All of the recipes I share on Raised on a Roux come from my kitchen. I’m not referring strictly to my current physical kitchen but to all of the kitchens from which I’ve been fortunate enough to eat, cook, observe, share, appreciate, experiment and enjoy. Many of my meals are based on traditional New Orleans dishes. But beyond gumbo, étouffée and jambalaya, are other family favorites that have been preserved and passed down from one generation to the next. These dishes, like Meatballs and Spaghetti and Pot Roast, are unpretentious, delicious and incredibly forgiving. They represent the flavors of my Irish, Italian, German and French heritage. Other recipes are my riffs on foods, cooking styles and traditions borrowed from and shared among extended family members and friends. That’s what New Orleans home cooking is all about. It’s an infusion of foods and flavors created by a bunch of different hands in the pot where old recipes can be made new again and there is no one way to cook even the most sacred of dishes.