When we think of our friends in Louisiana these days, we don't tend to focus on their rich culinary history. We think of what they've been through, during and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. So this Thanksgiving, let's take a few moments to honor them, their challenges and their wonderful contributions to American culture - great culinary creations among them.

After all, who else but a food-obsessed Louisianan would have had the idea to stuff sausage into a chicken, the chicken into a duck and the duck into a turkey to make the holiday dish called turducken? And who else but someone from Cajun country would have conceived of deep-frying a turkey?

Even the Cajun injector, a sort of oversized hypodermic needle used for injecting liquid flavorings deep into turkey breasts, was invented in Louisiana.

Learn more about the art of smoke-roasting from Steven Raichlen at http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/stories.nsf/cooking/story/E68D78B9BA4DC4C0862570B40037A81E?OpenDocument.