Frank Davis Makes Good Groceries!: A New Orleans Cookbook
For his title, Davis turns to Louisiana patois, where groceries refers to cooking ingredients, “good groceries” equating ultimately to all tasty eating. A New Orleans television personality, Davis is as much at home in Louisiana’s outdoors as he is at the stove. His cooking stretches beyond traditional Cajun and Creole dishes to reflect Italian, Chinese, and even Tex-Mex influences. Yet, he still insists in some cases on the laborious but rewarding creation of a Cajun roux. Davis’ Cajun meat sauce for pasta is made fragrant with cumin as well as the trinity of onions, green peppers, and celery. Chicken stars in some recipes useful for party centerpieces. He presents his own methodology for homemade Creole cream cheese. Many of his recipes call for Davis’ trademarked seasoning mixes, readily available beyond Louisiana generally only through his Web site, and this may limit the recipes’ accessibility. --Mark Knoblauch