The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine by Chef John D. Folse

    • Categories: Cajun & Creole
    • Ingredients: oil; all-purpose flour
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Notes about this book

  • dclong on August 02, 2015

    This is a pretty amazing cook book. It's huge, heavy, and full of pictures. Oh, and full of great recipes! The first 124 pages are about the history of Louisiana. If you collect cookbooks or like Cajun/Creole/Southern food, you must add this to your collection.

  • lizard on May 05, 2012

    Please index this incredible book ASAP!

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Creole tomato grits

    • TrishaCP on March 12, 2015

      Somehow neglected to write a note when I made it a few months ago, but this was a fantastic and exceedingly rich dish. (Though the richness was cut by the tomatoes and the heat from the chiles.) I had frozen Hatch chiles so used them in place of the canned chiles, and they were great. I also used evaporated milk in place of the heavy cream (cleaning out the pantry) and it worked just fine.

  • Buttermilk pancakes with orange honey butter

    • seattletony on November 28, 2014

      Very fluffy and nice coloring. Good taste, though the butter didn't come together as well with oj.

  • Bayou Lacombe crab boulettes

    • Baxter850 on May 04, 2020

      Absolutely delicious. No suggestions for recipe but added a creole mayo/pepper vinegar dipping sauce.

  • Bisque of three lettuces

    • dclong on August 02, 2015

      This is recipe that I have to make once a year once it gets cold out. It’s kind of an unassuming green soup, but it’s packed with Louisiana flavor. The andouille sausage pureed in with the vegetable base adds this amazing, rich smoky flavor that you don’t expect in a bisque.

  • Cabbage and ground beef soup

    • foolcontrol on January 16, 2018

      This recipe was good. We enjoyed it. It is a great way to use a lot of cabbage. I will probably use a half a teaspoon less sugar than the recipe calls for next time.

  • Louisiana seafood gumbo

    • alysekstokes on December 04, 2025

      The go-to recipe for a classic cajun seafood gumbo. I skipped the meat since I'm pescatarian and used a pound and a half of shrimp, a pound of crab meat, and some whole gumbo crabs. Take your time to make a proper dark roux and you'll be rewarded with deep, rich flavors that will transport you straight to Louisiana. This gumbo tastes like home to me.

  • Chicken and sausage gumbo

    • dclong on August 02, 2015

      This is my go-to chicken and sausage gumbo recipe. My only changes are to omit the mushrooms and add my own mix of Cajun seasoning. It's just a simple and good recipe. You definitely should follow the advice to pre-boil the chicken to make fresh stock if you don't have any homemade stock on hand.

    • TrishaCP on March 09, 2020

      This is basically what you want a gumbo to be. Both for the eating and making, it would be easier to use boneless skinless thighs, though maybe it would impact the flavor. We do add mushrooms and like the extra umami.

  • Gumbo des herbes

    • TrishaCP on June 30, 2018

      This recipe is from Leah Chase, and is supposedly the best gumbo des herbes recipe. (Though Mrs. Chase's gumbo des herbes recipe is also in One Big Table, and is different. Hmmmm....I went with this one because it included the trinity, omitted in the One Big Table version.) I loved the greens, but this was a bit meat forward for me and I prefer the version in the Food of New Orleans where the greens aren't pureed. I used collards, turnip greens, radish greens, carrot greens, arugula, chard, and kale. It was too late in the summer for mustard greens when I made this, and I definitely missed them here.

  • Louisiana white or red beans with ham and sausage

    • mamacrumbcake on May 31, 2025

      Wow! This was really yummy. Everyone in the family liked it, even the pickiest eater. I am amazed at how flavorful this is and it is made of the simplest ingredients. Although I have to laugh that the garlic is measured, not by cloves or teaspoons, but by measuring cup—a quarter cup to be exact. Despite all the garlic, it is not overtly garlicky. All in all, this is deeply flavored, comfort food. It’s so easy to make that after you’ve made it once, you won’t need the recipe.

  • Louisiana-style crawfish étouffée

    • dclong on August 02, 2015

      This is the recipe I use to make shrimp etoufee. I just sub out the 2lbs of crawfish for 2lbs of shrimp. I usually get shell on gulf shrimp and peel them myself so I can use the shells to make a shrimp stock. I'll throw in a slice of of lemon and scraps from doing prep work for the recipe (onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper) and simmer in a little over 2 quarts of water for 30 minutes and strain.

    • TrishaCP on February 04, 2018

      This is basically a perfect recipe. Amazingly good. We used crayfish this time but I would use this for shrimp étouffée too per the below.

  • Cassoulet

    • Linilor on July 13, 2025

      Don't add as much water before baking!!!

  • Bourbon pecan pie

    • TrishaCP on November 23, 2018

      It's been a while since I've made or even eaten pecan pie, and I forgot how sweet they taste. At least this version with cane syrup. My guests all liked it though. I had to bake this pie in advance, freeze it, and then defrost it in the oven. After defrosting, it looked liquidy again, so I returned it the fridge overnight to maintain the set. There was still some minimal weeping when I served it (I think from the cane syrup), but nothing major.

  • Persimmon nut bread

    • TrishaCP on November 30, 2018

      This was an ok quick bread- a bit dry so I would recommend checking before the time specified in the recipe.

  • Strawberry pecan muffins

    • Baxter850 on April 06, 2024

      Just okay. Opposite of a cake like texture. Don’t need to make again. Not very sweet.

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  • ISBN 10 0970445717
  • ISBN 13 9780970445711
  • Published Jan 01 2004
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 842
  • Language English
  • Edition illustrated edition
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Chef John Folse and Co.
  • Imprint Chef John Folse and Co.

Publishers Text

Chef Folse's seventh cookbook is the authoritative collection on Louisiana's culture and cuisine. The book features more than 850 full-color pages, dynamic historical Louisiana photographs and more than 700 recipes. You will not only find step-by-step directions to preparing everything from a roux to a cochon de lait, but you will also learn about the history behind these recipes. Cajun and Creole cuisine was influenced by seven nations that settled Louisiana, from the Native Americans to the Italian immigrants of the 1800s. Learn about the significant contributions each culture made-okra seeds carried here by African slaves, classic French recipes recalled by the Creoles, the sausage-making skills of the Germans and more. Relive the adventure and romance that shaped Louisiana, and recreate the recipes enjoyed in Cajun cabins, plantation kitchens and New Orleans restaurants. Chef Folse has hand picked the recipes for each chapter to ensure the very best of seafood, game, meat, poultry, vegetables, salads, appetizers, drinks and desserts are represented. From the traditional to the truly unique, you will develop a new understanding and love of Cajun and Creole cuisine. The Encyclopedia would make a perfect gift or simply a treasured addition to your own cookbook library.

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