Monday, October 22, 2012

Soul Food Cookbook That Will Have Your Mouth Watering -- Taste of Treme by Todd-Michael St. Pierre (Review)



  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Ulysses Press (November 6, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 161243097X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1612430973
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches

Synopsis:

"Down-home recipes celebrating the flavors, culture, and spirit of the most vibrant and historic neighborhood in the Big Easy. Bordering its touristy French Quarter twin, the Treme neighborhood is the true birthplace of New Orleans jazz culture. From its earliest days as a neighborhood for free people of color, it has long been famous for its distinctive architecture, creative music and flavorful cuisine. Now, Taste of Treme captures this vibrant district with an authentic collection of its most mouth-watering dishes and tasty cocktails."


My Thoughts:

I have always been drawn to the south and their down home cooking.  It is something about the flavors and fresh ingredients used that makes my mouth water and keeps me returning year after year.  Unfortunately, we haven't been back to the South since welcoming our two daughters in 2010 and 2011.  But, hopefully in a few years, we will be able to take them to our favorite place, Savannah, GA (in which we named our oldest daughter), and share our love for this beautiful place and its amazing food with them.

In order to satisfy our craving for southern and creole foods, I turn to cookbooks to create down home cooking for my family to enjoy.  I have found it hard to find cookbooks written by real Southern cooks or foodies.  Usually the books I stumble upon drawn inspiration from the South, but the dishes don't really deliver in flavor.  But, when I learned about Taste of Treme and saw it was written by a foodie and New Orleans native, I had to get a hold of a copy and see how good his recipes were.  

Like I have said in the past, I read cookbooks as if they were novels. And, I found myself doing this with Todd-Michael St. Pierre new cookbook.  I especially loved the background history on neighborhoods in New Orleans, as well as seeing photos of some of the delicious Creole, Cajun and soul food that you can create.  Having only had this cookbook for a little over a week now, I have only had a chance to read through, flag and make a few dishes.  Also, because we have been under the weather lately and our taste buds have been off, I didn't want to make a meal and not be able to enjoy it.  But, last night I surprised my family by making the Chicken and Andouille Gumbo and Banana Foster dessert.  I wish you could smell how good my house smelled.  It reminded me of walking through the streets in the South, which are filled with the smells of freshly prepared Creole, Cajun and down home Soul food cooking.  Mmmm.  I am getting hungry again just thinking about it.  

And, now that we are starting to feel better, I will definitely be trying out more recipes from Taste of Treme.  So, if you like collecting cookbooks like I do, or have been searching for an authentic soul food cookbook, then this one might fit the bill.  What I have made so far has been delicious, and receives rave reviews by those who enjoyed it.


Don't forget to follow the publisher, Ulysses Press on Facebook and Twitter for new releases and more.


About the Author:


Todd-Michael St. Pierre
 
New Orleans native and foodie, Todd-Michael St. Pierre is author of the popular Cookbooks 1-Taste of Tremé 2-Who Dat Cookin' 3-A Streetcar Named Delicious & 4-The Mardi Gras Cookbook. And kid's books like 1-A Piece of Sky 2-The Crawfish Family Band 3-Aidan and the Anteater & 4-Who Dat Night Before Christmas. Todd-Michael has served as a judge for the Reading Rainbow Young Writer's & Illustrators Contest! He's developed recipes for Cooking Light magazine & his books have been featured in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Denver Post & on AOL Food! You can read more about this author and his books at his website... ToddStPierre.com


Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this cookbook by the author in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.

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