Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook

By JULIETTE ROSSANT How much influence does a restaurateur have on a restaurant's cuisine if he/she is not the executive chef? Take a look at Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook, written with food writerGene Bourg (Vissi D'Arte 2008). Ralph is a member of New Orleans' leading restaurateur family, the Brennans. His aunt Ella is the doyen of Commander's Palace and other Brennan restaurants. Nephew Ralph got his start peeling shrimp and onions in the prep kitchen at Brennan's, and later became manager of Mr. B's, working with Paul Prudhomme. The preface traces Ralph's career through Red Fish Grill, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, Ralph's on the Park, and Bacco, all of which featured fish and seafood. He discusses how his own passion for Italian cuisine and seafood was behind his restaurants and their menus. The restaurants' recipes form the core of the book – ranging from the traditional to the more innovative: Ralph's on the Park opened at the end of 2003 with an award-winning menu geared toward locals seeking innovative yet approachable food exemplified by the menu's truffle-infused crab cakes, sesame tuna and redfish blacked in a cast-iron skillet. (p. 13) The ideas of the restaurants are Ralph's, but the recipes are from the chefs in his Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group (p. 17). Although the recipes are from his restaurants, a capable cook can prepare them at home – given the right ingredients, very large pots and plenty of This is an impressive, heavy, handsome book. Well photographed by Kerri McCaffety, with clear how-to photos of perfectly fresh fish and finish dishes. The first section is A Seafood Cook's Manual (p. 22). It includes a detailed introduction and description of species, how to debone a fish, prepare crabs, peal crawfish and shuck oysters – a good primer and a handy reminder of how to deal with most seafood. Most of the recipes call for whole fish, shrimp with shells and heads on, because they use the bones and shells and heads to make stock. Within each chapter Ralph and his chefs include classics and more inventive dishes. Gumbos, Soups and Bisques starts off with Gumbo File (p. 108). The recipe notes explain that file refers to a gumbo thickened with sassafras as opposed to okra or roux. The recipe is for makes 8 main-dish servings, and included 1 quart of oyster liquor along with 1 pint of shucked oysters, mustard greens, chicken and of course file. It's a great recipe if you are at the seaside with a house full of summer guests. Less traditional is the Golden Crab and Oyster-Mushroom Gumbo with Shrimp-Potato Salad (p. 115). The book includes a helpful section at the back on making roux and stopping at the correct color for different recipes. There is even a photo of bowls holding blond, golden, peanut butter and dark rouxes (pp. 414-5). Many of the recipes in the book look daunting, containing long lists of ingredients and many steps – like many restaurant recipes. But if you can get the Louisiana pepper sauce, the file powder, and above all, the fresh seafood, then they are well worth the effort. Choose a day by the sea, get hungry playing in the surf, and then get cooking. Previous articles: [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, New Orleans, Ralph Brennan --> back to Super Chef