Besh Big Easy: 101 Home Cooked New Orleans Recipes by John Besh (Cookbook Reviews)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

In Besh Big Easy: 101 Home-Cooked New Orleans Recipes, award-winning chef John Besh makes his favorite hometown cooking accessible to a wide audience of cooks and readers.

In this, his fourth book, the award-winning chef John Besh takes another deep dive into the charm and authenticity of the cuisine of his hometown, New Orleans.
Besh Big Easy: 101 Home-Cooked New Orleans Recipes, is a fresh and delightful new look at his signature food. Besh Big Easy will feature all new recipes, published in a refreshing new flexibound format and accessible to cooks everywhere. Much has changed since Besh wrote his bestselling My New Orleans in 2009. His restaurant empire has grown from two to nine acclaimed eateries, from the highly praised Restaurant August to the just opened farm-to-table taqueria, Johnny Sanchez. John's television career has blossomed as well. He's become known to millions as host of two national public television cooking shows based on his books and of Hungry Investors on Spike TV. Besh Big Easy is dedicated to accessibility. "There's no reason a good jambalaya needs two dozen ingredients," John says. In this book, jambalaya has less than ten, but sacrifices nothing in the way of flavor. With 101 original, personal recipes such as Mr. Sam's Stuffed Crabs, Duck Camp Shrimp & Grits, and Silver Queen Corn Pudding, Besh Big Easy is chock-full of the vivid personality that has made John Besh such a popular American culinary icon. 

My thoughts- 

My husband and I (and now our three kids) love to travel. One of our favorite places to visit is new Orleans. We love the music scene and how the city itself feels like worlds away from other cities in the United States. There is just nowhere else in the world that I have been that is like New Orleans. It dances to to the beat of it's own drum. One of the many components of that individuality is the food. Cajun and Creole food is delicious and once again very specific to that region. We love the kick from the spices used and my husband enjoys the wide array of seafood available. since NOLA is quite a drive from our house, I love the idea of having a cookbook devoted to just the types of food that come from there. Besh Big Easy offers recipes for all of the types of foods you would expect to find in New Orleans- jambalaya, gumbo, rice and beans, great sides, a vast array of seafood, fantastic sides and delectable southern desserts. This cookbook will keep you busy because there are so many recipes you will want to try. Besh is a trusted authority on Big Easy cooking so you know these recipes are legit. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to be adventurous in the kitchen or who just loves the food that can only be found in Louisiana. Why not recreate it and serve it up in your own kitchen, wherever that may be.

Connect with John Besh on Facebook
www.chefjohnbesh.com

The Love Book by Fiona O'brien- Book Review

Summary (from the author's website)-

In 1980, three school girls visit St. Valentine's shrine in Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin to write their petitions for love. Abby,Vonnie and Diana have discovered that finding love was the easy bit- it's what to do with it once you've found it that's tricky...When Vonnie arrives home unexpectedly from her life in California, all three women are forced to examine their choices, loves and lives, which have proved surprising and, in some ways, precarious. So much for St. Valentine- if the saint has taught them anything about love, it's to be careful what you wish for...But real love is always a work in progress, and even life-long friends must learn to open their eyes- and especially their hearts- because St. Valentine has some unfinished business with them...

My thoughts-

I really enjoy books that cover more than one time period. I loved getting a glimpse at the 3 best friends as young girls and kind of craved more of that, but I realize there was not enough time to get to know their teenage versions, otherwise there would not be enough pages to discover their depth as adults. I love that this novel shows real love- in all it's craziness- not just the sappy love that most books contain. Don't get me wrong, I am a sap myself and I do enjoy those happily ever after stories, but sometimes it's nice to just be real. There is one solid friendship between these three girls and all 3 of their adult lives and love stories are very interesting.Vonnie is complicated and trying to find her own way, Abby is complacent and just wants to see to it that everyone else is happy, while not stopping to think of herself and her own happiness in the process and Diana is the one everyone thinks they want to be, she is a little spoiled, but a good friend, but not without her own problems. I really enjoyed taking a peak into their strong bond in The Love Book.This is the first book I have read by Fiona O'brien and I definitely will seek out more of her work in the future.


I will caution my more conservative readers that there are a few steamy scenes sprinkled throughout, although nothing to graphic.

You can purchase your own copy of The Love Book at Amazon.com

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*Disclaimer- I received a complimentary copy of The Love Book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All opnions stated are 100% my own.