Book report for Oct. 22, 2009

• By CHERAMIE SONNIER
• Advocate Food writer
• Published: Oct 22, 2009

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New Orleans chef John Besh’s love of the Crescent City shines through every page of the fabulous “My New Orleans The Cookbook: 200 of My Favorite Recipes & Stories From My Hometown” (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $45, hardcover, October 2009).

Besh, who grew up in Slidell, has garnered numerous national awards for his cooking prowess. He operates three New Orleans restaurants — Restaurant August, considered by many to be one of the top restaurants in the country, Besh Steak and Lüke — plus La Provence in Lacombe. He’s also a partner in the new Domenica restaurant in The Roosevelt in New Orleans.

With that background, Besh could have produced a cookbook like those often written by professional chefs, one filled with restaurant-style recipes that are far too complicated or expensive for the average home cook. “My New Orleans The Cookbook” isn’t one of those.

Instead, most of the recipes in “My New Orleans The Cookbook” are for more refined versions of dishes that Louisiana cooks probably have prepared in their homes. Recipes like Crawfish Boil, Crawfish Étouffée, Slow-Cooked Veal Grillades, Ambrosia, Mirliton and Shrimp Dressing, Stewed Okra and Tomatoes, and Bourbon Pecan Pie.

True, the book does include some ambitious recipes and a few with difficult-to-find ingredients. This is particularly the case for the “Boucherie” chapter’s recipes. I don’t know a butcher who could provide a pig’s head to make Hog’s Head Cheese. But, for those with access to a pig’s head and the desire and time to prepare it, Besh has a good, clearly written recipe.

“My New Orleans The Cookbook” is the chef’s tribute to the New Orleans culture, traditions and food. He tells its history through charming stories about his family, friends and the men and women who provide the seafood and ingredients that he uses in his restaurants.

The book’s chapters are divided by cooking seasons. It opens with a section on “How I Cook,” which includes recipes for such things as stocks, spices  and sauces. Next come 16 recipe chapters beginning with Crawfish & Rice and ending with Réveillon. There are chapters dedicated to Mardi Gras; Feast Days, including St. Joseph’s Day, Easter and Passover Seder; Creole Tomatoes; Gumbo Weather; and Thanksgiving.

The latter chapter includes a recipe for Besh’s version of Spinach Madeleine. Based on what he writes about the dish beloved by many south Louisi-ana residents, the chef apparently is unaware that the recipe is from “River Road Recipes,” published 50 years ago by the Junior League of Baton Rouge.

This is a gorgeously designed book, filled with lovely color photographs by Ditte Isager and numerous archival black-and-white photos. It also includes a source list for ingredients and products from south Louisiana.

A portion of the book’s proceeds will be donated to Café Reconcile, a New Orleans-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing at-risk youth a chance to train for entry into the hospitality and restaurant industries.

Below is a tasty soup from the book’s Thanksgiving chapter.

Cookbook awards

Wednesday is the deadline for submitting cookbooks in the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ 2010 Cookbook Awards competition.