Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 1 OCT 2002

Acadiana "Cajun" cooking, America's popular regional cuisine, is captured here by self-taught Dore, who has lived on Avery Island, La., since 1949. With her husband, she managed the Tabasco Company Commissary, cooking for the island's residents, visitors and owners, the McIlhenny family. The book, written with Bienvenu (a Cajun expert best known for co-authoring four books with Emeril Lagasse), is divided into seasons that reflect the rhythm of the island and the cyclical nature of the produce and ingredients used. Within each season, the recipes are divided into menus marking different events, from a May Wedding with Party Pecan Tarts using a flaky cream cheese pastry dough, through a Fourth of July Barbecue with its uncomplicated Commissary Cole Slaw and Eula Mae's Potato Salad (given a kick from Tabasco pepper sauce), to A Family Thanksgiving Feast with a simple Roasted Chicken. Brief descriptions before each recipe ("grits, for those of you not familiar with them, are simply finely ground corn") give the book a homey feel that echoes Dore's dishes, and the reminiscences that she sprinkles throughout add flavor and color to a book that brings this traditional regional style to kitchens everywhere.