Customer Reviews

Boulevard: The Cookbook

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I will try to strike a balance to the previous two reviews. This cookbook is beautiful. It is a large outsized book that will cause people with cookbook holders possible issues but if you have Glazer's _Artisanal Baking in America_ the size should not surprise.

I got this book the first day it was released and have spent the time reading and cooking from it.

1) the recipes are excellent. However, some of the ingredients will be hard and expensive to come by such as sand dabs which are easy on the west coast to get but quite the adventure in the midwest;

2) the recipes are not for beginners. You must have basic, competant skills not to mention maybe some specialized tools to make your life easier such as, a food processor or food mill. If you are hoping for super simple ingredients and expect to have a dinner party done in a few hours this may not be the book for you. The recipes are doable with planning and careful reading;

3) Very west coast, in particular, Northern California. Nancy Oakes and her restaurant Boulevard have been part of the cutting edge providing fresh takes on classics and loving attention to local ingredients.

4) The book is beautiful and could grace a coffee table with gorgeous pictures of food, staff and surroundings. However, sometime I felt that the design of the book took greater precedence than ease of reading and use for the cook. An example is how there is a great deal of white space but the typeface (8-10 pt) is more typical of regular sized cookbooks;

5) I have been a long time fan of her husband, Bruce Aidell, the sausage king, and in his books always had contributions from Nancy that truly showcase meat in all its glory including brining. However, when you read this book you see the expertise with meat but not to the level that I would expect from Ms. Oakes as evidenced from the contributions to her husband's books.

6) The meals are showstoppers. What meal was NOT a showstoppper? Yeah, I'm getting plumper but my figure was sacraficed on a mighty tasty and good looking altar

7) Each recipe is presented this way: main recipe with attendant side items that compose that course. Yes, this includes the salads which have the recipes for the garnishes and accompaniements on the same page. So quite frankly, having multiple courses can be quite the production for it is not just "white corn soup" but the single corn stock, garnish and crab cake souffles. Like I said, not for beginners or someone wanting a meal in 30 minutes.

8) recipes can be modified and adapted easily. So I did not have tiny quail for the buttermilk fried recipe but it did translate very well to chicken and the same for brining the guineau hens. Again, chicken came to rescue. So if you are freaking out about making everything just take the parts that you like

In all, an excellent book. Just remember that this book is not for beginners but people who can plan and have some basic skills.

Highly recommended for the collector and for those who love Northern California cuisine. And if you are wondering where I stand on the debate of Chez Panisse vs. Boulevard? Boulevard because no body does meat/fish/poultry as well.

`Boulevard, The Cookbook' is the product of co-chefs, Nancy Oakes and Pamela Mazzola plus professional culinary writer, Lisa Weiss. The restaurant, Boulevard is in the San Francisco Bay area and the second of two restaurants headed up by Oakes and Mazzola. The overall impression I get of the ambiance and the recipes is that Boulevard is a brasserie with a `haute cuisine' attitude and an underpinning of a love of bacon. The love of bacon is entirely understandable, as Nancy Oakes is the wife of the American Pork writer in chief, Bruce Aidells, with whom she has co-authored several books on pork cookery and charcuterie.

When I encounter an oversized cookbook volume with an oversized price (listed at $50), I immediately demote the book's overall score to four stars, unless I find within a truly marvelous source of culinary wisdom. As I write this, I am teetering on the boundary of four and five stars, so we will investigate together how to rate this volume.

To start, I give points for the fact that the table of contents lists the name and page number of every single recipe. Of course, since the book has only 48 recipes, this is no great feat, covering no more than three of the oversized pages. To be fair, the 15 main dish recipes and the soups actually contain recipes for major garnishes or veggie side dishes. If you broke out all the secondary recipes, you may have as many as 60 different dishes. There are also 27 recipes in the `Blvd Basics' chapter, but as these are mostly for things such as stocks, sauces, condiments, and stock garnishes, these hardly count. I don't discount them entirely because I am in love with the idea from Deborah Madison that stocks and other utility recipes should be crafted to fit the dishes in which they are used, so it is important for us to know exactly how it is that Boulevard makes their duck confit to say with accuracy that you are making a `Boulevard recipe' which uses duck confit. It may also be worth noting that some of these recipes are actually served at the authors' other restaurant, L'Avenue and some are actually things they really cook at home.

The main chapters are:

Salads, 6 recipes
Soups, 6 recipes
Starters, 13 recipes
Fish, 7 recipes
Meat, 8 recipes
Desserts, 8 recipes

Since four of the six soups, the white corn coup, the ratatouille soup, the chestnut soup, and the Provencal fish soup (Bouillabaisse) are simply fancy versions of very old standards, we can ask ourselves why should we want to make these versions, when we may have three recipes for corn soup, a dozen recipes for ratatouille, at least three recipes for a chestnut soup, and 20 recipes for a Bouillabaisse (and still no source for Racasse!)? Especially since most of the recipes are really very long. While my favorite Mark Bittman corn soup recipe takes about a half page column in `How to Cook Everything', this white corn soup with `little crab cake `souffles' takes two oversized pages, with four different recipes coming together to make one dish. Similarly, my favorite David Boulud chestnut soup with apples takes but one page, this braised chestnut soup with apple cream and crispy duck confit takes another two pages. And, while chestnuts and duck confit are a natural pairing in southwest France, they are less natural denizens of Napa valley or Santa Clara valley.

