• doodlebeh on March 15, 2015

  When we were in New Orleans, my friends and I had the opportunity to attend the infamous Friday lunch at Galatoire's. Five hours, and many dishes, later we left knowing that we'd just experienced a once in a lifetime event. I was so pleased to realize that this cookbook not only outlined the recipes for ALL of the dishes that we tried, but also delved into the history of this notable restaurant. They even mention the powdered sugar and Tabasco served with the Creole Fried Eggplant! It's the perfect souvenir. So far at home I've made the Chicken Creole and Shrimp Creole, both easy dishes that were delicious. I'm also looking forward to making my favorites at the restaurant - Crabmeat Sardou and Cafe Brulot. The restaurant and cookbook are heavy on the high French influence in Creole cooking, so if you're looking for more down to earth recipes I'd try another source - maybe The New Orleans Cookbook (Collin) or the Picayune's Creole Cook Book.

• robm on May 30, 2011

  Classics of haute Creole cuisine from one of its pre-eminent practitioners! The recipes are for large quantities (can be reduced) and just reading them will cause hardening of the arteries, what with the lavish quantities of eggs and butter used in them. But for occasional big-splurge dishes these are deliciously worthwhile. The eggplant stuffed with seafood is possibly the best thing I ever put in my mouth! One of the few dishes I dream about!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Galatoire's seafood stuffed eggplant

  • robm on June 08, 2011

    This is possibly the best thing I ever put in mouth! :-) If you love eggplant, you have to try this spectacular dish! One of the few dishes I actually dream about. If I'm ever about to be executed, this will be my last meal! Surprisingly, it's not all that hard to make for special occasions.

  • robm on May 17, 2017

    Part 1: I just made this dish for a family occasion last week and, once again, it's amazing how something so relatively easy to make and with relatively simple ingredients can become such a sumptuous dish! Even if you DON'T love eggplant, try this. I absolutely guarantee that it will be the best thing you ever taste!!! These are tweaks I made to reduce fat and make it a more affordable dish, as well as to make preparation easier: 1) Cut the eggplants in half, score them and salt them, then microwave them in a pyrex dish for at least 10 minutes to cook and soften them for the rest of the recipe. When cool enough to handle, scrape out the pulp and save the skins. 2) To the chopped parsley and green onions I added a stalk of celery. It all went in the food processor before sauteeing. Sprinkle some salt and cayenne (or commercial Creole seasoning) on the saute.

  • robm on May 17, 2017

    Part 2: 3) This sounds like heresy, but this is a perfect dish to use faux crabmeat (surimi). Process a pound of it until it is coarsely ground into small bits (but not a powder or, worse, a paste). For the shrimp, use a pound of the tiny, pre-cooked and cleaned "salad shrimp," whole and thawed. 4) Season the béchamel with a couple of dashes of nutmeg and of Creole seasoning (or salt and cayenne). 5) When you mix the eggplant pulp, sauteed vegetables and béchamel together, add 1/4 cup dry wine or 2 - 3 tablespoons brandy. 6) Increase the bread crumb/parmesan mixture to 1 cup when you add it to the mixture. The recipe in the book makes a filling that is slightly looser than the dish served at the restaurant. 6) Add the faux crab/shrimp and cook all for just a few minutes (both ingredients are already cooked. 7) Spray oval au gratin dishes with cooking spray, lay a reserved eggplant skin in each one, then top with the eggplant mixture for easy baking and serving.

  • robm on May 17, 2017

    Part 3 of 3: 7) CUT THE BUTTER!!! Use just enough (a couple of tablespoons) to sauté the vegetables and make this in a non-stick pan. For the Béchamel, the equivalent of half a stick of butter is more than enough to make the roux. You don't need two sticks of butter, and the dish will still be extremely rich and satisfying! 8) Best tweak: make the filling the day ahead and refrigerate overnight before final cooking. The flavors will be even richer and delicious! Enjoy! I am absolutely convinced that this is THE greatest recipe ever concocted in New Orleans and America! It's supposed to be a home recipe of the Galatoire family. A monument needs to be erected to the family member who invented this sublime dish!!!

• Galatoire's creamed spinach

  • Rinshin on September 15, 2014

    Basic creamed spinach recipe but it's an easy one. The bechamel sauce can be frozen if made in greater quantity for other recipes.