November Thrifty Finds - Week 3 #1 Cajun Kitchen and Italian Farmhouse

Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen, published in 2002.  Subtitled cooking through the seasons on Avery Island. The island is located in Iberia Parish about 30 miles south of Lafayette, Louisiana. Avery Island is home to the McIlhenney family who have resided there for nine generations and are best known for producing the Tabasco brand of hot sauce.

The author has lived on Avery Island for 50+ years and was employed in the island commissary. While working at the store, she started making sandwiches for the workers and eventually a restaurant was added to the commissary building. Now retired, Eula Mae mainly cooks for family occasions and special events held on the island.

The book is chock full of delicious Cajun recipes and the chapters are based on seasonal ingredients. Dishes include entrées, vegetables, sides, desserts, beverages, omelets and several variations of seafood boils. Scattered among the recipes are stories, anecdotes and photos of life on the island.

A few stand out recipes include tamales, often served on holidays, and are a curious anomaly in the South. There are restaurants in the Delta region of Mississippi that have served the dish for generations and their inclusion in the local cuisine is a bit murky. There is an easy recipe for orange wine that takes just two days from start to finish and is also used as an ingredient for Deep Bayou Punch (basically wine, fruit and bourbon).

Italian Farmhouse Cookbook, published in 2000.  Rather large treatise on farmhouse cooking in the Italian style. There are 250 recipes and kitchen secrets gleaned from cooks among the various regions that make up Italy. The introduction focuses on the history of agriculture in Italy - both past & present -and traces the roots of farm foods to city dishes. Many differences between regional delicacies are examined with a dividing line separating the North (white sauce, cream & olive oil) from the South (red sauce, frittatas  and dumplings).

The first chapter concentrates on Antipasti - with recipes for appetizers & snacks, salads, and soups. The second chapter covers the 2nd course of the meal which is basically entrées including meats, pasta and pizza with a few vegetarian options. Some of the more unusual choices for meat include boar, lamb, guinea hen & rabbit. Desserts follow with many delicious variations on cakes, cookies & sorbets.

The remaining topics run the gamut from basic sauces, stocks & dough to pantry staples (oils, salts, jams & liqueurs). Filling out the rest of the pages are stories and anecdotes on farmers and other persons the author met while writing/researching her book.