Fresh from Louisiana

The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking

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Pub Date 17 Nov 2020 | Archive Date 9 Dec 2020

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Description

Master the art of all the most delectable styles of Louisiana cooking, from Cajun to Creole, rural Acadiana to down-home New Orleans, in more than 100 easy-to-use recipes.

George Graham—a lifelong Louisianan, a former chef and restaurateur, and now an award-winning food writer and blogger—is a brilliant cook, a warm, funny, and engaging storyteller, and an ace photographer. He brings all these talents alive in Fresh from Louisiana, his second cookbook, following on the heels of his masterful Acadiana Table. George makes Louisiana cooking not just easy for home cooks to learn, but fun and interesting, too.

The recipes range from George's pitch-perfect versions of classic Louisiana dishes to imaginative, brand-new ideas that use the signature flavors of the region's cuisines in utterly new ways. You can start a glorious Louisiana meal with a Corn and Crab Bisque, a Crawfish Boil Chowder, or Mini Bell Peppers Stuffed with Crabmeat. For a main course, why not try a Pork Roast with Apple Pan Gravy, Crisp Chicken Thighs with Creole Jasmine Rice, or a Gulf Shrimp Pasta Primavera? There are lots of desserts, too, like Praline Pumpkin Pie, Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Sandwich, and Sweet Potato Pie Brûlée, plus sides, sandwiches, cooling drinks, and breakfast and brunch fare.
 
For soul-satisfying everyday dinners with family to amazing weekend feasts with friends, this beautiful book—with more than 100 color photos—brings the intriguing and delicious flavors of Louisiana home, wherever you might live.
Master the art of all the most delectable styles of Louisiana cooking, from Cajun to Creole, rural Acadiana to down-home New Orleans, in more than 100 easy-to-use recipes.

George Graham—a lifelong...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781592339761
PRICE US$40.00 (USD)
PAGES 240

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)

Average rating from 37 members


Featured Reviews

Thank you for a copy of this book via netgalley!

what a beautiful way to represent such a great cooking culture! Beautiful pictures that are simplest mouth watery! Clear explanations including tips to be a better Louisiana cook!

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Has some great sounding cajun recipes. I love Cajun food so these would definitely be a cookbook add for me.

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I was provided this book by Netgalley for an honest review**

George Grahm's cookbook Fresh from Louisiana provides Cajun and Creole recipes (both Savory and Sweet) sure to please. The recipes are meat-heavy, and the author even provides uses for rabbits in stews, which is a type of meat I have never tried. The recipe combinations were new to me - not sure if they are traditional fare as I am not familiar with Louisana cooking.

I would purchase this book for friends and family interested in trying food that they may have never tasted or ventured to cook before.

FYI, the pictures were amazing!

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This is a neat little cookbook! I was excited to receive a copy, to say the least. Cajun cooking is my favorite, full stop. Personally I'm obsessed with the crab-stuffed portobello and the shrimp and tasso mac and cheese (I'm a sucker for any and all mac and cheese recipes). I'll probably be adding the Cajun rice bowl and the backyard beans to my regular meal prep rotation. Lots of satisfying and bright pictures accompany the recipes, and all of them sound delicious. Some ingredients might be a little harder to come by depending on where you're at (looking at you, ever-so-tempting rabbit gumbo), but there are plenty of recipes to choose from that are accessible to cooks at all levels.

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Fresh from Louisiana by George Graham is such a great cookbook. I read cookbooks like a book and then I go back and start recreating. The stories and comments on the recipes were entertaining, The Lemon Thyme Chicken Breast with Cauliflower Mash was amazing! Low carb, tangy, and creamy – the perfect combination. Plenty of traditional south Louisiana recipes to keep this Cajun girl happy in the kitchen for months.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

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While some of the formatting on this book is incomplete, this is such an exciting book! I am so excited to try out several of these dishes myself. The photography is well done and helps me get a good picture of what my meals will aspire to look like. I'm especially excited to cook the Cajun Rice Bowl With Griddled Shrimp, the Gulf Shrimp Pasta Primavera, and the Pure Vegetable Soup! Thank you so much to the publisher and Negalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review!

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What a beautiful cookbook this is! Every page breathes love for life, food and Mr Graham’s region and family. I felt transported into the author’s world and it was lovely. I particularly liked that it was organised by season which proves how much he respects his region and produce. I have never eaten creole cooking, never got the opportunity, but I can say everything in here looks absolutely wonderful and vibrant - the photos are colourful, exotic and homely. The recipient read like spicy delicious meaty treats. There is a lot of crayfish and shrimp recipes that look absolutely fantastic and that I can’t wait to try them in those soulful dishes that combine smoked meats and seafood for complex flavours. I am big on French food so I know French boudin and andouille which I both love to eat (but are really acquired flavours as they are respectively blood and tripe sausages), but I do not know their American equivalent which seem much milder, so I was very happy to find a recipe for American boudin at the end as well as a few other typical flavour sauces and spice mixes. A great book!

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For someone who has never been to Louisiana, this is the perfect introductory book for understanding the food and culture of the state. With very creative recipes, there's something for everyone to make.

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I do like Cajun food but never made any myself until recently.

I find this cookbook is well done. Tons of great recipes.

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A fun book to read. Love his sense of humor, which makes the book a delight to read, and of course plenty of great recipes to try. I have an allergy to Bell Peppers, so have to substitute those, but otherwise easy to follow and I like that he offers alternatives to harder to find ingredients that would be hard to find outside Louisiana. Would highly recommend this book and author. Would make a great gift too.

