New Orleans is a treasured place and a lot of that has to do with the food.

Hurricane Katrina took not only lives, but people's belongings and heirlooms. Just imagine if you didn't have your Mom's cookie recipe or your Grandfather's secret roux that makes gravy perfect every time. The Times-Picayune of New Orleans gave New Orleans residents a place to share their recipes, to keep their food and culture alive. And lucky for you and I, the newspaper put 250 of them in the amazing cookbook, Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost & Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Each recipe includes the history of it too, so you get not only a memorable dish, but an unforgettable story to go along with it.

I feel privileged to have this book, to continue on their culinary history in my own home. As you know, I am completely smitten with Southern food and culture, so this cookbook is one that will always be dear to my heart. Knowing what people lost and how they rallied together to save these recipes just makes me want to tell their stories to the world.

In the meantime, I'm going to fold these recipes into my repertoire. So don't be surprised if you see me with a Sazerac in hand (a cocktail first made in a French Quarter bar back in 1859), nibbling on McKenzie's Oyster Patties, inhaling Natchitoches Meat Pies and Semonlina's Muffuletta Pasta with a side of Piccadilly-Style Carrot Souffle and finishing off with Bon Ton's Bread Pudding.

I might not live in New Orleans but Cooking Up a Storm sure makes me feel like I do. And now, the food of New Orleans lives through me too.

Get your copy now.