Cooking in Old Créole Days
La Cuisine Créole à l'Usage des Petits Ménages
A cookbook of old New Orleans, collected by Célestine Eustis and published in 1904 — gumbos, jambalayas, daubes, calas and punches, half in English and half in French, seasoned throughout with the songs of the Creole kitchen.
Browse the recipes
Soups & Gumbos
Gumbos, bisques and the soups of old New Orleans.
30 entriesRice & Jambalaya
Jambalayas and the Creole way with rice.
8 entriesMeats
Daubes, grillades and other dishes of beef, veal and mutton.
26 entriesPoultry & Game
Chicken, turkey, ducks, snipe and other game.
12 entriesFish & Seafood
Courtbouillon, crabs, shrimp, oysters and the fish of the Gulf.
11 entriesVegetables & Sides
Okra, tomatoes, salads and garden dishes.
23 entriesBreads & Breakfast
Calas, batter cakes, biscuits and breakfast breads.
31 entriesSauces & Pickles
Sauces, dressings, pickles and preserves.
10 entriesDesserts & Sweets
Cakes, puddings, pralines and sweet things.
40 entriesBeverages
Punches, eggnogg and café parfait.
8 entriesHousehold Hints
Hints for housekeepers, straight from 1904.
8 entriesMenus
Un piti diné créole — a little Creole dinner, in Creole and in English.
2 entriesLa Cuisine Créole (en français)
The French half of the book — the author's recipes in their original French.
59 entriesLagniappe — a little something extra
The Dinner Wheel
Can't decide what to cook? Spin the wheel and let 1904 decide.
250+ possible dinnersPlat du Jour
One receipt from the book, served fresh every day.
changes dailyThe Mystery Dish
Guess the dish from its instructions — eight rounds, then challenge a friend.
a gameThe Old Measures
Gills, wineglassfuls, and butter the size of an egg, converted for the modern kitchen.
a decoderThe Boldest Plates
Calf's head soup from "Uncle John," calf's liver à la Celeste Smith, and stewed tongue for lunch — the receipts the modern menu forgot.
3 receiptsDinner Invitations
Compose a menu from the book and send a friend a proper Creole invitation.
shareableSurprise Me
Open the book to a receipt at random — gumbo or praline, fate decides.
268 possibilities