’s offers exquisite Potatoes Au Gratin, and Chef Emeril Lagasse has perfected the Gnocchi au Gratin with Orleans Cream Sauce.

The foods that make our list are too good to be skipped over by a diet or resolution. In fact, we didn’t make any restricting resolutions this year. Instead, we resolved to try as much of the unique food that the Crescent City has to offer while balancing it out with a few gym visits. That way, we’ll get the best of both worlds. We Live to Eat because we live our lives in such a way that we can prioritize eating not just good tasting, but the absolute best food, as has been the history and reputation of our city’s citizens since its inception.

Written by guest Blogger Taylor Geiger.

Day 1: Cheat & eat dessert first. Many of New Orleans’ finest restaurants are serving up holiday sweets and treats. This is just another excuse to treat yourself to something special.

Day 2: Sports in the Big Easy! The Sugar Bowl, the Saints, LSU in the BCS Championship Game… Great food is a must to fuel up for the exciting games in the Superdome during the holidays. Stop by a restaurant close to the Dome. And get fueled up before the big game.

Day 3: Walk through City Park at night to take in Celebration in the Oaks, and then after have a great meal at one of the many Mid City restaurants.

Day 4: Make reservations for a Reveillon dinner. Originating in France and traditionally held on Christmas Eve, Reveillon dinners consist of several courses usually served with wine or champagne. New Orleans continues the tradition of Reveillon dinners due to the city’s strong French influence, and several restaurants offer special menus throughout December.

Day 5: Those celebrating Chanukah or just looking to sample some of the delicious food can make reservations for uniquely themed Chanukah dinners at restaurants like Domenica. A restaurant by Chef John Besh, Domenica is featuring potato latkes, spinach and Parmigianino gnocchi, ossobuco veal, and jelly donuts on their Chanukah menu.

Day 6: If you believe the best gift is the one you give, make sure to drop off some food items at Second Harvest food bank this holiday season. Second Harvest recognizes that 1 in 8 people in Louisiana is struggling with hunger and collects food to help address this urgent need.

Day 7: Fireworks over the Mississippi River are a stunning way to ring in the New Year, but make sure you have your dinner reservations and or party tickets in hand well before the big day. Tons of tourists will be in the Quarter gearing up for the Sugar Bowl, so to get in on the best New Year’s celebration, choose a venue you’d like to celebrate at and call ahead.

There are too many possibilities for enjoying great food during the second half of December and beginning of January in New Orleans for one person to try. The city’s reputation for culinary excellence is especially evident during this time of the year. Take advantage of the season by partaking in your favorite culinary tradition, or by trying one of our suggestions.

Tell us about your holiday dining experiences at www.facebook.com/WeLiveToEat.

Written by guest Blogger Taylor Geiger.

To fuel up before a full day of shopping or other obligations, girls can head to a wide variety of restaurants in different locations around the city and different price ranges for a scrumptious brunch. With offerings like bananas foster French toast, eggs Benedict, shrimp and grits, turtle soup sherry, seafood mousse, oysters Benedict, strawberries with heavy cream, and freshly squeezed juice with champagne, what more could a girl ask for? New Orleans brunch offerings include something to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters; and several restaurants include live jazz band performances; especially during weekend brunches.

To see how successful girlfriend-get-togethers in New Orleans can be, I spoke to Gia Sausse about her group of ladies, the Lu Lu Krewe, who meet up over food frequently. The Lu Lu Krewe of New Orleans started after Katrina because the original group of ladies wanted to catch up and see what was going on because they felt disbanded after the storm. The group started meeting at restaurants around the city very informally, but now their Facebook group has more than 200 members.

Lu Lu Krewe at Ralph's on the Park

The emphasis of the group is on eating, drinking and catching up as well as meeting new friends, catching up with old ones, and networking amongst members. As the founder of the group, Sausse says that the most important factors which she considers when scouting out a restaurant to meet at is if the cost is affordable for all members and if the restaurant allows customers to bring their own wine. The ladies always have a fun filled time wherever they meet and many new friendships have been formed through the group since it serves as a convenient way to meet new people.

A culinary adventure with girlfriends in the Big Easy wouldn’t be complete without the perfect dessert or drinks to top it all off. Confectioneries, bakeries, and other shops and restaurants offer original desserts unique to the area such as praline parfaits, bread pudding soufflé, banana cream pie, baked Alaska, or beignets. For those counting calories, the city has caught on to the frozen yogurt trend and offers Italian gelato as well. Almost every bar has a ladies night to get the girls together, but any day of the week girls can saunter up to the bar and order a sweet tea or a passion fruit martini, a watermelon mojito, or a cocktail with names like Dixie Crown and Centerfold. Groups of ladies consisting of two or of ten or more do not have to look far to find the perfect uniquely New Orleans culinary experience, perfectly accented by shopping and spa treatments that are sure to satisfy.

Written by guest Blogger Taylor Geiger.

New Orleans, LA— Christmas will come early this year for a group of ill children, who currently reside at Children’s Hospital, when Chef Duke LoCicero of Café Giovanni and his band of merry elves spread holiday cheer and gifts to children in need. Chef Duke Foundation’s for Kids recently raised nearly $10,000 during its annual fund-raising gala. On Monday, December 19 beginning at 2pm, Chef Duke and other restaurant industry representatives, decked in festive holiday attire and accompanied by Santa Claus, will distribute gifts to truly deserving ill children. To date, Chef Duke’s Foundation for Kids has distributed over $190,000 in toys to local children.

