When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, thousands of families lost not only their homes; the physical evidence of their lives, including family keepsakes passed down for generations were also washed away forever.
As the people of New Orleans began to put their lives back together, the Times-Picayune Newspaper became a kind of clearing house for recipes, matching readers who were looking for a particular recipe to rebuild their collections with those who still had theirs. This book, by Marcel Bienvenu (writer of the “Cooking Creole” column for the newspaper), and Judy Walker (food editor), is a compilation of 250 of the best of those recipes. The collection contains not only some recipes that are famous, such as the Roosevelt Hotel’s shrimp remoulade, but also many family recipes that have been handed down through the generations.
There is a wide range of classic and contemporary Southeastern Louisiana cooking represented here; everything from appetizers to seafood and meat dishes, to drinks and deserts. But the book goes beyond just listing recipes, it also tells the story behind each one, which makes for some very interesting reading. If you are a fan of Creole and Cajun cooking you won’t go wrong with this book!
