Louis Osteen's Charleston Cuisine (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Bret Lott (Foreword) "As I began organizing my recipes for a cookbook, it seemed natural to group them according to the seasons..." (more)
Key Phrases: Wadmalaw Sweets, Pawleys Island, Grey Poupon (more...)

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.

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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.com Sales Rank: #778,785 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 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 (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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!

8 of 10 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)

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.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better to enjoy Osteen's work in his restaurant, September 24, 2000

By A Customer

There's a lot to like in this book.....if you're prepared to try to be a professional chef in your own home. Like a lot of cookbooks written by great chefs (and I'll give Osteen that) or their ghostwriters, there are the problems of getting complicated recipes right, and whether one wants to take the time involved. Osteen's approach to "updating" Low-Country cooking takes a very "nouveau" bent, and strays pretty far from the original at times. If you're looking for new interpretation of this classic cuisine, a far better choice is "The New Low-Country Cooking" by Marvin Woods. If you want the real thing, then "Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking" by John Martin Taylor is the book for you; just make sure to keep a tub of lard on hand, as many the traditional recipes call for it. Finally, if what you're after is to "explore the culture of a part of America without actually going there", Osteen doesn't provide that; Taylor and Woods do, and very well indeed.