French Books - Page 15

The Taste of France: 25th Anniversary Edition

Adrian Bailey, Jacqueline Saulnier, Arabella Boxer, Caroline Conran

Amazon Price: $20.00 List Price: $50.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Stewart, Tabori and Chang Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $7.89

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> French
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

First published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang 25 years ago, this classic tour of France and French regional cooking was hailed as “the season’s most spectacular book about food and drink” and has gone on to sell more than 100,000 copies. With 375 full-color photographs, 100 recipes, and a narrative description of the culinary customs of the 14 great food regions, The Taste of France conveys a sense of the color, flavor, variety, and imagination of a meal in France. From Brittany to Lyons, Provence to Normandy, the book celebrates regional cuisine as well as the beauty and traditions of the farms, markets, and tables of France.

Leading European food writers, including Anne Willan, Richard Olney, Arabella Boxer, and Caroline Conran, contributed to a text that serves as a gastronomic guide to the French provinces. Each section of the book includes regional recipes, researched and adapted by Jacqueline Saulnier, a noted French cookbook author, enabling food lovers to appreciate the distinctive culinary sensibility of each area.

With a map of the culinary regions, a text rich with anecdote and atmospheric detail, and gorgeous photography, The Taste of France is a tribute to the legendary pleasures of French cooking.

Notebooks of Michel Bras: Desserts

Michel Bras

List Price: $34.00 By: Ici La Pr Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $29.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> Desserts
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> French
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Unusual, Complicated Ideas and Recipes. Profesional Fare 4 out of 5 stars.
17 of 23 people found this review helpful.

The most important thing to mention about this book is that it is not a notebook. It is composed of dessert recipes, equipment tips, and sidebars on fruit ingredients made up to look like a notebook. In fact, the sidebars on fruits, however informative they happen to be, are very incongruous matched up with the `notebook' appearance of the recipes and theme of the book.

The most famous notebooks I know are those of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, where his notebooks are composed of many aphorisms. I can imagine similar notebooks of literary figures, historians, naturalists, graphic artists and journalists, and I can imagine finding these musings interesting. On the other hand, I cannot imagine finding the notebooks of scientists or cooks very interesting. Having been a practicing chemist, I can attest to the fact that the great bulk of scientific notes are simply columns of numbers and formulas. I can imagine a culinary notebook, being very similar to scientific research in that it simply repeats the same procedure over and over again varying a single aspect each time can be pretty dull. Witness the articles in `Cooks Illustrated' where we are not presented with all the details, only the summary of dozens of attempts at achieving the best recipe. But then, I am pretty sure that only professional philosophers read Wittgenstein's notebooks.

In this book and in his more conventional book, `Essential Cuisine', the author makes much of his wanderings through the countryside of his native region of France, Aubrac, which is in the southwestern hills, about a hundred miles inland from the Bay of Biscay and Bayonne and Bordeaux. At least it is voice from a new region, neither Lyon nor Provence. The introduction cites how the author Michal Bras roams about the countryside noting flavors and scents. But there is the rub. How do you put scents of acacia flowers, chicory roots and white pine needles in a notebook. I guess this is the opening which make room for the little monographs on fruits. Believe it or not, the author actually does give recipes including acacia and chicory. Oddly enough, there are no little monographs on these two ingredients. And, the order of the ingredients monographs seem to show very little rhyme or reason. It would seem to make sense to put all the citrus monographs together, but they are not. The monographs are also a very odd mix of information, certainly different from a naturalist's observations of the fruits in situ as you may expect to find in a notebook. The pieces contain an assortment of information on geographical distribution, history, and care in using, as with the little tidbit of washing blueberries in vinegar to ward against fox piss. But I go on too much about the fruity notes.

All the recipes are complete, albeit somewhat shorter than what you may expect. Most of the recipes are difficult and many of the recipes require a long time to prepare. And, the author states that fact clearly at the beginning of each recipe. On top of all this, the instructions for some of the long and difficult recipes are rather terse. Bras' recipe for the famous `La Buche de Noel' or Christmas Log is not much more than a single page of text plus a single hand-drawn illustration. Nick Malgieri's instructions for the same cake in `Perfect Pastry' takes at least two pages. Other presentations I have seen take longer, with many pictures.

