Customer Reviews

Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was very excited to find this book, in perfect condition, at a garage sale for $1.00!!! What a treasure! I was more thrilled to see the recipe for the Banana Cream pie that my husband and I had at his restaurant in New Orleans. I decided to make it for a special occassion. I knew something was wrong when it said to mix 3/4 c. corn starch with 1 cup cream. I stopped there and looked up the recipe on-line. I found other mistakes but it was to late...we are having banana soup on mushy crust for my husband's 45th birthday today. This wasn't the first recipe errors I've found in this book, but the most expensive. (Price vanilla bean right now and you'll see what I mean.) Now I understand why this 'treasure' was put out for 'trash'. Quantities are wrong and important directions are omitted. What a waste!

Emeril Lagasse has created a fine collection of what he calls "New New Orleans Cooking". The recipes are straightforward, although some people may have trouble obtaining some ingredients ( I mean, who carries duck glaze, and will you cook a duck just to get a glaze?) Every dish that I have prepared has been extremely well received by my family and friends. Chef Lagasse has also included enough "basics" for the beginning cook. All in all, an excellent effort and a worthy additon to any cook's bookshelf.

Now that he has a NBC sitcom (and who thought that would be a good idea?) and his own cookware line (at least it's All-Clad), everyone might be getting sick of Emeril and his "schtick", but this book predates all of that.

This was his first book and its still his best. The contents are a good range, from "traditional" cajun/creole offerings (with some lincense taken) to some quite original recipes. A warning though, nearly everything is very rich. It's a wonder that Emeril doesn't look like Paul Prudhomme with all the butter and cream he uses, but it does taste awesome. What I like particularly is that many of the recipes are inclusive of side dishes that compliment the main dish, therefore making it easier to make single dish presentations to each person you're cooking for. Also, many of the serving sizes are low, which is nice. For the most part, I tend to cook for 2-4 people, so recipes for 6-8 always produce leftovers.

Emeril has put together a collection of really nice dishes here. I haven't found a bad one in the bunch yet. You may need to practice your technique on some of the procedures to get top results, but in all these are quite delicious.

I've had wonderful experiences at Nola and Delmonico's, two of Emeril's New Orleans restaurants, so I was quite excited about getting my hands on some of his recipes. I was not disappointed. The instructions in this book are clear and precise and the quality of the results make the effort and expense required worthwhile. One proviso: many of the dishes call for spices, oils, stocks, etc., that must be prepared in advance. This is not ultra-quick food, but it is great fun and superbly delicious.

Emeril's New Orleans Cooking

Without question, Emeril has his fans and his critics. Many people love his showmanship, his style and his flare when presenting whatever he's cooking. Others find him, well, less desirable, perhaps overrated and a hack when it comes to food preparations. So when this book came out, I saw it both hailed and panned. But...the panning came a little heavier than usual. Which prompted me to pick it up and see for myself.

Without a doubt this is an Emeril book. It has his style and panache all over it. But, the complaint from his critics was that the recipes were hacks and rip-offs from Good New Orleans recipes and regional cooks. With that, I took the liberty of contacting some friends in the local New Orleans area.

Reviews from there were as mixed as the critic's reviews. Either they liked Emeril or they didn't. He was either a cooking wizard or a short order hack. But when I asked about the recipes that were in the book, none could disagree that the basis, the core elements of the recipes were not New Orleans originals.

People seem to forget that there is no "copyright" to regional cooking, nor style, flavor or means. The recipes in Emeril's book are core. And so, the recipes are from some of the areas located around New Orleans and their residents. Which, honestly, make it a legit New Orleans cookbook. And with the amount of styles, people cultures and areas in, around or at New Orleans, you would be having volumes of recipes from there.

This book has but a sampling of what can be found in New Orleans. Those people not living in the area will find this book, enjoyable, informative and loaded with good recipes. Those from the New Orleans area might find this book lacking and superficial at best.

I don't find this particular Emeril book as good as his others, but a good resources for those who like to try new things, and are causal cooks.

While these are not "quickie" recipes, many that we have made are unforgettable. A great collection of recipes that are perfect for dinner parties when you don't need to watch your fat content. Emeril is a one of a kind genius. I was shocked that ANY of the reviews for this book were negative.

This is a fun book. So far, I've made and loved the Goat Cheese Quesadillas with homemade pico di gallo and guacamole. It was fantastic! The Southwest cheese pie is incredible as well. The cilanto potato salad was so-so. The recipe's are definitely impressive. The main caveat is that you need to plan to spend a lot of time prepping! The recipes are not difficult, but it seems that Emeril never buys anything pre-made. Make your own tortillas...your own pie crust...your own seasonings! I definitely take short cuts (i.e. pie crust, tortillas). But I did make the seasoning.
I recommend this book for anyone who really likes to spend time in the kitchen and do a lot of work. For people who don't really care to cook, skip it.

Emeril's books are sometimes criticized for the immense popularity of the writer. But this one does not deserve such an attack. I am an avid amateur chef who loves spicy food and New Orleans cooking. This book does a fantastic job of giving you the down earth cooking that we all need in our lives. Yet, to call some the recipes unsophisticated or the like would be an insult to the variety of flavors and techniques within its pages. I think this by far his strongest cookbook and one I have bought on a couple of occasions for friends. This is a great book.

When I first discovered Emeril on TV I became more interested in cooking Cajun. I wanted to try his Essence, Sausage, the way he made chicken broth, etc.... I even made PiriPiri. I have tried most of his recipes in all his cookbooks and loved every one of them. I now make my own Essence and stock. I make sausage, homemade with my Mixer attachments. Love this book. Dont leave home without it..........