Simple French Cookery

This volume operates much like an afternoon at a Parisian cooking school, offering a limited selection of French culinary classics accompanied by photograph-by-photograph lessons on how to prepare them. Although Potato Puree, for instance, requires little more than whipping boiled potatoes with butter and milk, the author holds the reader's hand through the process, providing thorough instruction on simmering the water, straining the potatoes and adding salt and pepper. More complicated dishes like Pan Fried Fillet of Sea Bream with Ratatouille and Tomato Coulis receive similar treatment; as a result, they seem as straightforward as those pureed potatoes. After an hour or two with this book, kitchen neophytes will soon be turning out sophisticated suppers like Provencal Rack of Lamb with Crushed Peas and Duck Leg Confit with Flageolet Beans. However, anyone with an interest in the more exotic reaches of French cooking will be disappointed; the most daring ingredient in this collection is a hunk of calf's liver. Further, because this book was originally published in England and certain Britishisms were never translated, recipes call for ""courgettes"" instead of zucchini and ""groundnut"" oil instead of ""peanut."" But these flaws don't detract from the book's mission: to democratize French food by encouraging novice cooks to make it at home.