Laura Calder has written the book that I've been looking
for, French Food at Home.
According to the New York Times Book Review the author gives us simple,
approachable, manageable recipes and, best of all, a great read.
French Cheeses: The Visual Guide
is incredibly useful with detailed descriptions, photos, maps and more. The land
of more than 300 cheeses is still confusing, but made a bit less so by
this handy guide. The same company also publishes French Wines: The Essential Guide;
if it's as good as their cheese guide, it might shed light on the equally confounding
world of les vins français.
Marcel Rouff's The Passionate
Epicure, a classic French novel about the high art of food and
love (and based loosely on the life of Brillat-Savarin), was written in
the 1920s. The newly released version includes the
original introduction by Lawrence Durrell. and looks to be a passionate read for lovers of the cultural quirks
of French gastronomy.
A Goose in Toulouse,
by Mort Rosenblum, presents cuisine, culture and change in France, in a style that's welcoming and
entertaining. He's lived many years in France as a reporter, bureau chief, and
editor for the AP and the International Herald Tribune. Another of his books, Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit, received the James Beard
Award.
Vintage France: Adventures Along the Wine Route
is the debut book of Jim Tanner, an American who brings us along on his
explorations. Great armchair book for franco- and oenophiles.
Languedoc-Roussillon: The Wines & Winemakers
by Paul Strang is a beautifully photographed presentation of this enormous
and rapidly evolving wine-producing region of France.
Patricia Wells has done it again with The Paris
Cookbook.
All of her books, Food Lover's
Guide to Paris and The Food
Lover's Guide to France
and
Patricia Wells
at Home in Provence, are great, not only for the
recipes, but even more for recommendations for restaurants, shops and
specialists.
Provence the Beautiful Cookbook
by Richard Olney is just as promised, a collection of gorgeous photos and
local recipes (with measurement and ingredient modifications for American
cooks). A lovely coffee table or kitchen countertop book...
Paris in a Basket: Markets
by Nicolle Aimee Meyer and Amanda Pilar Smith is a lush picture of the
markets of Paris, with hundreds of photos and an introduction by Paul
Bocuse, the chef extraordinaire de Paris.
What a great idea...a cookbook that comes with a CD to
create the charm of a Parisian bistro at home.
Bistro (Menus and Music)
by Sharon O'Connor does just that, with recipes, restaurants, suggested
neighborhood walks, and le hot jazz to boot!
The Olive Farm : A Memoir of Life, Love and Olive Oil in Southern France
sounds luscious and worth exploring.
Amanda Hesser's The Cook and
the Gardener is the story of an American woman's
adventures in Bordeaux when she goes there to cook in a hotel.
James E. Wilson & Hugh Johnson (the wine guru) have banded together to
produce Terroir
which looks delectable...the title alone says it all!
William and Clare Marling Marling
Menu-Master for France
This couple have produced this handy little guide to deciphering
restaurant menus...they also have one for Italy.
Georgeanne Brennan has put together a informative book with The Food and
Flavours of Haute Provence
Heart of France: A Journey of Discovery, published by Victoria,
epitomizes the concept of visiting France by armchair...it's a wish book for francophiles
filled with
pictures, stories and descriptions. And there are companion books about
other luscious countries as well.
...and don't forget the cooking tome, Larousse
Gastronomique, the veritable bible of French
cooking. It's heavy, but I saw it on Chef Sean Sheehan's shelf, so it's
gotta be the real thing!
