In Madeleine's Kitchen

Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide to modern French cooking.
Review: In these dark days of broccoli pesto, "roasted vegetables", and everything swimming in balsamic vinegar, In Madeleine's Kitchen offers readers a return to the soul of good cooking in the French tradition: techincally adept but not gimmicky, tasty but not obtrusive. The book is organized by course (soups, meats, vegetable dishes, etc.) and is all recipes and technical information. It's gloriously free of the huge glossy photos and decorative filler found in other books. It contains recipes for terrines, duck confit, petits fours and other typically French foods, but also has a distinct modern touch and is appealing to North American readers. There's no fat-hysteria either. As always, one of the pleasures in her book is her style and occasional reminiscences about growing up with this kind of food. Good for serious amateurs and professionals.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic cuisine
Review: In these dark days of broccoli pesto, "roasted vegetables", and everything swimming in balsamic vinegar, In Madeleine's Kitchen offers readers a return to the soul of good cooking in the French tradition: techincally adept but not gimmicky, tasty but not obtrusive. The book is organized by course (soups, meats, vegetable dishes, etc.) and is all recipes and technical information. It's gloriously free of the huge glossy photos and decorative filler found in other books. It contains recipes for terrines, duck confit, petits fours and other typically French foods, but also has a distinct modern touch and is appealing to North American readers. There's no fat-hysteria either. As always, one of the pleasures in her book is her style and occasional reminiscences about growing up with this kind of food. Good for serious amateurs and professionals.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic cuisine
Review: Madeleine is one of the most creative chefs ever to write a cookbook and, next to Julia Child, probably the most skillful teacher. Her complete command of French cuisine makes most of today's media-crazed chefs look like amateurs. This is a workable cookbook that is carefully laid out, with many sauces that can be applied to a variety of dishes. There is a wonderful range of dishes, from simple to complex. You can start wherever you are comfortable and learn with this woman who probably knows more about food than anyone living. The techniques, which are at the forefront of everything Madeleine does, are straightforward and easily mastered. Among the many, many pleasures of this spectacular book (in addition to the food, of course) is the sense of confidence it can give any aspiring cook to create extremely refined dishes without pretence or fear. If you use this book, you really won't be able to look at most other books in the same way. Fantastic!