The Prudhomme Family Cookbook: Old-Time Louisiana Recipes

In response to the commercial success of Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, the author and his many siblings have compiled this fascinating, albeit partial, family history cum cookbook. Of Cajun descent, the large brood was raised in the Louisiana backwoods by their hardworking sharecropper parents. The family stories illuminate a bygone lifestyle, imbuing the now ubiquitous Cajun cooking ""style'' with special meaning. Game recipes and accompanying anecdotes are of most interest: ``super quirrel'' (``Nothing makes a better gravy than several fresh squirrels''); ``frogs' legs and garlic hopalong Cassidy'' (``Dad and the boys could come home with sacks full of frogs. They were placed in an enclosure and kept there and fed `bugs and stuff.' When Mom wanted to cook frogs' legs, the kids ran out to the frog pen and caught whatever number she needed''). Devotees of Chef Paul may be disappointed that this isn't a showcase of his recipes. (October 15)