Cookbook review: Let's Party at Mulate's

In 2006, Monique Boutté Christina, daughter of Mulate’s founder Kerry Boutté, published a cookbook featuring “The Original Cajun Restaurant’s” recipes. Aptly titled “Recipes from Mulate’s,” the cookbook contained some of the restaurant’s popular dishes, such as catfish Mulate’s and crawfish corn macque choux.

At the time, Christina and her husband, Murphy, ran the New Orleans Mulate’s restaurant while her father and his wife Tiffa contributed to public relations. The original restaurant in Breaux Bridge, known for its nightly Cajun and zydeco music, passed out of the family’s hands and the Baton Rouge restaurant closed, but Mulate’s of New Orleans continued to draw in tourists and locals alike. It still does today.

Monique Christina has published a new tribute to her father’s legacy but this time with an emphasis on Southern entertaining. “Let’s Party at Mulate’s” (Pelican Publishing) begins with family recipes, but then shifts into party planning with chapters such as brunch, crawfish boils and game day parties. There are suggestions for throwing a dinner party or a Sunday barbecue, plus menus for the holidays. The recipes are complemented by Christina’s family photos and shots of South Louisiana.

Here’s one of those favorites, a recipe Christina writes that her grandmother made every Sunday for lunch.

Corn Macque Choux

9 ears corn

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced bell pepper (red or green or a little bit of both)

1/2 small tomato, peeled and diced

1 teaspoon Mulate’s Cajun Seasoning

1/4 cup vegetable oil.

With a sharp knife, cut the corn off the cob. Using the blunt edge of the knife, scrape the cob over a mixing bowl to collect all of the juices, then combine corn, bell pepper, tomato, and Mulate’s Cajun Seasoning. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add corn mixture, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Stir every 15 minutes. When the corn begins to stick to the bottom of the pot, add 1/4 cup water and scrape to deglaze. Serves 6-8.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.