Louisiana Books

Zydeco! doesn't really cater to somebody looking to learn a full history of zydeco with an arsenal of knowledge; it's there but that's not the point. This book puts more effort into making sure the reader knows the full cultural context of zydeco with no misrepresentation and comes out a lot better in doing so. I've found myself grabbing whoever has an ear just to read them a small passage on more than one occasion.

While this is certainly better than a coffee table book, the pictures can make it serve as either one. Great portraits and incredible concert energy that are making me think about toting a camera along to the next zydeco show I see

I am from Louisiana and have listened to a great deal of our state's very unique zydeco and Cajun music. There is always a lot of controversy about the differences between Cajun and zydeco music, and the definition of Creole people. This book was so well-researched over a period of years, it helped me understand even better than before how zydeco was born and who started it. I particularly enjoyed the wonderful interviews with the musicians themselves, particularly people who are no longer with us, like Clifton Chenier and Beau Jocque. If you want to know about zydeco, this book is the next best thing to coming to Louisiana to listen for yourself!

Well maybe I channel for the original king of zydeco - maybe I don't. But hey this is the real book about this southwest Louisiana music. The photos are second to none. The photos really could be framed and hung on the wall of any art gallery in the country. Sure I know the photographer but anyone who knows me knows I tell it like it is. And this is a wonderful book. The writer, Ben Sandmel, writes like he is talking to a good friend. It is a fun read. Both the writer and the photographer must have had really good access to the musicians to come up with such original stuff.

FAIT ATENCION!: This is one vast bursting boudin of a book! It'll put the salt back into your snap beans! Tear out its pages and stick 'em in your dancing shoes, cher! Along with Michael Tisserand, Sandel and Olivier form the triumviate of Zydeco, mavens three of zydeco! For locals fans, converts and overall BooZoo-aholics, you have a New Testament (to Tisserand's Old Testament -- The Kingdom of Zydeco)! For recent arrivals and the general reader 'zydeco' will now no longer just be a killer Scrabble word! For anyone who reads this book, I bet you a six pack of Dixie that you'll soon be booking your flight to SW Louiaiana! You can't go wrong if you play it right, and nose to nose with Mr. Tisserand, Messers Sandmel and Olivier have done it big-time right! Merci beacoup. Laissez les bons temps roulez!

As a zydeco novice, I really enjoyed this book. It is not an exhastive history of zydeco. Rather, author Sandmel covers the giants of the genre with chapters on Clifton Chernier, Boozoo Chavis and Buckwheat Zydeco. Shorter chapters cover some other musicans. Looks like Sandmel conducted personal interviews with most of his subjects.

Oliver's black-and-white photographs are terrific. While there are a few photos of the musicians performing, most are of a portrait nature.

The appendices include a discography of Louisiana music (more than just zydeco), Internet resources, etc.

I also recommend Let the Good Times Roll: a Guide to Cajun and Zydeco Music by Patricia Nyhan.

Oh my...tried all of the recipes and there is not one that is not delicious. Like the way you can substitute other fish for oysters. Very interesting to read about the restaurants that feature the recipe. You don't need a lot of ingredients to make a true New Orleans dish. Try it...you' like it!

I love this cookbook so much that I am buying a replacement as I have worn out the first one over the 10 years I have it. A personal fav is the Jambalya, easy to make and delicious. The recipes give alternatives (chicken instead of shrimp etc) and the range of recipes is huge. If creole is of interest to you, this book will get you started in a great way.

I've used this book for about six years now, and have never been disappointed. Mr. Guste's Chicken Creole is soulful and authentic, and his Gumbo is gospel truth. He does not trifle with passing fancies such as lite, fusion or lo-fat anything. His ingredients are unapologetically authentic: many cooks outside the South may need to do some creative substitution. A minor complaint is that this cookbook, like most nowadays, seems not to have been edited at all, and a few ingredients and steps are missing, so a smart user will read carefully and in some cases extrapolate. But the recipes are simple and honest, well within the skills of the average cook, and the results will make you appreciate the only high cuisine native to America.

