Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou by Melissa M. Martin

For anyone who loves Cajun food or is interested in American cooking or wants to discover a distinct and engaging new female voice―or just wants to make the very best duck gumbo, shrimp jambalaya, she-crab soup, crawfish étouffée, smothered chicken, fried okra, oyster bisque, and sweet potato pie―comes Mosquito Supper Club. “Martin shares the history, traditions, and customs surrounding Cajun cuisine and offers a tantalizing slew of classic dishes.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review Named after her restaurant in New Orleans, chef Melissa M. Martin’s debut cookbook shares her inspired and reverent interpretations of the traditional Cajun recipes she grew up eating on the Louisiana bayou, with a generous helping of stories about her community and its cooking. Every hour, Louisiana loses a football field’s worth of land to the Gulf of Mexico. Too soon, Martin’s hometown of Chauvin will be gone, along with the way of life it sustained. Before it disappears, Martin wants to document and share the recipes, ingredients, and customs of the Cajun people. Illustrated throughout with dazzling color photographs of food and place, the book is divided into chapters by ingredient―from shrimp and oysters to poultry, rice, and sugarcane. Each begins with an essay explaining the ingredient and its context, including traditions like putting up blackberries each February, shrimping every August, and the many ways to make an authentic Cajun gumbo. Martin is a gifted cook who brings a female perspective to a world we’ve only heard about from men. The stories she tells come straight from her own life, and yet in this age of climate change and erasure of local cultures, they feel universal, moving, and urgent. Read more

From the Publisher WITH RECIPES FOR ALL THE CAJUN FAVORITES Lucien’s Shrimp Spaghetti Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes Oyster Bisque Ponchatoula Strawberry Pie Skillet-Roasted Okra The key to bringing out okra’s natural deliciousness is to cook it hot and fast, so make sure your skillets are properly heated. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Place two large cast-iron skillets in the oven to heat for 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet or platter with paper towels. Carefully remove the hot pans from the oven and set them on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Keep the skillet handles covered to avoid burning your hands. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to each pan. Carefully place the okra in the pans in a single layer. Don’t crowd them. Sear in the skillets until golden brown, about 3 minutes, then flip the okra and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer the okra to the paper towels to soak up any excess oil and use a paper towel or rag to carefully wipe out the excess oil from the skillets. Toss the okra back into the skillets and season with the salt, some black pepper, a touch of cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve immediately. 2 tablespoons (60 ml) canola oil or clarified butter 12 ounces (340 g) tender young okra pods (about 24), sliced lengthwise in half ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt A couple turns of the pepper mill Cayenne pepper 1 lemon wedge Bayou: Feasting Through Seasons of a Cajun Life South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations Heritage Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking Al Fresco Cucina Povera Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Customer Reviews 185 1,542 1,045 674 38 165 Price $15 56 $16 77 $26 50 $18 53 $19 25 $31 79 In this highly anticipated next book from the author of the James Beard Award-winning Mosquito Supper Club, Melissa Martin shares a year of celebrations, both big and small, through 100 traditional Southern Louisiana recipes. Southern food is one of the most beloved and delicious cuisines in America. And who better to give us the key elements of Southern cuisine than Sean Brock, the award-winning chef and Southern-food crusader. With a drive to preserve the heritage foods of the South, Brock cooks dishes that are ingredient-driven and reinterpret the flavors of his youth in Appalachia and his adopted hometown of Charleston. Cheryl Day, one of the South’s most respected bakers, a New York Times bestselling author, and co-owner—with her husband, Griff—of Savannah’s acclaimed Back in the Day Bakery, is a direct descendent of this storied Southern baking tradition. Getting together in nature, with food and drink, is among the most restorative rituals we can experience, fostering a kind of intimacy and ease that’s rare in any other setting. Tuscan native and accomplished home cook Giulia Scarpaleggia shares the wholesome, comforting, and nostalgic recipes of cucina povera—Italian peasant cooking that is equal parts thrifty, nourishing, and delicious.