Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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207 of 221 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Over 100 recipes, 18 Sep 2005
inspired by the flavours of France........
From the D/J inner flap:-
'Intrigued by a little book by a yachtsman who preferred to use the canal system to get to the Mediterranean rather than sailing round Spain and Portugal, Rick embarks on his own journey of gastronomic discovery from Padstow, Cornwall, to Bordeaux and then to Marseille.
On the way he browses in French markets, meets the producers of wine and food and eats in family-run cafés.....Fully illustrated with beautiful food and landscape photography, this book is both a souvenir of an unusual and idyllic journey through rural France and an inspiring collection of classic and original recipes.....
The good news is that the French rural gastronomic dream is still a reality and the best of its food can be reproduced at home.'
216 shiny high quality pages split over 2 main parts:-
(1) Diary - `Notes from a Journey'
(2) The Recipes:-
Soups and Starters
Light Lunches
Fish and Shellfish
Poultry and Game
Meat and Offal
Desserts
Accompaniments and Basics
with a full index, enhanced by italics denoting pictured dishes.
Each recipe opens with typical Rick text, the title/s and number of servings, clear ingredients and the clearly laid out method.
'Why yet another recipe for 'French Onion Soup', you may ask?
The simple answer is that I have an enthusiasm for rescuing previously special recipes that have become too popular and thus subject to corner-cutting or over-inventiveness.
The main constituents of a good onion soup to me are onions - lots of them - slowly cooked over a long period to make them sweet, caramel brown and soft, a good beef stock and Gruyère cheese, which must be served bubbling and aromatic on top of the whole soup.'
A taste of the other recipes within:-
Cream of Mussel Soup *
Charentais Melon Salad
Seared Foie Gras on Sweetcorn Pancakes
Buckwheat Galettes
Steak Tartare
Cep Omelette
Roasted Sea Bass with Pastis
Zander Braised in Pinot Noir
Duck Confit with Braised Red Cabbage
Roast Partridge with Dubonnet *
Salt Pork with Lentils
Cassoulet
Bullfighter's Beef Stew with Macaronade
Roast Rack of Lamb
Griddled Spatchcock Quail
Moroccan Lamb Tagine
Roast Loin of Veal with Madeira Sauce
Ribeye Steaks cooked over an open fire
Baked Lemon Cheesecake
Tarte Tatin
Hazelnut and Chocolate Dacquoise
Crunchy Walnut Tart *
Hot Vanilla Soufflés
Petits Pots au Chocolat
Normandy Cider and Apple Sorbet
Crème Caramel
Passion Fruit Crème Brûlée
* - pictured on 'Amazon Images' above
With, Rick's noble acknowledging of others along the way:-
'Egg Mayonnaise'
'This recipe is from 'Simon Hopkinson', who joined us for part of the filming while we were in Marseille. You might almost be asking yourself, do we really need a recipe for something so simple? Yet this is one of those classic dishes that has been forgotten, and yet is fantastic when done well, which is sadly not always the case.'
and a bit of history, here and there:-
'Henry IV Poule au Pot'
Henry IV of France was born in Gascony, and as I have become to really like the Gascon enthusiasm for good, honest cooking, so has Henry IV become a bit of a hero to me.
First because in the 15th Century, as King, he said during his coronation speech, 'I want every peasant to have a chicken in the pot on Sundays.'
Secondly, in true Gascon style, he had such a love of garlic, particularly raw, that his bride Marguérite de Valois refused to share his bed on one occasion because of his bad breath.
Would that this recipe from those times, a masterpiece of flavour, sensible nutrition and economy, could be as popular again in a world gone mad on fast food..........'
this is far more that just another superb cookery book, published to accompany the BBC TV series of the same name.
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34 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
L'air du temps ... , 9 Jun 2007
It is always a sheer pleasure to read his books. But this one stands out: it starts off with his diary, and gradually shows you traditional French cuisine (and a few exotic dishes French people eat). The book itself has a calm and nostalgic tone in the background (one pity is not all recipes have a picture of the finished dish. So unless you have seen the programme, it is difficult to see if you got it right)
I do know that some poeple were a little puzzled / annoyed, and I did feel the same when, in this programme, he highly praised French cuisine and by contrast slugged off Britain and its food culture a little ... specially this programme was made right after his "Food Heroes in Britain" where he had praised British produce and producers.
However, in real life, we appreciate both French and traditional British cuisine at the same time, don't we? You really cannot say which is better as they both have its own charm. What could possibly be better than having a wonderful British Pub lunch on a sunny Sunday afternoon that is followed by a strong French coffee in a cafe with Sunday paper? We mix the very best of theses two different cuisines to enjoy life.
Apart from referring to the recipes, I sometimes read this book when I want to forget all the troubles and feel better about things. It is nice to know there are places where the time passes at a different pace from where you are.
The reason why I love his books and his TV programmes is you can sense his passions for food, and his enthusiasm to share them with you. I specially love when he appears on telly when he is a bit tipsy - he looks more relaxed and gets even more passionate about food! What a great man he is.
But there is one HUGE disappointment. The TV programme was so very well made, and was unforgettably stunning. But, oh why, is it NOT available on DVD?
(PS: DVD will be available on the 1st of October 2007. Hurray!! Now what I hope is BBC publish 'Mediterranean Escapes' and 'Rick Stein and the Japanese Ambassador' on DVD soon!! 7/Sept 07)
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142 of 229 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Visual and gustatory feast in Steinworld, 2 Oct 2005
To say that this book is an essential accompaniment to the television series is to do it a disservice, because it is a delightful publication in its own right. But combined with the television, it creates another wonderful window into Steinworld. Oh how I wish I were Rick Stein rather than a city solicitor! I would far rather get paid to drift down the Canal du Midi than drive through wretched Livingstone's congestion zone to a City office: what a wonderful world Rick inhabits. The TV series is a gem: the sights, the sounds, the people, the landscapes; one can almost smell and taste the foods he buys and prepares. Rather fun, too, is watching as he (and the crew) slosh their way through a hearty French country lunch with lashings of good vin de pays, all ending up glowing and bibulous -- often a prompt for some Stein philosophical musings to camera. Where the book, which is beautifully produced and printed, really shines is to allow one to read at leisure the recipes that flash by all too quickly on the TV screen, too quickly to scribble down anyway. And the recipes are a delightfully eclectic collection; none seems to be beyond the abilities of a reasonably experienced home cook, and everything is written with the characteristic Stein good humour and practicality. Steinworld has its food heroes in the UK, but those encounters are so often earnest and ponderous; in France, and this book, everything, including recipes, is infused with a passion and enthusiasm that is inspiring. Welcome to Steinworld.
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