Bistro : : Classic French Comfort Food

Locations
Call Number: 641.5944 Du, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Cooking / International / French
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	641.5944 Du	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Cooking / International / French	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Cooking / International / French	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Translation from French of: L'Esprit Bistrot.
Includes glossary and indexes.
The restaurants -- Appetizers -- Main courses. Fish ; Organ meats ; Meats ; Poultry ; Game ; Vegetables -- Desserts -- Basic recipes, glossary, and indexes (by course; by restaurant; by ingredient).
"Alain Ducasse, iconic chef and author of Simple Nature, presents a collection of recipes from his worldwide network of French bistros Allard (in Paris), Aux Lyonnais (Paris), and Benoit (Paris, New York, and Tokyo). A relaxing, convivial alternative to haute cuisine, bistro cooking most closely approaches the British gastropub or Italian osteria tradition, with less formal dishes served with local wine. Ducasse and his team of chefs have reengineered these casual classics with a contemporary eye, giving them subtle twists and a lighter, healthier profile. Recipes include the French country cooking we all love to order in family eateries, including oeufs cocotte, pate en croute, blanquette de veau, sole meuniere, classic French onion soup, and of course mousse au chocolat and poires belle-Helene. Expert instruction for approachable recipes will have you cooking like a French chef, delighting family and friends with delicious, modern versions of classic bistro fare."--Publisher's description.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Looks Delicious, Seems Impossible submitted by Meginator on August 27, 2019, 10:59pm The title of this book, which promises “comfort food”, may not be inaccurate, but it certainly is misleading! Ducasse’s food looks positively sumptuous, but also very difficult to acquire and prepare; this may be classic French cuisine (I’m not familiar enough with the national cuisine to adjudicate on that matter), but it’s probably not the kind of thing that home cooks are whipping up on the regular. Most recipes call for a huge number of ingredients, including the rare and expensive, and many focus on somewhat esoteric meats, including several variations on foie gras and recipes for sweetbreads and other meats. The instructions are workable but broad and a lot of the recipes require days of preparation; Ducasse provides a glossary, yes, but that will not save the inexperienced cook who doesn’t have the intuition to recognize when a step is finished. I’m sure the food herein is absolutely delicious and maybe even worth the effort, but this is definitely going to be an aspirational, rather than a practical, collection of recipes for the vast majority of us.