[.ca] Bistro Cooking at Home (ISBN 0767912764)

From Amazon.com:
Gordon Hamersley's Bistro Cooking at Home makes a much-explored culinary style newly exciting. Hamersley, chef-owner of Hamersley's Bistro in Boston, has won praise for fare that, though straightforward, is often flubbed, due to poor ingredients and technique. Bistro Cooking repeats his success, providing 150 classic and innovative recipes for irresistible dishes like Tian of Summer Vegetables Provençale and Spicy Lamb Shanks with Couscous and Preserved Lemons. Immediately appealing--open the book to any recipe and you'll want to start cooking--the book also boasts cook-friendly asides like "How to Make a Great Vinaigrette." The organization is equally enticing. Beginning with "The Art of the Salad," which includes a particularly good version of frisée salad with lardons and poached egg, and "Small Plates," like Wild Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Sandwich, the book then pursues savory tarts, gratins and galettes, such as Fresh Goat Cheese, Roasted Beet and Walnut Tart; starchy dishes including Crabmeat Risotto with Peas and Mint and bistro-style fish like the quick-and-easy Halibut with White Wine, Shallots and Basil. Meat and vegetables are equally well represented--there's a mini-repertoire of roast chicken and duck confit dishes--as are simple but "finished" desserts like Souffléed Lemon Custard and Chocolate Mousse Cake. With a useful section on techniques (moderate-temperature "walk away roasting" ensures juicer results, says the author), good pantry-stocking advice, and color photos that further excite kitchen action. --Arthur Boehm

Do NOT hesitate. A standout, even on a groaning shelf.:
I borrowed BISTRO COOKING AT HOME from the library, thinking I might steal a few tempting recipes, but upon reading it promptly purchased my own permanent copy. The recipes are delicious yet accessible (my last meal was his Orange and Ginger-Glazed Roasted Swordfish with a Carrot and Tarragon Vinaigrette, which caused swooning at my table. It was so good that I wondered, "Why would a chef give away a recipe like this?" ) The side dishes take delicious basics and rachet them up a notch, i.e. Roasted Asparagus with Pancetta and Shaved Asiago or Lemony Braised Endive or Garlicky Cherry Tomato Confit with Toasted Pine Nuts. If you love a flexible chef, one that can accept your vanilla extract if you don't have a vanilla bean on hand, this book is for you. My best summary is: Unpretentious, friendly, practical, and fabulous.

Bringing the restaurant home:
Gordon Hamersley has done what no other restaurant cookbook author has done before ( or wanted too). He has successfully written a cookbook that yields results from home that rival that of his restaurant. Having visited his restaurant on several different occasions, I was skeptical about how close the recipes would turn out. With my first bite of the roast chicken I'd prepared, all the sights, sounds, aromas and tastes returned, as though I was sitting in the dining room of Hamersley's Bistro.

Just when you think you don't need another cookbook. . .:
you open "Bistro Cooking at Home". Your next Sunday afternoon should be spent making the Beef Short Ribs Braised in Dark Beer with Bacon and Red Onions. It's incredible. The dishes are comparatively easy to make, unpretentious, earthy, and deeply soul satisfying. While not for the completely novice cook, Hamersley helps out with wine suggestions, accompaniments, and helpful preparation notes with almost every dish. Highly recommended.

Buy This Book:
Mr. Hamersley's "Bistro Cooking at Home" belongs next to Julia and Marcella in your cookbook collection. The 'presentation' is terrific; easy to read with many helpful pictures. There is a wealth of background information, all the way from techniques to sources for hard to find ingredients. The writing style is as comfortable as his restaurant. There is a full range of selections that will satisfy every taste. Recipes are presented with alternatives for technique and ingredients. I'm not the first one to say that the Roast Chicken p. 182 is worth the price of the book, but it's true. But Fiona's Easy Halibut, Seared Sea Scallops with Garlic Tomato and Olive Compote, Roast Pork with Apples, Onions, and Sage, ..............there's just no end to it. Best of all, the consistent end result is flavor, flavor, flavor. Buy the book, work your way through and start again.

Bringing the restaurant home:
Gordon Hamersley has done what no other restaurant cookbook author has done before ( or wanted too). He has successfully written a cookbook that yields results from home that rival that of his restaurant. Having visited his restaurant on several different occasions, I was skeptical about how close the recipes would turn out. With my first bite of the roast chicken I'd prepared, all the sights, sounds, aromas and tastes returned, as though I was sitting in the dining room of Hamersley's Bistro.