Photos by Maura McEvoy, courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing.
I like food. No, that’s not totally correct; I love food. I love to eat it, I love to talk about it, and I love to read about it. My Food Holy Trinity manifested when I was given the opportunity to preview Besh Big Easy: 101 Home Cooked New Orleans Recipes, sample some of its recipes, and ask Chef John Besh a few questions about his newest culinary effort.
The first recipe I attempted was the crawfish beignets. I have to be honest—I didn’t cook them but tried those made by a friend (she’s a better cook, hands down). In a word: tasty. Like all the recipes in the book, this one has an easy-to-follow, pared-down approach. I also had a chance to see Chef Besh himself make Divorce Soup, a tongue-in-cheek, Creole take on classic wedding soup. Again, uncomplicated but with delightful results. His recipes include familiar ingredients that are rendered above-average by that remarkable Besh touch.
This cookbook, like all the others before, focuses on New Orleans food, that blend of quotidian and quintessential local ingredients that can translate to any table across Louisiana or the nation. Here’s how Chef Besh himself talks about the book and New Orleans cooking:
Q: This is your fourth cookbook and all have focused on New Orleans cooking. How have your cookbooks progressed, and what makes Besh Big Easy different?
A: My earlier books are beautiful, and in a lot of ways I poured my heart and soul into them. But I’ve found that they are more like coffee table books and not resources that we use in the kitchen. I wanted a soft-bound book that’s inexpensive. I wanted to share a cookbook with good, easy, and approachable recipes that taste like they’re straight from my childhood.
Q: In the introduction, you say that these days, your home-cooking is more like that of your mother and grandmother than “cheffy” cooking. How did their cooking inspire you and did any of their recipes make it into the book?
A: Almost every recipe from my cookbook is inspired by these two magnificent ladies. They are accomplished cooks in their own right. These recipes don’t require an enormous amount of ingredients; however, they do require the few ingredients used to be of the highest quality. Their cooking was elegant through their simplicity.
Q: For you, what makes New Orleans home-cooking different from that in other parts of Louisiana and the South?
A: Out of eyesight of New Orleans, the cuisine, and for that matter the culture, changes dramatically. New Orleans is a true melting pot where all of the cultures that came have left their indelible ingredient in the fabric of our food. There is a richness and complexity to New Orleans cuisine that one doesn’t find anywhere in the state.
Q: How has your approach to family meals changed as your kids have gotten older? Has this influenced the way you cook every day? How is this expressed in the book?
A: As the kids have gotten older, their schedules have become much more cumbersome. I feel that through some of these great one-pot meals, I’m able to cook earlier in the day, and they can reheat it for dinners in between sporting events and other extracurricular school activities.
Q: You’re known to be an avid sportsman and supporter of Audubon Louisiana (the state branch of the National Audubon Society). Giving back to the community seems to have been a long passion of yours. How and why did you become involved with this organization? Will you be attending or participating in any Audubon Louisiana events this fall?
A: I grew up an avid conservationist and realized at an early age the importance of stewardship, especially as it pertains to our coastal wetlands. It was a clear next step to be a part of Audubon Louisiana. I will definitely be attending the coming Audubon Louisiana events this fall.