“We started donating toys as a way to bring a bit of happiness to a child in need, but honestly the joy and satisfaction we receive by giving is worth more than all the toys in world,” said LoCicero. “To see their little faces light up when Santa and his elves enter the room is the most gratifying and touching experience in the world,” he added.

Founded in 1992 by Chef Duke LoCicero, chef/owner of Cafe’ Giovanni, Chef Duke’s Foundation for Kids focuses on providing much needed funding (typically for education purposes and health related issues) for children in difficult financial circumstances.

The table is set for Thanksgiving and the oysters, shrimp, gumbo, jambalaya, cornbread, mirliton, sweet potatoes, green beans, crab cakes, and more are all displayed. Looking for the turkey? You might find turducken or fried turkey on the table, but we rarely conform to the regular Thanksgiving traditions here in New Orleans, preferring instead to elaborate on the basic foods and make our own improvements. Turducken is one of these improvements; it involves a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey and can be purchased at some local grocers. Or, if you have 2 days or so to spare, you can also create one yourself. Hard work, but those who know say it’s worth it.

We continue the improvements by attacking basic stuffing and instead serving stuffed mirliton, a type of squash grown in southern Louisiana which is stuffed with bread crumbs, shrimp or crab, and loads of seasoning. A good friend of mine promised to bring me back a stuffed mirliton from his grandma this Thanksgiving, claiming it is the most delicious blend of textures, baked to perfection. Another local described her mother-in-law’s shrimp and mirliton casserole which due to its popularity is a staple at all of her family’s holiday dinners. Mirlitons can be found when you are out and about making groceries around the holidays. Pick some up the next time you’re in the store and let us know which mirliton recipes you do and don’t like.

Louisiana is known as the Sportsmen’s paradise and this is evidently displayed on most Thanksgiving tables. If you enjoy swamp food, you can pick up some turtle, gator, catfish, or even nutria (for the more adventurous) to include in your feast. Turtle soup and friend gator might be the two most obvious dishes from the swamp, but how about some smothered nutria? According to the guide on my recent tour of Manchac Swamp, nutria is the most undiscovered delectable dish from the swamps. If you’re intrigued by the swamps and the edible as well as inedible species which thrive there, be sure not to miss the History Channel’s Swampsgiving special, which aired in November and provided an inside look as to how the gator hunters of Swamp People prepare for their huge meals.

The average American consumes 3,000 calories and 229 grams of fat during a typical Thanksgiving feast. It can be exhausting to make that much food, so thankfully many local grocery stores offer catering options for Thanksgiving. Be sure to order in advance in order to save yourself some trouble. You can order almost all of the foods discussed here from a grocery store near you.

Dining Out is a popular option for Thanksgiving

The National Restaurant Association estimates that 30 million Americans will be dining out at restaurants this Thanksgiving. In addition to offering take out kits for full Thanksgiving meals, many of New Orleans’ most famous restaurants, especially those in the Quarter, remain open for Thanksgiving.  No matter if you choose to cook your whole feast on your own, order some from a restaurant or a grocer, or go out to eat this Thanksgiving, make sure to incorporate some local dishes into your meal or you will be missing out on tried and true feasting favorites treasured and eagerly anticipated by many New Orleanians.

Written by guest Blogger Taylor Geiger.

An American staple, the hamburger has been a popular food since its introduction into American culture around 1895. White Castle was the first major fast food hamburger vendor, followed closely by McDonalds, but the American public would not settle for simple burgers, they demanded more. Thus, the introduction of the gourmet burger into some fast food locations and the creation of many specialized sit down restaurants dedicated simply to the burger and its many variations.

As a city already waist deep in its own culinary traditions and unique flavors, New Orleans is typically behind the rest of the country when it comes to adapting food trends. The unique foods created here have been in existence since our early history and aren’t likely to fade away, whereas national food trends often come and go. Yet somehow, as the burger craze has swept from Washington D.C. to San Diego and everywhere in between, New Orleans has jumped on the band – er – burgerwagon.

Atlanta has successfully introduced a Battle of the Burgers into the city’s fall calendar, featuring offerings from more than 20 restaurants serving gourmet burgers. New Orleans may be able to instate such a competition in the near future, with specialty burger joints popping up all over the city. You can now find a burger made out of just about anything you want, with any toppings you desire; nothing is off limits when it comes to burger creations storming the Big Easy. If you are unhappy with a particular burger, look no further than half a mile before discovering a valid replacement.

Only in New Orleans would a national food phenomenon need further improvements in order to really get the population into it. Here, we serve burgers fresh, po-boy style and waiters ask if you’d like your burger “dressed” or not. We’ve found a need to put our own spin on the burger, with restaurants serving the burger with homemade ketchup, Tabasco hot sauce, and with sweet potato fries on the side. It appears as though the hamburger has been adapted in the culture of New Orleans and thus has a good chance of survival. With the arrival of so many restaurants specializing in hamburgers, the craze had better have staying power as well, or only the best of the best will survive.

So tell us, what do you think of the gourmet burger restaurant trend?