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Perfect! I am from Louisiana and am beyond excited to add this book to my cookbook collection!
For anyone who is wanting to try their hand at Cajun and Creole cooking, this is the book for you!

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Fresh from Louisiana is an authentic cookbook from George Graham. It is written by seasons with beautiful photographs of each recipe. There are fun stories written throughout as well as tips and a guide of where to shop for high quality Louisiana ingredients. I’m especially excited to try the Butternut and shrimp pasta, shrimp broil, and sweet tea brined chick.
A great cookbook to add to your collection!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harvard Common Press for the opportunity to read this book.

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I LOVE cookbooks. Honestly, it borders on obsession. So being the foodie I am, I knew I had to request this one right away. They divide this cookbook into four chapters (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter). Each section packed with a plethora of yummy sounding, easy to follow recipes. Gorgeous photos, notes, tips, antidotes, and more.

I can't wait to try SO many of the recipes in this one! 👍👍

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I hope you like seafood because there's a lot of seafood recipes in this book. The photos look so good! I live in NC but I'm planning on visiting Louisiana soon so I enjoyed reading this book and getting to know some of their recipes and dishes. The recipes are divided by seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter) and they all have photos! I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

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Oh this cookbook is NAUGHTY!!! I HAVE BOOKMARKED SO MUCH!! I know my family is going to LOVE these recipes. At first i was apprehensive because of all the crawfish but then as I went further on I enjoyed the sections of Fall and Winter in the cookbook. Kudos to the other for breaking up the book into seasons!!!!!!! It's helpful when heading to the grocery store so I know what I CAN ACTUALLY FIND IN SEASON!

This one us going to be a Xmas present for my dad! He loves anything Cajun of Creole!
Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this free digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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This cookbook is beautifully presented and lavishly illustrated with mouth-watering photographs of the completed dishes. I love how this cookbook is organized by the season, with its author emphasizing and encouraging the incorporation of seasonally available food items into the menu planning and meal preparation. If some of the ingredients are hard to find locally, there is a source list in the back of the book. A well-organized index makes any recipe easy to locate.

Part of my review of any cookbook includes making some of the dishes. I generally try a version of a dish I already enjoy, and a new-to-me dish. Plus, I always make dessert. This book’s vegetable soup is delicious, and its version of corn and crab bisque is fresh and tasty. For dessert, the trifle is as easy to make as it is delicious.

With its delicious recipes and excellent directions for food preparation, Fresh from Louisiana will be a welcome addition to your cookbook collection.

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Having lived in Louisiana, I was anxious to review this second book by George Graham. It is filled to the brim with authentic Louisiana recipes. I only wish I were closer to the fresh seafood now so I could try more of them. Sure, there's gumbo and jambalaya, but there are so many more imaginative variations on traditional Louisiana dishes, such as Boudin Quiche, Fried Eggplant with Crawfish Etouffee, or Praline Cream Float with Spiced Rum. Recipes are organized by seasonality of the produce and seafood. There are lots of appetizing photos that make me want to buy a one-way ticket to Louisiana! Love, love, love this book!

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The sheer number and variety of recipes in this book is staggering - all with a quintessential Louisiana flavour.

The steps were clear and easy to follow, and I loved being able to experiment with so many new flavours and textures. Lobster in particular was a great discovery in my kitchen.

Would 100% recommend this to anyone wanting to explore the flavours of Louisiana from novice cooks to seasoned professionals.

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i was curious about Cajun cuisine and this book helped me to learn something about it.
Beautiful illustrations, interesting recipes I will surely try.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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I've been to Louisiana once and the food was amazing, so couldn't resist this cookbook. It's laid out in seasons, following popular dishes for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

I couldn't help noticing how many recipes involved crawfish (crawdads to the uninitiated). These aren't easily available where I am and I'm not a big fan of seafood, but the recipes were creative and looked appetising. You even get instructions on how to eat basic boiled crawfish. There are also a lot of recipes with crab or shrimp, which isn't surprising from a gulf state, and also catfish. You do get some with a kind of ham called Tasso or slightly unusual things like rabbit or quail and other more familiar meats like pork chops and chicken.

History of food is included with each section and it's easy to get the feeling of the unique culture of Louisiana. The vegetable recipes, though they say locally grown, are mostly with vegetables available anywhere. Boudin is one of the new discoveries I made with this book, basically shredded pork and pork liver with seasonings. Be prepared to learn a few new terms, many of them named in the sort of French patois of Cajun country.

Each section finishes with a dessert or two and a drink. Apricot Pistachio Cobbler anyone? I may have to find a way to source Praline Cream Soda to make the Praline Cream Float With Rum recipe.

You also get a recipe for Cajun seasoning, which is a wonderful and unique flavour. Baked Eggs in Tasso Cream uses this and is one of the most appealing recipes for me, though Chicken Thighs with Creole Jasmine Rice is a contender.

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Being a huge fan of New Orleans and Cajun culture, I was really looking forward to “Fresh from Louisiana: The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking” by George Graham.

And I wasn’t disappointed, Mr. Graham provided a wide variety of recipes from all over Louisiana. The recipes are grouped by season, as Mr. Graham takes us from spring all the way through winter, using whatever is fresh and local. A lot of the recipes definitely have more of a country or small-town flavor to them, with just a bit of Cajun spice thrown in for some Louisiana flare. The recipes also focus on seafood, since (obviously) that is what’s local down south; some of the recipes are definitely down-home cooking, using pig’s feet, quail, pork backbones, etc. And each season ends with dessert/drink recipes as a cap to your cooking.

Be prepared to have your impressions of Cajun food expanded and challenged.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Quarto Publishing Group – Harvard Common Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

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