This is not to say this is a `bad' book. Most of what this means is that the audience for this book may only be professional pastry chefs and very serious amateur foodies and bakers who like to experiment with unusual ingredients and unusual preparations, molds, and ingredients like acacia flowers and chicory. The combination of unusual ingredients, long prep times, and professional level skills means this book is not for the average bake sale matron. On the other hand, even if you are not a professional or even an active amateur baker, this book does offer a window into a world of desserts you may just not see outside of some very special shops in New York, San Francisco, Paris, Brussels, or Lyon... or in the Aubrac. In spite of the many long and difficult recipes, there are several, especially in the chapter `Basic Recipes' which will give the inventive pastry amateur a lot of interesting ideas. There are the usual recipes for frangipanes and Italian meringue, but there are also interesting recipes for Fouace Dough, caramelized phyllo leaves, and a short crust pastry dough with duck fat.

The chapter on fruit desserts offers a lot of interesting tarts with roasted fruits, nut creams, and quinquina (whatever that is). The chapter on pastries has interesting cake recipes, mousselines, pralines, and preparations with one of his favorite unusual ingredients, milk skin.

The chapter on ice cream may be more interesting than most books. Just be careful not to be taken in by the `instant' ice cream recipes. They are unusual in their use of whipped cream and fresh toasted bread crumb to get the fluff of ice cream, but they do require that the preparation spend several hours in the fridge and they also require the use of an ice cream maker.

The book requires several European ingredients such as black and blond sugar. I suspect blond sugar is what we would call light brown sugar and black sugar may be an especially dark `dark brown sugar', but the book does not clear that up for us Yanks. I was totally baffled when one recipe called for the cook to measure the relative density of sugar syrup. I know how this is done, but I have never seen a device for doing this in any kitchen supply source.

Recommended to professionals, adventuresome pastry hobbyists, and foodies bored with the average book on French cookery.

French Tea: The Pleasures of the Table

Carole Manchester

List Price: $22.95 By: William Morrow Cookbooks Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $3.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Coffee & Tea
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> French

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With their innate sense of style and sophistication, the French elevate even the simple act of taking tea to an art form. From the delightful tea salons dotting every Parisian arrondissement to tea served at outdoor cafés nestled in the, hills of Provence, Carole Manchester shares the elegant art and essence of French tea.

French Tea features the teas served in centuries-old salons, out-of-the-way cafés, and in charming restaurants and smart homes throughout France. Whether it's tea taken poolside at the Hôtel Ritz or a Sunday afternoon tea served fireside in a cozy apartment in the 6th arrondissement, what distinguishes each one is the individual, stylish touches that make no two teas alike. Mint tea and Moroccan pastries served in a former mosque, elaborate teas taken in a grand hotel, tea enjoyed en famille in a simple loft kitchen, breakfast tea served at the historic Café des Deux Magots -- all of these and more are captured by Carole Manchester's text and Juliette d'Assay's glorious photography.

Of course, no volume on French tea would be complete without a selection of pâtisserie -- the unique pastries of France. Recipes for the most popular French tea pastries and savories include Tarte Tatin, the famous upsidedown apple tart; Financiers, miniature almond cakes; Honey Madeleines; Fougasse, a flatbread with olives; and Zucchini Quiche.

French Tea includes glossaries of tea and pastries, how to choose and serve the finest tea, a list of the best salons de thé in France, and, of course, how to brew a perfect pot of tea.

At Home with the French Classics

Richard Grausman

Amazon Price: $11.21 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Workman Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 81 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> French
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Despite our growing kitchen savvy, many Americans still find French food too intimidating, too time-consuming, and too complicated. Richard Grausman, a well-known teacher of French cooking, has had a long-time mission to dispel this fear and make French cooking accessible and understandable to the American home cook. The result? AT HOME WITH THE FRENCH CLASSICS.

