ReviewsThe Daily Advertiser, Monroe Louisiana
"Cookbooks are a marvelous thing, offering hope to those who want to relive great food at home or add inspiration to even the best cooks when their imagination runs dry. Some cookbooks add a dollop of lagniappe, that little something extra that makes you want to forgo the pots, pull up a comfy chair and enjoy the background material instead. Belinda Hulin's Roux Memories: A Cajun-Creole Love Story with Recipes (Globe Pequot, $19.95) is just such a gem, filled with family stories, photos and anecdotes about life in South Louisiana. Her mama's seafood gumbo, for instance, comes with a heart-warming story of how her parents met. Her crawfish étouffée complements a story of her first New Orleans Mardi Gras. It's written with love but also well written — a real joy of a book. And to top it off, Hulin's aim at assembling these 250 home-tested recipes was to preserve them for prosperity, after watching so many in her home town of New Orleans lose their family lore in the flood after Hurricane Katrina. Her message is simple, but not news to those of us in the Bayou State: Cooking goes way beyond sustenance, and good food and great company result in vivid memories. "Mostly, it's the way we offer comfort and show people we love them," Hulin writes. Don't miss this sweet cookbook and share the love." Cherie Cohen |