Charlotte's Table: Down Home Cooking from an Uptown Girl

For Charlotte Armstrong, food has always meant more than mere sustenance. As a child, she learned from her southern and Cajun grandmothers that taste can be a medium of experience more powerful than any other sense. Moving from her native Louisiana to the vibrant culinary scene of New York City, Armstrong became a private chef for one of America's leading families, fusing traditional southern and Cajun influences with a modern emphasis on quality and freshness. Word of her talent spread quickly throughout the New York dinner party scene, until a seat at "Charlotte's Table" became one of the most sought-after invites in town. Now Charlotte Armstrong shares her culinary secrets in this wonderful collection of recipes that includes comforting cooking straight from the Bayou mingled with sophisticated fare for glorious entertaining - Potato Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Scallion Cream, Crawfish Pie, and Sweet Potato Pie with Bourbon Praline Sauce, to name a few. Beginning with the basics, Armstrong reveals how to capture that "soulful southern seasoning", when to make the most of "the magic of bacon", and how to create a perfect roux. These practical tips are followed by nearly 125 delicious new recipes, including starters, soups, pastas, meat, fish, and poultry entrees, salads, side dishes, and desserts. Interspersed with anecdotes about the colorful characters and experiences that inspired many of the dishes, Charlotte's Table captures years of impassioned cooking, crafted by a chef whose meals cannot be found at any restaurant, on any television show, or in any newspaper column.