This compendium of over 250 classic and traditional French dishes offers recipes that are not only approachable, but are also geared to the contemporary American lifestyle. The author has cut back on salt, fat, eggs, butter, and cream without any loss of authenticity or taste. The recipes have been streamlined by the use of modern appliances. Certain classic techniques, which are neither sensible for the modern kitchen nor vital for the recipe's success, have been revised or eliminated.

Mediterranean Fish Soup. Roquefort Cheese Souffle. Zucchini stuffed with Mushrooms and Ham. Broiled Baby Chickens with Herbs and Mustard. Poached Chicken with Creamy Tarragon Sauce. Pepper-Coated Steak with Cognac and Cream. Rack of Lamb with Watercress. And for dessert, Pears Poached in Port Wine, Chocolate Mousse, and Rich Vanilla and Chocolate Custards.

Starting with first courses and ending with after-dinner chocolates, the book contains dozens of possibilities for entertaining. Many of the dishes can be made ahead of time. Others can be made in stages, from days to weeks in advance. Selection of Better Homes & Gardens Family Book Service and Book-of-the-Month Cooking & Crafts Club. 82,000 copies in print.

The Pâtissier: Recipes and Conversations from Alsace, France

Susan Lundquist

Amazon Price: $15.25 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: iUniverse, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $10.60

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> French
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Pâtissier: Recipes and Conversations from Alsace, France was born out of a chance encounter between an American spending a year in France and her neighbor, an Alsatian chef.

Author Susan Lundquist and photographer, Frédéric Lacroix were in search of the authentic European life after spending a few years in Silicon Valley— and they ran right into it. Just days after moving into their new apartment in the heart of the aptly named Petite France, the oldest and most beautiful neighborhood in the city of Strasbourg in Alsace, they came face to face with a two week garbage strike in a town full of restaurants, a furnished apartment that included creepy critters,, and a 90 year old land lord who was proud of his WW II plumbing. They were in over their heads until their neighbor Hossine “Ben” Bennara invited the couple over for dinner. He gave them advice on everything including local recipes, thus creating a beautiful friendship centered around French cuisine. After this life-changing meeting, the concept of The Pâtissier: Recipes and Conversations from Alsace, France developed naturally—a collection of stories, humor, and meals reflecting Ben’s life and family recipes.

Together, Ben and Susan have compiled the ultimate combo in The Pâtissier—good food and good company!

Creams, Confections, and Finished Desserts (French Professional Pastry Series)

Roland Bilheux, Alain Escoffier

Amazon Price: $58.40 List Price: $80.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $42.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> Desserts
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> Pastry
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Professional Cooking -> Professional

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This series leaves very little to guesswork. Not for novices 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

An excellent and complete manual for French pastry. These classic techniques are taught to every French pastry apprentice. They are all basic instuctions but very detailed and can be built on very easily. Only caveat: the ingredients used are French and/or European and American equivalents aren't suggested. Only the language has been translated-but not the culture!

Professional French Pastry volume 2 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

When it comes to professional caliber instructions and instructions for baking and pastry, this book is clearly top of the heap. It may be a little expensive, but it is easily the equivalent of at least a dozen other books on pastry with glossy, fancy photos and a big, famous name on the cover. If you are a professional who plans to advance your career, this book is a must have. Please note that this is volume 2 of the series; you are expected to go through the volumes in order, so this book assumes that you have already gone through and mastered volume 1.

This book has a lot to offer the professional. Note that the emphasis on this volume is production. It goes beyond the basics of volume 1 (sanitation, making batters, proper baking techniques, etc.), while fancy, sophisticated decorations are reserved for volumes 3 and 4. The mini lessons in this volume are more or less equivalent to the instructions I got at culinary school. The great value here is that there are many more subjects in this book than in any cooking school class. If there is something you wish to do but never did at school, the recipes in this book will give you enough detail to do it successfully the first time through.

