Cookbook Review – Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook

Do you love great seafood? Does the rich and spicy cuisine of New Orleans appeal to you? If so, you'll be delighted by the numerous superb recipes you'll find in the Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook. If you've wanted to master the art of preparing real New Orleans cuisine in your own home, this book is a must-have addition to your personal cookbook collection.

The Brennan family name is synonymous with the restaurant business in New Orleans. If you've spent much time in New Orleans at all, there's a good chance that you've eaten a meal prepared in one of the restaurants owned by Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook author Ralph Brennan. He owns and operates Ralph's on the Park, the Red Fish Grill (one of my all time favorite New Orleans restaurants), and Bacco. Family members of the author own and operate other New Orleans favorite dining establishments, including Brennan's and Mr. B's. Those of you on the west coast might also have had an opportunity to visit Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, located in Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort.

The book is a comprehensive cookbook, featuring a wide variety of recipes along with additional tips and suggestions designed to help make it easier for readers to understand and follow the extensive food preparation instructions. For example, Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook includes a glossary of terminology specific to Creole and Acadian cuisine, so that readers not familiar with these styles of cooking will be able to better understand may of the phrases used in the recipes. There is also a section that discusses different types of seafood in great detail, making it easier for those who aren't familiar with preparing fresh seafood to select and prepare fish and shellfish without being intimidated.

My Favorite Recipes:

My husband is from New Orleans, and he misses the cuisine of his beloved home town every day. Even though he hasn't lived in the city since graduating from high school, he measures the quality of cuisine he tries anywhere else in the world in term of how similar dishes are prepared "back home". So far, everything I've prepared from a recipe I've found in Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook has passed his test.

Several recipes from Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook became household favorites the very first time I made them, including:

• Barbecue Shrimp
• Crab and Corn Soup
• Crab Bisque
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Seafood and Okra Gumbo
• Seafood Stuffed Flounder

These are just a few of the many awesome recipes you'll find in this book. If you want to become skilled in the art of preparing real New Orleans cuisine, you'll definitely want to add this volume to your collection!