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Giada’s recipes satisfy both our desire to eat with gusto and to feel good about what we eat.

Why French food? There are a couple of answers to that question, one of which has to do with history and the other with my life. From ancient Rome through the Renaissance, cooking all over Europe was pungent, spicy, and sweet or sweet/sour, rather like North African or Middle Eastern food is today. From Naples to London, Seville to Warsaw, cooks used local ingredients as well as imported spices to fuse layers of flavor into complex sauces that were meant to balance the elemental composition of the foods with which they were served. The point, aesthetically as well as in terms of diet, was to civilize ingredients and to render them wholesome by transforming them in the kitchen. Then, quite suddenly, French cooks broke with this ancient tradition. The aim of what was called “the delicate style” was to cook and serve ingredients in a manner that preserved the qualities with which they were endowed by nature: instead of being miraculously transformed by the cook, food was supposed to taste like what it was. In pursuit of this new aesthetic of naturalness and simplicity, cooks developed many techniques and recipes that continue to define French cuisine to this day. Indeed, the impact of the French culinary revolution reverberated far beyond the borders of France. The fact that so many of us moderns wish to eat and drink in a manner that represents the variety of nature reflects our lasting attachment to the idea of authenticity that first emerged in the kitchens of the ancien régime. Why and how had this major shift in sensibility come about? What does the culinary revolution reveal about other aspects of modern life that were also coming into focus in 17th- and 18th-century France? Those were the historical questions I set out to answer in this book. The other reason why I decided to write about the rise of French cuisine is that I love to eat French food and I cook it almost every day. One of the enduring misconceptions about French cooking (especially in America) is that it is inherently fussy, expensive, and ridiculously rich. Although such a rococo element certainly exists, especially in fancy restaurant cooking, recipes from the cuisine bourgeoise (that is, home cooking as it has evolved in France over the past 250 years) are easy and economical to make and healthy to eat: roasted chicken with a quick deglazing sauce, inexpensive braised meats, poached fish with a little white wine, simply prepared vegetables, plain green salads, puréed soups of leeks, potatoes, and other fresh, cheap ingredients, just to name a few of my favorites. I hope that by focusing attention on the development of this aspect of the culinary tradition, my book will encourage readers to experiment with simple French foods. The historical recipes, in the appendix, are a good place to start. -Susan Pinkard Cook up the Enlightenment: Exclusive Recipe Excerpts from A Revolution in Taste Click here to see authentic (and delicious!) recipes from eighteenth-century France. • Green Butter with Leek and Parsley (Marin) • Potage aux Herbes (Marin) • Roasted Chicken with Bitter Orange and Garlic Deglazing Sauce (Bonnefons).

Ina Garten's much loved cookbooks, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, and Barefoot Contessa Family Style, offer relaxed yet stylish dishes that don't tax the cook. Her food works wonderfully for entertaining but shouldn't be limited to such times. Barefoot in Paris finds Garten (almost inevitably) in France, "translating" native dishes for the American home cook. The result is rewarding, and should get those reluctant to "cook French" to do just that. Covered are classics like Celery Root Rémoulade, Boeuf Bourguignon, and Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, but also "newer" dishes like Zucchini Vichyssoise and Avocado and Grapefruit Salad. If Garten ranges wide from typical Parisian fare-in, for example, recipes like Rosemary Cashews, Tomato Rice Pilaf, and a distinctly American Brownie Tart-these nonetheless embody the French approach. Her sweets, including the likes of Peaches in Sauternes, Plum Cake "Tatin," and an exemplary Crème Brûlée, are particularly tempting. Included also are asides like "About French Table Settings," and "If You're Going," a resource guide, that, practicality apart, give readers a sense of French culinary life. With color photos, this is winning addition to the Barefoot collection. -Arthur Boehm.

Goin’s gospel is her commitment to the freshest ingredients available; her way of combining those ingredients in novel but impeccably appropriate ways continues to awe those who dine at her restaurant. Her Sunday Supper menus at Lucques–ever changing and always tied to the produce of the season–have drawn raves from all quarters: critics, fellow chefs, and Lucques’s devoted clientele. Now, in her long-awaited cookbook, Sunday Suppers at Lucques, Goin offers the general public, for the first time, the menus that have made her famous. This inspired cookbook contains:§132 recipes in all, arranged into four-course menus and organized by season. Each recipes contains detailed instructions that distill the creation of these elegant and classy dishes down to easy-to-follow steps. Recipes include: Braised Beef Shortribs with Potato Puree and Horseradish Cream; Cranberry Walnut Clafoutis; Warm Crepes with Lemon Zest and Hazelnut Brown Butter§75 full-color photographs that illustrate not only the beauty of the food but the graceful plating techniques that Suzanne Goin is known for§A wealth of information on seasonal produce–everything from reading a ripe squash to making the most of its flavors. She even tells us where to purchase the best fruit, vegetables, and pantry items§Detailed instruction on standard cooking techniques both simple and involved, from making breadcrumbs to grilling duck§A foreword by Alice Waters, owner and head chef of Chez Panisse restaurant and mentor to Suzanne Goin (one-time Chez Panisse line cook)With this book, Goin gives readers a sublime collection of destined-to-be-classic recipes. More than that, however, she offers advice on how home cooks can truly enjoy the process of cooking and make that process their own. One Sunday with Suzanne Goin is guaranteed to change your approach to cooking–not to mention transform your results in the kitchen. Suzanne Goins is the chef-owner of Lucques, an acclaimed Los Angeles restaurant noted for its Sunday meal service. Sunday Suppers at Luques presents 132 recipes from the restaurant, arranged by seasonal menus and thus by market availability, with the likes of Hawaiian Snapper with Green Rice and Cucumbers in Crème Fraîche; Saffron Chicken with Parmesan Pudding, Spring Onions and Sugar Snap Peas; Bistecca California with Peperonata, Baked Ricotta, and Lemon; and Young Onion Tart with Cantal, Applewood-Somked Bacon, and Herb Salad. Home cooks should find these deft, light-handed creations immediately attractive, if not always readily reproducible, as many call for special ingredients like the aforementioned snapper, Kaboca squash, and roncal, a Spanish sheep’s milk cheese, among many others. Reasonable alternatives aren't always suggested. Though the dishes themselves aren't difficult to make, reproducing whole menus, or even multiple dishes within them, will require a kitchen workout. These things said, many cooks will want to try making the more approachable dishes apart from their "trimmings," not to mention such desserts as Warm Crèpes with Lemon Zest and Hazelnut Brown Butter, and Jessica's Favorite Meyer Lemon Tart with a Layer of Chocolate. With color photos, the book is also lovely to pore through. -Arthur Boehm.

Trends, excessive and chemically imbalanced use of herbs, spices and processed sauces apparently have a place in our society but, a person who possesses and uses their learned ability to transform a common dish into a dish of irresistible flavors, with balanced amounts of such seasonings, displays an accomplished talent. A talent desired by many but achieved by those who use natural flavor enhancers wisely and, so now without prompts from the kitchen, let “your” achieved “results speak for themselves”. “Enjoy”! Happy Cooking!.