Blues Highways Cookbook

I've had this small spiral-bound cookbook for over 5 years and never cooked a thing from it. That made it a prime target for my little project. I guess haven't used this one much is that I bought it on one of the last outings I had with an old boyfriend. Somehow I just left that sort of stuff along -- which was a mistake.

The author, Jason R. Girard, was the chef at Buddy Guy's Club on Chicago's South Side and he offers more than just downhome, Southern/Cajun Cooking, he offers a lesson in the blues as well. Each section of the book highlight a blues musical legend giving a brief biography and a woodcut illustration. Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red are among those mentioned. I really enjoyed reading this little bios as well as the forward written by Buddy Guy.

The recipes include all kinds of goodies including Bananas Foster Baked French Toast, Hoppin' John, Legendary Jambalaya and Crawfish Etouffee'. Unfortunately, most of these dishes didn't sound good to my picky daughter, so I decided to cook up something for myself. I choose Bubba's Windy City Chili, making a 1/2 order and freezing it to bring for my lunch. It was a good choice, very easy and turned out yummy. This is a ground beef based chili with loads of green peppers and kidney beans. This has worked out great for my lunches ---very filling.

Another cookbook down -- 50 more to go.