Commander's Kitchen: Take Home the True Taste of New Orleans with More Than 150 Recipes from Commander's Palace Restaurant - Hardcover

Martin, Ti Adelaide; Shannon, Jamie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0767902904 ISBN 13: 9780767902908

Publisher: Broadway Books, 2000

Synopsis

Commander's Palace is one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved restaurants in the country. It was named the outstanding restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation, and is always rated the most popular restaurant in New Orleans by Zagat. It consistently receives awards from magazines such as Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, and Southern Living. A trip to New Orleans just isn't complete without a meal at Commander's Palace.

Now home cooks can bring its unmatched style, hospitality, and great food to their own tables. Reflecting the restaurant's fascinating culinary intersection--a New Orleans landmark combining native ingredients and techniques with exciting and evolving contemporary flavors--Commander's Kitchen takes readers behind the doors of a truly exciting culinary experience.

Featuring 150 recipes from the restaurant's extensive offerings and other Brennan family recipes, Commander's Kitchen describes step-by-step the secrets to Shrimp and Tasso Henican with Five-Pepper Jelly, Eggs Louis Armstrong, Pan-Seared Crusted Sirloin Steak with Cayenne Butter, Braised Lamb Shanks with Merlot Mushroom Sauce, and, the queen of Creole desserts, Bread Pudding Souffle. Of course, four varieties of gumbo are also included, along with dozens of information-packed sidebars, personal anecdotes, tips for throwing a New Orleans--style bash, and juicy tidbits of Commander's Palace lore. Lavishly illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs that beautifully capture the lively Commander's Palace spirit, Commander's Kitchen lets the good times, and the exceptional dining, roll.

About this title

Review

Commander's Palace is an American restaurant treasure. For many years, patrons of the beloved New Orleans institution have been urging the Brennan family, its proprietors, to publish the restaurant's recipes. Commander's Kitchen, written by co-owner Ella Brennan's daughter, Ti Adelaide Martin, and Chef Jamie Shannon, realizes that wish, presenting more than 150 accessible recipes for the restaurant's acclaimed Creole dishes. These reflect a mix of French, Spanish, African, Arcadian, and Native American cooking traditions. The book also provides a glimpse of the history, lore, and daily backstage to-and-fro that have made the century-old restaurant a required dining destination.

"We like to push things to the edge," says Shannon of Commander's vibrant cooking, and in chapters that treat drinks through desserts, the book proves his point. Dishes like Shrimp Tasso with Five-Pepper Jelly, Pan-Crusted Sirloin Steak with Cayenne Butter, and Braised Lamb Shank with Merlot Mushroom Sauce are typical of the heady offerings, fare both earthy and sophisticated. Also presented are recipes for many of Commander's famed brunch dishes, the classic creamed-spinach- and artichoke-garnished Eggs Sardou among them; "The Chef's Table," a chapter of "show-off" dishes served at the restaurant's renowned in-the-kitchen table; and a selection of sweets, including Chocolate Molten Soufflé and the Creole sine qua non dessert, Bread Pudding Soufflé. Illustrated with color photos and containing technique tips throughout (readers learn, for example, the difference between sautéing and panéing), the book is an exuberant portrait of a remarkable American restaurant and its unique cuisine. --Arthur Boehm

From the Back Cover

Advance Praise for Commander's Kitchen

"A delicious combination of Commander's classics and Chef Jamie's flavor
and flair! What a restaurant! What a family!"
--Chef Emeril Lagasse

"For the very same reasons that Commander's Palace is a great, classic restaurant, Commander's Kitchen is a winner of a cookbook. It's generous in sharing recipes that are enormously appealing and user-friendly with a healthy seasoning of spunk and soul."
--Danny Meyer, coauthor of The Union Square Cafe Cookbook

"Step through the doors of Commander's Kitchen and celebrate the magical hospitality and vibrant cooking of New Orleans. The book's intoxicating imagery and seductive recipes will have you licking your lips in anticipation of Commander's tantalizing tastes. Chef Jamie Shannon is a fish expert extraordinaire, and his well-seasoned tips will lure you into the kitchen to create your own show-stopping memories."
--Leslie Beal Bloom, coauthor of Seafood Cooking for Dummies

"The Commander's Palace tradition of excellence, savored by so many generations during the last century, has been elegantly and clearly written for the new century in a book that defines, explains, and demonstrates New Orleans cooking at its best--Commander's Kitchen is for old-timers and newcomers alike, a feast for everybody."
-Peter Feibleman, author of American Cooking: Creole and Acadian

"One of my all-time favorite gastronomic destinations in the United States is New Orleans and Commander's Palace is, of course, at the top of my list of places to dine. Bravo Ti and Jamie for translating the culinary tradition of the legendary Brennan family into a book that the home cook can both enjoy reading and cooking from."
--Daniel Boulud, chef/owner of Restaurant Daniel and Cafe Boulud

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0767902904
• ISBN 13: 9780767902908
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 333