The 100 Greatest Dishes of Louisiana Cookery

This contribution to Louisiana cooklore, by former New Orleans restaurateur Guste (Antoine's Restaurant Cookbook, etc.), will find a rapt audience. A folksy, intimate discourse accompanies the recipes, which span cocktails through dessert and range from the Ramos gin fizz, rich in eggs, cream and sugar (""just the thing to take the edge off the night before''), to the wash-day staple of red beans and rice (``the wash takes hours to do and the beans take hours to cook''). Both homestyle and more sophisticated versions of classic French, Cajun and Creole cookery are presented: oysters Rockefeller, crayfish bisque, trout Florentine, spicy cornmeal-fried catfish, haute Creole poached eggs Sardou, Cajun fried chicken, beef filet with Marchand de Vin sauce, blackeyed peas and pickled pigs' tails, cauliflower salad with capers, candied yams and cherries jubilee. Many dishes, such as duck sauce piquante over wild rice with raisins and pecans, or the appetizer crayfish cardinal, perpetuate Louisiana's reputation as the ``Sportsman's Paradise,'' but all recipes suggest variations where wild game or seafood are not readily available. Illustrations not seen by PW. Better Homes and Gardens Book Club selection. (February 29)