The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook: Creole Cuisine from New Orleans to Nova Scotia

As many readers know, Cajun cooking began with the Arcadians, French settlers who made their first home in what is now Nova Scotia. The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook offers more than 150 uncomplicated recipes, from the title's eponymous Nova Scotia inn and dining spot. Its owners--the book's authors--have perfected a cuisine that embodies both Cajun, Creole, and original Arcadian cooking, and offer a wide range of traditional and innovative recipes for the likes of Grilled Eggplant Tart, Finnan Haddie Jumbalaya, Creole-Stuffed Bell Peppers, and Braised Haddock with Summer Vegetables. The book emphasizes the natural foods of the region, and readers will find particularly worthwhile recipes for mushrooms, such as Grilled Oyster Mushrooms and Garlic, and Shiitake Mushrooms Rockefeller. Formulas containing more exotic natural ingredients include Sole in Wild Sorrel Velouté Sauce, and Beer-Battered Elderberry Flowers. (A source list helps readers procure some of the unusual ingredients.) Menus, and an extended section on smoking seafood, with instructions for building and using a smokehouse, round out this special exploration. --Arthur Boehm