How a Clovis mom learned to cook Cajun

I was thrilled to see in the Sept. 5 Food & Drink section the story from the Washington Post’s Mary Elizabeth Oliver, “Cajun community book is still on fire,” describing 1967’s “Talk About Good.” published by the Lafayette, Louisiana, Junior League. (In South Louisiana, the author’s surname would be spelled “Olivier,” pronounced “oh lee’ vee yay”).

My family relocated there from the Bay Area in 1966 at the time league members were gathering recipes for the book. A newcomer from California, league members recruited my recipes. I submitted two, my Beef Parmigiana and Old World Veal, the latter from San Jose’s Paul Masson Winery, naturally made with a wine sauce.

True to the lifestyle there, the book’s subtitle is “Le Livre de la Cuisine de Lafayette” It includes full sections for “Eggs, Cheese, Grits and Rice” and “Mardi Gras,” covering the six weeks of entertaining preceding Fat Tuesday..

I immediately learned authentic Cajun cooking because my kids came home from school raving about their lunches. Your article inspires me to volunteer a Cajun gumbo dinner for the next silent auction that comes my way. As they say in South Louisiana, Laissez le bon temps roulez (Let the good times roll.)

This story was originally published September 15, 2017 at 7:42 PM with the headline "How a Clovis mom learned to cook Cajun."