New Orleans Creole Recipes by Mary Moore Bremer

New Orleans Creole Recipes
by Mary Moore Bremer 
Twenty-Fifth Printing, 1971 Metairie, Louisiana

From the Foreword by Author: 
Dear Epicure:
You ask about New Orleans of today, and if the cooking here is different from the cooking in other places, and if it is all it is cocked up to be. Without hesitation I say yes. It has all that other places have, and then some. It is of the "Some" that I will write. The cooking here, to speak sententiously, is grandchild to France, descendant to Spain, cousin to Italy, and also it is full fledged Southern. The pioneer French woman used what she found here: the fruits, herbs, vegetables, fish game and meat.
The negro woman, who reigned in the kitchen, had inherited from her ancestors in Africa, as well as in America, a knowledge of herbs that made her skill look like magic; and the new women of today, who find themselves in large homes, or in apartments, still have the knowledge and the knack, handed down, of making delectable dishes out of anything that finds its way into their kitchen.
It is a town of people who know good cooking, and they are so kindly and approachable that they will tell you what they know, and make suggestions, if they see you are inexperienced. So, if you go somewhere and have set before you some dish you have not seen before, you may praise it and also may acquire the art of making it, because probably someone will volunteer to tell you how it is made, or where to find the recipes, or some interesting thing about that dish. In this way I have been able to learn how some of the many good things are made; and I will give you proven recipes of New Orleans' most favored dishes.
I am leaving off the most elaborate, even at the risk of seeming too sketchy. Some "old timers" can scarcely be managed in the up-to-date apartment. But even with things "as is," you can make some wonderfully good dishes.
Wishing you the best of luck,
Yours cordially,
Mary Moore Bremer