New Orleans brunch recipes: Eggs Louis Armstrong and crawfish hand pies

Chef Meg Bickford of the famed Commander's Palace restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana is joining TODAY to cook up some dishes in celebration of Jazz Fest. She shows us how to make a jazzy take on eggs Benedict, crawfish-filled hand pies and a boozy tequila cocktail.

Eggs Louis Armstrong by Meg Bickford

The king of egg dishes is named after the king of jazz. As we celebrate the festival season, it's impossible to not think of Louis Armstrong. Since he signed his name "Red Beans and Ricely Yours," we think this jazzy dish does him justice. It is such an iconic brunch dish, an all-time favorite of ours. The salty, almost sweet flavor of the pickled pork, creamy and spicy red bean sauce with Louisiana rice, flavorful andouille, plump poached eggs and tangy hollandaise sauce make it irresistible.

Crawfish Hand Pies by Meg Bickford

Hand pies are quintessential New Orleans cuisine. They can be sweet or savory, and we all have our favorites; the crawfish hand pie is one of mine. Crawfish season in South Louisiana is sacred, and it's such a short period of time, so when we get the chance to eat amazing Louisiana crawfish, we do it in every way possible. I love this recipe, the roasted mushroom, sundried tomatoes and toasted Creole trinity really bring out the flavor of the crawfish. The flaky pastry shell makes it so you can grab it and walk during your favorite festival.

Tequila Mockingbird 2 by Meg Bickford

The tale of a drink's invention in three parts:

Part I: One night at the Commander's Palace bar, we tell Bryan Batt, our childhood friend, Broadway actor and all-around beloved character, that we are hard at work on a cocktails book. He says he's had in mind a great drink name for years, and we must invent a drink and call it the "Tequila Mockingbird." We laugh so loud, it is quite unladylike.

Part II: Lu creates a drink and says, "Try this, Ti. It's good," but Ti asks her to add two dashes of angostura bitters. She does. The drink is perfect. We are prouder than proud.

Part III: When all-knowing Doc Cocktail comes into the Swizzle Stick Bar, we offer our new invention to get his praise. He informs us that there is already a drink called the Tequila Mockingbird but that it's not very good and he can't wait to taste ours. He loves it and proclaims it the Tequila Mockingbird 2.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com