Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity - Hardcover

Eric Ripert; Maguy Le Coze

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385488416 ISBN 13: 9780385488419

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 1998

Synopsis

Cusine from New York's  four-star seafood restaurant, Le Bernardin, is made accessible to everyone in more than 100 meticulously formulated and carefully tested recipes for all courses, from appetizers through dessert, in this cookbook from Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert and owner Maguy Le Coze.

The food served in Le Bernardin's beautiful dining room is as subtle and refined as any in the world, and because fish and shellfish are often best turned out quickly and simply, the recipes in this book can be reproduced by any home cook.

Maguy Le Coze traces the origins of Le Bernardin's "simplicity" to her late brother, Gilbert, the restaurant's legendary cofounder and first chef. Today, Chef Eric Ripert carries on Gilbert's simplistic tradition with dishes such as Poached Halibut on Marinated Vegetables, Pan-Roasted Grouper with Wild Mushrooms and Artichokes, and Grilled Salmon with Mushroom Vinaigrette. And, of course, there are the desserts for which Le Bernardin is also so well known--from Chocolate Millefeuille to Honeyed Pear and Almond Cream Tarts.

Essential to the experience of dining at Le Bernardin and to the Le Bernardin Cookbook are the dynamic and charming personalities of Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert, whose lively dialogue and colorful anecdotes shine from these pages as brightly as the recipes themselves.

About this title

Review:

At Le Bernardin, seafood is always the star. From the day this posh restaurant opened in New York City, it was recognized for revolutionizing the way fish was prepared. Chef-owner Gilbert Le Coze and his sister, Maguy, quickly gained an exalted four-star rating for their original, impeccable, exquisite food, which you can now reproduce at home using their recipes.

Le Coze avoided using classic sauces because, lacking professional training, he did not know how to make them. Instead, he created Carpaccio of Tuna, a kind of paper-thin sashimi on a plate, Baked Sea Urchins, and Roast Monkfish on a Bed of Sautéed Savory Cabbage with Bacon, a dish that is both rustic and rich. When Gilbert died in 1994, at just 48, his chef de cuisine, Eric Ripert, stepped in and has continued to dazzle with his own fish dishes. Ripert, who had a classical chef's training, is especially innovative in his Poached Lobster in Lemongrass-Ginger Bouillon. If following three pages of meticulously clear instructions for handling the lobsters, puréeing their coral, and much more is not for you, try the salmon fillets served in a magically cream-free but creamy lemon sauce, the Roast Cod Niçoise flavored with basil, capers, and black olives, or the saffron-and-orange-perfumed Fish Soup.

Le Bernardin's desserts are famous, too. A reasonably competent cook can create ecstasy with the Bitter Chocolate Soufflé Cake, lavish with dark chocolate, butter, eggs, and just one tablespoon of flour.

If you read mostly cookbooks, the spirited dialogue between Ripert and Maguy, their anecdotes of culinary adventures, and characteristically Gallic commentary may divert you. Typically, Maguy says, "My favorite way to eat calamari is with a nice green salad. How American!" Seems the French only ate a lettuce salad with meats until nouvelle cuisine came along in the 1970s, and Maguy still considers it an aberration with seafood. Just as her taste has changed, this book may open you to new experiences with seafood. --Dana Jacobi

From the Publisher:

Advance Praise for Le Bernardin Cookbook:

"France's greatest gifts to America are both matchless expressions of uncomplicated elegance and perfect clarity: the Statue of Liberty in the 19th century and Le Bernardin in the 20th."
--Alan Richman, GQ

"To dine at Le Bernardin is an unforgettable experience. To be able to re-create these recipes so easily is an amazing accomplishment. Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert have elevated home cooking to a new level."
--Thomas Keller, The French Laundry, Yountville, California

"With the same recipe for impeccable freshness, uncommon taste, and heartfelt exuberance that has made Le Bernardin our country's seafood standard-bearer since 1986, the Le Bernardin Cookbook is sure to become a well-thumbed-through star in every home cook's collection. Best of all, these exciting recipes will make you want to cook fish again: they are straightforward, doable, and delicious."
--Danny Meyer, coauthor, The Union Square Cafe Cookbook

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarkson Potter
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0385488416
• ISBN 13: 9780385488419
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384