Customer Reviews

Commander's Kitchen : Take Home the True Taste of New Orleans With More Than 150 Recipes from Commander's Palace Restaurant

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Commander's Palace-My favorite restaurant in the world! Everyone should visit their restaurant in New Orleans. The service is wonderful and the food can't be beat. That is unless you try the recipes in this book.

The head chief and one of the family owners wrote this book. The recipes are generally Creole with some Cajun thrown in. The book blends New Orleans tradition, family/restaurant history, recipes and most importantly tips on preparation. The stories are intriguing and I have read this book from cover to cover.

One of my favorite sections is the "Commander's Kitchen Pantry." This section is made up of basic ingredients recipe-such as Creole seasonings, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and various breads. I have used these basics in my own cooking-adding much flavor.

The only knock that I have with this book is that certain recipes fall into the trap that many chef written books. Many recipes assume that you read between the lines. For example, the New Orleans Style Barbecue Shrimp doesn't recommend that you remove the shrimp from the pan before you create the wonderful sauce. If you don't do this, the shrimp will overcook. Another example is that I burned the Spicy pecans I still haven't figured it out why; maybe by not using an insulated a pan or maybe the temperature was too high...

Recipes I would try tonight are: New Orleans style barbecue shrimp, bread pudding soufflé, crab and corn Johnny Cakes with caviar, and Jambalaya. This is a great book to add to your kitchen.

If you appreciate gourmet cooking you will love this cookbook. I was delighted when I discovered that a new Commander's Palace cookbook was being written by the current Chef! This cookbook has lived up to my expectations. There are close to 200 nouveau and traditional creole recipes included with spendid instructions. Many of the menu favorites are included, like the turtle soup and bread pudding soufflé. The only thing that would make it better is if there were a few more photographs of the dishes.

This cookbook is a true delight.

This cookbook really is incredible. It's not only filled with many wonderful recipes from the famous New Orleans restaurant, but also with stories about the history of the legendary restaurant as well.

The recipes are just what you would expect - the best. Everything from appetizers to drinks to mouth watering desserts are included. What I love most though is along with most of the recipes are little stories behind the recipes. Where they came from. How they came to the restaurant. There's also some short tales about the history of the restaurant itself. That's what I love most about the cookbook - the little stories that make the recipes that much more special.

Overall the book is incredible and I highly recommend it. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is I thought it could have had some more pictures and illustrations.

As a longtime fan of Commander's Palace (and creole and cajun cuisine in general), I found the book as much fun to read as the dishes were to prepare. The beautifully presented recipes and well written preparation tips were made all the better by the inclusion of tidbits of New Orleans and Brennan family history. This book is a must have for both veteran and novice cooks interested in preparing great Louisiana style food.

Every recipe that we have tried from this book has been a hands down home run with our friends and family. The recipes are scaled for truly generous portions. For Christmas Eve dinner we prepared the Venison Stew and the Jalepeno Corn Bread for family in the upper midwest. They liked the meal so much that we left them the recipe book and I have just ordered another for myself!

This is an excellent compliment to one of the best restaurants. I love to cook & eat!! Most restaurant have cookbooks where its hard to duplicate their meals. Usually they have recipes that are toocomplicated (require kitchen appliances the average person doesn't have or ingredients impossible to find). Nothing is further than the truth with this book. It has easy to follow recipes, which can be cooked with basic cookware. The dishes come out fantastic. If you love creole food, but can't get to New Orleans regularly-- BUY THIS BOOK. You won't regret it.

Commander's Palace-My favorite restaurant in the world! Everyone should visit their restaurant in New Orleans. The service is wonderful and the food can't be beat. That is unless you try the recipes in this book.

The head chief and one of the family owners wrote this book. The recipes are generally Creole with some Cajun thrown in. The book blends New Orleans tradition, family/restaurant history, recipes and most importantly tips on preparation. The stories are intriguing and I have read this book from cover to cover.

One of my favorite sections is the "Commander's Kitchen Pantry." This section is made up of basic ingredients recipe-such as Creole seasonings, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and various breads. I have used these basics in my own cooking-adding much flavor.

The only knock that I have with this book is that certain recipes fall into the trap that many chef written books. Many recipes assume that you read between the lines. For example, the New Orleans Style Barbecue Shrimp doesn't recommend that you remove the shrimp from the pan before you create the wonderful shrimp. If you don't do this, the shrimp will overcook. Another example is that I burned the Spicy pecans I still haven't figured it out why; maybe by not using an insulated a pan or maybe the temperature was too high...

Recipes I would try tonight are: New Orleans style barbecue shrimp, bread pudding soufflé, crab and corn Johnny Cakes with caviar, and Jambalaya. This is a great book to add to your kitchen.

When my wife and I recently visited the Commander's Palace restaurant and sat at the Chef's Table (located in the kitchen where you are pampered by the staff), current Executive Chef Tory McPhail wrote "Eating great...New Orleans style!" on a menu he signed as a memento of our visit. Not only was he right about the food we had at Commander's Palace that evening, but he also provides a short and to the point description for this cookbook.

This book is a must for those that "live to eat" (as opposed to those that "eat to live") and truly enjoy the New Orleans and Creole food styles. The recipes we've tried so far have turned out wonderfully (the recipe for the Chocolate Molten Souflee alone is almost worth the price of the book) and, thus far, have been easy to follow. The narratives provided by the authors about both the food and the restaurant itself are a great addition to the great recipes.

I would recommend this book, and the restaurant, to anyone.

Having spent 4 years of my life in Texas I was introduced to the wonders of Creole and Cajun cuisine. Generally, Creole developed in the city of New Orleans using local produce but influenced by the multicultural nature of the city. Cajun (or Acadian) cooking is food from the country.

I am partial to the simplicity of one-pot cooking offered by Cajun cooking. These are wonderful hearty and spicy meals (gumbo, red beans & rice, etoufee, jambalya) that I often cook to serve large groups of people. In fact, Chef Jamie includes many of these recipes in the "crew" section of the cookbook since he used them for staff meals.

This signed first edition is in immaculate condition. It arrived well packaged and earlier than expected. Kudos to the vendor!

If you've ever eaten in New Orleans, this cookbook will just call out to you to prepare dishes -- Creole Bread Pudding, Shrimp, and so much more. This is a premier go-to book for the incredible food served at Commander's. Heck, just wandering through the pages is a luscious experience...So much so that you'll want to run out to the grocery store and start cooking.

I love this book! I became aware of this book when I went to dine at Commander's Palace many years ago and was greeted just inside the entrance to the restaurant by Ella Brennan herself, who was so excited to introduce the book. I bought it right then and there, and she autographed it for me.

I love the wonderful memories and stories shared by the author. I've read the book from cover to cover and now consider some of the recipes to be among my favorites of everything that I cook. My husband and I love to entertain a lot of people at a time, so it is really helpful that many of the recipes are meant to serve a large number of people, or can easily be multiplied.

I'm not a natural cook. By that, I mean that I follow recipes word for word. These recipes have never failed me. They are relatively easy to follow and the pictures are terrific. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to cook tasty creole/cajun inspired food. In fact, I recently purchased a used copy at Amazon to give to my sister.