The best of Louisiana cookery comes from a restauranteur and French-trained chief who uses his background to select the definitive and best dishes of New Orleans. Creole cooking has a reputation for complexity: not so in The 100 Greatest New Orleans Creole Recipes, which adapts dishes for home use and simplifies many of the steps involved in producing the classics. No color photos here - but the simplified dishes don't need them.

I saw this book in a bookstore over the weekend and am ordering it now from Amazon. I was impressed by the detailed information the author gives for each hike. I am a native of Louisiana but still unacquainted with some of its many parts. I know 50 Hikes in Louisiana will inspire me to get to know the state better from a peripatetic perspective.

"50 Hikes in Louisiana: Walks, Hikes, and Backpacks in the Bayou State" is a wonderful help book in getting one started in the pleasant hobby of hiking. What I know comes from reading reviews written by people who live in California and New York and who hike regularly. They make hiking sound so worthwhile that I decided to hike, too!

My area, North Louisiana has five hiking trails listed in the book. Coincidentally, I took the first one a year ago when I took my Pretend Children to visit Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park with its Intrepretive Building and a conservationist on hand to explain and demonstrate and show.

The trail is divided into parts, designating length and time to hike. The longest is 2.2 miles and subdivided into shorter segments. We took the half mile hike because we had a three-year-old with us, who did most of the hiking on her own feet then part clutched to my side and on my two feet. What was missing and what I now know because of this book and the accoutrements to take.

1. Wear comfortable shoes like tennis, walking, or running shoes.
2. Take a water resistant rain jacket in your pack.
3. Wear two pairs of socks (described in detail and reasons why)
4. A pack which contains first-aid kit, flashlight, knife, compass, toilet paper, waterproof matches, a plastic bag for trash, and food and water.
5. Insect repellent. Wear long pants because of ticks, spiders, fire ants.
6. A walking stick to knock down spider webs when necessary
7. A poison ivy remedy
8. Sun block

Since none of the trails in North Louisiana are difficult, this set of supplies is quite complete. I plan to take the Pretend Children again this summer to Walter Jacobs and try the one-mile trail and go to Cypress Park for its Nature Trail.

The book is organized beautifully. The first chart lists the hikes, location, distance, time length, features, if the hike is good for kids and brief notes of what to look for. Next is a state map with locations numbered and marked. The introduction provides the information in my above list. Then comes the local map with ordnance points and black and white photos. Each of the 50 hikes is detailed thusly.

Happy hiking. And don't feed the bears or snakes or any other animal. They become too curious and demanding then.

Dedicated to Fritz and Bob

This is an outstanding book, which breaks down each trail with directions to trailheads, maps, photographs, descriptions of trails and the surrounding landscapes, wildlife and types of plants you are likely to see, and extra information on the history and geography of each area. If you are interested in getting to know the nature of Louisiana, 50 Hikes will get you there.

This author is equally a hiker, a writer, and a Louisiana lover, and a shining example of all three. With excellent pictures, maps, and information on what to expect as far as animals, plants, and anything else one might encounter, this book is by far the best book on Louisiana hiking I've ever read. The stories about the area are just good Louisiana lagniappe. I can't wait to hike the Port Hudson trail!

ok. Maybe I'm biased since I am a direct descendant of many of the African/FPOC families listed in the book. However, what Dr. Hall has done for Louisiana genealogy research is nothing short of miraculous.

I purchased this book several years ago in Natchitoches, LA while in college and have consulted it and Dr. Hall's online database faithfully since then. It has been instrumental in my being able to trace my direct and indirect family lines back into 17th century France and Western Africa.

I think this book is an absolute must for those who have a real interest in gaining insight into the Louisiana "peculiar institution" or who desire a good, solid, and well-researched social commentary and genealogical database.

