Every Day's a Party: Louisiana Recipes for Celebrating with Family and Friends

With restaurants in New Orleans, Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas, Nev., two shows on the Food Network and five cookbooks, Lagasse is a multimedia phenomenon. This manic, in-your-face cookbook collects Louisiana-style recipes for holidays and events, some familiar (Thanksgiving is to be celebrated with Emeril's Fried Turkey), some local (the New Iberia Gumbo Cook-Off, featuring Gumbo Ya-Ya with sausage) and some purely personal (Lagasse's parents' anniversary with his-and-hers entr es: Mr. John's Veal Chops with Smoked Gouda Cheese Macaroni and Hilda's Mahi Mahi with Seasonal Vegetables). There is no shortage of the heavy foods for which Lagasse has become famous: Andouille Corn Dogs and a Roasted Pork and French Fry Poorboy. Lagasse (who admits to being a native of Fall River, Mass.) also includes plenty of Louisiana shellfish, such as Crawfish Pies, My Way, and Marinated Crab Claws. There are nods to the trendy (Goat Cheese-Stuffed Soft-Shell Crabs with a Pecan-Pesto Butter Sauce) and the trashy (Frito Pie--basically chili poured into a bag of corn chips--and Sugared Popcorn). Desserts tend toward the goopy and cavity aching, such as his Chocolate Bundt Cakes with Peanut Butter Filling and Chocolate Glaze. (Oct.)