[.ca] At Home with the French Classics (ISBN 0894806335)

THIS JUST CAN'T COMPETE. THERE ARE SO MANY BETTER ONES.:
I bought this cookbook at this website because, although I've never heard of the author or the cookbook, someone who did not think well of a cookbook I ordered at that time anyway (The French Culinary Insititue's Salute to Healthy Cooking), recommended this one. At the time that I bought both of these books , I had just decided to try to do something about the fact that I'd like to be a better cook and that I'd like to be able to cook at least a few French dishes decently. So, even if I'd never heard of the author of this rather old book (and this does matter, this was written in the 1970's and he talks about the impossibiity of the reader's being able to get BEEF bones at the supermarket in order to make stock when the preferred bones for this kind of stock are VEAL bones and when they are always available in more than one of the supermarkets where I live and shop no matter what was the case generally in this country when this book was written), I decided to order it too. I found this book to be of limited usefulness as a cookbook. From his advice on buying pots and pans (the French Culinary Insitute uses and recommends All Clad, and non-stick at that, at least as to fry pans and sauté pans, and that is what I have and I am truly glad that I do), etc., to his recipe for chocolate mousse/cake (understanding as I did from the description that this darned thing had something to do with BOTH mousse and cake and not wanting to have a recipe that claimed to be for both somehow, I did not care HOW, I confess I did not read it because the very idea alienated me enough so that I decided not to. I'm not sorry I didn't. ) this book contains advice and recipes that you may do better without or that are just so much better in other books available at Amazon,that it's just not worth it. And it may steer you wrong. I must say that all I am still trying to do is learn to make decent food that includes at least some French cuisine, and I am not advanced, but I do NOT think that people who do not think of themselves as being, and who are not, in fact, very advanced, should buy this book INSTEAD OF BETTER books on the subject. I thought this might help me a lot did as the result of such suggestions. It did not. What did help which I recommend are: Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, The French Culinary Institute's Salute to Healthy Cooking and Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cooking Techniques, French Provicincial Cooking by Elizabeth David and Paris Boulangerie-Pâtisserie by Linda Dannenberg, as well as The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham, which are available from this website (and, don't take the advice of anyone who tells you not to START with them, but to start with this one. It isn't that they're perfect, it is that they're so much better), and a three volume set, Larousse gastronomique, I bought from Amazon.fr. I recommend these over this one.

Provides clear, easy instructions:
Thirty years ago I took cooking classes with Richard Grausman. I was unable to boil water, but by the end of the week, I could make Profiteroles Au Chocolat, Souffle Au Grand Marnier, Mousse Au Chocolat, Poule Portugais and much more. As long as I did things exactly as he tought and demonstrated, my results came out perfect, every time. My career, however, kept me very busy and for the next several decades I had to leave the kitchen. Now that I have some time, I was very excited to find Rick's book on the shelf. I turned to page 270 and made my favorite dessert, Profiteroles au Chocolat. The instructions and illustrations are so clear and so easy that, for the first time in over 25 years, I made perfect Profiteroles! Armed with this confidence I went on and made all of my favorites, and they came out to perfection. Here is a book filled with foolproof recipes. Last night I made Chicken with Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Olives, Riz Pilaf and a Grand Marnier Souffle along with Salade Verte. It was so much fun watching my guests enjoy great food. Step by step, word for word, illustration by illustration - this is a great book and I highly recommend it.

Having a French Chef in Your Kitchen:
People who aim to be good cooks read and try things out. They learn about food traditions and classic dishes. They learn little tricks to make these dishes and experiment with variations. It takes quite a few years of reading and quite a few mistakes before people can call themselves fantastic cooks. I for one have often wished, when the sauce has curdled or the meat won't brown properly, that a chef would step into my kitchen and just show me how to get the desired result. Well, I found the next best thing when I acquired Richard Grausman's book "At Home With the French Classics". Reading this book is really like having someone talking to you in the kitchen. That's because it's written by a person who has tried every recipe several different ways and can give you little practical suggestions that really make sense. For making tart pastry, for example, he tells you how to go about it using the food processor as well as using the traditional hand method (which needs a little more water). And there is a panel of pencil drawings down the side of the page, to show you the different techniques, which is almost as good as looking over a French chef's shoulder. Often as I was reading, little surprises kept me saying: "Well, I never knew that!" I didn't know that you could bake chocolate mousse and end up with a cake - a moist, luscious chocolate cake that has no flour in it. I like the flavour and texture of Grausman's Gratin Dauphinois. That's because he soaks the fine potato slices in the milk they will be cooked in, rather than water, and so the final dish has a lovely, creamy, almost cheesy, finish. Food stains are the most telling things in cook books. My copy of "At Home With the French Classics" has food stains on the pages for Tarte Tatin, (upside down apple tart), Canard au cidre (duck with apples and cider), Marinated mushrooms (I spilled the tomato paste here!) and the courgettes Farcies, (zucchini stuffed with mushrooms and ham). That leaves hundreds of pages and hundreds of recipes to go before this comprehensive book is exhausted. By that time, I'll be completely at home with the French classics. I'll be a French chef in my own kitchen.

Fantastic!:
By far my favorite cookbook...the recipes are wonderful, easy to do, and what's really great are the extra tips which explain the reasons why (or why not) to do something!

At Home Cooks!:
Move over Betty Crocker. Not just a cookbook, Richard Grausman's "At Home with the French Classics" contains interesting text and approachable recipes. Compared to others, my joy of cooking with Richard's cookbook is that his didactic style, honed by his years of teaching, offers detailed explanations, warnings of potential problems, and the step by step guidance of a well-marked trail. Take his recipe for genoise. Before listing the ingredients, he recommends warming the eggs in hot water instead of beating them over heat. He also describes the classic French preprations and why his vary. Usually less butter or eggs for health concerns. Or just because he thinks his way is better. Less sugar if it's too sweet. Many of his recipes contain a short list of ingredients and are easy to prepare. His chocolate mousse calls for chocolate, eggs, butter, and cream of tartar. That's it. And you'll enjoy reading about all the wonderful dishes that you can create with this versatile mousse. I think Richard's book is a classic.