This book corrects the many lies that racist white Louisianians and their Creole of color sympathizers have been telling about the origins of all things Louisiana for decades. It reclaims Louisiana for the Africans, who were brought there as chattle property to build the buildings, cultivate the land, blacksmith the iron and ultimately create the culture.

As a descendant of Colonial Louisiana Africans, this book was the first to tell me that I am a descendant of the Bamana of Mali. It is one of the only books I have come across to describe in detail, the battles of Louisiana maroon leader Saint Juan Malo. It is one of the first to tell it like it is concerning the true relationship of the French and Africans of this bastard french colony & address the underlying factors of why it became an Afro-creole colony more so than anything else. Basically this book tells the unadulterated truth backed by facts. It doesn't, like so many other books about Louisiana, get caught up in the romance of the Creoles of color and there obsession with their white fathers. Instead it tells the story of their Senegambian mothers. And shows how the culture of these Africans is the foundation of what is now considered Louisiana Creole culture.

This book is a breath of fresh air to some one like myself who loathes the hundreds of books written about Louisiana that describes it as " a mixture of French, Spanish, and Indian cultures". Always omitting the fact of African influence due to the legacy of white supremacy inherent in the telling of US history. In most other books on the subject, Africans are merely slaves. In this book we are shown for what we are, the foundation of the culture. It will most definitely be a textbook in any course I teach on the subject.

I had to read this book for a seminar class and was fascinated by it. It documents in much detail the history of colonial Louisiana putting West Africans squarely in the middle of that development. Midlo Hall uses sources from three countries, France, Spain and colonial Britain to document the African presence in Louisiana. She spends some time on the fact that most of the Africans brought to Louisiana were from the Senegambia region of West Africa. Consequently, the Africans brought with them their way of life and were able to exercise much of it in Louisiana. She notes the difference in French/Spanish colonization and the contribution of African language, food and cultural practices in Louisiana. It is well worth reading for it is a history book quite well written that would appeal to the general public. It is entertaining as well as informative.

Check out the front page article in the July 30 Sunday New York Times, headlined "Anonymous Louisiana Slaves Regain Identity," to fully appreciate the significance of the historical research embodied in this book.

Yes, the New Orleans Times-Picayune correctly labeled Bruce Henricksen's book: A spiritual comedy. The author's inventive mind, wit and understanding of human nature allowed me to suspend all belief and most gloriously travel from post Katrina New Orleans to Cold Beak, MN in this mythic tale. He wraps us around odd-ball characters and animals that make the reader laugh and cry. (I looked askance at my own dog quite often while reading.) The author's keen and worthwhile observations we absorb will stay with us and truly makes this a one-of-a-kind gift book.

The blurb on the rear cover describes this unusual novel as "magical realism -- southern style and northern style." Although I'm not too familiar with that genre (I'm mainly drawn to history, memoirs and realistic fiction), I ventured into After The Floods while I commuted to and from downtown Detroit everyday this past Winter/Spring. The weather was cold and dry, or cold and wet; the predominant color, grey; and the exterior of the bus always smeared with salt and dirt. The city was suffering economically and mired in a corruption scandal. Very real, and not very magical.

After The Floods was an escape in one sense, to places (New Orleans after the flood, and Cold Beak, Minnesota) where some animals mysteriously speak, where an obese Birdella May Borguson becomes a local hero as she strips at a local restaurant to lose weight, where time is sometimes suspended, and where a whole host of real and unusual people live, love and survive. I loved the characters, and believed in their world, as strange and irrational as it is often portrayed by Henricksen. In that sense, the book is a worthwhile escape. If that's what you look for in a novel, then go for it.

But in another sense, the book made me look around the bus, so to speak, and wonder about some of the strangers on the bus (who really aren't strangers, because I see most of them off and on all the time). And despite the struggles around, the book helped me to see the some of the magic. And I figure that maybe my time on the bus everyday is a real-life suspension of time.

