[.ca] Cajun Cuisine: Authentic Cajun Recipes from Louisiana's ... (ISBN 0935619003)

From Amazon.com:
The magic and mystique behind Lousiana's Cajun (or Acadian) cuisine are completely revealed in this collection of recipes from the heart of Cajun Country: the bayous of southern Lousiana. In her introduction to Cajun Cuisine, third-generation Acadian Marie Louise Comeaux Manuel writes, "Acadian (Cajun) Cuisine is a recipe in itself. For ingredients, take the classical French cuisine, combine it with Spanish classical cuisine, blend well, take herbs and spices from France and Spain and sometimes couple with seasoning learned from the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Then be sure to add the ingenuity, the creativity and the keen taste of the refugee Acadians.... Now, add the exotic taste and magic seasoning of the African cook. Voila! This is Acadian cuisine." The differences between Cajun and Creole cuisines are explained (the Creole cuisine of New Orleans is fattier and more highly seasoned), then the home cook is treated to more than 200 recipes, from breakfast to dessert, designed to bring forth the bayou.Favorites such as fried okra and Maque Choux are represented, as well as 11 different gumbos (even one with squirrel!) and seven recipes for Jambalaya. There's a recipe for Alligator Stew, plus two ways to prepare frog legs, and the book closes with a generous dessert section, which naturally includes Pecan Pralines and Tarte á la Bouillie, a classic Cajun custard pie. The recipes are simple and straightforward and have clearly been tested in homes for the past couple of centuries--no processors or microwaves need apply; all you need is a sharp knife and a big iron pan. Put some Zydeco music on the stereo, fry up some oysters, and let the good times roll!

The Most Authentic Cajun Cookbook Ever:
I have spent my entire lifetime eating cajun food, and most of my adult life cooking it. Many of the recipes used by my grandmothers and my mother were lost to me, but since I discovered CAJUN CUISINE, I have recovered many of them. I have eaten, at one time or another, almost everything listed in this book, and as a bonafide cajun who grew up in the country where money was scarce but food was not, I can assure any reader that these recipes are as authentic as the cajuns themselves, and were designed to feed families well with tasty, inexpensive, and plentiful food products. BRAVO to Mr. W. Thomas Angers for a job well done.

Stands The Test Of Time:
There is a very good reason that this book has been in print for these many years, it is sound and complete! Before it was all the rage, before TV chefs and countless others were jumping on the Cajun food bandwagon, this book was there! As a Louisiana cookbook author myself, I must admit, when all is said and done, this one has not only become the granddaddy of them all, but it is the most thorough and it's still the best HANDS DOWN! (Don't Take My Word For It, check it out!)

Ms. Anita Gelbart needs to stick to Georgia cookin'!:
Gelbart isn't a Cajun name, so please pay no attention to her review. Me (a Cajun with a Cajun name - LeJeune), my Cajun friends, my Cajun family, and Cajun and African American and Cajun cooks I have known in Louisiana have always cooked with cut okra, and the end product is not slimy or gooey. And just because Emeril and Paul Prudhomme are chefs doesn't mean that they know how to cook EVERYTHING. Not to mention that I have never met anyone in Cajun Country who made a roux with butter - lard maybe! - but not butter. Trust the creators of the recipes! The food speaks for them!

It's Cajun cuisine-the good, the bad, and the ugly:
This is a good primer in real Cajun Cuisine. The recipe for Tarte Ala boullie is worth the price of the cookbook alone. This is a custard pie with a risen, sweetened crust. Le Gateau Au Vin, or Cake of wine is also an excellent dessert as is the fig cake which is so sticky, and sweet that even after one puts plenty of flour down on the pan, it still sticks to the pan. I say this is a good primer, because many of the recipes are simple, but they provide a good beginning when creating a dish. For example, there is a recipe for beef and cabbage jambalaya which is simply ground beef, cabbage, and rice, but it gave me the idea to kick it up a few knotches. I use beef stew meat that I cut by hand, real homemade beef stock, bay leaf, and tomato. I created an excellent dish based on the original. Of course, there are plenty of very good shrimp recipes in this cookbook. Corn soup with shrimp, shrimp sauce picante, and shrimp potato balls all turned out to be recipes worth repeating. The only bad part about this book would be that even bad Cajun recipes are included. One was chicken-okra gumbo. It was so heavy on the okra that it became a bowl of slime. No one, not Justin Wilson, or even Emeril Lagasse know how to properly cook okra. Unless it is to be fried, okra should never be sliced. It should always be cooked whole to prevent the sliminess that repels most people from eating okra. I also believe that only butter should be used when making a roux, and in a dish like gumbo file, it should be cooked a day ahead of time, and refrigerated. The following day the grease should be spooned off the top before reheating, and serving.

Excellent Cajun Cook Book I would advise other to purchase!:
I have used this cook book to put together some excellent dishes. I find the directions easy to follow for a novice in the kitchen my cajun dishes allways turn out excellent. If you are a vetran in the kitchen or just starting out this book is a must. Your meals will turn out well when you use this top quality cook book. When I use this book to cook for friends I come off a pro every time. If you want to enjoy excellent Cajun Cuisine this is the book for you.