Louis Osteen's Charleston Cuisine [Hardcover]

Louis Osteen (Author), Bret Lott (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1999

Since 1979, Louis Osteen has been making Charleston mouths water with his sumptuous upscale adaptations of Lowcountry fare. When the success of Louis's Charleston Grill, located in the Charleston Place Hotel for eight years, was assured, he took the chance and opened his own freestanding restaurant, Louis's.

Louis Osteen's Charleston Cuisine delivers over 170 creative recipes that make the regional cuisine something to write home about. Structured around the seasons, these recipes allow even the home cook to re-create the sophisticated dishes served daily at Louis's. From Pepper Seared Tuna with Mustard Greens to Grilled Pears with Spinach and Clemson Blue Cheese in a Warm Onion Dressing to Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake with a Molten Center, Louis makes food into a high art. Which might explain why he was selected to entertain the Prince of Wales during his visit to Charleston in 1990, why the New York Times named him "the spiritual general of the new Charleston chefs," and why Esquire selected Louis's as one of the Best New Restaurants of 1998.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Osteen, founder of Louis's in Charleston, S.C., has produced a generous, exuberant collection of good old Southern cooking that seems to be inspired by everything from the latest food trends to local church picnics. Showcasing Lowcountry cuisine, the book highlights oysters and luscious crab, game, country ham and locally grown fruits and vegetables. Creamy grits, Red-Eye Gravy, Spoon Bread, Buttermilk Biscuits and the author's mother's Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding are all given their due. Osteen presents his recipes seasonally with dozens of ideas for soups and starters, main courses, sides, breads, desserts, sauces and glazes. Fall starters such as Country Ham, Caesar Salad with Spicy Fried Oysters and White Bean Soup with Mustard Greens are followed by Panned Quail with Pan Gravy, and Quick BBQ Pork Sandwiches. Among winter's selections is a festive holiday meal of Christmas Goose and Gravy, complete with Rum Cake with Caramelized Bananas. The spring delicacy Pan-Fried Soft-Shell Crabs gives a hint to the book's sumptuous summer selections, which, while focusing on the grill, include Osteen's famous McClellanville Lump Crab Cakes with Whole-Grain Mustard Sauce. While many dishes call for time-consuming preparations (such as preserving duck), these recipes will inspire tasty home-cooking. 16-city author tour; BOMC/Good Cook selection. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Osteen is the talented and personable chef of Louis's Restaurant & Bar in Charleston, SC, which, like his earlier restaurant ventures, has gained a national following. Many of his mouthwatering dishes feature Southern ingredients used in unusual ways, as in Barbecued Pork Rillettes, Charleston Chile-Pickled Shrimp, and Preserved Duck with Fried Grits, not to mention Jack Daniels' Chocolate Ice Cream. Although some of the recipes have a number of components, many are quite simple to prepare. Recommended for most collections. [BOMC/Good Cook selection.]
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books (January 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565120876
• ISBN-13: 978-1565120877
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,128,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Southern Cooking, February 19, 2001

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Louis Osteen's Charleston Cuisine (Hardcover)

This respected southern chef takes typical cooking of the lowcountry and dresses it up with slightly different flair with spices and sauces and accompaniments that are not your typical fare of the area.

For example, the Roasted Pork Loin with Red Cabbage Braised with Chestnuts or athe Roasted Squab with Wild Rice and A Shallot and Garlic Confit in a Cabernet Sauce are sophisticated yet with the down home feel and comfort of the southern cuisine.

I've found the dishes to be masterful in this mild fusion, e.g. Duck Breasts with Espresso-Infused Sauce and Creamy Grits or the Mashed Potatoes with Sun-Dried Tomatoes add just the touch of newer fare to enliven the finest of the sultry south.

Crab Cakes are the best around -- with the cracker base! Also a great Grill Section here, meat and veggies and all kinds of sauces and glazes including a standout "Cognac Barbecue Sauce."

Neat twist, one that my palete enjoys!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the friendly culinaire, January 17, 2000

By 

H. L. Thomas (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Louis Osteen's Charleston Cuisine (Hardcover)

Louis Osteen's Charlseton Cuisine brings the highlights of Southern Cuisine into the 21st century through the techiniques of European cooking fused with the ambitions of a New South Cuisine. The recipes, antedotes and guidelines are all written with a voice that expresses warmth and love for the foods presented in this excellent book. If you have ever wanted to explore the culture of a part of America without actually going there (almost) then this is the book for you. Food is the culture of any geographical region and Charleston Cuisine is a star on any map.
And even better, Louis is a great chef, one whose food expresses the chef more than the chef expressing the food.
He inspires and is a driving force for the foods of the always becoming new New South.
Buy the book, cook your way through it, and then explore other works of Charleston, or Carolina, or lowland cuisine.
This is as good a place to begin as any when trying to understand what it is that makes regional cuisine so good.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different perspective..., January 4, 2001

By 

Erik Hoover (Cleveland, OH formerly Charleston, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Louis Osteen's Charleston Cuisine (Hardcover)

Having seen Louis in action (I was a Chef at Charleston Place Hotel) I can confirm that Chef Osteen's food is something to experience and is definately memorable. Buy this book for the Crabcakes with Dijon Mustard Sauce alone! And if you ever get a chance to eat at his restaurant - DO IT. I miss hearing his expediters calling "pickup" and "order in".