After The Flood is interesting. And add to that, Henricksen's wonderful way with words and keen sense of observation, and you end up with a great read. Here's a small sampling of his prose: "Happiness never comes alone, it always drags a shadow."

"A voice told me that truth and meaning are wanderers, living here and there, sometimes in a church, sometimes in a book, a river, or a person. And as soon as you're sure you know where they are, they're gone and you have become a wanderer too."

"On warm evenings the ice rink at the recreational complex was a meeting place. Birdie, given her pregnancy and her inexperience with skates, stayed indoors sipping coffee, but many of the others I've told you about glided around the oval plane of ice under blue lights as music drifted from the speakers. Few things are more beautiful than snowflakes illuminated by lights beneath the vast darkness, snowflakes descending on children who duck and dodge among adults, forever losing and finding one another as they call 'Marco' and 'Polo.'"

I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I still get to skate at night "beneath the vast darkness" and experience a bit of Henricksen's magical realism right around me. The cicadas are hissing outside as I type, marking another seventeen year cycle of summers. I suspect that most readers will come away with similar connections to this story, and it will evoke long-set-aside memories. If this is magical realism, then I like it. It now has has a distinct place in my library.

"After the Floods" reminds me of the "Odd Thomas" series by Dean Koontz. I know I did not get everthing on one read and this will be on our bookshelf so I can enjoy it again.

I live in Bruce Henricksen's home city so I may be biased, but to me this is an absolutely terrific novel. It gives us a rich variety of characters, all in recovery mode. I cried in one chapter and laughed until I cried in the next. One of the sites where the drama of healing is staged is the fictional town of Cold Beak, situated on the New Hope River. Fans of Lake Wobegon and readers of Garrison Keillor's new novel, Pontoon Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon, are sure to take a special delight in Cold Beak. In this town, and eslewhere in the book, magial events underline the theme of upheaval in the natural order. This theme is also reflected in the novel's somewhat deconstructed plot, a plot that makes a couple of large geographical leaps and plays some entertaining games with time itself. Nonetheless, it is all easy to follow and a joy to read. Moreover, there are moments of rare lyrical beauty. This book is five stars all the way.

I'm an amateur photographer, so when I heard an interview with Arnold Newman on NPR's Morning Edition, I knew I had to get this book. Newman is considered the inventor of "environmental portraits," in which the photographer uses surroundings to capture essential elements of his or her subject.

The photos collected in this volume span Newman's entire career and range from Senator John F. Kennedy to President Bill Clinton. The collection is mostly black-and-white. Leafing through the book, I've gotten many ideas for my own photography, but I've also gained a new appreciation for many of the historical figures Newman captured in his work.

The book is large and heavy, very satisfying to hold and look through, and will make an excellent coffee table book. Whether you're into history or photography, you'll really enjoy this book.

I just got back from the Newman exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. and although I thought I had seen most of his work, I was stunned by the boldness of some of the photo collage work and color work which I had previously only seen in B&W. The book has all of the show and many more. It was $40 there and they were selling like hotcakes. The book is beautiful and has $1 million worth of images in it. Hard to pick a favorite. Certainly Picasso and maybe Isaac Asimov too.

Excellent collection of Newman.
Everyone does environmental portraits these days.
Newman is the original and the best.
A beautiful and inspirational collection.

Arnold Newman died recently at age 88 but his photographic work will live one. Newman was known for his environmental portraiture - capturing the famous faces of his time in the atmosphere in which they created their magic and lived their lives, sometimes private, but most times public.

In this superb collection of Newman's work there are the famous photographs of Igor Stravinsky at his piano, Marilyn Monroe ('she was terrified of aging'), Carl Sandburg, Mickey Mantle, Truman Capote, Pablo Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Sir Cecil Beaton, Diana Vreeland and many more. Each subject is part of a personality scape, accompanied with the trappings that made them famous.

