9781589803091
Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook: New Orleans Legendary Creole Cuisine share button
Kit Wohl
Format Hardcover
Dimensions 10.18 (w) x 10.18 (h) x 0.94 (d)
Pages 224
Publisher Pelican Pub Co Inc
Publication Date May 2005
ISBN 9781589803091
Book ISBN 10 1589803094
About Book
Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook By Kit Wohl

In a city known for its culinary excellence and abundance of fine restaurants, few establishments have achieved worldwide acclaim. Arnaud's stands as a monument to the enduring allure of classic Creole cuisine, as well as to the excitement of gustatory innovation.
This New Orleans restaurant is a leader of the culinary old guard and serves tradition today with a menu of classics with a thoroughly contemporary accent. Within its beautifully restored, historic walls, one can sample dishes created on the premises--succulent Oysters Bienville and Arnaud's famous remoulade sauce, to name only two.
Arnaud's lasting success can be attributed in part to the constancy of its owners. It has known only two families since its establishment in 1918, from the colorful founder, "Count" Arnaud Cazenave, to his equally flamboyant daughter Germaine Cazenave Wells, to her heir apparent, Archie A. Casbarian.
Like the founder and his daughter, Casbarian has infused the restaurant with tradition and flair and shepherded its growth as a magical place to savor the full experience of a meal. When Archie and Jane Casbarian acquired Arnaud's they embarked on an extraordinary adventure. "Tonight," wrote Casbarian in his inaugural menu on February 28, 1979, "marks the rebirth of a grand and noble restaurant and heralds a new era in the history of a world-famous establishment."
"Creole cooking is an exuberant, living cuisine," emphasizes proprietor Archie Casbarian. "It continuously evolves as we take advantage of Louisiana's rich bounty of fresh seafood, shellfish, produce and culinary talent."

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Casbarian is dedicated to the fundamentals of Arnaud's heritage, keeping one foot in the past and the other a step ahead. Menus burst with seasonal flavors and the fun that is the soul of New Orleans.
Here you will find Creole classics and Arnaud's favorites, from Oyster Soup to Trout Meunière, each recipe carefully adapted for use in the home kitchen. These versions have been tested to reproduce their delicious flavor profiles, while appreciating the realities of most kitchens. Aficionados of the restaurant can savor a true taste of New Orleans.
Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook contains more than 150 recipes ranging from Pompano en Croute and traditional Seafood Gumbo to many of the dishes for which Arnaud's has always been renowned. Liberally sprinkled throughout are fascinating stories about the restaurant's history, the legends that shaped it, and, of course, the many celebrities who have dined there. It is liberally illustrated with photographs, cartoons, drawings, and other Arnaud's memorabilia.
To read and use Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook is to participate in a feast for all the senses, nearly as seductive as a meal at Arnaud's itself.
Arnaud Cazenave (1876-1948) expressed his philosophy of dining this way:

When choosing a New Orleans Restaurant--a dinner chosen according to one's needs, tastes and moods, well prepared and well served, is a joy to all senses and an impelling incentive to sound sleep, good health and long life. Therefore, at least once a day, preferably in the cool and quiet of the evening, one should throw all care to the winds, relax completely and dine leisurely and well. Au revoir, mes amis! Je vais vivre at diner en sage.

Author Kit Wohl lives in New Orleans. With her husband, Billy, she has worked with the Casbarians since they acquired the restaurant in 1979.

Photographs by David Spielman, unless otherwise noted Edited by Brigit Binns Recipe testing was supervised by Arnaud's Executive Chef Tommy DiGiovianni and Executive Sous Chef José Munguia working with their extraordinary culinary team plus the talented home kitchen crew of Virginia Warren, Susan Hennessey, Christine Mason and Emanuel Dyer.

Reviews

Library Journal

The life span of most restaurants is shorter than that of the average household pet, so when an eatery can claim to have remained open for 87 years, it is an accomplishment indeed. Arnaud's Restaurant of New Orleans opened its doors in 1918, and this book-a tidy marriage of Creole recipes and New Orleans history written by a close associate of the current owners-serves as a tribute to the institution's culinary staying power. Arnaud's has known only two family proprietors since its inception; some of the items on the menu, e.g., Shrimp Arnaud, date back to the original list of fare and can still be ordered today. Also included are history on the featured dishes and explanatory notes that will help weekend warriors attempting to put food to plate. Recipe ingredients should be easy enough for most people to purchase. Beautifully illustrated and well organized, this is recommended for public libraries with extensive cookbook collections.-Sean Michael Fleming, Lebanon P.L., NH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.