Provence : The Beautiful Cookbook

Rating:
Summary: Oh la la!
Review: French born and 4th generation provençale, I take pride in the cuisine from my homeland and I have to confess I was a little wary about what I would find in this book. Well, the authors did a wonderful job at promoting the gastronomic traditions of Provence without betraying them. My grand-mother, our family's head-cook, and our culinary inspiration would have given her seal of approval without hesitation, would she have been around to discover this wonderful recipe collection and it is with her and my homeland in mind that I enjoy preparing the recipes featured in this excellent collection for my own enjoyment and the one of my (American) husband and our friends.

Rating:
Summary: Oh la la!
Review: French born and 4th generation provençale, I take pride in the cuisine from my homeland and I have to confess I was a little wary about what I would find in this book. Well, the authors did a wonderful job at promoting the gastronomic traditions of Provence without betraying them. My grand-mother, our family's head-cook, and our culinary inspiration would have given her seal of approval without hesitation, would she have been around to discover this wonderful recipe collection and it is with her and my homeland in mind that I enjoy preparing the recipes featured in this excellent collection for my own enjoyment and the one of my (American) husband and our friends.

Rating:
Summary: Good intro to Provencal cooking
Review: I like this book, but it does point out one weakness in Provencal cooking...a slight lack of variety. There are multiple gratin recipes, good fish dishes, etc. It also doesn't shy away from organ meats, etc., much like the region itself. Like all the books in this visually stunning series, this one has lovely photography.

Rating:
Summary: BIG AND BEAUTIFUL
Review: I was a little suspicious of the series. After all, should we trust a book more suitably sized for the coffee table than for the kitchen counter? But my mistrust was misguided. The food is wonderful. All people have assumptions about "others," and one of the assumptions Americans make about the French is that their food is very difficult to prepare and relies on expensive ingredients. The truth is that French food need not be difficult and that it is a cuisine that recognizes the beauty of each season. Since my children bought this book for me, we have been building seasonal rituals around it. For example, we get salt anchovies from the neighborhood Italian deli for our Christmas eve appetizer. At Mardi Gras, we make the oreilles found in this book, which are the pastries sold as "pig's ears" or "angel wings" in the last days before Lent by Polish bakeries in Detroit. Depending on the bakery, they were known as "pig's ears" or "angels wings." My only criticism of the book is that I feel the need to keep it open in the dining room, lest kitchen grease spoils it.

Rating:
Summary: BIG AND BEAUTIFUL
Review: I was a little suspicious of the series. After all, should we trust a book more suitably sized for the coffee table than for the kitchen counter? But my mistrust was misguided. The food is wonderful. All people have assumptions about "others," and one of the assumptions Americans make about the French is that their food is very difficult to prepare and relies on expensive ingredients. The truth is that French food need not be difficult and that it is a cuisine that recognizes the beauty of each season. Since my children bought this book for me, we have been building seasonal rituals around it. For example, we get salt anchovies from the neighborhood Italian deli for our Christmas eve appetizer. At Mardi Gras, we make the oreilles found in this book, which are the pastries sold as "pig's ears" or "angel wings" in the last days before Lent by Polish bakeries in Detroit. Depending on the bakery, they were known as "pig's ears" or "angels wings." My only criticism of the book is that I feel the need to keep it open in the dining room, lest kitchen grease spoils it.

Rating:
Summary: This series is a winner!
Review: My wife, who is the cook in our home, says of this book, "I love it!" I can attest to the results. The recipes are clear and accurate. The food is superb and exactly matches the wonderful cuisine that my wife and I have enjoyed in Provence. No recipe has disappointed. The presentation of the book, with its beautiful pictures, is excellent. When you've tried Provence the Beautiful Cookbook, explore the others in the series. My wife is working her way through Tuscany the Beautiful Cookbook and I'm loving it!

Rating:
Summary: This series is a winner!
Review: Provence the Beautiful Cookbook is an outstanding guide to the joys and challenges of traditional Provencal cuisine. I purchased it as my only cookbook for a 3 week stay in a Provencal country house, where we hosted friends from both the US and Europe. Some of the recipes are accessible to beginning cooks, but a few would challenge a Cordon Bleu chef. The emphasis is on fresh, traditional ingredients and techniques, and the resulting meals are memorable in every respect. The only drawback of this approach is that some of the ingredients, such as salt anchovies, a French Mediterranean specialty, are not available in most places in the US. But this small failing is offset by the wonderful results attainable from most of dishes, the best of which are both simple and quick, such as chicken with a basic Provencal sauce, or fresh peaches marinated in a delightful dessert wine available everywhere. One of the traditional recipes, 40-Clove Garlic Chicken, was used by a widely-published wine critic some years ago as a challenge to measure good Sauvignon Blanc: a great wine still shines next to this overpowering dish. This is a great cookbook, and a fine initiation into French provincial cooking, and the accompanying photography and background information are a good introduction to life in Provence. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful and delicious tour of Provencal cooking
Review: Provence the Beautiful Cookbook is an outstanding guide to the joys and challenges of traditional Provencal cuisine. I purchased it as my only cookbook for a 3 week stay in a Provencal country house, where we hosted friends from both the US and Europe. Some of the recipes are accessible to beginning cooks, but a few would challenge a Cordon Bleu chef. The emphasis is on fresh, traditional ingredients and techniques, and the resulting meals are memorable in every respect. The only drawback of this approach is that some of the ingredients, such as salt anchovies, a French Mediterranean specialty, are not available in most places in the US. But this small failing is offset by the wonderful results attainable from most of dishes, the best of which are both simple and quick, such as chicken with a basic Provencal sauce, or fresh peaches marinated in a delightful dessert wine available everywhere. One of the traditional recipes, 40-Clove Garlic Chicken, was used by a widely-published wine critic some years ago as a challenge to measure good Sauvignon Blanc: a great wine still shines next to this overpowering dish. This is a great cookbook, and a fine initiation into French provincial cooking, and the accompanying photography and background information are a good introduction to life in Provence. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Deja Vu de Provence
Review: What a wonderful, inspirational book. This book showed me how to make the amazing dishes that I tasted during my tour of Provence. I finally know what specific herbs make up the "Herbes de Provence". It was more than a cook book, though. It was a walk down memory lane inspiring me to, not just cook the dishes but, create them! Thank you Richard Olney.

Rating:
Summary: Deja Vu de Provence
Review: What a wonderful, inspirational book. This book showed me how to make the amazing dishes that I tasted during my tour of Provence. I finally know what specific herbs make up the "Herbes de Provence". It was more than a cook book, though. It was a walk down memory lane inspiring me to, not just cook the dishes but, create them! Thank you Richard Olney.