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Tired of the traditional Thanksgiving fare? In a quandary for something different or exotic that none of your guests would dream of serving? The following recipes are from a fun to read Creole cookbook.

Louisiana Cookery by Mary Land is special to me since I had the pleasure and privilege of knowing her genteel, elegant, 80-something daughter, Pat, when I lived on Mobile Bay for three years (Pat was also best friends with Jimmy Buffett’s mother, who lived down the road from us.) The book was a present when I moved from the area.

Mary Land’s legacy lives on in Louisiana history. She was a New Orleans “rock star” in her day, included in the inner circle of artists and jazz musicians. However, she was not your typical ‘Southern Belle.’ Her father wanted a boy, so she toted a gun at an early age, played with baby alligators instead of dolls, and was entrenched in the mysteries of the surrounding woods and waters.

In the book’s forward she laments, “As I strode through sea marsh, thickets, and years, I learned an appreciation of simple things that money can never buy — a love and longing for the wilderness and a knowledge of how to use the groceries supplied by Mother Earth.”

Appetizers

Beer Balls: Marinate melon balls in beer or ale for several hours. Pour fresh beer over balls and serve on melon half.

Pistachio Biscuits: Sauté pistachio nuts in butter and toast in oven. Add a dash of dark rum and place inside of tiny hot biscuits.

Pecan Balls: Blend one package of pimiento cream cheese with one-fourth cup of cheddar cheese, salt, and paprika. Moisten with sherry wine and shape into balls. Roll balls in grated cheddar cheese and place a pecan half at each end of ball. Chill.

Brennan’s Potage De La Mer (soup): Chop four small onions and sauté in butter for five minutes. Let brown. Add four teaspoons of flour and cook for five minutes. Gradually add a half-gallon of rich stock, one can of strained tomatoes, one-half pound of okra, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Make a bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaves, and parsley and cook in the potage. Add 24 large, peeled, cleaned shrimp, and six cleaned hard crabs. Simmer for two hours on a slow fire. Add 24 oysters and let simmer until the edges curl. Serve with boiled rice.

Bayou Lafourche Creole Lettuce (salad): Use the unheaded, garden variety of lettuce. Mix one large package of cream cheese with one cup of minced shallots or chives and a dash of Tabasco, white pepper, and salt. Fill each crisp leaf of lettuce with mixture. The leaves of a headed lettuce may be stuffed, left headed, and sliced at the table. Serves four to six.

Carrots Nutmeg: Wash, scrape, and cut one bunch of carrots into shoestrings. Soak a few minutes in ice water. Wipe dry and fry in butter five minutes. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg and let steep in covered pan. Whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, or curry powder may be used to season. Serves four.

Entrée

Fowl A La Westerfield: If one really wants to “put on the dog” and is of the chosen few who have the means, then enjoy a festive holiday fowl a la Westerfield. Take one quail, dressed; one duck, dressed; one goose, dressed; one turkey, dressed.

Sauté each fowl in butter. Stuff quail with pecans. Place quail in duck and stuff sliced peeled apples around it. Place duck in goose with orange segments around it. Place goose in turkey and stuff corn meal dressing around it. Bake in an uncovered roaster three hours or longer, basting often.

Dessert

Acadian Pralines: Pralines or sugared nuts originated in France and were first made of almonds. The Louisiana colonists substituted pecans for almonds because of the abundance of these wild nuts. Make syrup of one cup of brown sugar, one teaspoon of butter, and one-half cup of cream. When the syrup spins a thread, add two cups of pecan halves. Drop into the desired size from a spoon onto a buttered plate or waxed paper.

If anyone makes Fowl A La Westerfield, let me know!