The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook [Hardcover]

Ella Brennan (Author), Dick Brennan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 1984

There is a quiet culinary revolution going on at Commander's Palace a one-hundred-year-old restaurant in the center of New Orleans' Garden District. Here diners gather to enjoy a fabulous "new" New Orleans cuisine. dubbed "Haute Creole." New Orleans is the birthplace of many fine classic dishes -- such as shrimp remoulade, seafood gumbo, oysters Rocketeller, trout amandine, and pompano en papillotte. At Commander's Palace this classic cuisine has been changed to fit today's more health-conscious lifestyles. Only the freshest local ingredients are used, heavy sauces have been replaced by light sauce reductions that intensify spicy Creole flavors. and nouvelle French and Chinese cooking techniques and Japanese modes of presentation have been adapted. The results have been glowingly praised. As Bon Appetit magazine said in its cover story on Commander's Palace, "The Brennans are simply attempting to add an element of originality to a style of American cookery which has already made its mark in the annals of gastronomy but which is now ready for innovative reappraisal."

The leaders of the Haute Creole revolution in New Orleans, and the owners of Commander's Palace, are Ella and Dick Brennan. Brother and sister, they are part of the famous Brennan elan that started Brennan's restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans forty years ago. The name Brennan is synonymous with the finest in New Orleans food. In 1974 Ella and Dick took over Commander's Palace, renovated it, and turned it into one of the most innovative, imaginative dining spots in New Orleans. This book brings together for the first time the fabulous recipes and secrets of this exciting restaurant.

There are more than 175 recipes in all, including drinks, appetizers and soups, salads, seafood, chicken and game, beef and veal, and desserts and coffees.

Regional American cuisine has never been more popular. This book should be a welcome addition to the cookbook library of anyone interested in fine Southern cuisine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"New Orleans' most beautiful restaurant."

-- Travel & Leisure

"Ella Brennan is the reigning queen of Louisiana cuisine." -- People magazine

From the Inside Flap

There is a quiet culinary revolution going on at Commander's Palace a one-hundred-year-old restaurant in the center of New Orleans' Garden District. Here diners gather to enjoy a fabulous "new" New Orleans cuisine. dubbed "Haute Creole." New Orleans is the birthplace of many fine classic dishes -- such as shrimp remoulade, seafood gumbo, oysters Rocketeller, trout amandine, and pompano en papillotte. At Commander's Palace this classic cuisine has been changed to fit today's more health-conscious lifestyles. Only the freshest local ingredients are used, heavy sauces have been replaced by light sauce reductions that intensify spicy Creole flavors. and nouvelle French and Chinese cooking techniques and Japanese modes of presentation have been adapted. The results have been glowingly praised. As Bon Appetit magazine said in its cover story on Commander's Palace, "The Brennans are simply attempting to add an element of originality to a style of American cookery which has already made its mark in the annals of gastronomy but which is now ready for innovative reappraisal."

The leaders of the Haute Creole revolution in New Orleans, and the owners of Commander's Palace, are Ella and Dick Brennan. Brother and sister, they are part of the famous Brennan elan that started Brennan's restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans forty years ago. The name Brennan is synonymous with the finest in New Orleans food. In 1974 Ella and Dick took over Commander's Palace, renovated it, and turned it into one of the most innovative, imaginative dining spots in New Orleans. This book brings together for the first time the fabulous recipes and secrets of this exciting restaurant.

There are more than 175 recipes in all, including drinks, appetizers and soups, salads, seafood, chicken and game, beef and veal, and desserts and coffees.

Regional American cuisine has never been more popular. This book should be a welcome addition to the cookbook library of anyone interested in fine Southern cuisine.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (December 13, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517550490
• ISBN-13: 978-0517550496
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.9 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just like a trip to New Orleans, March 27, 2000

By 

Jay Reiss "Student of Spiritual Wisdom" (Santa Barbara, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook (Hardcover)

As a proud owner of literally hundreds of cookbooks, it's always a wonderful surprise to discover a terrific book that I've never seen or heard of before. The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook is just such a book. This book was recently used as the basis of two recipes in a gourmet cooking class I attend once a week, and the results were outstanding, to say the least. We started the meal with Commander's Garlic Bread which was served with Creamy Tomato Bisque with Lump Crabmeat and a Chiffonade of Fresh Basil. The main course, grilled salmon and barbequed mouth watering smoked spare ribs, were simply out of this world ... with a sauce inspired by this book's suggestions. But when we got to the dessert! We made Bananas Foster, a favorite dessert in New Orleans, and one of the most rich and wicked desserts you'll find anywhere - flambéed with banana liqueur and rum, and served over vanilla ice cream. This recipe alone will transport you to another world... a world that will have your taste buds swirling for days and leave you hankering for a trip to New Orleans to visit the Palace yourself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1980s fashionable New Orleans recipes are workable, but deficiencies abound, April 25, 2009

By 

Reader A "Reader A" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook (Hardcover)

The Commander's Palace is consistently rated one of the best restaurants in the United States and is de facto the place where many chefs specializing Louisiana-based cooking obtained their apprenticeships, including Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme as two of the most famous examples. It specialty is in the time-honoured Creole cuisines with a little bit of Cajun influences thrown around.

You would have expected a book that is Commander's first official cookbook would provide all the classics of the Creole cuisine that the restaurant prepared. Alas, it was very much a book that was a product of the 1980s low-fat especially butter and low in flour sentiments. So for example, the recipe for seafood gumbo on page 37 doesn't include roux and oysters Rockefeller is not even featured at all. Bear in mind also that the book was published at the time when Emeril Lagasse was the executive chef there, so fusion recipes like crawfish and pasta with stir-fried vegetables or Lagasse's touches dishes like duck jambalaya were all there.

The recipes themselves are workable using home cookware and turn out perfectly if you follow the recipes like the Brennan salad or the Creole onion soup.

But many spice mixtures like the Creole seasoning mixes or crab boil, are not well defined at all. Similar to fish or meat curry powders in many Singaporean or Malaysian cookbooks published in Southeast Asia, it is assumed spice mixtures are commonly available at every market. In the case for Creole spice mixes, it is the case in Louisiana but nowhere near true when you try to replicate the recipes in Auckland or London. It would be very handy to provide methods to produce such spice mixtures from scratch. But I must stress I sense the Brennans have not withheld any secrets behind the recipes in the book as like Patsy's restaurant cookbook does, and the non-mention of making spice mixtures is due to their assumption of widespread availability.

In sum, the book could have been better that is now, and if you have eaten at Commander's Palace it is a good souvenir to take home. I wouldn't recommend it if you rely on this as the only title to give you the full picture of Louisiana Creole cooking. There is also a second and currently marketed official cookbook published in 2000 by Ti Adelaide Martin and Jamie Shannon. Purchase that book instead or alongside this title.

A 3.5 star rating.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes, December 4, 2008

By 

Christine Smith (Andalusia, AL United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook (Hardcover)

I purchased this last year for myself and haven't had much chance to use it until this Thanksgiving. I have used some of the hints and recipes. I used the oyster dressing recipe for the first time and everyone says it was the best we ever had. We all loved it, but it did take such a long time to prepare....it would have helped if I had some good old stale New Orleans french bread to make crumbs! I used the creole seasoning on the turkey and it was delicious. Since then, I used it (just a bit) on a steak and it was really good, too. There are more recipes I plan to use. For the most part: you can't be in much of a hurry while cooking, but OMG, it is so worth the effort. I recommend this book!!!!