Product Description

This is a French cookery book which aims to really capture the Gallic passion for food. This fine collection of traditional mouth-watering recipes from the true guardians of gastronomic pleasure allows you to create the true flavours of France at home.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1143162 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-31
• Original language: French
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From Amazon.com
Simple French Cooking reveals the secrets of 10 French women chefs who earned the nickname les mères, or "mothers," in central France in the early 20th century. The simple, honest cuisine of these formidable women has inspired generations of chefs. Here readers will find artfully simple recipes for creating the true flavors of France in their own home kitchens. Coauthors chef Georges Blanc--awarded three Michelin stars, Gault et Millaut Chef of the Year, and grandson of Mère Blanc, whose signature Bresse Chicken in a Creamy Sauce titillated her customers' palates--and French food authority Coco Jobard tell the stories of les mères in fascinating biographies that offer a glimpse into the remarkable lives of these women and introduce a variety of French regional cooking styles.

The bulk of the book is made up of more than 100 traditional recipes. Classics like Onion Soup Gratinée, Beef with Carrots, Coq au Vin, and Grand Marnier Soufflé are well represented. Adventurous dishes like Artichoke Hearts with Foie Gras, Calf's Sweetbreads with Asparagus, Partridge Pie with Black Salsify, and Pink Praline Ice Cream round out the book. Crimini Mushroom Salad with Mussels melds the delicate earthiness of tiny white mushrooms with apple vinegar, shallots, tomatoes, and mussels. Mère Crouzier's Wild Duck Surprise daringly combines fish and mussels with duck hearts and livers to stuff the bird. The result is delicate, delicious, and truly surprising.

Classic photos of les mères add to the charm of the book, while beautiful photos of the finished dishes are enticing. Those interested in culinary history will be especially delighted by Simple French Cooking, but anyone interested in learning to cook the simple and honest cuisine of central France will find it a welcome guide. --Robin Donovan

From Library Journal
Despite the male-dominated hierarchy of most of its restaurant kitchens, France has another culinary tradition exemplified by les meres, talented female chefs, most of them born in the late 19th century, who were known for their classic, regional, bourgeois cooking. Elisa, or Mere Blanc, the grandmother of three-star chef Georges, was one of these women, and here he and food writer Jobard pay tribute to her and nine other grandes dames. They provide brief biographies of the women, five of whom were associated with Lyons, one of France's gastronomic centers, the others from various regions including the famed Mere Poulard (whose omelets gained an international reputation) of Mont Saint Michel. Their stories, illustrated by period photographs, menus, and other memorabilia, are followed by 100 or so recipes, from the Bresse Chicken in a Creamy Sauce that was Mere Blanc's signature dish to a surprisingly contemporary Samphire Salad with Marinated Sea Bass and Salmon. A charming glimpse into an important part of French culinary history.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Slightly more accessible French cooking appears in Georges Blanc and Coco Jobard's Simple French Cooking: Recipes from Our Mothers' Kitchens. Blanc, who named his own multistarred restaurant in honor of his mother, has documented the cooking of outstanding French women chefs from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These women started restaurants mostly out of obligation to their families' personal finances. Most hailed from the Lyon region of France, but some conquered the rarefied gourmet circles of Paris itself. Reading these women's inspirational stories only makes one hungrier to sample their recipes. Typical of the best French cooking, they rely on top-of-the-line ingredients, but the meticulous home cook can handily conquer the stews, casseroles, and soups. Several renditions of multimeat Pot au Feu make excellent dishes for winter dinner parties. Others, such as the homey yet very French Macaroni and Cheese, make even the plainest meals special. Mark Knoblauch
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