281505 Mon Dec 05 23:24:59 -0800 2005 18 31 Home Cooking 0 1497936 A friend asks for a recommendation on a Cajun cookbook. Anyone know of a solid, unpretentious, BAM!-free guide to this great old cuisine? Much obliged. Mon Dec 05 23:24:59 -0800 2005 0 Tom Philpott 1 1497943 Justin Wilson had a PBS show in the 70-s 80's and published a couple of cookbooks. Don't know if he is still around but his recipes were very unpretentious and fun. They are good "I gar-on-tee!" You might find them in a used book store. published by Pelican Publishing Co 1101 Monroe St Gretna LA 70053: The Justin Wilson Cookbook The justin Wilson #2 Cookbook: Cookin Cajun The Justin Wilson Gpurmet and Gourmand Cookbook --Let me tole you how come the reason for the title "Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook." A gourmet is an epicure, a person who loves to eat well-prepared food. A gourmand is just a P-I-G hog. Me, I'm both"--Justin Wilson find these if you can--this is Cajun cooking before Paul Prudhomme hit the scene with blackened everything and packaged spice blends. How to cook alligator tails, squirrel and rabbit gumbo, eggplant crawfish casserole, jambalaya, baked chicken what-the-hell, vennison etouffee, collard au vin, rice pudding falernum. The real thing. Tue Dec 06 01:11:00 -0800 2005 1497936 0 toodie jane 2 1497981 I had the pleasure of meeting Justin Wilson. A fine Southern gentleman with a great sense of humor. He passed away a few years ago. I have one of his cookbooks and it is filled with great recipes and stories. Tue Dec 06 10:15:29 -0800 2005 1497943 0 chileheadmike 3 1498005 I discovered Mr Wilson from KQED on my local cable in the 70's. What a kick! I treasure the cookbook that I got, and after getting it out to answer this post, I'm smiling all over again. He must have been awesome to meet! Tue Dec 06 11:12:04 -0800 2005 1497981 0 toodie jane 4 1498034 His show was extremely entertaining and silly fun. One thing I noticed from his cookbooks is that he often includes dried mint in his spice mixes. Tue Dec 06 13:06:19 -0800 2005 1498005 0 petradish 5 1498048 Long Live The King - LOVE Justin! He is the epitome of cooking vibe. A totally formative food experience for me . . . he mashed raw garlic with salt to a paste as the base of oil and vinegar salad dressing, and it's just the best way to start. Tue Dec 06 13:22:00 -0800 2005 1498034 0 pitu 6 1498133 I can still picture him in his red suspenders giving cooking directions... "Now whatchu gotta did is...." he was a true American treasure. Tue Dec 06 18:37:09 -0800 2005 1498048 0 PolarBear 7 1498139 I loved him too. When he added wine to a dish it was: "a cup of wine less a sip" ;-) / Also, "good Louisiana wine even if it does come from California". He was very funny and very unpretenious. RIP Tue Dec 06 19:16:43 -0800 2005 1498133 0 Robert 3 1498246 I'm so sorry to hear he's gone. What a wonderful man. I think of all the chefs I've seen on TV, he's my all time favorite. How can we get him back on the tube in re-runs? I wonder if tapes of his shows are available for purchase anywhere? If not, his relatives are missing out on a goldmine. I'd certainly buy them all. Wed Dec 07 12:34:08 -0800 2005 1497981 0 Niki Rothman 2 1498040 Thanks for reminding me about JW's "I gor-on-tee!" You might enjoy the "White Trash Cookbook" - Jim Leff recommends in it the book section of this site. Probably available used. Tue Dec 06 13:15:21 -0800 2005 1497943 0 Niki Rothman 1 1497970 I have a nice smallish cookbook from Tabasco that I really like. Not very comprehensive, but there are all of their versions of the classic Cajun and Creole recipes. I bought it in New Orleans, but they have a web site. Everything I have made from it worked really well. Tue Dec 06 09:44:03 -0800 2005 1497936 0 Tugboat 1 1497971 I have used my wedding gift copy of Chef Paul Prudhomee's Louisiana Kitchen (ISBN 0-688-02847-0) regularly since receiving it almost 20 years ago. It's a wonderful primer, and everything I've made has been a huge hit with my family. Tue Dec 06 09:46:04 -0800 2005 1497936 0 kaydee2 2 1497976 That's the one, of several Cajun/Creole cookbooks on my shelf, that I use most often as well. The recipes may not be the most absolutely authentic out there, but the results taste the best. Tue Dec 06 09:52:58 -0800 2005 1497971 0 FlyFish 2 1498037 My wife and I love that cookbook. But watch the salt- I like salt and he often has double what I want. Also, some of his dishes have huge amounts of butter which can be diminished without (too) much loss of flavor. Tue Dec 06 13:11:02 -0800 2005 1497971 0 Tom Hall 1 1498022 Paul Prudhomme's "Louisiana Kitcen" is the best if you're going to get only one. He's also got about 3 others (he has an 800 number and maybe a website where he sells them and cajun ingredients and his own spice/herb mixtures - the chicken, fish, veg, meat - are great - the BBQ spice mix is weird). If you want more, I also love goofy ole Justin Wilson, who had a TV show making krazie Kajun Kuisine way before the Food Network. He would clown around nipping the cooking sherry type of shtick. His recipes are simple and really good. There are also a couple of books by his relatives who tried to cash in on his fame. I also really like Emeril Lagasse's cookbook with the recipes from the Commander's Palace (?) restaurant in New Orleans. Tue Dec 06 12:09:29 -0800 2005 1497936 0 Niki Rothman 1 1498095 "Cajun-Creole Cooking" by Terry Thompson-Anderson is good. I like that one better than Prudhomme's "Louisiana Kitchen"(which I also have.) Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/094067274X/qid=1133900777/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-7457691-4604051?s=books&v=glance&n=283155 Tue Dec 06 15:38:44 -0800 2005 1497936 0 Chimayo Joe 1 1498103 There is a true Cajun chef who is not a "star" no television shows etc. His name is Jude Theriot and has published about 5 Cajun cookbooks including a new low carb Cajun book where the recipes he developed helped him lose 100 lbs. Pelican Press is his publisher. He used to be on the cooking demonstration book pushing circiut and I had the pleasure of assisting him in the kitchen several times when he visited the shop where I worked. His recipes are good, his recipes are easy to understand and if you Google up his name you will find links to his books. Also Amazon has them. Just search on his name in books. Tue Dec 06 16:21:05 -0800 2005 1497936 0 Candy 1 1498126 When I lived in Baton Rouge, the two books Louisiana native friends gave me were The Evolution of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John Folse (he had a restaurant called Lafitte's Landing in Donaldsonville) and a creole cookbook called La Bouche Creole (only the title is in French) by Leon Soniat. Both include the classics and Soniat's book has wonderful passages with family and food memories. I also like The Commander's Palace Cookbook for its fancy NO recipes. Tue Dec 06 18:05:21 -0800 2005 1497936 0 Junie D 2 1498201 I'll second La Bouche Creole, as well as make a recommendation for the Lafayette Jr. League's "Talk About Good." My family (parents) had a restaurant called Lafitte Restaurant in Orange Texas in the 80s, coincidentally - La Bouche Creole's recipes are most like my mom's cooking, which, of course, was the best ;-) An interesting Acadian/cajun cookbook: "The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook." I just got it - serious stuff! Wed Dec 07 09:25:52 -0800 2005 1498126 0 rudeboy