Arnold Newman felt that a subject's environment illuminated the subject, and while many other photographers have followed his lead, Newman remained at the top of his genre. This book is an excellent tribute (though not published as such!) to an artist departed whose legacy will linger. Recommended. Grady Harp, June 06

I love Kate Chopin and the stories were great...the condition of the book was not bad either...

Like far too many, I was first introduced to Chopin in college. As an educator, I find Chopin's work to be timeless. Chopin speaks to contemporay society--and especially American society--in ways that few authors can and do. I use "The Awakening," as one of the cornerstones (yes; one may have more than one cornerstone) of my literature class--a class that relies on trade publications rather than anthologies and "typical" textbooks for reading material. One of the unexpected rewards I have experienced while teaching this novel is that male students, generally speaking, truly enjoy the work. Given its content and storyline, one might expect the opposite to be true. Nonetheless, the novel speaks to readers of all ages and genders. I believe that virtually ANYONE will identify with the characters Chopin brings to life in "The Awakening." Not only is it the story of a woman in search of her identity--arguably, a rather Maslowian tale of ! "self-actualization"--it is the story of the human condition.

Additionally, given the story of Chopin's life, the book takes on even greater significance (sorry, but you'll have to read the book to understand why I feel this to be so).

This book is a MUST read for all who seek to dispell the myth of "June Cleaver." (Ya, I know I am not suposed to say that but this is one VERY cool book--a book that EVERYONE should read.)

Besides, "The Awakening" itself is short enough and compelling enough that one will finish it in a matter of a few evenings. That the Penguin version also contains Chopin's EXCELLENT short stories, and a good deal of equally excellent biographical and critical writing regarding the author and her works makes grabbing a copy for one's personal library a must-do.

(Buy the book.) =)

In "The Awakening", a woman rejects the drudgery of her life and decides to live selfishly, for once. Kate Chopin captivates her readers with a story of transformation and growth, and writes with clarity and ease. Perhaps most enjoyable about "The Awakening" and Kate Chopin's short stories is the vivid New Orleans setting. Chopin pays attention to the charms of Louisiana in this novel--Creole cooking and language, Southern black and French mannerisms of the time--not limiting herself by focusing on members of the elite. Definitely worth checking out!

The author, Kate Chopin, began to write when she was age thirty six. She had a ten year productive career the introduction by Nina Baym discloses. She died at age fifty three. Her work went out of print to be revived in the early 1960's. She wrote two novels and close to one hundred stories following the death of her husband and her mother.

Women, including Kate Chopin, writing after the Civil War turned to regionalism. By 1893 railroads had wrought a tremendous change. Regional writing, as the introduction points out, is tourism of the imagination. The stories are short and skilfully done. Even the use of dialect for the Cajun and Creole speakers is not off-putting. The stories have a wonderful stripped down to the essence quality. One is reminded of Chekhov.

In THE AWAKENING it is noted that the summer colony staying at the Lebrun cottages are almost entirely Creole. An exception is Edna Pontellier. She came from old Presbyterian Kentucky stock. Even as a child Edna tended to live in her own world. She feels a sense a of exaltation when she learns to swim. She has children, a husband, and becomes infatuated with a young friend, Robert Lebrun. Later Robert leaves to go to Mexico. Returning to New Orleans, Edna spends time with the people she has met at Grand Isles. Her husband is caught up in his household furnishings. When she decides to leave to live by herself in a smaller house, he prudently closes their large marital house to avoid gossip. Her absolute disregard for her duties as a wife shocks her husband. Her doctor can find no trace of the morbid condition ascribed to her. Robert Lebrun returns. He shows reserve. Leonce her husband and her children are part of Edna's life. She yields to the water of the gulf.

Kate Chopin was a writer of major achievement. One regrets, as outlined in the introduction, that there were no literary works produced by her in the last five years of her life. She was discouraged by the critical and moralistic response to her masterpiece, THE AWAKENING.

