In the beginning there was Prudhomme

Alright, I am a shameless copyist.

I finished reading Julie & Julia yesterday morning having been woken at 6am by an alarm clock that had forgotten to switch itself off. Couldn't sleep so I finished the book. What a marvellous idea the Julie & Julia Project was. A 29 year old secretary going nuts in outer- Mongolia Long Island City (well, do you know where Long Island City is?? - ha! Knew you didn't!!) decides to cook all the 560 something or other recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days. Julie writes a blog chronicling her efforts and in the process learns not to sweat the small stuff and to Master the Art of Joy. Joy - that is the word that she uses. Joy, that is what I want, every day of my life.

Scrawling out of my bed, I ate 2 crumpets for brekkie and mused about the book while watching the superlative Come Dine with Me. This TV show celebrates the dinner party. Dinner parties were something I used to do before I moved to Clapham 7 years ago and decided in my wisdom to buy a flat that does not have room for a dining table. I used to cook for 14 people at a time when I was in my 20s - now I am lucky if I cook a slice of toast for myself. It is pitiful.

I decided to track down Julie's original blog on the web. I was entirely successful in this task. Perusing through some of the early entries, I came across this quote which has now, dear reader, sent me off on my barmy quest:-

"You know, I have alway considered Paul Prudhomme a martyr to the culinary arts. Can I ask any less of myself?"

Paul Prudhomme, Paul Prudomme... of course. The great Louisiana chef who brought Cajun cuisine to the masses. Paul Prudhomme has always lived subterraneously in my mind. I have even stood a few times outside his restaurant in New Orleans looking in and wondering what his food would taste like.

I bought a copy of Prudhomme's definitive work, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen when I was last in New Orleans. Of course, living in said flat with no dining table, I have never cooked a single thing out of it. That is when the idea kerneled in my mind. A-ha! I said to myself. This can be my project , my homage to Julie Powell, Paul Prudhomme and the beautiful city of New Orleans that I love so much. I will make the recipes from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen and re-create that Louisiane ambience in south-west London.

Well, I will try to. I cannot cook as often as Julie could, and I will only blog here infrequently, but it will be a project. A project just like Julie & Julia.

I am a loon.