The Bookshelf

Cookbooks make great gifts for the chef or baker in your life. These two selections of Louisiana-inspired recipe collections are sure to please.

Cajun Ninja’s Pi-YAHHHHH!!

Bring some Cajun into your kitchen with this keepsake cookbook from Jason Derouen, known as The Cajun Ninja. A Bayou State favorite since 2022 and with over 100 recipes including favorites like Smothered Pork Chops, Crawfish Étouffée, Sticky Chicken, and Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, Derouen’s cookbook invites you into his home for meals tested and approved by his family and friends. This South Louisiana native elevates each recipe with personal anecdotes and stories that bring the recipes to life.
Does Derouen have a favorite recipe? “My favorite recipe is always whichever one the girls are asking for,” he says. “Whether it’s a request from my wife or one of my three daughters, that dish becomes my favorite in the moment.”

From springtime crawfish boils to Thanksgiving feasts, these bayou-born recipes are enough to make you say “Pi-YAHHHHH!!” yourself.

Find Cajun Ninja Pi-YAHHHHH!! in various stores across South Louisiana and on cajunninja.com while supplies last.

Bayou

In this 2024 release, Melissa Martin, who is the James Beard Award-winning author of Mosquito Supper Club, shares a year in the life of South Louisiana cooking and all the dishes that are eaten to celebrate life’s moments, both big and small. 100 Southern Louisiana recipes combine humble ingredients, such as onions, potatoes, and peppers, and the local bounty, including shrimp and crabs. People on Louisiana bayous mark the seasons of the Cajun calendar with traditions, emotions, and gatherings around the table to feast.

Recipes like Carnival Crawfish Boil and Etouffee ring in the New Year and kickstart the Carnival season, a time for abundance and decadence. Lent unfolds with simple, fresh foods like Cabbage Slaw and Fried Fish Collars. Summer ushers in the bright bounty of shrimp season. Families and friends band together in October for boucheries, feasting on Cracklins and Back Bone Stew, then gather with loved ones for hearty homey holiday dishes like Fried Turkey, Holiday Dressing, and Red Velvet Cake.
With illuminating sidebars and stunning photography, Martin illustrates what Cajun people already know: the table is a place for restoration, nourishment, and communion.

Available at bookstores, gift shops and on Amazon. For more information, go to mosquitosupperclub.com.