All Things French

[gabby29]

i have combed through the archives and i'm presently trying to compile a list of quality books for my burgeoning library. yes, i'm a book addict like many of you.

i would like to focus on french cuisine and would greatly appreciate your input. i am not limiting myself to one particular region at present. ideally the list would feature a combination of culture, food, dessert, and wine selections.

however, i wouldn't wish to ignore quality reads that fall outside of these parameters. please feel free to include other noteworthy titles that a prospective chef would want to have in their collection.

thanks in advance!

gabby

[Mangilao30]

Here are a few I love:

Le Bernardin by Maguy Le Cozze and Eric Ripert

L'Atelier of Alian Ducassee (the only man with 6 Michelin stars)

New Ceative Techinques of a Franch Master Chef by Micheal Roux

They are all great with color photos and nice thorough recipes.

A non French book:

Gotham Bar and Grill cookbook by Alfred Portale

[panini]

Ives Thurries(check my spelling) was always a good read when I first started.

[gabby29]

*beams big*

thank you both for the wonderful suggestions. i'll check them out on amazon. i can't wait to add to my library. please keep me in mind if you think of anymore. *s*

gabby

[dano1]

check out "The Beautiful" series of cookbooks. If you can find Pepins' original books "la Methode" and "la Cuisine" they are worth if-also been reprinted as a combo but not the same. Many many more, but i got my books packed ofr a move.

edit: thats "la Technique" not "la Cuisine".

[Suzanne]

Gabby, you MUST get Paula Wolfert's updated The Cooking of Southwest France. I've made several of the recipes, and they work! Plus there's tons of information about the foods of the region.

(Disclosure: I worked on this book -- testing a few recipes and editing the manuscript -- but get nothing out of sales.)

[dano1]

Susan Hermann Lewis? "French Farmhouse Cooking" another good un

[gabby29]

dano,

have the newer versions of the pepin classics been updated or changed in some way? if so, what year should i look for? i do have a used book resource that usually carries his stuff.

suzanne,

okay i'm jealous. *laughs* i've seen some of the recipes from the book through a newsletter and they sound scrumptuous! i am sure it was an enjoyable experience. i have already added it to my list of "needs."

thanks again for the suggestions. *s*

gabby

[dano1]

the new Pepin is "Complete Techniques" i believe. Both books condensed into one in a smaller format without much character imo. Wish i would have held on to the older ones 20 years ago....Still worth a buy if ya can't find the older copies.

p.s. if you do happen to find a couple of his older copies could you pm me and let me know where? i'd love to have em in my bookshelf.

[gabby29]

dano,

i'll be visiting my used bookstore next week and will let you know if he has it. have you tried checking ebay, half.com, or powells? sometimes you find gems in these places for next to nothing. *s*

gabby