Get Your Hands On Essential Pépin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites From My Life In Food Penned By Jacques Pépin In Brochure

is a really beautiful book, Obviously, I haven't tried all of the recipes in this huge tome, but I've tried enough to know that these are true master productions.
My only criticism is that Pepin doesn't recommend which dishes go well together, Sure, more for the imagination, but I only cook from this book when I have a minimum ofhour to pair dishes,hours to find ingredients and anotherhours for cooking.
What's not to love
One of the alltime greats givesrecipes to try including old favorites, new takes on old favorites, and hundreds of new onesall clear, concise, and easy to follow.

It's like cooking with an old friend, Disclaimer: I am vegetarian and so cannot speak to the quality or interestingness of the recipes in the chapters involving animals, I can only report seeing a few recipes with names like "Turkey Carcass with, . . " or "Calf Brains and " before quickly looking away in horror,

I'm not sure I understand this as a cookbook even less do I understand the plethora ofstar reviews here on goodreads.
For instance, in the vegetables section, each vegetable has a recipe that goes like this: steam or boil vegetable, add butter and salt.
Some recipes have names which make them sound more interesting than that, like "Asparagus Ragout", but others just come out and say it: "Broccoli with Butter".
Sometimes butter with salt is even called a "sauce", but seriously, these recipes

could all say "Heat your vegetable by your preferred method and throw some butter and salt on it like you always do.
" Heck, you can make life even simpler than that if you buy it prepackaged and frozen and throw it in the nuke, Voila! AmeriFrench cooking,

There are a lot of recipes in the fruit desserts chapter, the names of which sounded promising, but on closer inspection proved to be just as silly as the above.
"Make a pile of blueberries, drop some yogurt in the middle, sprinkle with sugar, Variation: Use strawberries. " If you really want to mix up your repertoire, you can try the ones which simply reverse that process: Drop a blob of yogurt in a bowl, make a crater in the middle, add blackberries and sprinkle with sugar.
Go on! Feel the inspiration! Get crazy and try something new! Variation "Use raspberries, " This isn't cooking, this is assembling and it's assembling things you can probably think up on your own,

The breads chapter is pathetic, There are only a very few recipes, all of which are considered the "starter" to the hundreds of possibilities you would get out of The Joy of Cooking "Or as we call it in our house, The Bible", as my recently departed friend Tom Taylor used to say and I agree.


I haven't yet watched the included dvd described in the Essential Pépin's introduction ashours of technique demonstration, but even if it's highly entertaining and/or informative, I'd recommend previewing this book from the library before indulging any impulse to buy it.
This seems suitable only for someone who meets ALL of the following criteria: is broke has nothing more in their spice rack than salt, pepper and garlic powder has absolutely no kitchen and cooking experience whatsoever and is in need of ideas as to how to feed themselves something that isn't out of a box.
If you've got a microwaveraised kid you're packing off to go live on their own, for example, this might be a better book to give them than many of those awful cookbooks marketed directly at college students but please do also include The Joy of Cooking for those who come to feel throwing frozen peas on pasta isn't exactly cooking so much as it is reheating, and who may someday want to advance a mite beyond opening a jar of Dijon and calling it Asparagus with Mustard Sauce.
Honestly, this is one of the best cookbooks I've ever read or used, Pepin explains techniques clearly, and includes a DVD for the trickier bits that he feels require a demonstration, Pepin makes it easy to be successful in the kitchen this is an outstanding addition to my collection of French cookery books, I have always loved Pepin's take on French cuisine, These recipes draw heavily on traditional recipes, but are significantly lightened up for the modern cook, This volume is exhaustive, and for the avid French cook, it is worth purchasing, For me, however, it is a bit too comprehensive to provide much inspiration, Im having a hard time returning this one to the library, Pepin gives simple French suggestions on standards and comfort foods, So far I have stained about four pages with eager ingredient laden fingers, I love the warm bean and bacon salad eaten like a stew, ricotta dumplings in red pepper sauce, and the cauliflower gratin with gruyere and a rich bechemel.
All of those made it to the table together to bloat my guests, I look forward to sampling many more from this book, The section on sandwiches is next to conquer, This is a fantastic repository of recipes for any home chef, The recipes are pretty simple, yet incredibly delicious, I've made aboutof the soups so far, and they have been terrific, A must for any serious home chef, Exactly what you would expect from the consummate French gourmet chef, the incredibly likeable Jacques Pépin,

Starting with a brief history of his early years in the culinary industry and ending with a DVD showing simple cooking techniques and tips, this great treasure trove of fast and easy French hautecuisine is exceptional.


Essential Pépin is broken down into chapters that cover the entire spectrum of edible delights, including soups, salads, breads, seafood, meats, vegetables and several different kinds of desserts.
I particularly enjoyed the garlic soup, mushroomstuffed potato pancakes, clams on a halfshell with cold horseradishvinegar sauce, corned beef potaufeu and the apple fritters.


I also really liked the illustrations, which Jacques drew himself!

This is a fun cookbook that can be referenced again and again.
Essential Pépin is a must for foodies everywhere! This is the first book in a long time that I'm paging through to read each recipe.
There are no color photos, justrecipes, and illustrations by Pepin, The work is charming and informative, You have to imagine the flavors and textures, Essential Pepin reminds me of cookbooks I used to read and dream by when I was a kid and fell in love with cookbooks.
“Happy cooking!” Jacques and Julia are the two chefs from whom I have learned most about a philosophy of food and about cooking technique.
Mastering technique is the foundation for great cooking and allows one to create, follow or modify recipes, It builds fearlessness in the kitchen, I own most of Jacques and most of Julias cookbooks, and they are the most utilized on my bookshelves,

Essential Pepin contains so many of his classic plus easy, quick recipes for home cooks, I love how through the years, New England, and American, and the influence of his wifes heritage have found their way into his cooking.
Great recipes and an almost biography feel, Have this on my biography shelf rather than cookbook shelf, .