Recipes & Reminiscences of New Orleans, Vol. 2: Our Cultural Heritage, Essay Example

Recipes and Reminisces of New Orleans, published November 1971, was created by the Ursuline Nuns or church auxiliaries from of the Ursuline Nuns during the 1700’s. They were locating on Chartres Street in the uptown lovely area of New Orleans.  This book draws from the collected recipes that are screened from a committee and selected by several people and represents a larger sample of food traditions of the era. The traditions derive from the Irish and Spanish immigrants that derived and landed in New Orleans but the French are the ones that kept the cuisine of the French and Creole traditions alive. The cookbook was organized and complied by the Ursuline Convent in Orleans Parish for the pursose of cultural preservation. The recipes are organized under H’or D’Peurvers, Soups and gumbos, Sauces, Entrees, Salads and Dressings, Vegetables Beverages, Miscellaneous and Desserts. There are 80 Hor D’erveurvers, 50 Soups and Gumbos, 40 Sauces, 20 Salads and Dressings, 70 Vegetables, 30 Beverages, 40 Miscellaneous, 20 Desserts, 90 Entrees. There are page numbers after each recipe that could lead to author contributions.

The cookbook is designed with a black and white cover which depicts a lovely picture of a black and white church from Chartres Street on it. It is bound with a lovely history of the Irish and Spanish settler and how the French were the true descendants that stayed in New Orleans. The book speaks of the various voyagers including the French, Irish, Spanish, Blacks, Germans, Acadians, Italians, Americans, Greeks, Jewish and others that came to New Orleans because they felt is was the ‘melting pot’ of the South. “The Acadians were the first speaking settler who made their way down to Louisana in 1765.” (“Ursuline Convent”). Many of them eventually made New Orleans their home and with that they brought their family recipes with them which included Hor D’Oeuvres, Soups and Gumbos, Sauces, Entrees, Salads and Dressing, Vegetables, Beverages, Miscellaneous and Desserts.

There is a history, table of contents, first page related to the history of New Orleans, index and back cover to the book giving acknowledgment to the contributors and authors of the recipes.

The recipes repeat ingredients such as artichokes, onions, shallots or green onions, cabbage, shrimp, andouille sausage, cream sauces, red sausages, alligator, rabbit and other wild game. Tony Chacerie seasoning, salt, red pepper and cayenne red pepper are used extensively throughout the book. All the recipes are traditions of the geographic locations of the New Orleans to the Lafayette, LA area depicting the Cajun and Acadian eras. They were brought down from the Irish and Spanish descendants.

People of the area cook these foods for normal entertainment, Mardi Gras, Couchon De Lais, Voo Doo Festivals, Black Festivals, school functions and home cooking, especially fundraising for school events. Multiple ethniticities are represented including Caucasians, blacks, creoles and Cajuns. The blacks are known for the seafood and okra gumbos and the whites are known for the rabbit sauce piquant.

Louisiana is represented as the capital of the world of which great food is cooked. People travel from the United States and areas of the world to eat our food because we have a variety of French cuisine that can be found only here.

This book appealed to me because of the various selection of recipes offered, the ingredient in the food and the temptation of the tastes. I have eaten some of these foods. I tried a few of the recipes with the help of some Cajun women and men and they were easy to follow and came out delicious as ever.

Conclusion:

The book is a total compilation of Louisiana’s best of a total meal that the French have to offer to the locals and visitors. They have a knack for combining spices and meat and vegetable to make a good meal into a great meal. It is often stated that New Orleans is the king of cuisine. After eating at places on the east and west coast and across London I learned there was no better combination of spices that were found in food than that prepared in the New Orleans, Louisiana area. Even after eating at a specialty French cuisine restaurant in the hub of London, they could not stand up to the spices used in the French cuisine served in the recipes in the book of this research and informative paper.

References

Emory Clark Recipes & Reminiscences of New Orleans, Vol. 2: Our Cultural Heritage, 1971.