The New Orleans School Of Cooking

Originally published: New Orleans: R.L. Crager, 1961.

Here for the first time, the famous food of Louisiana is presented in a cookbook written by a great creative chef who is himself world-famous. The extraordinary Cajun and Creole cooking of South Louisiana has roots going back over two hundred years, and today it is the one really vital, growing regional cuisine in America. No one is more responsible than Paul Prudhomme for preserving and expanding the Louisiana tradition, which he inherited from his own Cajun background. Chef Prudhomme's incredibly good food has brought people from all over America and the world to his restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. To set down his recipes for home cooks, however, he did not work in the restaurant. In a small test kitchen, equipped with a home-size stove and utensils normal for a home kitchen, he retested every recipe two and three times to get exactly the results he wanted. Logical though this is, it was an unprecedented way for a chef to write a cookbook. But Paul Prudhomme started cooking in his mother's kitchen when he was a youngster. To him, the difference between home and restaurant procedures is obvious and had to be taken into account. So here, in explicit detail, are recipes for the great traditional dishes--gumbos and jambalayas, Shrimp Creole, Turtle Soup, Cajun "Popcorn," Crawfish Etouffee, Pecan Pie, and dozens more--each refined by the skill and genius of Chef Prudhomme so that they are at once authentic and modern in their methods. Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen is also full of surprises, for he is unique in the way he has enlarged the repertoire of Cajun and Creole food, creating new dishes and variations within the old traditions. Seafood Stuffed Zucchini with Seafood Cream Sauce, Panted Chicken and Fettucini, Veal and Oyster Crepes, Artichoke Prudhomme--these and many others are newly conceived recipes, but they could have been created only by a Louisiana cook. The most famous of Paul Prudhomme's original recipes is Blackened Redfish, a daringly simple dish of fiery Cajun flavor that is often singled out by food writers as an example of the best of new American regional cooking. For Louisianians and for cooks everywhere in the country, this is the most exciting cookbook to be published in many years.

The beloved New Orleans chef dishes up the culinary history of his city with recipes that combine down-home comfort and the big flavors he’s famous for. A true Creole New Orleanian, Chef Kevin Belton is dedicated to the culinary traditions of the Crescent City. In this comprehensive cookbook, he teaches home chefs the secrets to authentic Creole cuisine, from how to make a perfect roux to the importance of the “holy trinity”—celery, onion, and bell pepper. Belton also offers his original spin on Louisiana classics like gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée, po’boys, and grillades with grits. Going beyond Creole fare, Kevin Belton’s Big Flavors of New Orleans celebrates the diverse cultures that haver added to the unique New Orleans palate. Here you’ll discover the Big Easy spin on Mexican, German, Italian and Irish dishes—plus traditional holiday dishes for New Year’s, Thanksgiving, and more.

"My New Orleans: The Cookbook is a rich stew of Besh's charming, personal stories of his childhood, his family, and friends, and the unique food history of the city and its cooking ..."--Publisher's blurb.

After Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans in 2005, Cooking Up a Storm was published to tell the story—recipe by recipe—of one of the great food cities of the world and the determination of its citizens to preserve and safeguard their culinary legacy. Ten years later, the city is back in business and this hardcover edition of the original cookbook is here to celebrate the community's rebirth by reminding us of the great recipes that belong only to the city of New Orleans, but are beloved by us all.