Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-22
Some Things You Want to Know
Creole

New Orleans is probably the only Ameri-
can city where cookery is still a fine art
The cuisine creole may not now be as
splendid as It was in days "befo' dc wah.'
but II stili retains enough of It's former
grandeur to deserve the respectful con-
sideration OF any discriminating gourmet.
New Orleans is curiously divided into two
parts-the upper, or American section.
which presents no special differences from
any other American city. except in the
extent and beauty Of It's gardens, and the
lower, or French city, which Is a BIT of
Europe got down ON United States soil,
and doesn't resemble anything else In the
whole country. In the former section the
cuisine creole flourishes sporadically, II
at an: in the latter It IL still to be seen.
81 not in It's original perfection, at least
In a very Interesting state OF preservation.
There is aothlng particularly distinctive
about the equipment Of the creole kitchen.
The creole cook, however-the real creole
cook, who grows rarer day By day-ls n
fat old negro woman, with sleeves rolled
up 10 her dlmpled. ebony elbows ard a
~burdana twisted pictnresquely around her
head. She has no science. Her recipes are
les a pinch o dat and 'erbout a spoon
fu! er dis and yer lots 1t bile fer er
while" but with such crude methods her
genius for cooking finds expression In some
Ct the most pslatable dishes tina ever
smo ked before c sourmand.
Formerly, he continental breakfast was
universal in New Orleans. That ls, every
bcdy began the day with a cup OF coffee
and a slice OF cold bread. At II O'Clock
a verltable banquet was served. But these
plet SAINT customs have disappeared under
the pressure of modern pushes methods.
Even IN the creole section OF New Orleans
the first meal is a solid American break
fast, and lunch at midday is a mere trifle,
to tide over the interval till dinner at
6 p. m. hut the creole still begins his
dinner In the old f~ashion-with an appetiser.
At least one kind of wine Is served daily
in every family. The salad is always eaten
Immediately after the soup. and not. rs
elsewhere in the United States, with the
reest. Mayonnaise dressing is not as popu-
lar as the French dressing, the latter made
with rather more oil than vinegar. The
typical creole Is not much given to sweets.
His dinner consists for the most part Of
meats delicately cooked and seasoned, with
much gravy The vegetables will not be
numerous, but the quantity of bread that
Will De COnbuHDou III the course Oh ln0 meal
" ould stagger the Imagination Of the New
England housewife. And II may be noted,
in passing, that the New Orleans bakeries
turn out the best bread In the world.
The one relic OF the old regime that OBJ
tains in New Orleans is the breakfast
served at Begue's and T~ujague's. These are
names to c~onjure with in New Orleans.
Begue's is a restaurant over a saloon near
a. UN-.-ML - i -. -
tor served al early morning meal for the
butchers Of the market, Gascons all, and
connoisseurs Of meat then artists and news
paper men began to frequent the place;
and so by degrees came others, until now
the II a. m. table d'hote of Nd. Begue is
crowded daily, and one must bespeak a
seat at the board long in advance. Tu-
Jague's is a similar establishment, where
the old continental d%cjeuner may stun be
procured,
OF typical Creole dishes the first is, of
course, the gurnbo, The name is known out
side of New Orleans, but not the thing
itself. Its origin is not known. In one sense
it is a soup, but it is not prepared as soups
are. 1t is essentially a thick, brown gravy,
made with onions, parsley, okra and flour,
the flour Drowned on the stove until al
AiiOSb phihl' MS bldNS SuOulu nave the
consistency Of a stiff paste. There are
scores of different kinds of gumbo, but
the foregoing is the one feature common
to them all. BY adding file or the pow
dered leaves Of sassafras, the celebrated
"Gumbo File" is produced. There is also
the "Gumbo-aux-Herbes," which is pro-
duced by emitting the file and substituting
bay-leaves, thyme, sweet marjoram. sor-
rel, mustard leaves, cabbage and spinach.
These herbs are boiled in the aforemen.
toned thick brown gravy. ~kGumbo-aux,
Herbes is not considered a fat" dish, anc
consequently is a feature of the Lenter
menu in Catholic New Orleans.
Gumbo can also be made OF oysters, crabs
shrimp. ham, sausage or any kind OF
meat. 1t is not considered quite ethical tc
combine all Of these ingredients in one
gumbo. though this is occasionally done
Chicken gumbo is. perhaps. the choicest va.
ricty. In Acadisn Louisiana-in that TechG
country which Longfellow describes in hi:
poem Of Observation-Disclosures gumbo ii
considered the chief delicacy possible tc