To be fair, a considerable amount of space in each of these recipes goes to a rhapsodic headnote about the origins of the dish plus `Kitchen and Shopping Notes' which go into where the restaurant buys and preps its chestnuts, seafood, artichokes and mayonnaise. We learn, for example, that artichokes come packaged like shrimp, with a count per unit carton packaging. And, we learn that the restaurant is perfectly happy using Hellmans / Best Foods mayonnaise off the shelf rather than making it themselves.

It should be obvious that this cookbook is a lot more like Thomas Keller (The French Laundry) and Judy Rodgers' (Zuni Café) efforts than the much more straightforward fish restaurant books by Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin) and Thomas Kinkead (Kinkead's) books. Thus, it is to be read more as a source of inspiration and ideas and maybe a dish for some very special entertaining occasion than as a workaday cookbook. Of course, this is also the kind of book that a patron of Boulevard would be very happy to have.

When compared to books by Keller and Rodgers, this book fares well, but it is probably not better than these two exemplars of the `great restaurant' book. But, if you buy this kind of book, this is definitely one you will want. If you buy `great restaurant' books for cooking tips and insights, this book is good, but not great. I encountered a lot of things I already knew and no major new insight. So, the fewer books of this type you have, the more valuable this one will be. If you have a big cookbook library, the margin of value will be small.

Since the book makes excellent use of some distinctly west coast seafood such as Dungeness crab, California white sea bass, and king salmon, the marginal value is also higher for west coasters than us Yankees or even our Johnny Reb cousins on the east coast.

Of course, all the recipes are very well detailed, look great in sumptuous pics, and, I'm sure, taste great. There are even a few, such as the scallop and squid recipes, which may just be simple enough for you to improvise into your own repertoire.

All in all, this is a very good, but not a great foodie book.

Now that I have your attention, I'd like to seriously warn you about expecting this book to be a cookbook you might use. It is a collection of marvelous presentations, but unless you have a full professional kitchen, a couple of sous-chefs hanging around, and are the kind of person who loves to spend a week preparing the basic ingredients for an upcoming meal, this book should be enjoyed as a wonderful commercial for the restuarant, and not as a cookbook. Every "recipe" is a full blown presentation (see other review listing); a base preparation, under the star presentation supported by a cast of at least two if not three co-stars. And if you try to just make one of the items, I'm afraid you'll end up feeling inferior that you didn't prepare the full meal deal.

Lovely photographs, by the way.

Get the book from the library, save your money to take a trip to SF and eat at the restaurant. That's what I should have done.

This is not a review, but just a list of the recipes for your reference...

The recipes are broken down into:
- Salads
- Soups
- Starters
- Fish
- Poultry and Game
- Meat
- Desserts

SALADS:

- Endive and Heirloom Apple Salad (Applewood-smoked bacon, candied pecans, and creamy montgomery cheddar dressing)
- White Asparagus Salad with "Crunchy" Poached Farm Egg (fresh porcini, pamesan fonduta, and serrano ham)
- Mediterranean Mussels with Panzanella and Arugula (fennel confit and soft saffron aioli)
- Warm Medjool Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese (blood oranges, pistachios, pomegranate, bitter greens, and blood orange vinaigrette)
- Carpaccio of Fresh Hearts of Palm, Cucumberes, and Summer Truffles (ricotta salata and banyuls vinaigrette)
- Salt-Roasted Bosc Pear and Roquefort Salad (toasted walnut relish, port vinaigrette, and lollo rossa lettuce)

SOUPS:

- Cauliflower Soup with Maine Lobster
- White Corn Soup (little crab cake "Souffles")
- Roasted Ratatouille Soup with White Beans and Serrano Ham
- Braised Chestnut Soup (apple cream and crispy duck confit)
- Provencal Fish Soup (herb-roasted jumbo prawns, bouillabaisse relish and aioli)
- Artichoke Soup (artichoke hearts, marcona almond and mint pesto)

STARTERS:

- Dungeness Crab Cakes (asparagus, lemon vinaigreete, and crab salad)
- Black Truffle Pappardelle (Shaved black truffled and parmesan beurre fondue)
- Pan-Seared Monterey Calamari (fresh dungeness crab legs and oven-roasted tomatoes)
- Fried Green Tomato and Crispy Hama Hama Oyster "BLT," (tartar sauce and green tomato vinaigrette)
- Goat Cheese and Truffle Ravioli (pine nut pesto, basil and tiny fava pesto, roasted tomatoes, white asparagus and truffles)
- Trio of Tuna Tartares (jalapeno and ginger, spicy red chile, shiitake, and white soy)
- Seared Sea Scallop (fesh shelling beans, lomo embuchado, smoked Spanish paprika)
- