Cajun Cuisine: Authentic Cajun Recipes from Louisiana's Bayou Country

Rating:
Summary: Being a true Cajun, I can attest to the authenticity.
Review: Being a true Cajun, born and bred to cooking, I cannot stress how many times I turn to Cajun Cusine for the tried-and-tested good recipes of my ancestors. These recipes fire up the taste buds, and make my mouth sing and dance as if a zydeco band were playing loud and vibrant Cajun tunes! Look out stomach, the party begins. Laissez les bon temps rouler! These recipes are the "real" things.

Rating:
Summary: Best cookbook I've used! (I'm a true Cajun!)
Review: Cajun Cuisine is, without a doubt, the best Cajun cookbook that I've ever used. I was born and reared in Southern Louisiana, and the recipes detailed within closely mirror the exact techniques, seasonings, and spices that I had learned by watching both my grandmothers in their kitchens, and how I was personally taught by my grandfather at his hunting camp. You CANNOT go wrong with this book! Jacques

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Anita Gelbart needs to stick to Georgia cookin'!
Review: Gelbart isn't a Cajun name, so please pay no attention to her review. Me (a Cajun with a Cajun name - LeJeune), my Cajun friends, my Cajun family, and Cajun and African American and Cajun cooks I have known in Louisiana have always cooked with cut okra, and the end product is not slimy or gooey. And just because Emeril and Paul Prudhomme are chefs doesn't mean that they know how to cook EVERYTHING. Not to mention that I have never met anyone in Cajun Country who made a roux with butter - lard maybe! - but not butter. Trust the creators of the recipes! The food speaks for them!

Rating:
Summary: The Most Authentic Cajun Cookbook Ever
Review: I have spent my entire lifetime eating cajun food, and most of my adult life cooking it. Many of the recipes used by my grandmothers and my mother were lost to me, but since I discovered CAJUN CUISINE, I have recovered many of them. I have eaten, at one time or another, almost everything listed in this book, and as a bonafide cajun who grew up in the country where money was scarce but food was not, I can assure any reader that these recipes are as authentic as the cajuns themselves, and were designed to feed families well with tasty, inexpensive, and plentiful food products. BRAVO to Mr. W. Thomas Angers for a job well done.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Cajun Cook Book I would advise other to purchase!
Review: I have used this cook book to put together some excellent dishes. I find the directions easy to follow for a novice in the kitchen my cajun dishes allways turn out excellent. If you are a vetran in the kitchen or just starting out this book is a must. Your meals will turn out well when you use this top quality cook book. When I use this book to cook for friends I come off a pro every time. If you want to enjoy excellent Cajun Cuisine this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Cajun Cook Book I would advise other to purchase!
Review: I have used this cook book to put together some excellent dishes. I find the directions easy to follow for a novice in the kitchen my cajun dishes allways turn out excellent. If you are a vetran in the kitchen or just starting out this book is a must. Your meals will turn out well when you use this top quality cook book. When I use this book to cook for friends I come off a pro every time. If you want to enjoy excellent Cajun Cuisine this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Simple, succulent Cajun dishes.
Review: It is the most used book in my kitchen. All the recipies are simple enough for me to wow the native Cajuns. And that's saying something! It's also the easiest Cajun cookbook I've ever used. Your 5 star rating of Cajun Cuisine is much deserved.

Rating:
Summary: Stands The Test Of Time
Review: There is a very good reason that this book has been in print for these many years, it is sound and complete! Before it was all the rage, before TV chefs and countless others were jumping on the Cajun food bandwagon, this book was there! As a Louisiana cookbook author myself, I must admit, when all is said and done, this one has not only become the granddaddy of them all, but it is the most thorough and it's still the best HANDS DOWN! (Don't Take My Word For It, check it out!)

Rating:
Summary: It's Cajun cuisine-the good, the bad, and the ugly
Review: This is a good primer in real Cajun Cuisine. The recipe for Tarte Ala boullie is worth the price of the cookbook alone. This is a custard pie with a risen, sweetened crust. Le Gateau Au Vin, or Cake of wine is also an excellent dessert as is the fig cake which is so sticky, and sweet that even after one puts plenty of flour down on the pan, it still sticks to the pan. I say this is a good primer, because many of the recipes are simple, but they provide a good beginning when creating a dish. For example, there is a recipe for beef and cabbage jambalaya which is simply ground beef, cabbage, and rice, but it gave me the idea to kick it up a few knotches. I use beef stew meat that I cut by hand, real homemade beef stock, bay leaf, and tomato. I created an excellent dish based on the original. Of course, there are plenty of very good shrimp recipes in this cookbook. Corn soup with shrimp, shrimp sauce picante, and shrimp potato balls all turned out to be recipes worth repeating. The only bad part about this book would be that even bad Cajun recipes are included. One was chicken-okra gumbo. It was so heavy on the okra that it became a bowl of slime. No one, not Justin Wilson, or even Emeril Lagasse know how to properly cook okra. Unless it is to be fried, okra should never be sliced. It should always be cooked whole to prevent the sliminess that repels most people from eating okra. I also believe that only butter should be used when making a roux, and in a dish like gumbo file, it should be cooked a day ahead of time, and refrigerated. The following day the grease should be spooned off the top before reheating, and serving.

Rating:
Summary: It's Cajun cuisine-the good, the bad, and the ugly
Review: This is a good primer in real Cajun Cuisine. The recipe for Tarte Ala boullie is worth the price of the cookbook alone. This is a custard pie with a risen, sweetened crust. Le Gateau Au Vin, or Cake of wine is also an excellent dessert as is the fig cake which is so sticky, and sweet that even after one puts plenty of flour down on the pan, it still sticks to the pan. I say this is a good primer, because many of the recipes are simple, but they provide a good beginning when creating a dish. For example, there is a recipe for beef and cabbage jambalaya which is simply ground beef, cabbage, and rice, but it gave me the idea to kick it up a few knotches. I use beef stew meat that I cut by hand, real homemade beef stock, bay leaf, and tomato. I created an excellent dish based on the original. Of course, there are plenty of very good shrimp recipes in this cookbook. Corn soup with shrimp, shrimp sauce picante, and shrimp potato balls all turned out to be recipes worth repeating. The only bad part about this book would be that even bad Cajun recipes are included. One was chicken-okra gumbo. It was so heavy on the okra that it became a bowl of slime. No one, not Justin Wilson, or even Emeril Lagasse know how to properly cook okra. Unless it is to be fried, okra should never be sliced. It should always be cooked whole to prevent the sliminess that repels most people from eating okra. I also believe that only butter should be used when making a roux, and in a dish like gumbo file, it should be cooked a day ahead of time, and refrigerated. The following day the grease should be spooned off the top before reheating, and serving.