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Dear New Orleans,

I love you dearly, but it’s time I come clean.  You’re the reason I became a political science major. Your inherent and inbred corruption fascinated me, and I needed to know and study how the rest of the world worked outside of this political machine.  You do things so backwards sometimes like re-electing a man who hid 90,000 cash in freezer. Nonetheless, your food, music, and culture make this a place like none other to live, so I can try to look over these political missteps.

However when I read the following quote, I got a little angry.

“Here in Louisiana, public funds are going to subsidize the Final Four, a weekend college basketball tournament, to the tune of $6 million or roughly $100 for every seat in the Superdome. By contrast, only $1.5 million is being contemplated for arts grants for the entire state for a year. The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, which documents, promotes and educates the world about the culture and history of the state was formerly funded at $2 million but now is deemed unworthy of any public support.”(1).

This more than a just a political misstep.  We’re holding major events here over the next year, which will bring tons of money to our economy.  I think it’s great that New Orleans is finally getting national attention in a positive way.  However, I think the city and state government need to realize the reason people are flocking to New Orleans in droves is because we are culturally unique. New Orleans, you can offer visitors a completely different experience than they would get in any other city; therefore, we should be funding the very things that preserve and spread our culture to others, right? This should be a no brainer, but alas New Orleans, you seem to be making another blunder.  So, New Orleans, please don’t take away my main reason for still living here, we’ve been through Katrina, we’ve seen late night TV hosts poke fun at our city for our decisions all the time, but I’m still here because of the culture. If that goes, please don’t expect me to stick around.

Love, Kristen

Now that I’m thoroughly depressed, I think I’ll share my fish fry (hence the title) recipe with yall because this is Palates AND Politics, and writing about food seems to make me happy and calm.

This recipe is not in anyway healthy, but if you love crispy fish, it’s definitely the best.

1.) In a bowl combine about 2 cups of dry potato flakes (ya know like the stuff you use for instant mashed potatoes), 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion flakes, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp cayenne (adjust this to your liking).

2.) Soak your fish fillets in cold water (you can use any white fish such as tillapia, cod, or catfish. I like cod, but I’ve also been living down the street from an Irish pub for the past 2 years)

3.) In a deep skillet, or deep fryer, melt 2 cups of butter flavored shortening. To cut out fat you can use canola oil, vegetable oil, butter, or some people like peanut oil for seafood

4.) Dredge fish in the dry mixture**, and then fry for about 5 minutes. Remove from oil and put on a paper towel to drain access oil.

**some people like to dredge their fish in a beaten egg, then the dry mixture,  I normally would but I have a boyfriend who’s highly allergic to eggs, so I left it out of this recipe and it worked fine**