Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #501156 in Books
• Published on: 1985-10
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .91" h x 7.78" w x 9.48" l, 1.29 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 223 pages

From Amazon.com
The magic and mystique behind Lousiana's Cajun (or Acadian) cuisine are completely revealed in this collection of recipes from the heart of Cajun Country: the bayous of southern Lousiana. In her introduction to Cajun Cuisine, third-generation Acadian Marie Louise Comeaux Manuel writes, "Acadian (Cajun) Cuisine is a recipe in itself. For ingredients, take the classical French cuisine, combine it with Spanish classical cuisine, blend well, take herbs and spices from France and Spain and sometimes couple with seasoning learned from the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Then be sure to add the ingenuity, the creativity and the keen taste of the refugee Acadians.... Now, add the exotic taste and magic seasoning of the African cook. Voila! This is Acadian cuisine."

The differences between Cajun and Creole cuisines are explained (the Creole cuisine of New Orleans is fattier and more highly seasoned), then the home cook is treated to more than 200 recipes, from breakfast to dessert, designed to bring forth the bayou.Favorites such as fried okra and Maque Choux are represented, as well as 11 different gumbos (even one with squirrel!) and seven recipes for Jambalaya. There's a recipe for Alligator Stew, plus two ways to prepare frog legs, and the book closes with a generous dessert section, which naturally includes Pecan Pralines and Tarte á la Bouillie, a classic Cajun custard pie. The recipes are simple and straightforward and have clearly been tested in homes for the past couple of centuries--no processors or microwaves need apply; all you need is a sharp knife and a big iron pan. Put some Zydeco music on the stereo, fry up some oysters, and let the good times roll!

About the Author
W. Thomas Angers, is a Lafayette Louisiana author, publisher and attorney. He first became interested in cajun cuisine when he worked for his familys magazine, Acadiana Profile Magazine, a regional magazine about Louisianas' cajun country. It is there that he first became acquainted with the writings of Marie Louise Comeaux Maunuel, director emeritus of the School of Home Economics at the then University of Southwestern Louisiana, situated in the heart of cajun country. Her article on the origins and nature and component parts of cajun cooking is the most scholarly and informed on the subject. Mrs. Comeaux-Manuel became a consultant on the production of the book and the article became a component of the book.

Mr. Angers published this book in respone to a perception that so many were seeking to know and understand what comprises authentic cajun cuisine and to fulfill that need.