• DKennedy on August 12, 2015

  A great read! Music suggestions to accompany recipes are an added perk.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Last-word fizz

  • babyfork on August 26, 2019

    Mash up of the Last Word and a Gin Fizz. One of my favorites to make at home. I usually use simple syrup instead of powdered sugar if I have it on hand, just cause it's slightly easier. I use the syrup from the jar of Luxardo maraschino cherries instead of cherry juice and garnish with a cherry floating in the froth.

  • anya_sf on December 07, 2025

    Alas, the recipe link is broken so I had guess at how to make this. I shook the classic Last Word ingredients with egg white, first dry, then with ice. Strained into a glass and topped with soda water and a teaspoon of marachino cherry juice. Did not add powdered sugar or simple syrup (not needed IMO). Great drink.

• Ham stock

  • babyfork on March 05, 2016

    When I finished making this at first I thought it smelled a bit medicinal...maybe from the rosemary? But it was awesome in the red beans & rice "gumbo" from the same book. Glad I have plenty of extra stashed in the freezer. I'll be using it in other recipes for sure!

• Gumbo z'herbes

  • jenniwa on June 23, 2016

    Have made several times with different greens and proteins. Still wonderful!

• Red beans and rice "gumbo"

  • babyfork on March 02, 2016

    Take the time to make the ham stock for this. It really makes this dish. Used andouille from the Devil's Gulch rabbit guy at the farmer's market that was good and spicy. Dan's not an okra fan and it's not in season, so left it out. Used John Besh's recipe for Creole seasoning since I already had some mixed up. Used the Camellia brand red beans given to us by Pableaux Johnson at the 2015 SFA symposium in NOLA. This was really good. Dan said it was the best red beans and rice he's ever had.

  • jdjd99 on September 22, 2025

    Flavor was delicious. I used beef stock but otherwise followed the recipe. My only critique is that every time I’ve followed a recipe that advised adding salt or acid to beans before they’ve been cooked, I have regretted it. It took over two hours to get the beans edible, and they were not old. Next time I’d cook the beans first. Loved the pilaf.

• Top-shelf chicken and dumplings

  • Popisdead on March 21, 2021

    Was good. Needed a little more time than the recipe says. The dumplings were a bit floury but I think I made them a bit too big, or didn’t cook enough as worried they would melt.

• French Vidalia onion soup

  • Foodo on May 10, 2023

    EXCELLENT!

• Roasted red pepper harissa

  • Foodo on May 10, 2023

    Made a bunch and froze in small batches. Really enjoy the flavor!

• Worcestershire sauce

  • Foodo on May 10, 2023

    This was a fun little project. Will make again without or less lemon juice.

• Coca-Cola brined fried chicken thighs

  • TheNegliGent on September 26, 2016

    Found the wet batter to be a little harder to deal with than a traditional 'buttermilk then flour' process. That said, the eventual coating was very light and crispy.

• Okra and green onion hush puppies

  • april_z8n83m on April 23, 2026

    Delicious but the dough fell apart in the oil.

• Garlic-fried frog's legs sauce piquant

  • babyfork on January 13, 2015

    While on a summer RV trip, the only cookbook I brought was John Currence's Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey. We were going to stay with some friends in their historic cabin in the Santa Fe National Forest for a few days. I decided to cook a number of meals from the book for them, so we stopped at the Whole Foods in Albuquerque and I loaded up with ingredients. No frogs legs, so I used chicken thighs. Turned out great and we enjoyed so much we ate the leftovers for a second dinner! As Currence mentions in the book, you can pretty much use whatever meat you have on hand. In fact, a very fat squirrel who had been eating up flower bulbs around the cabin narrowly missed being shot by our host and thrown into the pot!

• Szechuan pepper-crusted farm-raised catfish with ginger tartar sauce

  • babyfork on January 13, 2015

    Delicious. Even better with the tartar sauce.

• Smoked center-cut pork chops with roasted clove applesauce

  • DKennedy on August 16, 2015

    Making this recipe tonight in homage to a dinner we had recently at Salt's Cure. I modified the brine by using only 2 oz of Hot Sauce instead of the 8 oz. recommended. I brined for 24 hours, then rinsed the meat once last night and once today, drying in between each rinse. The meat rested in the fridge wrapped in paper towels to dry further, mimicking dry aged meat. Instead of smoking, grill using 1 T. garlic oil and 1 T. bacon grease, over high heat in a cast iron skillet for a few minutes just to sear the outside. Put all 4 chops on their bone (facing up/tall) in skillet into 400 degree oven for 14 minutes, turning once (so facing down). Serve with a pan juice of shallots sautéed in butter, a little chicken fat and juices from last night's roasted chicken on top of roasted apple sauce. Does not need further seasoning. Next time cut back hot sauce to 2 T. at most.

  • DKennedy on August 19, 2015

    Roasted Clove Applesauce: Using 4 apples from our tree, I followed the recipe except I only used 1/4 cup of Bourbon (Rebel Yell) and added 1 additional Tablespoon of brown sugar. I also added a touch of cinnamon and a snip of vanilla bean. The apple sauce is tart with a sweet finish and goes very nicely with the pork chops. Will serve it chunky. Note that I added a lot of water to allow the sauce to finish off on the stove so as to burn off the bourbon as the water evaporates. Next time I will cut back the bourbon to 1 Tablespoon and 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Vodka.