Customer Reviews

Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Marcel Bienvenu writes the "Cooking Creole" column in the "Times Picayune", and and Judy Walker is the food editor for that publication. They've written other books together, but in a sense this one was written by their readers as they sought to recover from Katrina.

On Oct. 7, 2005, Walker invited her readers to take part in a program they called "Rebuilding New Orleans, Recipe by Recipe." Essentially, the idea was to pair readers who needed a particular recipe with folks who still had theirs. Walker writes that the response was over-whelming. "It became a sort of community project; everybody wanted to help.... It was amazing, so many of the requests were for the same recipe, sometimes the same recipe on the same day."

The book contains 250 of the best recipes, each with a short essay that puts the recipe into a human perspective. Only two of the thousands of requested recipes have not been found; a gumbo recipe from a New Orleans Saints football player and a pasta salad recipe.

Some of the recipes are famous, Jamie Shannon's recipe for Tasso Shrimp with Five-Pepper Jelly; Leslie's mirliton gumbo; and the Roosevelt Hotel's shrimp remoulade, for example.

Others are clearly from home cooks, some handed down from generation to generation; these ten were taken from a file of newspaper clippings: Fair Grounds corned beef; Crabmeat Remick; Johnny Becnel's Daddy's okra gumbo; turkey bone gumbo; Jolene Black's cream biscuits; salt and pepper shrimp; Rosie's sweet potato pies; Brownies to die for; Ursuline Academy anise cookies; and rosemary cookies.

Walker describes the importance of this collection in the following words:

"Here in south Louisiana, we still have an intact food culture, thanks to every one of you who's ever made a roux. Restaurants and home cooks keep the cultural and literal flame burning under the emblematic red beans and rice on Mondays. People make their mama's oyster dressing at Thanksgiving. That's reason No. 1: We have something unique, worth saving.

"And, the region is blessed with many only-in-Louisiana ingredients -- crawfish, hot sausage, cane syrup, andouille, Creole mustard -- this list could go on and on until lunchtime. But there are not a lot of recipes in "Joy of Cooking" for crawfish or cane syrup. So that's another reason: Even when you do find a recipe for stuffed peppers, they're not stuffed with seafood as they are here. So these unique recipes, the lost ones, are specific to south Louisiana."

This is a wonderful book for people like me who have gone to New Orleans just to spend a long week-end enjoying restaurant foods on offer. The recipes and stories capture a wonderful city, its cuisine and its citizens.

Robert C. Ross 2008

This cookbook is not the most visually stimulating, with no pictures and no color. However, I quickly got over my disappointment with the overall look when I began thumbing through these fun dishes, full of Louisiana flavor and ingredients that are universally appealing. I began to realize that this cookbook was put together just as one would on their own: a collection of recipes that have been passed down through the years between family and friends. I immediately ordered 5 more as gifts.

I absolutely love this cookbook! It is truly a collection of beloved favorites, even for a former transplant who claims New Orleans as an adopted home.

Where do I start? These are popular recipes, requested by those who lost their treasured Times-Pic and other recpes in Hurricane Katrina. (What a novel idea to combine them in a cookbook. This just shows you how important food is to the culture.)

I am really impressed by the extensive range of recipes. You will find a wide range of recipes here, from appetizers, to drinks, to Lenten dishes to desserts. These foods eaten as part of the everyday the Southeastern Louisiana lifestyle. The recipes are favorites from both home kitchens and restaurants. My only criticism is that there is no etouffee recipe.

I would not recommend this book as a souvenir cookbook or for the unintiated. This is for people who know the food of the region, love it and cook it regularly. The recipes aren't extremely difficult, but a properly made roux can be challenging if you've not done it before.

If you know anyone who misses NOLA and her foods, buy this book.

99% of the houses in my community were flooded when the levees failed during and after Katrina, ALL of our possessions were lost. Cooking in Louisiana is almost a religion, much like politics and football, not having family recipes is a big thing to us. The Times-Picayune( picayune-a small coin) newspaper received many requests for lost recipes, over the years they had run weekly columns with favorite local recipes for everyone to share, they were our only hope in trying to recreate a little bit of home by way of favorite cooking. This printing, in book form, of some of the most requested recipes was a god-send to many in the area. The book is invaluable to the people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, giving them the ability to once again create for their families great comfort food. All who like to cook will be glad to have this book on their cookbook shelf.

COOKING UP A STORM is an excellent addition to the abundance of New Orleans cookbooks. Born out of a humanitarian campaign by the two editors to restore the treasured local recipes that had been lost in Hurricane Katrina, the book provides a thorough survey of Creole and Cajun cuisine.

I saw this book and immediately knew I needed to order it. I grew up in Louisiana and love the food from my home state. I live in Charlotte now and while there are ok creole/cajun restaraunts, there is no place like home. I sat down and read this cookbook from front to back and I felt like I was in South Louisiana. I love the stories that go with the recipes to let you in on a little history. The recipes themselves are awesome and anyone who loves creole/cajun food will love this book. I also commend the TP for putting this out, they never fail to deliver a great cookbook.

There are a lot of good home cooking recipes here as well as some resturant recipes. Ms. Bienvenu once again did not disappoint me.

As a displaced New Orleanean I was pleased to find recipes from my childhood as well as some new dishes to try.

The recipes are also a celebration of South Louisiana's cultural diversity, Cajun, French, Irish, Italian, ...and so on.

I recommend this book for your Louisiana cookbooks shelf, right next to The Picayune's Creole Cookbook, River Road Recipes I & II, and anything by Chefs John Folse or Paul Prudhomme.

Cooking Up a Storm has large variety of recipes from the South. Many are from establishements that are no longer in business. Several of the recipes have the story and history behind it. It's not only for cooks, but for people interseted in a little piece of New Orleans history! Don't miss out on this one!

Everybody who loves Louisiana cooking should have this book! The recipes are old family ones, recovered after Katrina, and the accompanying stories are delightful.

Growing up in New Orleans was such a wonderful experience. My family had to move away when I was 15 due to my father's job. I live close by in Louisiana now. I did not lose recipes because of Katrina. Because of the love and generousity of the Times-Picayne and the people of the area, Katrina brought about this cookbook. My office mate at the bank cried when I shared the book with her. She lost a home and a business in St. Bernard. Thanks to everyone who had a part in this book.