Even for the home cook, there is much here of great value. Like cooking school, the lessons in this book are designed for cooks who may or may not have previous experience. If you are going to try something from this book, you must follow all the instructions to the letter, gather the necessary tools and ingredients, have patience, and expect to fail once or twice before you get the hang of it. Also, pay careful attention to the difficulty ratings to the recipes; the instructions make everything look easy, but this is misleading. If all you get out of this book is the proper method to make pastry cream and creme anglaise, a couple of candies, a decorated cake or two, a couple of tarts, and brioche, then this book is very worthwhile.

There are a few cautions, however. I found some format problems: pictures mis-labeled, the butter cream section is messed up, etc. The original copyright date is 1985, and first published in English in 2000; this means that the patisserie here is probably 3 decades old, and much of it very out of fashion. Also, note the title is "Professional French Pastry", and bears little relation to pastry as it is commonly served here in the US. It's primary value is that of a training manual, and not a guide to current, trendy pastry trends or tricks.

It has chapters on: basic creams, 2 chapters on secondary creams, confectionery, and finished pastries (pate a choux, cakes, tarts, puff pastry, and brioche presentation). The last section on finished pastries is by definition advanced, and occupies the second half of the book.

Editorial Review:

The first two sections of Volume 2 are devoted to basic creams and basic confections, which, together with the basic doughs in Volume 1 provide a complete overview of the fundamental pastry recipes and techniques. The second section presents a variety of finished desserts that are based on the basic doughs, creams, and confections.

Wolfgang Puck's Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen : Recipes from the Famed Beard Award-Winning Owner of Spago

Wolfgang Puck

Amazon Price: $13.50 List Price: $18.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $1.33

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> French
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Sophisticated Collection of Various Recipes 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Wolfgang Puck's Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen is a wonderful collection of recipes which will easily fill anyone's appetite. This book of recipes provides the reader with many great sauces which will bring enormous flavor to any dish that a person is creating in their kitchen. The recipes in this book have an American flavor with a French twist. This book is sophisticated and is geared more towards people with a intermediate knowledge of food preparation. If a person has this knowledge in the kitchen I suggest that they add this book to their collection of recipes. If you do feel like going out to eat at Spago you now can bring Spago home to your kitchen. If you enjoy this book of recipes I suggest that you look further into other Wolfgang and Spago recipe books. I am going into the hotel and restaurant business and from books like this I am able to further my education and knowledge about the various details of the food industry.

Editorial Review:

Wolfgang Puck has become one of this country's most famous chefs, known for a cooking style in the tradition of such French masters as Paul Bocuse, Michel Guerard, and Roger Verge, but with one important difference: Puck's acclaimed recipes were developed in America, using American ingredients in accordance with American tastes. In fifteen chapters, this new paperback edition of Puck's popular Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen combines the best of classic French methods with the freshest ingredients to create imaginative, delicately flavored, attractive dishes. The recipes are simplified and clearly explained for ordinary home cooks. Culinary definitions and illustrated cooking techniques precede the recipes. Seasonal menus are also included. Wolfgang Puck is more in the public eye than ever: the publication of this book coincides with the opening of three more of his restaurants, Spago Palo Alto, Spago Chicago, and Chinois Las Vegas.

Fine French Wines

James Turnbull

Amazon Price: $11.98 List Price: $14.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Flammarion Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $11.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Spirits
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Buying Guides
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Wine & Winemaking

Editorial Review:

Presented here are 220 extraordinary wines of three types: first the classic prestige wines generally from Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Champagne; regional wines produced on smaller vineyards that reflect the "new class" of French winemakers, and so-called "rebellious" wines produced by truly creative winemakers who explore the options in wine-making beyond the constraints of appellation regulations. These are vintages left out of the roundups of classic wines (even the annuals) from Robert Parker and Oz Clarke.

Each of the 200 wines presented include a history of the vineyard and its owner; details on vine growing and wine-making techniques; suggestions for food and wine pairings; wine tasting pointers to ensure the richest sensual experience; reference guides to the best vintages and pricing. Each is illustrated by a full page photograph of the wine bottle and contact details on the winemaker.

