Product Description

A profusely illustrated volume, with over 50 traditional and innovative recipes, all adapted to the slow cooker by New Orleans' own Joe Simmer. With a foreword by Saunter Landry, the book paints an insightful portriat of the city's quirky culture and constantly evolving culinary expression.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #651377 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-31
• Binding: Perfect Paperback
• 143 pages

Customer Reviews

I raise my glass to you, Mr Simmer
It wasn't three years ago when my buddy Bruce brought over the crock pot for the first time; it was a birthday present he gave me to keep Rotel and Velveeta cheese warm while we watched the 2004 Rose Bowl. We used the appliance on and off over the years for keeping dips warm during football, baseball, basketball, and hockey games, never thinking twice that it could be used for anything else.

One afternnon at Winn Dixie while waiting in the checkout line, my wife Barbara spotted a crock pot cookbook nestled on the shelf between between an astrology book and a book of cat names. Until then we'd had no idea that our appliance could be used to cook food. Unfortunately, however, when we took a stab at cooking the book's recipes, they tasted like microwaved Alpo, except that I would NOT feed it to my dog. I wrote a stern letter to General Mills condemning the publication.

Things changed when Barb's sister Cathy told us about a new book by Joe Simmer. Barb claims that he's a third cousin on her mother's side. Reared in Chalmette, LA and having grown up on jambalaya and crawfish etouffee', I can say with confidence that Joe's recipes truly hit their mark. Of the books recipes that I have tried so far, each is slow-simmered to sensational, and in most cases giving even my Aunt Ruth's recipes a run for their money. The traditional dishes like shrimp creole are unlike any I have ever had, and there is only one word to describe one of Joe's originals, the chocolate city chicken mole': truly phenomenal. On top of the great recipes, Joe's book is peppered with stories of his New Orleans upbringing as well as his travels abroad that will make you smirk while doing food prep.

Joe Simmer's book has catalyzed our crock pot's graduation from a box on top of the refrigerator to its rightful home on the countertop, right next to the toaster. These days when we take the wave runners to Lake Maurepas, one of Joe's recipes and a crock pot set to low are guaranteed to ensure a mind-blowing dinner for everyone at the end of the day. Slow really is the way. Crock on, Joe Simmer.

yummy
i, like the fella who wrote the previous review, honestly didn't know crockpots were used for anything else besides warming cheese dips and other foods. it wasn't until i moved to austin, texas for a few months after the storm that i realized you could actually cook in them. after moving from one house to the next i finally ended up at a friend of my aunt's that loved to cook. she worked all day and didn't have much time too cook, so she often used her crock pot. she could put everything in it in the morning, set it on low, and the food would be ready when she got home. i was never able to cook anything right, but this seemed like cooking that i could actually handle. so after i moved home i bought a crock pot and it sat in the kitchen for a couple of months. i finally bought a cookbook and tried a couple things. they were good but nothing was phenomenal. until my friend told me about a new cookbook by some local guys that had the classic local foods i like to eat. and man, was it good. this cookbook is so much more than i expected! i love it and would consider myself a good (crock pot) cook now. i love the shrimp and okra and the louisiana state senate soup. the chili and the chicken etoufee are really good too. if you like easy, awesome, and classic new orleans food, this book is definitely the one. i am constantly talking about it and i even won the monthly employee cook-off in my office with the shrimp and okra recipe. this book would be a great present for relatives and co-workers.

Life in the trailer aint so bad!
We came back to New Orleans in June and moved into a lovely 2 bedroom trailer. My only complaint about the trailer is the kitchen. It's just too small and the electric stove doesn't work like my old gas one did. Other than that, the trailer is quite cozy. Well anyway, we tried cooking some of our favorite recipes in the trailer kitchen, but we usually burned everything and stunk up the trailer. So we had been eating out regularly, which was not helping with our budget to restore our flooded home. I recently bought Joe Simmer's cookbook and replaced my old crockpot. Well let me tell you, life is great now. We sit around the trailer eating great food like seafood gumbo,chicken fricassee,and mexican roofer pinto beans and rice. It's so easy to cook in the trailer now. All I have to do is follow Joe's directions, turn on that crock pot, and kick back. Thanks to Joe, life in the trailer aint so bad.