Product Description

In "Foolproof French Cookery", and its paperback edition, "Simple French Cookery", Raymond Blanc demystifies French cuisine and demonstrates how enjoyable the simple, creative act of cookery can be. He describes the basic techniques needed to create traditional French food, and demonstrates 40 simple-to-follow versions of the most well-known dishes. With step-by-step instructions and colour photographs to accompany every stage from start to finish, all 40 recipes are quick and easy to prepare, and use readily available ingredients. All Raymond's recipes are simple, rustic and completely delicious, and whether you choose quick and easy. Oeufs en Cocotte or Moules Mariniere for a more elaborate meal, his foolproof instructions guarantee excellent results every time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5970 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

Authentic French family cooking
40 simple-to-follow recipes aimed to dispel the myth that French cuisine is hard to master.

'These recipes demonstrate what is really good about French cuisine. The conviviality, the friends and the laughter; the simple, hearty food; the rustic bread dipped into the sauce, and the heavy red wine that will be drunk.'

And the reader gets precisely that, which is why this book remains one of my French favourites.
It is no secret that most French life revolves around mealtimes and Raymond certainly makes no secret of the fact that this choice of recipes is very expressive of his own 'Maman's' cooking (sometimes Papa's, too!).....and successfully aims to 'dispel the myth that French cuisine is difficult to master.'

Published by BBC Books, the pastel soft-covers open to 128 shiny pages, split into main chapters:-

Ingredients and Equipment
Starters and Soup
Fish, Poultry and Meat
Vegetable Dishes
Desserts

sandwiched between an introduction and a concise index.

This is an easy-to-read and well laid out book, in mainly double page spreads (sometimes more depending on the number of stages), each with colour photos of some of the stages and ALWAYS of the completed dish.

Each recipe is clearly laid out with the number of servings, an estimated preparation time, and cooking time (if applicable), along with the stage-numbered method. Each opens with some relevant notes which sometimes includes advice on 'tweaking', or suitable accompaniments....even a friendly note about fellow chefs, e.g.:-

'Pâté de campagne':-

'Surprisingly quick and easy; a great dish to grace every day or a dinner party. Even the grande dame of British cuisine, Delia Smith, is embracing this magnificent coarse pâté with great Francophile fervour! Try it for yourself. It is best prepared about two days in advance, so the flavours have time to mature. You could replace the pork with veal. Gherkins or pickled vegetables are the best garnish, not forgetting a hunk of rustic bread.'

Then follows the most delicious recipe, which I make in my favourite Pâté Terrine!

For the more ambitious cook, 'Floating Islands Maman Blanc' is a spectacular dessert, which certainly tested my culinary skills!

Other recipes include:-

Maman Blanc's Vegetable and Chervil Soup
Pan-fried Salmon Fillet with Sorrel Sauce
Coq au Vin
Duck Breast with Sweet Potatoes and Cherry Sauce
Pot-au-feu of Braised Pork Belly
Provençal Rack of Lamb with Crushed Peas
Steak 'Maman Blanc'
Calf's Liver with Persillade
Stuffed Tomatoes
Gratin Dauphinois
Baked Pancakes with Spinach, Mushrooms and Gruyere
Chocolate Mousse
Crème Caramel
Lemon Tart

and what better excuse for me to get out my Tatin Dish, than Monsieur Blanc's super recipe for 'Tarte Tatin', which I serve warm with a scoop of Cornish ice cream!

This super book winds up with ideas for combining selected recipes for various menus, including the final one - 'Family Meal', and a closing quote:-

'I wish I could sit down with you for this meal as I have shared it so many times with my parents in my native Franche-Comté. This simple, wholesome menu demonstrates the appeal of French cuisine. More please!'

Précisement!

Very attractive cookery! Exactly how they should be!
Ive just started cooking as a hobby and with books like these, a passion is quickly growing. Its so rewarding to produce recipes that are so delicious and not incredibly confusing to make and with the choice in this book you're bound to have some fun in the kitchen. I especially enjoyed the pan fried salmon fillet with sorrel sauce. The combination of all the flavours really works! But the reason this book isnt five stars is that there a few glaring errors which must be caused by the fact that Raymond is a professional. When making the floating islands maman blanc he seems to unaware that for amatuers like myself, it's not clear when the meringue would be properly poached as the consequences led to it tasting of eggs. Not something you want in a dessert! And when it came to making the syrup he said to rapidly take the saucepan out of the heat and into cold water...this takes away the one thing that keeps the syrup from doing just what happened...it became rock hard and impossible to use. Professionals maybe able to use it before it goes hard but i couldnt! Also, when i made the salmon dish i didnt exactly make it with sorrel, i used parsely which worked fine but if i had known when sorrel is in season i wouldnt have bothered wasting time trying to find it! The same goes for the chicory in the first recipe in the book. It led me to believe that the title of this book isnt quite accurate. Locating some of the ingredients is too much hard work i.e. no fun and NOT simple and understanding some of his directions leads to impossible (yet hilarious i have to admit, but still, not how it should be)confusion. Once again, not simple! Overall though the book is brilliantly laid out with colourful photographs, estimated preparation and cooking times and just a simply attractive design! In summary id say this book is a classic and instructive book that is enjoyable to use...just not a perfect one.

Simple yet impressive recipes, geniunely French!
This is a very impressive collection of classic yet simple French recipes using ingredients commonly available in the UK. I haven't tried them all yet, but I haven't come across a dud yet either.

The only criticism I have is the recipes involving pulses will typically need longer cooking than the book suggests if you are using dried (even if pre-soaked) - I'd suggest twice as long. That's the only reason it doesn't get 5 stars.

I'd strongly recommend this to anyone who is interested in expanding their repertoire into French cuisine but has been put off by the perception that it's complicated.