Country Cooking of France by Ann Willan

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Description: Why is the country cooking of France so compelling, and why does it evoke so much fascination and respect? The answer lies in the terroir of its pays (regions), the fresh produce and specialty foods that are unique to each area and arc then transformed into such traditional favorites as Soupe au Pistou and Choucroutc Alsacienne. 

Anne Willan is well known for her many best-selling cookbooks, as well as her highly regarded cooking school in France, La Varenne, which she founded with Julia Child and James Beard in 1973. She combines her years of experience writing about French cuisine with extensive research, hands-on expertise, and a deep appreciation of the current culinary trends in France to create this classic cookbook. More than 200 recipes range from the time-honored La Truffade, with its crispy potatoes and melted cheese, to the Languedoc specialty Le Cassoulet de Toulouse, a bean casserole of duck confit, sausage, and lamb. And it wouldn't be a French cookbook without desserts: Crepes au Caramel et Beurre Sale (crepes with a luscious caramel filling), Pets de Nonne (deep-fried cream puffs), and Galette Landaise (a rustic apple tart) are beyond delicious. 

Dishes with a quintessentially French touch are organized into chapters that focus on each specialty: fish stews such as Bouillabaisse; rustic sauces that convey a strong sense of place, including Sauce Bordclaise au Vin Rouge from Bordeaux and Sauce Vin Jaime et Morilles from the Jura; savory tarts, from an Alsatian Zewelwai (onion quiche) to Pissaladiere from the Pays Nicois, bordering Italy, which reveals its close relationship to Neapolitan pizza; not to mention game birds, frogs, and snails. 

Sprinkled throughout are historical tidbits about individual regions and the people who make French food so irresistible. Plus, more than 250 gorgeous photos of food markets, villages, harbors, fields, and homes make this a book as beautiful to look at as to cook from. Eggs and cheese, fish and shellfish, meats and poultry, game birds, grains and pasta, salads and vegetables, breads and desserts, and so much more (including metric conversions in all the recipes) -- The Country Cooking of France is an authoritative and comprehensive guide to all the riches of rustic French cuisine, and a must for your cookbook collection. 

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Condition: Good condition. Dust jacket has some very fine scratches.