Provence: The Beautiful Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the Regions of Provence

Provence: The Beautiful Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the Regions of Provence

Each title in this award-winning series offers an exquisite region-by-region taste tour filled with culinary specialties and surprises. Included in each large-format volume are gorgeous food and landscape photographs. Provence is loved for its sunlit beauty and earthy, tantalizing cuisine. Both are celebrated in Provence the Beautiful Cookbook , an oversized (more than two feet tall!) picture and cookbook of breathtaking color photos and authentic regional recipes. The 270 recipes, compiled and written by award-winning food book author Richard Olney, include soups and starters; seafood, meat, game, and poultry dishes; vegetable and grain specialties; and simple but luscious desserts. Readers seeking an armchair tour of the region, singularly depicted, and the chance to see and reproduce its dishes, will delight in the book, which would also make a welcome gift. Beginning with an introduction to the land and its cooking, the book then weaves short essays about the Provençal regions with recipes arranged by courses. There are exemplary versions of bouillabaisse and bourride (the creamy, garlic-infused fish chowder), estouffade (braised beef, here with olives and mushrooms), daubs (stews), vegetable-filled omelets, and tians (savory gratins). Less familiar treasures include a mixed herb pasta from Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, porgy with crab sauce from the Var, a braised stuffed lamb shoulder from Vaucluse, zucchini and rice gratin from the Alpes Maritimes, and dried figs in thyme and red wine syrup, also from the Var. The recipes reflect Olney's unerring palate and dedication to tradition; some cooks may find certain dishes beyond their reach, but all will discover approachable recipes that are easily made. Wine information and a glossary conclude the portrait of Provence and its table--a feast for the eye and palate alike. --Arthur Boehm Hard on the heels of Robert Carrier's Feasts of Provence ( LJ 8/93) comes this entry by Olney, widely respected as an authority on French food and wine. Olney, who has lived in France for more than 30 years, is the author of Simple French Food (1974) and the now-classic The French Menu Cookbook ( LJ 12/85. rev. ed.), among many other titles. In contrast to Carrier, who includes both new and old interpretations of Provencal cooking, he focuses on authentic regional specialties, many of them far less familiar than the ubiquitous ratatouille and bouillabaise. His knowledge and expertise are evident both in the thoughtful headnotes and in the 200-plus recipes. Gantie's background text lacks the spirit of Carrier's writing, and the photography in Feasts of Provence seems somehow more vivid, but these are relatively minor points. Most collections will find this title a necessary purchase as well. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. Each title in this award-winning series offers an exquisite region-by-region taste tour filled with culinary specialties and surprises. Included in each large-format volume are gorgeous food and landscape photographs. Each title in this award-winning series offers an exquisite region-by-region taste tour filled with culinary specialties and surprises. Included in each large-format volume are gorgeous food and landscape photographs. Richard Olney was born in Marathon, Iowa, and has lived in France since 1951. A renowned authority on French cooking, he is the author of numerous cookbooks, including The French Menu Cookbook --and the awardwinning Simple French Food. Olney was also chief consultant on the Time-Life series, The Good Cook. Equally well-known as a wine writer, he is the author of Romanee-Conti and Yquem which received the Prix Litteraire des Relais Gourmands 1986. Olney is a member of L'Académie Internationale du Vin and other wine and food organizations. In 1992, he received le Prix de I'Académie du Vin de France "pour l'ensenmble de son oeurve et de son action iternationale en faveur du vin. "