New Orleans Classic Desserts

What a remarkable collection of local favorites and the kind of desserts visitors to New Orleans never forget. Whenever I get a hankering to return to New Orleans, I open my copy and drool over the spectacular photographs. The bread pudding recipes are right on, love the Cafe Brulot Pudding Cake and can't get enough of the Pecan Pie. I've given it as gifts for almost every occasion and it never fails to receive applause. That New Orleans chefs would offer their recipes to the world is just another indication of their warmth and generosity. The behind-the-scenes side stories and history behind the city and the desserts make me long to return. It is as much a book to read with relish and delight as it is a cookbook.

New Orleans is one of my favorite cities and the restaurants are remarkable. This book brought back so many good times in good places that I almost cried. The stories that accompany the recipes bring me back every time. I've made most of the desserts in the book and each have been outstanding recreations of the desserts I've enjoyed in the restaurants. Best of all was Cafe Brulot Pudding Cake, and then perhaps the Bread Pudding, or maybe it was the Bananas Foster. The photographs send me straight to the kitchen in a frenzy.

What an amazing dessert book! The recipes are well-written and easy to follow. The photography is stunning. Really brings out my sweet-tooth and makes me want to start cooking right away. Chef Robert Barker's Cafe Brulot Pudding Cake will knock your socks off! This dessert book is a must have, and given its reasonable price, is perfect for gift giving.

There's New Orleans...and then there's ... NEW ORLEANS. New Orleans is the not-yet-back-up-and-running St. Charles streetcar. NEW ORLEANS is the RTA Desire bus line. New Orleans is the French Quarter. NEW ORLEANS is the undiscovered beauty of Fauborg Marigny. There are also two "New Orleans'" in the culinary world. New Orleans is anything with "Bam's" name on it (Falls River, MA's own Emeril Lagasse). NEW ORLEANS is the fabulous new restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Melange, that has dishes from the city's most famous restaurants on its menu. And New Orleans is knowing where to find the best main courses in the city, but NEW ORLEANS is knowing where to find the best desserts. Well, it has been until now. FINALLY, someone has written the ultimate New Orleans dessert cookbook. Yes, if you are adventurous enough in some cases, you too can try this at home. (Warning, though, beignets are harder to make CORRECTLY than they seem!!) New Orleans Classic Desserts by Kit Wohl is more like an art book than a cookbook. Shop for it with your knife and fork. Just as the old divining rods found water, your utensils will find this book. The photography is amazing. The dishes literally jump off the page and onto your plate. But this book is more than recipes and photos (although they are filling enough for any appetite). Ms. Wohl has a way of writing that weaves its way through each recipe...giving some history of the great restaurants from whence they hail as well of some of the fascinating personalities behind the names. Speaking of names, just before I read this book, I read Linda Ellerbee's tome "Take Big Bites" which takes you around the world through the eyes of her stomach. (Notice a trend in my choice of reading material??) I thought I noticed a familiar thread when I saw that both authors (Ellerby and Wohl) credit each other in their books. These two foodies are friends!!! And lo and behold, an Ellerbee recipe finds its way onto the pages of N.O.C.D. Look at this book in the store. Flip through the pages (take a napkin with you). Salivate over it in the store and then buy it. Take it home and fatten yourself up on these great New Orleans desserts (the few I've tried are actually very non-chef friendly!). You won't regret it for a minute. As they say down in New Orleans...Lessez Les Bon Temps Roulez!!!

This will be a real collector's treasure! One that everyone who ever visited or wanted to visit New Orleans (as well as locals) will want to own. It is truly authentic and offers the very best of the best of New Orleans' most famous dessert recipes. The writing in this book absolutely sparkles and reads like a best seller novel that fairly captures the reader with sprinkles of history, tales, and local nuances along with being thoroughly seasoned with humor. You can tell the writer must be deeply involved in New Orleans' tastes and culture. The photography alone is worth the price of the book - the reader can almost taste the pages they are so luscious and sensuous. But the real gift is that the recipes are truly DOABLE!!! even by a novice! You will want at least 2 of these - one for you and one for a gift that will be relished by anyone who can read!