Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home Review

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(More customer reviews)There is not much that I can add to the reviews already written, but as an admitted Francophile, I wanted to put my 2 cents in. As all have stated, this is an incredible book, not just of French cooking, but a slight peek into the French way of living and thinking. Obviously, Ina loves Paris, and all that is French, and you get that feeling as she deviates from strictly recipes, and goes into the various nuances of French life.
Those nuances are scattered throughout the book and peppered (no pun intended) in the introductions to her recipes. The photography and food styling is excellent as usual, and as long as you aren't expecting a Jacque Pepin or Julia Child style of French cooking, then you will enjoy Ina's more simple, peasant-style fare. She talks about the visual preparation of the French table and all the ways that you can make your dining experience as simple, fresh, and carefree as the dishes. And for those who are fellow "Parisians", she guides you through the streets and markets of Paris and gives you a tour of sorts, of that magical city.
INTRODUCTION
TO START:
All about French wines
Raspberry Royale
Kir
Cassisa l'Eau
Cheese Straws
Blioni with Smoked Salmon
Cheese Puffs (Gougeres....ummmmmmmm!!!)
Rosemary Cashews
Radishes with Salt and Herbed Butter
Potato Chips
LUNCH:
French Table Settings
Croque Monsieur
Blue Cheese Souffle
Salad with Warm Goat Cheese
Eggplant Gratin
Pissaladiere (a French pizza of sorts)
Goat Cheese Tart
Scrambled Eggs with Truffles
Herbed Baked Eggs
Spinach in Pastry Puff
Mussels in White Wine
Seafood Platter (with mustard sauce, cocktail sauce, mignonette sauce)
SOUP and SALAD:
All about French flowers
Winter Squash Soup
Provencal Veggie Soup (and homemade chicken stock, and pistou)
Zucchini Vichyssoise
Seafood Stew (and seafood stock)
Lentil Sausage Soup
Brioche Loaves
Celery Root Remoulade
Endive, Pear, and Roquefort Salad
Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
Fennel Salad
Warm Mushroom Salad
Green Salad Vinaigrette
DINNER:
All about French cookware (this was a blast; will make you want to visit!)
Lemon Chicken with Coutons
Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (this was very mild in flavor)
Roast Duck
Chicken with Morels
Loin of Pork with Green Peppercorns
Boeuf Bourguignon
Filet of Beef au Poivre
Steak with Bearnaise Sauce
Veal Chops with Roquefort Butter
Roast Lamb with White Beans
Rack of Lamb Persillade
Roasted Striped Bass
Scallops Provencal
Salmon with Lentils
VEGETABLES:
About French cooking classes
Asparagus with Hollandaise
Vegetable Tian
Zucchini Gratin
Tomato Rice Pilaf
Roasted Beets
Matchstick Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts Lardons
Cauliflower Gratin
Morocccan Couscous
French String Beans
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms
Potato Celery Root Puree
Carmelized Shallots
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Herbed New Potatoes
DESSERTS:
About French cheese
Meringues Chantilly
Plum Raspberry Crumble
Ile Flottante
Lemon Meringue Tart (and lemon filling)
Pear Clafouti
Coeur a la Creme with Raspberries
Raspberry Sauce
Creme Amglaise
Baba au Rhum (rum-soaked doughy pastries with shipped cream; sooo good!)
Elephant Ears (very light, flaky, and delicate)
Mango Sorbet
Ice Cream Bombe
Plum Cake Tatin
Chocolate Orange Mousse
Brownie Tart
Pain Perdu
Peaches in Sauternes
Coconut Madeleines (dip the ends in chocolate!)
Strawberry Tarts
Pastry Cream
Profiteroles (the ultimate elegant French dessert!)
Chocolate Truffles
Creme Brulee
RESOURCES:
French ingredients to try
French cookware you'll want to have
Going to Paris? Then here's your guide with every place you'll want to visit to make your journey magical and complete (the best part, Ina!!!)
Credits and Index
Conversion Chart
Merci Ina!!

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Hearty boeuf Bourguignon served in deep bowls over a garlic-rubbed slice of baguette toast; decadently rich croque monsieur, eggy and oozing with cheese; gossamer crème brulee, its sweetness offset by a brittle burnt-sugar topping. Whether shared in a cozy French bistro or in your own home, the romance and enduring appeal of French country cooking is irrefutable. Here is the book that helps you bring that spirit, those evocative dishes, into your own home.What Ina Garten is known for—on her Food Network show and in her three previous bestselling books—is adding a special twist to familiar dishes, while also streamlining the recipes so you spend less time in the kitchen but still emerge with perfection. And that’s exactly what she offers in Barefoot in Paris. Ina’s kir royale includes the unique addition of raspberry liqueur—a refreshing alternative to the traditional crème de cassis. Her vichyssoise is brightened with the addition of zucchini, and her chocolate mousse is deeply flavored with the essence of orange. All of these dishes are true to their Parisian roots, but all offer something special—and are thoroughly delicious, completely accessible, and the perfect fare for friends and family. Barefoot in Paris is suffused with Ina’s love of the city, of the bustling outdoor markets and alluring little shops, of the bakeries and fromageries and charcuteries—of the wonderful celebration of food that you find on every street corner, in every neighborhood. So take a trip to Paris with the perfect guide—the Barefoot Contessa herself—in her most personal book yet.

