Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen (EasyRead Large Edition): Cooking through the Seasons on Avery Island

Cajun cooking is the country cooking of Louisiana, the spicy intersection of French and Southern culinary traditions. One of the world's best-loved regional cuisines, it was developed by descendants of Acadians who were driven south from Nova Scotia in the 1700s because of their religion. Eula Mae Dor has been cooking Cajun food on Avery Island, home of the McIlhenny family and their Tabasco pepper sauce, for more than half a century. Her intuition, patience, and love of food have served her better than any professional training could have. Food writer Marcelle Bienvenu has spent hundreds of hours in the kitchen by Eula Mae's side capturing the fine flavors of her self-taught cooking. Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen is organized into menus reflecting the rhythm of life on Avery Island, such as Mardi Gras, The Trapper's Camp, A Spring Luncheon, A Summer Fishing Trip, and Halloween Bonfire. More than 100 traditional Cajun dishes are complemented with Eula Mae's reminiscences of her family and her years on Avery Island.

The late Eula Mae Doré (1929-2009) grew up on a farm in the small rural community of Coteau in southern Louisiana.  Her mother died when she was only ten, and since her father worked sunup to sundown on his farm, she became the cook for this family of five, teaching herself to cook Cajun specialties and learning to make the most of local ingredients.  In 1949 she married Walter “MoNeg” Doré, who worked for the McIlhenny Company, producer of Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce.  Soon the couple was put in charge of the Tabasco Company Commissary on Avery Island, which sold everything from bread to detergent and serviced both the McIlhenny Company employees and the McIlhenny family. It was Eula Mae who came up with the idea of selling sandwiches at lunchtime, and they soon became legendary, drawing businessmen from the mainland eight miles away. Besides cooking and managing the commissary, Eula Mae was often called on to prepare food for Walter McIlhenny, late owner of the McIlhenny Company.  He often asked her to cook for parties and brunches, preferring her down-home cooking to that of his personal chef.