Louisiana Real and Rustic

Another great and diverse book of Emeryl Lagasse ! Since I put my nose in his books I improved a lot my cooking skills! Not a lazy chef but a lot of recipes !

I had to laugh when I read some of the reviews for this book. People in Wisconsin saying that the food isn't authentic Cajun, a vegetarian Jew lambasting the cuisine of my culture for being "insensitive." Emeril sure can stir folks up. Listen, cher, my family has lived in Louisiana since before there was a Louisiana. Part Creole, part "river-road", part Cajun, I've eaten it all. Most cooks down here don't cook from a recipe--they cook the way their mamas taught them and use whatever they have handy at the time. The food in this cookbook isn't New Orleans cuisine, by and large.....it's exactly what the title says--rustic country food that's about as close to the taste of the bayou as you can get. A couple of these recipes are bad, I'll admit. The rice dressing recipe is a dud, and I don't know where he got the idea that we "cedar plank" anything in South Louisiana. But for the most part, the recipes look like they way I was taught to cook by my grandmere, MiMi. When I get sick of fusion food, low-fat, fast food, no-carb, wasabi crusted everything topped with a port wine reduction, I get out those old cast-iron pots and get busy. This is by far the least "Emerilized" of any of his books, and in my opinion, by far the best.

"Louisiana - Real and Rustic" is probably the best book on authentic cajun cooking available to date. Being half authentic cajun - I'm descended from a long line of Southwest Louisana rice farmers - I can honestly state that a number of the recipes in the book, or variations thereof, could be found on my grandmother's table at any given time.In order to fully appreciate the style, one needs to understand a little history of the region in order to grasp the development of the cuisine. When the British expatriated the french settlers from Nova Scotia in the 1700's, many of them found their way to Louisiana. They were peasant farmers, not aristocats, and arrived with little more than what they where wearing. As soon as they arrived, they began doing the only thing thay knew - farming.Being simple country people, they lived off the land...what they grew, and what the land provided. Now, combine 17th century french peasant cookery with native Louisiana crops and animals and viola! Acadienne (cajun) cooking. What Emeril has done in this book is to capture the spirit and flavor(s) on the region, without the white tableclothes and imported wine lists found in New Orleans. In fact, to truly enjoy many of the dishes, try eating them outside on a wooden picnic table, while drinking a cold beer and enjoying the shade of a pecan tree.Chef Lagasse has his distractors, but what successful person doesn't? Many of the less than favorable reviews of his material question his 'authenticity'. One of the things that the critics don't take into account is an old cajun expression which simply states that "every cook knows his own pot best". In other words, no two cajuns are going to cook anything exactly as his neighbor does. Chef Lagasse provides the basics...learn them. Then start adding your own touches. That's the way the style evolved.Lezze lais bon temps rouler (Let the good times roll!)

This is one of the more used cookbooks in my collection. Most of the recipes in this book contain ingredients that are easy to find (In Wisconsin in winter, nontheless!) and directions that are easy to follow. Most of the recipes I have tried don't take too long considering they are cajun/creole foods. I usually keep a jar full of the rustic rub around and I use it on everything; fish, chicken, steaks, potatos, everything. A few of the recipes are things most of us are familiar with but with little twists like adding orange zest to french toast (pain perdu, at least I never did that before...). Most of the recipes I have tried can be made in under an hour, good for special weekday dinners. In short, if you like to cook, don't mind spending a little extra time in the kitchen, like to eat great tasting food that isn't too hard to make, check out this cookbook. You'll like it.

I'm from New Orleans and have been a weekend chef for years. This book rapidly became my favorite along with the cookbook from Antoine's. This book represents real Louisiana cooking, from all parts of the state. It is not a book of fancy, trendy, glamour food, but real Louisiana cooking at its finest. Emeril really has a true Louisiana soul. I had the pleasure of dining at Emeril's in the New Orleans warehouse district while he was behind the chef's bar with two of his chefs. They cut up, made jokes, drank shots, passed out food and drink samples. We all had a great time. He works hard and plays hard. That is the real Louisiana spirit. This book captures a lot of that spirit. Try the chicken and sausage gumbo, the red beans and rice, or shrimp and okra gumbo to start. You'll be hooked too!