A Requirement: My New Orleans

First, for any skeptics out there (and I am one of you), I am receiving $0.00 for this. This comes from the heart.

Not since Marcella Hazan and Richard Olney have I seen a "cookbook" done so well. Yes, heavy, I know. To be short and to the point John Besh's new work My New Orleans is a requirement in your culinary library.

I picked it up two weeks ago at Borders for about $45. Yes, I was initially caught by the vivid pictures. (By the way, to any aspiring food/cookbook authors out there, we eat with our eyes- include really good photos please! Only Marcella and Pierre can get away without them.) But, then I dove into the work itself and I have to say- the guy transports you into the back streets and old family backyards of his hometown. You leaf through his book and you might as well be walking through Antebellum houses eating beignets and smelling sauteed andouille.

Recipe-wise this is the real deal. There's no corner cutting. There's no quick fixes. This is bon femme New Orleans in its most original form, and I'm talking down to the seasonality of when they use citrus and tomatoes. It is highly detailed into the philosophy of New Orlean's cooking and not only adds cultural context, but also backs up the chemistry and ancestral foundations of why decisions are made in recipes; it's ridiculously thorough.

For the Super Bowl I ended making his Jamabalaya. Amazing. The aromatics alone blow any New Orleans' Jamabalya recipe I've ever tasted away. And because Besh is a huge fan of layered cooking (a la Hazan style) the depth and complexity in his dishes are amazing. Let's put it this way, my wife was scarfing down andouille sausage. Yep. Saw it with my own eyes...:)

And to sing this work's praises some more- it takes a cuisine that this 'yankee' thought of as simple and fun and makes it haute. It elevates it into an art form in a way a great French chef can elevate a simple vinaigrette. For me, I think Besh has left us with a tome for the American culinary world. A new bible.

And if this guy doesn't get a Beard award for this, then Beard awards don't mean anything anymore...

Anyways, My New Orleans by John Besh. Amazon has it at $29.70. I still think it's worth $45. And I'd pay $45 tomorrow for it.