Chef Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen - by Paul Prudhomme (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Here for the first time, the famous food of Louisiana is presented in a cookbook written by a great creative chef who is himself world-famous. The extraordinary Cajun and Creole cooking of South Louisiana, a cornerstone of Southern cooking, has roots going back over two hundred years, and today it is the one really vital, growing regional cuisine in America. No one is more responsible than Paul Prudhomme for preserving and expanding the Louisiana tradition, which he inherited from his own Cajun background.

Chef Prudhomme's incredibly good food has brought people from all over America and the world to his restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans, a landmark for authentic Louisiana cooking. To set down his recipes for home cooks, however, he did not work in the restaurant. In a small test kitchen, equipped with a home-size stove and utensils normal for a home kitchen, he retested every recipe two and three times to get exactly the results he wanted. Logical though this is, it was an unprecedented way for a chef to write a cookbook. But Paul Prudhomme started cooking in his mother's kitchen when he was a youngster. To him, the difference between home and restaurant procedures is obvious and had to be taken into account.

So here, in explicit detail, are recipes for the great traditional dishes--from classic gumbo recipes to unforgettable jambalayas, Shrimp Creole, Turtle Soup, Cajun "Popcorn," Crawfish Etouffee, Pecan Pie, and dozens more--each refined by the skill and genius of Chef Prudhomme so that they are at once authentic and modern in their methods.

This landmark chef cookbook, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen is also full of surprises, for he is unique in the way he has enlarged the repertoire of Cajun and Creole food, creating new dishes and variations within the old traditions. Seafood Stuffed Zucchini with Seafood Cream Sauce, Panted Chicken and Fettucini, Veal and Oyster Crepes, Artichoke Prudhomme--these and many others are newly conceived recipes, but they could have been created only by a Louisiana cook. The most famous of Paul Prudhomme's original recipes is Blackened Redfish, a daringly simple dish of fiery Cajun flavor that is often singled out by food writers as an example of the best of new American regional cooking.

For Louisianians and for cooks everywhere in the country, this is the most exciting cookbook to be published in many years.

Inside this classic Cajun cookbook, you'll master the dishes that made Chef Paul Prudhomme a legend:

• Louisiana Cooking: Learn the secrets to the vital, growing regional cuisine of America, from a chef who inherited the tradition from his own Cajun background.
• Restaurant-Quality Recipes for Home Cooks: Every recipe was retested multiple times in a home-size test kitchen, ensuring you can replicate his world-famous food with the stove and utensils you already own.
• Famous New Orleans Recipes: Master the great traditional dishes, including unforgettable jambalayas, Shrimp Creole, Turtle Soup, and dozens more refined by Chef Prudhomme's skill and genius.
• The Original Blackened Redfish: Discover the daringly simple, fiery Cajun recipe that food writers singled out as the best of new American regional cooking.

From the Back Cover

Here for the first time, the famous food of Louisiana is presented in a cookbook written by a great creative chef who is himself world-famous. The extraordinary Cajun and Creole cooking of South Louisiana has roots going back over two hundred years, and today it is the one really vital, growing regional cuisine in America. No one is more responsible than Paul Prudhomme for preserving and expanding the Louisiana tradition, which he inherited from his own Cajun background.

Chef Prudhomme's incredibly good food has brought people from all over America and the world to his restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. To set down his recipes for home cooks, however, he did not work in the restaurant. In a small test kitchen, equipped with a home-size stove and utensils normal for a home kitchen, he retested every recipe two and three times to get exactly the results he wanted. Logical though this is, it was an unprecedented way for a chef to write a cookbook. But Paul Prudhomme started cooking in his mother's kitchen when he was a youngster. To him, the difference between home and restaurant procedures is obvious and had to be taken into account.

So here, in explicit detail, are recipes for the great traditional dishes--gumbos and jambalayas, Shrimp Creole, Turtle Soup, Cajun "Popcorn," Crawfish Etouffee, Pecan Pie, and dozens more--each refined by the skill and genius of Chef Prudhomme so that they are at once authentic and modern in their methods.

Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen is also full of surprises, for he is unique in the way he has enlarged the repertoire of Cajun and Creole food, creating new dishes and variations within the old traditions. Seafood Stuffed Zucchini with Seafood Cream Sauce, Panted Chicken and Fettucini, Veal and Oyster Crepes, Artichoke Prudhomme--these and many others are newly conceived recipes, but they could have been created only by a Louisiana cook. The most famous of Paul Prudhomme's original recipes is Blackened Redfish, a daringly simple dish of fiery Cajun flavor that is often singled out by food writers as an example of the best of new American regional cooking.

For Louisianians and for cooks everywhere in the country, this is the most exciting cookbook to be published in many years.

Review Quotes

"It is no exaggeration to say that the finest and most definitive regional cooking in America is that of Louisiana, generally known as Cajun and Creole....Paul Prudhomme is the panjandrum--the greatest authority and practitioner--of that school of cookery and his book is absolutely essential on the cookbook shelves of anyone who cares about a great aspect of American cuisine."-- Craig Claiborne"Paul Prudhomme cooks up unique and exciting combinations of flavors with unusual foods generously spiced with his Cajun humor and joy."-- Alice Waters of "Chez Panisse, " Berkeley, California"At long last, the alchemy of Cajun-Creole cooking made possible for everyone!...Paul Prudhomme is a free culinary spirit, an American original, and his delicious new cookbook is bound to be a classic."-- Jean Anderson, author of "The Grassroots Cookbook" and co-author of "The New Doubleday Cookbook""For years amateur and professional chefs alike have waited patiently for Paul Prudhomme to share in print the recipes for his wonderful Cajun and Creole dishes, and I think it's safe to say that this collection will serve for years to come as a definitive statement on America's most exciting style of regional cooking."-- James Villas