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Photo: Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.
By Donald Link with Paula Disabrowe
Photographs by Chris Granger
Clarkson Potter 2009
Buy it on Amazon
Although Donald Link's restaurants, Cochon and Herbsaint, are located in New Orleans, these recipes are not the food of that city. Far from the touristy restaurants, his food comes from a place off the highways and byways that run along Louisiana's bayous. The book lives up to its title-serving Cajun food at its simple and rustic best. This collection is filled with family recipes that have been honed and perfected with the skill of chef but without losing site of how people cook at home.
In creating this book Link said he set out to "preserve a way of life and give people an idea of how it really is." He's repairing the misconceptions of Cajun food that came with the blackened craze that swept the country in the '80s, and his recipes demonstrate and explain the wide variations between Cajun and Creole.
Along with the recipes, he shares insight into Cajun traditions and the country cooking that can usually be made in just one pot and never requires any fancy kitchen gadgets. There are plenty of recipes that make wonderful week-night meals, such as the Post-K Meatloaf that separates the flavor base of brown sugar and a generous portion of bacon from the actual meatloaf. But the real magic happens in those recipes that call for hours at the stove-perfect for this time of year when the warmth of a simmering pot keeps away the chill.
