Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life

Melissa M. Martin, author of the James Beard Award-winning Mosquito Supper Club, presents a year of Cajun cooking and celebration in South Louisiana. The book follows the seasonal rhythms of bayou life, showing how people mark the calendar through gatherings and feasts. The collection includes 100 recipes that use humble ingredients like onions, potatoes, and peppers alongside local seafood such as shrimp and crabs. Dishes are organized by season: Carnival Crawfish Boil and Etouffee for the New Year and Carnival season, simple foods like Cabbage Slaw and Fried Fish Collars during Lent, bright shrimp dishes for summer, and hearty fare like Cracklins, Back Bone Stew, Fried Turkey, Holiday Dressing, and Red Velvet Cake for fall and winter celebrations. The book features illuminating sidebars and photography that illustrate how the table serves as a place for restoration, nourishment, and communion in Cajun culture. Winner of the IACP Award for Best Book of the Year and a James Beard Award finalist, the book was named one of the best cookbooks of the year by Food & Wine, NPR's Here & Now, Publishers Weekly, Eater, and The Week.