Since I’ve gotten the new responsibilities at work, I’ve had almost no time to cook dinner so I’ve been bringing home takeout. A few days ago, I went to a place called Queen’s Louisiana Po Boy Cafe. It has 4 stars on Yelp so I was really looking forward to trying it, since Cajun food is on of my favorites. I picked up 2 twelve inch Catfish Po Boys, 2 large gumbos, an order of hush puppies and an order of sweet potato fries.  Total cost including tip- $60. Not cheap.

Hush puppies were ok. I’ve made better at home. The catfish po boys were delicious but they were pretty stingy on the fish. Hardly any there!

The sweet potato fries were lame. They were covered in cinnamon and none of us liked the flavor. I make sweet potato fries at home and they are much better.

The Gumbo was delicious. It is made with a dark roux, which according to all of the cookbooks I’ve read, is the secret to a good gumbo. You make the roux dark by cooking it carefully for a long time. My only complaint was that the liquid was not thick enough. There was one order that we didnt’ finish so I ate it the next morning. It was much much better the next day. The liquid thickened up in the fridge and it tasted fantastic.

I would go back again but I don’t recommend getting it to go. I think it would be much better there when it comes right off the stove. One other plus about the place was that they served Abita Beer from Louisiana.

On Friday I went to a book sale down the block from Mevio at the Chronicle Books offices. Everything in the place was 65% off. I picked up this cookbook called Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. I haven’t cooked anything from it yet but I can’t wait to start.

Here is the description from the Chronicle Books Website:

Cooking Up a Storm

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, thousands of people lost their keepsakes and family treasures forever. As residents started to rebuild their lives, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans became a post-hurricane swapping place for old recipes that were washed away in the storm. The newspaper has compiled 250 of these delicious, authentic recipes along with the stories about how they came to be and who created them. Cooking Up a Storm includes the very best of classic and contemporary New Orleans cuisine, from seafood and meat to desserts and cocktails. But it also tells the story, recipe by recipe, of one of the great food cities in the world, and the determination of its citizens to preserve and safeguard their culinary legacy.
Marcelle Bienvenu writes the popular “Cooking Creole” column for The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, and has collaborated with Chef Emeril Lagasse on several of his cookbooks. She lives in St. Martinville, Louisiana.

Judy Walker is the food editor of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. She is the author or co-author of five cookbooks on the food of the Southwest.