Having eaten several selections from the Best of New Orleans Cookbook, I knew the receipes were wonderful. Friends had shared the book back and forth for months. I prepared some of the dishes myself and was elated at how simple the food was to prepare and still how delicious it tasted.
I have sense ordered The Best of Italy and The Best of France. I know they will be equally as rewarding

These books are definitely among my favorites. Hands Down!

For a native of Louisiana, long time expatriated, this brings back many memories of fantastic tastes, scrumptious flavors, a savor no one should be denied. Excellent recipes! Merci bouquet, lm

My wife presented me with this cookbook as a Christmas gift a couple of years back and I initially sighed to myself, thinking that here was yet another of those flashy, little culinary marketing devices with no real cooking foundation. My pre-judgement could not have been more wrong!

I'll keep it brief but this diminutive 1994 volume features every essential Cajun/Creole recipe that you could ever wish for and they're all first-class renditions. You'll find top entries for all the well-known dishes (jambalaya, gumbo, etc.) but you'll additionally encounter some superb and lesser heard-of entries such as "Cajun Popcorn" and "Crab-Stuffed Mirliton".

Here's the table of contents:

1. First courses
2. Breads and sandwiches
3. Egg dishes
4. Main courses
5. Vegetables and side dishes
6. Desserts and drinks
7. Glossary
8. Conversion tables
9. Index

I was thrilled to also discover that Paul Prudhomme had some heavy influence in this cookbook. Paul is "The King" in the realm of Cajun/Creole cooking as far as I'm concerned and some of his K-Paul Restaurant recipes are featured.

This cookbook is 96 pages in length and the dimensions are 6 7/8" x 7". The work is heavily illustrated with beautiful color photographs (by Steven Mark Needham) of the various dishes. This is an especially important feature to the cook with these sorts of intricate ethnic recipes. The fonts, while not huge, are big enough to read easily; the book lies nicely flat when opened; and the paper is a good, heavy, slick stock which will somewhat repel spills and stains and can thus be wiped clean which such accidents occur.

"The Best of New Orleans" is one of a series: all titles begin with "The Best of..." and they include California, China, France, India, Italy, the Mediterranean, Mexico, Spain, and Thailand.

If you're into the exciting and flavorful fusion dishes of Cajun/Creole food this one is a must. The author, Brooke Dojny, has created a treasure with this entry. My highest recommendation.

I really like this book...I visit New Orleans a few times a year and one day got the urge to cook New Orleans style. I saw this book and thought I'd give it a try. I really like it! It has most of the recipes you would want to cook from New Orleans. It's a good basic New Orleans Cookbook! Now, I just need to throw a Mardi Gras Party!!

Well, I know Charlene personally and lets just say that shes' working on a few nice recipies to be published. I think my favorite is her Praline Glaze Cheesecake... mmm... Anything she cooks is great, and what a crazy lady she is. Dont let her get around her chainsaw!

One of my grandmother's died 15 years ago at age 75 and another just a year ago at age 97. There are recipes in this book almost identical to those they used during their cooking days. This book is wonderful because it actually contains the recipes that they never got around to writing down or had jotted down on a notecard and put in a bible. The recipes may have different names but they have the same rich flavor. I throw out the diet and delight my family with recipes from The Black Pot at every gathering. My dad loves it because it reminds him when...

When my grandmother died she took her recipes to the grave with her. This book is the closest I've come to recreating her food. I've used recipes for birthday's, Christmas, and family reunions and I've never failed yet following the instructions. Big Mama is folklore, it's a family history and it's divine food.

I love this cookbook! The recipes are just like grandma and great-grandma used. Being from the south I could really relate to this. It's the best southern country cookbook I have found yet! Signed, Mississippi

Col. Paul has put his heart and soul in the book - not just a cookbook. It is a history lesson and information packet as well as a tourist guide.
If you enjoy the food of this style or ever wondered why it all came to be you Must Have this book. I know personally all the work that he put into making it all it could be.