One Pot French: More Than 100 Easy, Authentic Recipes

Jean-Pierre Challet

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sellers Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 18 new & used starting at $12.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Quick & Easy -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Quick & Easy -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> French

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 2.0 of 5

Not really 'one pot' cooking? 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

In Jean-Pierre's own words: "French cooking is about complexities ... Can this all happen in a single pot? I think it can. I admit I may bend the parameters in certain places" (Challet & Decorte, 2008: 6).

The preceding quote, taken from the introduction to this book, pretty much sums up my thoughts about it. However, I would choose to replace the word 'bend', with 'ignore' and give greater emphasis to the word 'think'. This is a recipe book that does give an excellent introduction to classic French cuisine from basic recipes, to appetisers, soups, salads and sandwiches (obviously cooked in one pot?!?), egg and cheese based dishes, potato dishes, main courses; and last but not least deserts.

However, what this book is `not' is a focussed guide to rustic `one pot' (i.e. casserole/stew style cooking) French cooking, as one may be led to believe on first impression. It is simply an introductory guide to some of France's most classic recipes, which happens to include 'some' one pot dishes.

If the title of the book had been pitched to match it's content, I would have been inclined to give it a higher score. For as an introductory guide to classic French cuisine, this book serves it purpose well.

Editorial Review:

Classic French cuisine is paired with the perennial appeal of easy, one-pot cooking in this wide-ranging cookbook illustrated with over 75 full-color photographs. One-Pot French offers mouthwatering recipes for traditional soups and stews, fish, poultry, and meat dishes, vegetables, sauces and even desserts. Celebrated chef Jean-Pierre Challet includes more than 100 recipes that represent the Mediterranean seafood of Provence, the buttery roasts of Tours, and the cheese-and cream-based dishes of Normandy, authentic French cooking that makes the best use of a single saucepan, skillet, or bowl.

French Professional Pastry Series : Decorations, Borders and Letters, Marzipan, Modern Desserts

Roland Bilheux, Alain Escoffier

Amazon Price: $56.93 List Price: $80.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $43.57

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> Chocolate
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> Desserts
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> Pastry

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Specialist book 3 out of 5 stars.
17 of 24 people found this review helpful.

This is a very nice book, that teaches you to make French pastry-chef quality letters and borders to decorate your cakes. It has extensive examples and instructions for modelling animals and flowers in marzipan. It also has a gallery of special delicious looking cakes, unfortunately though, if you want to try those, you are referred to the author's other volumes for the recipes.

Specialist book 3 out of 5 stars.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This is a very nice book, that teaches you to make French pastry-chef quality letters and borders to decorate your cakes. It has extensive examples and instructions for modelling animals and flowers in marzipan. It also has a gallery of special delicious looking cakes, unfortunately though, if you want to try those, you are referred to the author's other volumes for the recipes.

A GREAT FINISH TO A GREAT SERIES 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is the fourth book in a series of four and it is a competent companion to the other three books.
It deals mainly with the decoration of finished desserts, lettering and writing with a variety of ingredients (chocolate, fondant etc), marzipan decorations, edible color painting, decoration and exhibition pieces and finished desserts among others.
As it is part of a series you need to get the recipes for the preparations and bases from the other books, especially the first two (bases and fillings). The second part of the book deals with modern desserts (tortes, gateaux) that one can find in patisseries around France. If you live in Europe you might find some of the dessert decorations somewhat dated, as this book has quite a few years on its back. If you live in the USA though, the desserts and decorations here are rarely if ever seen in american bakeries.
The last part of the book deals with exhbition pieces and alone is worth the price of the book. Excellent craftmanship and endless inspiration for the pastry chef.
The book has gloss pages, it is full of colored photographs, depicting both the procedures and the finished products and it has Metric weights as should be expected from a professional book.
The price has decreased recently so it is a great buy for the professional.

Editorial Review:

Volume 4 outlines techniques of decoration, illustrates techniques and patterns for borders and letters, and covers modeling with almond paste.