Rating: 
Summary: A must have for any cook...
Review: I received this book as a christmas gift last year and it has quickly become my favorite. In addition to great cajun recipes, it is a fun read...The Cajun meatloaf is to die for!
Rating:
Summary: Let the good times roll.
Review: I was given this book as birthday present, and I had cooked a number of cajun recipes on the box from store bought products, like Zatarain's. This book takes you to a whole new level. This is for those cooks that love to try their hand at Cajun and Creole. My famliy, my wife, kids, parents, and siblings have had some of the recipes and love them. Like Chinese cooking many preparation steps are involved, along with phases for each dish, yet its worth it. Cajun is all about the spices and blending not the heat. I now can make dirty rice from scratch, its great. Can't wait to cook the cajun meatloaf with the cajun hot sauce as the complement. As in Louisiana, have fun and let the good times roll.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Paul but Oh those Calories
Review: I've had this book for 12 years now and it is much stained from use. Cajun Meatloaf, Shepherd's Pie, and the Jambalaya with Creole Sauce are classics in our house, but alas, not as frequently as in earlier years as many of them are highly caloric. Some of them do take a great deal of time as well. Still the bible for old-fashioned New Orleans cuisine.
Rating:
Summary: THE best cookbook I've ever read
Review: I've owned this cookbook for about five years, and still haven't made anything out of it that wasn't delicious. It's loaded with wonderful recipes and explanations of techniques that will help you become a better cook. This book is good for a beginner or an advanced cook. There are some simpler recipes (for example, the Cajun Meatloaf) that are good starting points for someone who is just starting out....they still taste wonderful. I didn't know much about cooking when I started using this book, and quickly figured out what I was doing and the results were better than I could imagine. The recipes do require several spices (but aren't too spicy), but once you make a few of the dishes, you'll have everything you need in your spice rack... Some prep work is involved, but no more than you'd find in any other cookbook. Once you start cooking, you'll find that the results are well worth the time. I just took my first trip to New Orleans and was almost disappointed with some of the food because the recipes Chef Paul shares with you are better than almost anything you can find in the French Quarter.
Rating:
Summary: Zen and the Art of Making Gumbo
Review: If you have ever wanted to cook the same fine foods you ate when you visited South Louisiana (or even if you never have visited the bayou) then this is the cookbook for you. I grew up in Louisiana and now live many cotton fields, rivers, praries and mountains away. Not once have I ever had an unsatisfied craving for cajun food simply because Louisana Kitchen is a bookshelf away. If you ever have the privilege to taste a bowl of Gumbo better than the recipe in this book, I promise I would give you your money back if that was legally possible. The only drawback to this book is now every time I order cajun food anywhere in the world it's a letdown because I can make it so much better thanks to Chef Paul! I will say you must enjoy cooking if you purchase this book. If you don't have a love for chopping vegetables, making roux or boiling shrimp shells I would suggest a lower maintenance cookbook because Paul don't cut no corners and there's a reason for that!
Rating:
Summary: Zen and the Art of Making Gumbo
Review: If you have ever wanted to cook the same fine foods you ate when you visited South Louisiana (or even if you never have visited the bayou) then this is the cookbook for you. I grew up in Louisiana and now live many cotton fields, rivers, praries and mountains away. Not once have I ever had an unsatisfied craving for cajun food simply because Louisana Kitchen is a bookshelf away. If you ever have the privilege to taste a bowl of Gumbo better than the recipe in this book, I promise I would give you your money back if that was legally possible. The only drawback to this book is now every time I order cajun food anywhere in the world it's a letdown because I can make it so much better thanks to Chef Paul! I will say you must enjoy cooking if you purchase this book. If you don't have a love for chopping vegetables, making roux or boiling shrimp shells I would suggest a lower maintenance cookbook because Paul don't cut no corners and there's a reason for that!
Rating:
Summary: Tingling Palate
Review: In less than 3 months this has become our favorite cookbook! The Roasted Pork and Seafood Dirty rice leave you dreaming about your next trip to New Orleans. If you can't make it to Louisiana this cookbook brings Louisiana to you.
Rating:
Summary: The techniques in this book can be adapted even for low fat
Review: Later on in his career, Chef Paul Prudhomme took up low fat cooking to save his life. However, this book was written before he got "religion" and is not for the fat-conscious. Having said that, can there be anything in this book for people who do not wish to eat a lot of fat? The answer is "yes" and here is why: Chef Prudhomme gives a very useful set of techniques to maximize the flavors that make the complex spice bouquet of real Louisiana cuisine. As an example, I have used the Jambalaya recipe in this book many times. It is different from most recipes for this rice-sausage-and-meat cassarole. Prudhomme's version is served with a wonderful spicy tomato sauce surrounding a molded cupful of the rice mix. This is a very elegant presentation, adds moisture and flavor to the dish...and allows you to substitute ingredients and still get the sense of the genuine thing. (I use turkey Kielbasa, cut way down on the oil and use lean chicken breast for the meat.) The sauce is what makes this work so well. Chef Prudhomme recommends "building" flavors by adding spices and herbs in stages. Some at the beginning, sauted at first, some later on near the end, to freshen the taste. He also makes a very important instruction about the miripoix mix--the onion, green bell pepper and celery base of many Cajun and Creole dishes. He says it's best to cut the vegetables, especially the bell pepper, very fine as that preserves the taste. It's true. Larger pieces of pepper taste bitter and flabby. This kind of advice makes Prudhomme's book extremely useful. If you follow the flavor building advice, you can cut out a lot of the fat and substitute lean meats and still get good results from this book. Of course, you can't make a roux (flour and oil, cooked dark for a thickener) with no fat. So that can limit you. Or you make the recipes as written every once in a while for party occasions when the brakes are off. Either way, the techniques in this book are very useful.
Rating:
Summary: THE cookbook for learning how to cook
Review: Our original copy got destroyed (flooded counter, moldy book) so this is one cookbook we had to replace, even though we have some of our favorite recipes nearly memorized. Our favorites are black roux gumbo and chicken tchopitoulas (try sans chicken for a late sunday hearty breakfast)and of course jambalaya. Mama's yeast rolls are a must on the holiday.
Rating:
Summary: Place of honor among cookbooks in my kitchen!!
Review: Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana kitchen is one of my favorite cookbooks. I had the good fortune to find it at a garage sale and it has a place of honor on my shelf. The recipes are easy to use and every thing is very tasty. My favorites are the Cajun Meatloaf with Very Hot Cajun Sauce for Beef and Red Beans and Rice with Ham Hocks and Smoked Andouille Sausage. I strongly recommend this cookbook for anyone who likes cajun cooking
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