Frank Davis Makes Good Groceries!: A New Orleans Cookbook

Frank Davis is a veteran New Orleans TV chef who predates the Food Network’s current parade of celebrity chefs. Although he’s not synonymous with a cooking catchphrase, he does spice his cookbook descriptions and anecdotes with vernacular like “mudbugs” (crawfish), “alligator pears” (avocados) and references to slapping one’s momma (also fondly known as “Mawmaw”). The result is a collection of classic recipes like fried potato po-boy and corn and crabmeat bisque and newer creations like his trout ranchero. Many are inspired by Frank’s old Italian neighborhood, with enough how-tos and lagniappe that even N’Awlins long-timers might pick up a trick or two.

As a newcomer to Louisiana and to New Orleans-style cooking, I was especially interested in trying out Frank’s “Precise, Never-Fail Directions for Making a Roux.” But after patiently watching my roux develop, as Frank describes, “from white to pale tan to light tan to beige to light brown to peanut-butter color to medium brown to dark brown to black,” I think my Yankee arse still managed to fail … or else I just did not use the roux properly once it was made.

I didn’t fail at preparing the Pasta Buccatini d’Caesar, which Frank describes as “a great meatless dish for diabetics.” (I’d always thought the term was “vegetarians,” but that seems to be a concept one dares not utter in Louisiana cooking.)

A more accurate name for this cookbook might be Frank Davis Makes You Buy His Groceries. Homeboy includes his various spice blends in a hefty percentage of the recipes, and true to form, the Pasta Buccatini recipe called for his Sicilian Blend. Most grocery stores here in Louisiana have an aisle or a sizeable section dedicated to spices and sauces and spicy sauces. Not so in the Northeast, where I tested out recipe No. 2. Frank Davis’ spice blends were nowhere to be found, so I picked up the closest thing: Emeril’s Original Essence. Hey, Emeril’s not really from Louisiana, and neither am I: BAM! Problem solved. This dish was a resounding success with my test audience, combining ingredients I don’t often cook with: artichokes, sundried tomatoes and anchovies. They made perfect sense together. I’ll return to this recipe collection soon to continue my education.