Lee Bailey's New Orleans: Good Food And Glorious Houses

by Lee Bailey

Lee Bailey, who grew up in New Orleans, teamed up with renowned restaurateur Ella Brennan to create 18 fabulous menus of stylish food that anyone can make and enjoy. He combines these with a delightful and memorable tour of the city's justly famous houses. Full-color photographs.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

175 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 1993

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all of Lee Bailey's cookbooks, but this one has a special place in my heart. My husband and I bought it while we were in New Orleans 13 years ago this month. It's classic Lee Bailey in that each chapter portrays a different menu with several courses - in this volume, each chapter is photographed at a different, breathtaking historic home in the New Orleans area. It all adds up to the best grown-up picture book I can imagine - yummy food, a little historic background on the recipes and the area, and gorgeous photos of the food AND the houses. It was through this book that we first discovered the insidious flourless chocolate cake (here, credited to fellow food writer Lora Brody) that took the culinary world by storm in the late '90s and was on every dessert menu in the country. I think the recipe only calls for a few pounds of chocolate and butter.

The recipes vary in degrees of difficulty. Although a beginner would probably be a bit overwhelmed, any complicated techniques are usually explained thoroughly and helpful tips are included for tricky operations like peeling tomatoes and such. I find that this holds true for all the Bailey books I use.

Although they're out of print, you can find most of Lee Bailey's fun picture-and-recipe books used on Amazon for a song these days. If your cookbook shelf isn't already groaning and about to break, treat yourself - you can probably grab a copy for $10 shipped, and if you like what you see, be careful. You'll find yourself amassing quite a collection and you may need to keep an eye on your cholesterol and your waistline.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a pretty book, seasoned with photos and stories about some of the interesting, classic old houses in New Orleans. But the recipes vacillate between overly simplistic (“Basic Broccoli”) to recipes that include other recipes. There are a couple of recipes that pique my interest: the Shrimp and Pasta salad is intriguing with seasoned, boiled shrimp and pineapple; the Creole Seasoning seems to be featured in a number of recipes; I’ve never even considered Homemade Worcestershire Sauce; and the Lora Brody Chocolate Cake is flourless - before flourless became a trend - and seems to be a sensation in reviews I can find online.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook has stunning photographs of homes in New Orleans and the wonderful foods served within. The recipes are from Commander's Palace and The Palace Café. The recipes are written clearly and the photographs make your mouth water!