Upon seeing a Louisiana-handmade diatonic accordion for the first time in 1957, a teenage Marc Savoy began a quest that arguably no one has come closer to achieving: to build the perfect Cajun accordion. Told in Marc's own words, Made in Louisiana is the story of the evolution of his Acadian brand accordions--but it is also the story of how an instrument once known as the "German-style" accordion became the iconic image of Louisiana's Cajun culture.

Louisiana Fiddlers shines light on sixty-two of the bayou state's most accomplished fiddlers of the twentieth century. Author Ron Yule outlines the lives and times of these performers, who represent a multitude of fiddling styles including Cajun, country, western swing, zydeco, bluegrass, Irish, contest fiddling, and blues.Featuring over 150 photographs, this volume provides insight into the fiddlin' grounds of Louisiana. Yule chronicles the musicians' varied appearances from the stage of the Louisiana Hayride, honky tonks, dancehalls, house dances, radio and television, and festivals, to the front porch and other more casual venues. The brief sketches include observations on musical travels, recordings, and family history.Nationally acclaimed fiddlers Harry Choates, Dewey Balfa, Dennis McGee, Michael Doucet, Rufus Thibodeaux, and Hadley Castille share space with relatively unknown masters such as Mastern Brack, Cheese Read, John W. Daniel, and Fred Beavers. Each player has helped shape the region's rich musical tradition.

Louisiana's identity is inextricably tied to its famous foods; gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, and touffe are among the delicious dishes that locals cherish and visitors remember. But Louisiana's traditional cuisine has undergone a recent revision, incorporating more local ingredients and focusing on healthier cooking styles. In The Fresh Table, locavore Helana Brigman shares over one hundred recipes that reflect these changes while taking advantage of the state's year-round growing season. Her book offers staples of Louisiana fare -- seafood, sausage, tomatoes, peppers, and plenty of spices -- pairing these elements with advice about stocking one's pantry, useful substitutions for ingredients, and online resources for out-of-state cooks. Brigman equips every kitchen from New Orleans to New York with information about how to serve Louisiana cuisine all year round. For each season The Fresh Table provides an irresistible selection of recipes like Petite Crab Cakes with Cajun Dipping Sauce, Rosemary Pumpkin Soup served in a baked pumpkin, Fig Prosciutto Salad with Goat Cheese and Spinach, Grilled Sausage with Blackened Summer Squash, Blueberry Balsamic Gelato, and Watermelon Juice with Basil. Brigman introduces each recipe with a personal story that adds the last ingredient required for any Louisiana dish -- a connection with and appreciation for one's community.

Illustrations and rhythmic text celebrate edible treats that characterize Louisiana, such as beignets and po boys. Includes facts about the foods mentioned and a recipe for red beans and rice.

It's the essence of great eating with Emeril Lagasse in Louisiana Real & Rustic. Join the award-winning chef, television personality, and restaurateur on a tour down the back roads and bayous of Louisiana for some of the greatest home cooking in America. With his authentic Louisiana recipes, Emeril takes the reader on a tour of the state, from country cabins in Cajun country to the refined town houses of Creole aristocracy, bringing to life the colorful history that has made Louisiana a true culinary crossroads.

"'Marshes to Mansions' blends the color of local customs, the magic of jubilant celebrations, and the autihentic recipes of our ancestors together to bring the joile de vive, "joy of life," to your table. Sharing carefully guardee family secrets, old and new, this book will take readers on a unique culinary adventure across South Louisiana. In addition to a collection of delicious recipes, you'll find interesting history, helpful cooking tips, and stunning photographs of our lush and alluring landscape"--Back cover.

STRONGNamed one of the Top 10 Books of 2008 by The Times-Picayune. STRONGWinner of the 2009 Humanities Book of the Year award from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.STRONG STRONGAwarded the New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award for 2008. New Orleans is the most elusive of American cities. The product of the centuries-long struggle among three mighty empires--France, Spain, and England--and among their respective American colonies and enslaved African peoples, it has always seemed like a foreign port to most Americans, baffled as they are by its complex cultural inheritance. The World That Made New Orleans offers a new perspective on this insufficiently understood city by telling the remarkable story of New Orleans's first century--a tale of imperial war, religious conflict, the search for treasure, the spread of slavery, the Cuban connection, the cruel aristocracy of sugar, and the very different revolutions that created the United States and Haiti. It demonstrates that New Orleans already had its own distinct personality at the time of Louisiana's statehood in 1812. By then, important roots of American music were firmly planted in its urban swamp--especially in the dances at Congo Square, where enslaved Africans and African Americans appeared en masse on Sundays to, as an 1819 visitor to the city put it, &“rock the city.&” This book is a logical continuation of Ned Sublette's previous volume, Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo, which was highly praised for its synthesis of musical, cultural, and political history. Just as that book has become a standard resource on Cuba, so too will The World That Made New Orleans long remain essential for understanding the beautiful and tragic story of this most American of cities.