Quelque Chose pour un Joyeux Noel: Acadian Recipes for Christmas Dinners and Desserts edited by Mercedes Vidrine, Illustrations by J. A. Allen recipe contributions by readers of the Opelousas Daily World 1967
It seems like the book was to benefit the editor, there is no mention of where the funds went at all.
I found the description of the book being “by” Mercedes Virdrine and one of a series of cookbooks (this was the third one, she was also the author of the “Eunice Demi-Tasse” a recipe and food column in the Opelousas Daily World) in the introduction a little strange when it seems like she did little more than collect the recipes submitted, no doubt for free, by the readers of the Opelousas Daily World. The cover calls her the editor which seems more accurate. According to the introduction by Estelle Perrault of Louisiana State University at Eunice the cookbooks won several awards. Is it ethical to enter these contests when you haven’t actually written or created any of the recipes? There is no writing from Virdrine in this book at all that I can find–it’s possible she wrote a historical note or two but it is not clear and what is written, is not written particularly well. It seems like her contribution was largely collecting the recipes and publishing them. At least she gave the contributors credit but it seems like it would take a lot of nerve to submit your cookbooks up for awards when it is not even clear you even tried any of the recipes yourself. If anyone knows anything more about these books let me know! They were put out by Claitor’s in Baton Rouge, La.
Of course, collecting recipes is a skill set and there are a good number of regional dishes in the book but it always astounds me how eager people are to take claim to other people’s work or devalue recipes even when writing about food.
This book was of interest to me because it was from a very specific group of people–the Acadians of Louisiana, a group that commonly became known as Cajuns. They have roots in France which is reflected in their cuisine and use of French in the title. The title translates to “Something for Christmas” which is an apt description of the contents of the book!
Honestly, I was a little disappointed in the book. I was hoping for some real regional recipes and there are some but there are also recipes for dishes like Mrs. Youree Tyson’s Fruit Cocktail which looks fine but is hardly unique to the area and is typical of 1960s “can” cooking.
It’s not a very long cookbook and the area is famous for their food so I would have thought there would be more recipes like Mrs. Glen Overshiner’s Sesame Seed Cookies or Mrs. Micheal Landry’s Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton and less of Mrs. Sammy Stagg’s Rumaki. There are some good regional “dressing” recipes calling for oysters, cornbread, eggplant and rice that you don’t see everywhere. I think I would have left out the non-regional recipes if I was collecting recipes for the book or at least make their connection to the area known if there is one that isn’t clear.
I also would have liked some headnotes to explain the connection the recipes had to the area. A few, like Dea D. Meche’s Broomstick Cake which explains how it was a staple at Acadian weddings and how the layers were set up (written by who, I’m not sure) but most recipes have no exposition.
That said, it is a fun little book with a few gems. Some of the recipes have a few notes snuck into the directions, the drawings are largely charming and you can see the regionality in the inclusion of some ingredients like “cane syrup”.