12/23/2025
This cookbook is more than just a collection of recipes—it’s a piece of my heart.
Cook’n With Nana was created in loving memory of my mother, Amelia Ann, the woman who taught me that food is about more than what’s on the plate. It’s about family, hard work, and showing love in the simplest ways—usually from the kitchen.
I was born and raised in the small farming town of Start, Louisiana, where everyone knows everyone and family means everything. We didn’t have much, but we always had good food and a full table. While the men worked the fields, my mother and grandmother kept the home running, cooking meals made from garden vegetables, home-raised meats, and recipes passed down through generations. Every meal was homemade, and nothing ever went to waste.
These recipes were born from years of trial and error, shared laughter, and time spent together in the kitchen. Some came from happy accidents, some were perfected over decades, but all of them were made with love. My mother wrote these recipes down so they wouldn’t be forgotten, and I’m grateful to be able to carry them forward.
This cookbook is my way of honoring her—of keeping her memory, her cooking, and her love alive for my children and grandchildren one day. I hope that when you make these dishes, you feel the warmth of a country kitchen, the comfort of family, and the love that Nana put into every meal.
Welcome to the table.
Welcome to Cook’n With Nana.
- Christopher Allen
Author of Cook’n With Nana
