Customer Reviews

Cajun Cuisine: Authentic Cajun Recipes from Louisiana's Bayou Country

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's hard to learn to cook Cajun food from a cookbook; the food traditions of the Cajuns of Southwest Louisiana have been passed down orally for 400 years, and only in the "Cajun Cuisine" craze of the late '80s-early '90s did Cajun cookbooks really start to become popular.

These recipes are stripped down to the bare basics, because that's how Cajuns do it. Cajuns don't customarily use Emeril's Essence (remember, Emeril is from Boston) or carefully measured spices. It's a dash of this, a dash of that, until it tastes right. Don't make it too spicy; you can add your hot sauce later. You will never be able to make authentic-tasting Cajun food if you follow a recipe to a T.... that's not how it's done! You also need to learn how to modify recipes to suit your tastes... if you don't like file' powder, don't add it (many Cajun cooks don't add file' to anything, some put it on the table for you to sprinkle in yourself, some use it heavily). If you don't like okra, don't use it! Again, not all Cajun cooks do (although in response to the reviewer below, when Cajuns do use okra in gumbo, it is always sliced, and it is always slimy. Some people like it that way.)

This book provides excellent framework-style recipes for you to do what you want with. If you want to add tomatoes, go ahead! No one's stopping you! If you want to pour in a half gallon of Tabasco, feel free! If that's how you like it, that's how you like it. If you want to make your roux with butter (or oil or lard or bacon grease) do it that way! It won't change anything important, the recipe will still be fine. That's the beauty of Cajun food.

In response to the other reviewer who complained about a lack of pictures, the reality is that Cajun food is not as pretty as New Orleans food, and therefore doesn't make for terribly appealing photos. Gumbo looks like brownish-gray glop, but it tastes like heaven. That's just the way it is. If they'd included pictures, the sauces piquantes, the gumbos, the stews, the fricasees and the etouffees would've all looked the same, and how much would that have really helped? Plus, the drawings that are included in lieu of pictures are really adorable.

Get this book, and don't be scared to experiment with it! That's what it's all about!

Cajun Cuisine is, without a doubt, the best Cajun cookbook that I've ever used. I was born and reared in Southern Louisiana, and the recipes detailed within closely mirror the exact techniques, seasonings, and spices that I had learned by watching both my grandmothers in their kitchens, and how I was personally taught by my grandfather at his hunting camp. You CANNOT go wrong with this book! Jacques

It is the most used book in my kitchen. All the recipies are simple enough for me to wow the native Cajuns. And that's saying something! It's also the easiest Cajun cookbook I've ever used. Your 5 star rating of Cajun Cuisine is much deserved.

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!)

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.

Being a true Cajun, born and bred to cooking, I cannot stress how many times I turn to Cajun Cusine for the tried-and-tested good recipes of my ancestors. These recipes fire up the taste buds, and make my mouth sing and dance as if a zydeco band were playing loud and vibrant Cajun tunes! Look out stomach, the party begins. Laissez les bon temps rouler! These recipes are the "real" things.

This is a book about cajun cuisine. That is all you are getting. That may seem odd to say that since this is the name of the book but many know that cajun cookboks will often have numerous other recipes that may be creole, traditional southern, soul or classical french. Even italian. This is specificaly cajun and not southern louisiana. You get what you pay for.

Because the book operates from a narrower scope you may not have the recipes you want. No red beans and rice for example that is a creole dish. You may also notice the lack of tomatoes in many dishes that you normally think would have them. The crawfish etoufee for example has no tomatoes which is classical cajun. This etoufee is little more than butter and the trinity. You get a down to basics recipe for maque choux and i use it often. This book gives you everything you need to be a cajun cook but maybe not everthing you want.

There are many dishes here that you may have never heard of. Try the louisiana pear cake one time. A spice cake with fresh pears is all the rage now at my little restaurant here in tennessee and some of the recipes have allowed me to expand and my offerings to my customers who are not cajun. In fact cajun cake recipes are one of the real strong points of this book. There are about 10 of them compared to only 2 in prudomme's book. You get everything from that pear cake to wine cake and syrup cake. All are wonderful.

This book has helped me as a restaurant owner to become a self taught cajun chef. Everything from cajun ginger cake to vegetarian gumbo. You can't help but love this book.

Why the 4 stars? No dry spice measurements. The dry spice mix is the standard of paul prudomme's recipes but all this book gives you is is cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. How about telling me how much you normally use? Also unlike the prudomme book this book has no photos of the prepared food. Prudomme's book has many full color photos. No extras here just recipes. No colors or diagrams and even though the author is an expert on cajun cooking there is no significant background given about the dishes. No history, nothing to tell you where the dish comes from or how it has evolved. A book of recipes is great but we all can find dozens of recipes for almost anything online. I'm looking for more than that.

Note that almost none of these recipes makes use of justin wilson's standard flavorings. Wilson uses bitters in about 1/3 of all his savory dishes and worcestershire sauce is used in about 2/3 and all have hot sauce. These ingrediants are rare in this book. In fact i can't think of one recipe that uses bitters.

If you are looking for a solid collection of authentic cajun dishes this is it. They work. But if you want a more complete south louisiana work paul prudomme's book is superior for the same price.

This review is coming from a writer who has a mother who cooks some of the best cajun food in south Louisiana. Yet she even uses Mr. Anger's Cajun Cuisine for dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and sauce piquante. If you really want to know how to make a roux, there is no better place to look. This book sets a new standard for Louisiana delight. Wonderful recipes that will spice up your palate.

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!

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.