The first cookbook ever to have been issued simultaneously in English, French, and Spanish is your entrée into the culinary mélange that is New Orleans.
The authors have drawn extensively from their own connections to these cultures, in some cases unlocking nineteenth-century cooking secrets discovered in old, handwritten notes. They present what they consider to be the 119 best recipes created in the city.
From drinks like the Sazerac and Café au Lait to entrées such as Red Beans and Rice and Crawfish Étouffée to desserts including Cherries Jubilee, Bananas Foster, and Pain Perdu, every recipe is world class. All recipes include metric measures.
Suzanne Ormond was a native of New Orleans and a longtime supporter of the New Orleans Public Library.
Mary E. Irvine was a graduate of Newcomb College and head of the Spanish department at Ursuline Academy until her marriage.
Together, Ormond and Irvine, now both deceased, are the authors of Pelican's Louisiana's Art Nouveau: The Crafts of the Newcomb Style.
Ormond continued her love affair with food in her second cookbook, Recipes from an Old New Orleans Kitchen, also published by Pelican. D
enyse Cantin, a native of Quebec City, Canada, lived in New Orleans while her husband served as the Consul General of Canada in the city. She brought an understanding of French influences to the project.