The beginning chapters of "Cajun and Creole Cooking" have no recipes. Instead, there is a in-depth history of the influences on Creole and Cajun cooking. The influence of the the West Indies, Italians, Germans, French, the Acadians is covered. I found out many things I didn't know about Louisiana cuisine, including the origins for using chicory (lack of coffee during the Civil War), why some Jambalaya has tomato in it and some doesn't (Italian influence versus the older version with no tomato.) And even the name Jambalaya is debated: is it "jambon a la ya" or ham and rice? Or is it a word meaning "gift with rice?"

Then the book commences to give recipe after recipe. The standards are here, gumbo, pirogues, maque-choux, jambalaya and etouffee. But also there is a chapter on game, including rabbit and alligator. And the most extensive chapter is, as to be expected, on fish. There are recipes originating from the famous Commander's Palace and the influence of K-Paul's is also discussed. There are unusual versions of standards, including a traditional pecan pie, with pieces of pecan, not whole nuts, and red velvet cake with no cocoa.

Not only is this fun reading, but it is probably one of the most complete Louisiana books since Paul Prud'homme's book. If you love the cuisine of Louisiana, this book is not only full of information, it is chock-full of recipes that are well-organized with a separate section in each just for the spice mixture you need to season the dish.

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (2/08)

I love Cajun and Creole food so I was thrilled to have an opportunity to try out some new recipes. But, to my surprise, not only does this book have recipes; it has a huge section of narratives depicting the Louisiana lifestyles and traditions, essential utensils and elements, as well as terms and specific Louisiana ingredients. But, there is more, there is a whole section on the history and influences of French, Spanish, African, and American Indian on the culinary traditions. With all these elements added to a traditional cookbook, one can honestly say "I read a cookbook."

I often wondered what the difference was between Cajun and Creole cooking. Basically, it's that Cajun cooking is "down home country cooking" and Creole is considered to be "fancy city cooking."

When I hear the word gumbo, I automatically think of Cajun cooking. Since I've never made traditional gumbo this was an opportunity for me to do so. I tried "Chicken Sausage Gumbo" and it was a great hit. The seasoning was just right and thickness was perfect.

Being a fan of Emeril Live on the TV cooking channel, I decided to try a recipe that reminded me of something similar I saw on his show. The Louisiana-Style Shrimp Stir-Fry was to die for! Very quick to make, I will be making this dish again and definitely for a dinner party.

The third dish I made was traditional Congri (black beans and rice.) Again, without disappointment, it was a hit. Thank goodness for it being a large recipe; we had it two days in a row and relished it both times. This is a very hearty and nutritious dish for a cold winter day.

This cookbook is a keeper! I highly recommend "Cajun and Creole Cooking with Miss Edie and the Colonel" to any lover of cooking ethnic dishes. I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Louisiana's culinary traditions are rooted in ethnic influences provided by the French, Spanish, Italian, African, and Native American elements of its history. The result are the very special culinary categories of Cajun and Creole cuisines. Edie Hand, in collaboration with William G. Paul, have compiled 150 authentic regional recipes, as well as an historical survey of significant events in Louisiana culinary history and the unique cultural food customs of the region in "Cajun And Creole Cooking With Miss Edie And The Colonel". the recipes include classic sauces, breakfast dishes, appetizers, dips, soups and gumbos, entrees, vegetables, and desserts ranging from Cajun/Creole Seafood Dip; Creole Mayonnaise; Cajun Sauce Piquant; and New Orleans Creole Jambalaya; to Creole Zucchini and Tomatoes; Cajun Fried Chicken; Creole Shrimp and Crab Meat Quiche; and Cajun Syrup Cake. Of special note is the appendices featuring Cajun/Creole Resources; Cajun and Creole Restaurants, Nightclubs, and Dance Halls; Famous Festivals of Louisiana; Tables, Measurements, and Equivalents; a Selected Bibliography; Historical Louisiana Cookbook References, an Index, and 'Colonel Paul's Seasoning Blend'. "Cajun And Creole Cooking With Miss Edie And The Colonel" is a welcome and recommended addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.