Simply French: Patricia Wells Presents the Cuisine of Joel Robuchon - Softcover

Patricia Wells

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0688143563 ISBN 13: 9780688143565

Publisher: Hearst Books, 1995

Synopsis

How can a good cook become a great cook? It's all in the details.

Becoming a good cook means learning principles that will last you a lifetime in the kitchen; with Simply French, you will never cook the same way again.

• Knowing when to season and how
• Appreciating the simple process of reducing a sauce
• Allowing meats and poultry to rest so they release maximum flavor
• The simple art of straining a sauce for a refined condensed flavor
• Knowing why dried herbs are no substitute for fresh

In Simply French acclaimed food critic and best-selling author of Trattoria Patricia Wells works side by side with award-winning French chef Joel Robuchon to distill the best of the French table for the American cook. Among the 125 exciting recipes youll find in Simply French are Potatoes "Chanteduc," a perfect Roast Chicken, Beef Tenderloin Roasted in Herb-Infused Salt Crust, Marbleized Chocolate Wafers, and Cinnamon-Chocolate Mousse.

About this title

About the Author:

Patricia Wells is a journalist, author, and teacher who runs the popular cooking school At Home with Patricia Wells in Paris and Provence. She has won four James Beard Awards and the French government has honored her as a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, recognizing her contribution to French culture. A former New York Times reporter, she is the only foreigner and the only woman to serve as restaurant critic for a major French publication, L'Express. She served as the global restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune for more than twenty-five years. She lives in Paris and Provence with her husband, Walter Wells.

From Publishers Weekly:

This new release by the author of Bistro Cooking could inspire a cooks' triathlon--a stampede to the closest bookstore, a sprint to a neighboring market, then back to the kitchen and any one of Wells's 125 magnificent recipes. Adapting the work of Robuchon, chef and owner of Paris's three-star restaurant Jamin, the American, French-by-adoption Wells exchanges the easy swagger of her Bistro recipes (most of which assured cooks that preparing great meals is uncomplicated) for an almost religious insistence on detail. "Simplicity" here is no synonym for streamlining. Rather, it inspires a quest for pure and intense flavor. Thus a recipe for roast chicken specifies exactly when to season the bird and precisely how to position it during and after cooking--with superb results. Not all recipes are as basic; foie gras and truffles crop up repeatedly. Nor is this a tutorial. Wells supplies insightful tips but assumes that the reader has mastered standard techniques. Just about every offering is a knockout, but a few deserve special mention: a potato gratin slightly different from and even better than the one in Bistro ; a blanquette of veal; five variations on the madeleine; and a bittersweet chocolate mousse distinguished by the incorporation of stiffly whipped cream. Menu plans and wine suggestions are included. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hearst Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0688143563
• ISBN 13: 9780688143565
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368