Next to the Holy Grail, the most difficult thing in the world to find is a recipe from a restaurant that is no longer in business. I’m as...

When I was growing up, my mother made gumbo every week, usually twice—chicken-filé gumbo on Wednesdays and seafood-okra gumbo on Fridays....

This is my favorite style of gumbo. I've enjoyed it literally all my life, as it is basically my mother's recipe, a regular part of her weekly cooking regimen. This gumbo is made in the old style, which is to say that the broth is not as thick.

Etouffée means “smothered,” and that’s the idea. It’s not a long-cooked stew. My mother’s version of this Cajun classic is important to m...

It’s gospel, as far as I’m concerned: No catfish you ever make will ever be as good as catfish rolled in cornmeal and deep-fried. If you ...

Hush puppies are essential to Fried Catfish (see recipe), and they’re good with any other seafood platter, too. You make them especially ...

Although the menu at Gautreau’s is constantly changing, there always seems to be a great tuna dish on it. This is one I recall from the e...

For this dish, buy the thickest salmon fillets you can, remove all the skin (not as hard as it looks—just have a sharp knife handy), and ...

This is without a doubt the most-asked-for recipe in the 17-year history of my radio show. Demand for it rises during the holidays but ne...

“Good woman’s chicken” and its variations (chicken Clemenceau and chicken Pontalba) are among the best dishes in the Creole cookbook. Alt...

I cook my turkey in a big barbecue pit. It gets hotter than a smoker, but because I keep the turkey away from direct heat, it cooks slowl...

Red beans and rice is the official Monday dish in New Orleans, on special menus in all kinds of restaurants all over town. Although most ...

Dirty rice is jambalaya’s less complex brother, yet in its way, it’s every bit as delicious. Unlike jambalaya, which can be served as a m...

Using stocks in place of water in a recipe gives an added dimension of flavor, so they’re well worth making and using if you can. Many of...

This dish is a variation on the French classic Gratin Dauphinois. I originally served it at one of my Thanksgiving dinners, in another ef...

Deviled eggs are not thought of as a particularly brilliant appetizer, but I say that’s because most people have never eaten them with Ne...

There are two kinds of rémoulade sauce served around New Orleans, and everybody has a favorite. My preference is the orange-red kind that...

As with many Louisiana dishes, jambalaya has distinctive Creole and Cajun versions. Creole jambalaya is reddish, a color it gets from tom...

Muffulettas are right up there with poor boys in popularity and goodness among local sandwiches. What makes them special is the dressing....

Beignets are a distinctive part of the New Orleans breakfast, although they’re enjoyed even more as a late-night snack. Our beignet is a ...

When it comes to Southern side dishes, the humble biscuit is one you can't ignore. In this recipe for Mary Leigh's Buttermilk Biscuits, it can't get any easier to make these delightful biscuits, either. You'll use only three ingredients to bake this delightful quick bread. Whether they're used to accompany gravy or slathered with a generous dollop of jam, these buttermilk biscuits will quickly become part of your repertoire.

Even by New Orleans standards, this is no ordinary bread pudding. Rich with the fall flavors of pumpkin and pecan, this version of bread ...

A clafoutis uses a runny version of Belgian waffle batter as a matrix for fruit—classically, cherries—but you can make it with anything s...

The best egg nog, frankly, is uncooked. But so many people are concerned about the health risks of eating raw eggs that I’ve come up with...