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Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours Review

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(More customer reviews)First, what this book is NOT: an introduction to classical French cuisine. Or even modern French cuisine. As Greenspan herself points out in a post at the eGullet forums,
"Here's what the book isn't: It's not Escoffier. It's not Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It's not a by-the-rules book. It's not a textbook. It's too personal to be any of those things."
This is a collection of recipes that feels like it comes straight out of Greenspan's kitchen: which means that if your cooking style and tastes run with hers, you will like this book. If they don't, you won't. So despite my four-star rating, that is purely a reflection of how well my cooking style agrees with Ms. Greenspan's. I strongly encourage you to check out the table of contents before clicking "Buy" on this one. There are a lot of braises, including three different recipes for what amount to roast chicken. There are two veal stews, and two beef daubes. If that's the food you like to eat, you would be hard-pressed to find clearer, better-written recipes. Naturally Greenspan is not breaking any new culinary ground here: if you have even a medium-sized cookbook collection, you probably already have most of the recipes she presents. What you probably don't have is the exquisite photography (by Alan Richardson), or the extremely well-written recipe instructions. The production values of this book are very high indeed: I am astonished at how low the price is all things considered.
A few favorite recipes of the dozen or so I've made so far: Chicken Breasts Diable, Veal Marengo, Lamb and Dried Apricot Tagine, and the Chard-Stuffed Pork Roast are all very good. In particular I think that the Lamb and Dried Apricot Tagine would be a wonderful dish for an evening with guests: just exotic enough on the US palate to be different, without being totally out of left field. But all of those dishes would go over very well on a typical US dinner table, and some, like the Chicken Diable, are quick-and-easy weeknight meals.
Pros:
* Exceptionally well-written recipes
* High percentage of excellent dishes
* Fantastic production qualities
Cons:
* Not a "learn to cook French Cuisine" book (it doesn't try to be, though)
* Three roast chickens? Really?

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Dinner for Eight: 40 Great Dinner Party Menus for Friends and Family (New York Times Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)There is so much to like in this cookbook! The concept of entire seasonal menus put together for you, with notes on each recipe about what can be done ahead and when, plus wine suggestions is brilliant, right? Everything is laid out for you, and the recipes are fun and adventuresome. Unfortunately, however, too many of Landis' recipes end up being much more time-consuming than she would have you believe. I cooked three of the full menus for guests, and each time found myself really stressed out--exactly contrary to the main premise of the book! I would add that I am a very experienced home cook; I can't imagine how this would go for a novice. In addition, there are more than a few things that sound good but aren't: take the deviled eggs with guacamole, for instance. The avocado turns grayish-green in this combination. You can imagine how unappetizing this looks. In sum, this is a book that I really wanted to like and which contains some individual "keeper" recipes. It is quite flawed, however, and ultimately disappoints.

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Longtime recipe tester Denise Landis--who has tested Nigella Lawson's books and more than a decade's worth of recipes at The New York Times--is an accomplished and experienced home entertainer. Landis knows what makes a good dinner party and how to compose a menu that will impress guests while leaving the cook free to enjoy her own party. Featuring forty complete menus-appetizer, first course, main course, accompaniment and dessert--Dinner for Eight is organized by season, encourages mixing and matching, and guides any cook through a dinner party timeline of advance preparation and last-minute finishes.

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Help My Apartment Has a Dining Room: How to Have People Over for Dinner Without stressing Out Review

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(More customer reviews)My cooking experience includes making boxed macaroni and cheese and toast. I received this book as a gift last year but just recently put it to use. Over the last month, I have worn it out! I am a vegetarian but also wanted to cook for friends who are meat-eaters. The book includes many receipes for everyone. The receipes are easy to understand and fun to read. Kevin and Nancy Mills have a fabulous sense of humor. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to start cooking but is intimidated and doesn't know where to begin.

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The dynamic mother-son team who wrote Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook now offers humorous advice and easy recipes for gen-Xers and other novice cooks who want to invite friends for dinner. When we last met Kevin Mills in the runaway, surprise bestseller Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook, he was a recent college graduate who took a cooking-by-phone class from his mom in order to survive in the kitchen, eventually winning over his vegetarian girlfriend with his culinary skills. Now he's married to her, she's a doctor, and he still does all the cooking in their tiny kitchen. And now they entertain. With the same combination of witty writing and clever illustrations that earned the authors' first book accolades in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and Seventeen, Help! My Apartment Has a Dining Room dispenses straight advice and 150 easy recipes from a kitchen veteran, Mom, road-tested and written by her twentysomething son, who has taken out "all the fancy cookbook talk." With "Mom Tips" and "Mom Warnings," this book gives novices the benefit of Mom's experience without having her in the kitchen.

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Dinner For Six at 8:00: Twelve Themed Dinners Parties from Casa Cebadillas Torrox Pueblo, Spain Review

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(More customer reviews)If you love to entertain, you can't say enough about this book.
I want to go to Espana!!

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This cookbook makes entertaining fun, easy and enjoyable for both you and your guests.You adore cooking and entertaining friends for an evening of fine dining but you don't have the time, energy or money to host elaborate, time-consuming social affairs. Hosting a dinner party should not be a daunting task and Christopher Carnrick and Arthur Knighton make the process easy, stress free, economical and FUN! Dinner for Six at 8:00 contains delectable dishes, sure to please the most sophisticated or simple palate. The mouth-watering complete dinners are diverse, ranging from innovative international cuisine found in the Caribbean,Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Asia, Morocco, Polynesia, Arabia and even the heartland of America!Thetwelvethemed dinners are the most popular from Casa Cebadillas, the unique dining experience in Torrox Pueblo Spain that will win rave reviews from your guests.All recipes are written to accommodate six guests with readily available ingredients and easy to prepare.The special-occasion and ethnic themed dinner parties include complete menus, easy-to-follow recipes, and dozens of ideas for invitations, decorations, table settings, music, and beverages -- everything you need to have a great party, except the guest list.

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