Louisiana Real & Rustic

In Louisiana Real & Rustic, chef Emeril Lagasse brings together 150 down-home recipes—authentic versions of some of America’s favorite regional dishes, gathered from generations of Louisiana cooks. Fricassees, étouffées and grillades, meat pies and oyster fries, red beans and rice, and jambalayas and gumbos—each mouthwatering recipe is spiced with the joy of cooking and eating that makes every Louisiana meal a feast. Louisiana’s colorful history has made it an extraordinary culinary crossroads, where the customs of France, Spain, Africa, and the Caribbean meld into a unique New World Cuisine. In charming tales and tempting recipes, Emeril traces the roots of Creole and Acadian (or Cajun) dishes, and honors the pioneering cooks who blended traditional tastes and techniques with the region’s native ingredients. Join him on a tour down the backroads and bayous for some of the greatest home cooking, including Fried Soft-shell Crabs along Lake Pontchartrain, Meat Pies in Natchitoches, Panfried Catfish on the banks of the Atchafalaya, Crawfish Étoufflée at Bayou Teche, Chicken and Oyster Gumbo in Lafayette, the heart of Acadiana, and Sweet Corn Pudding at Marcelle’s cousin’s farm near St. Martinsville. From Acadian county cabins to the town houses of Creole aristocracy, these recipes embody the essence of the real and rustic Louisiana.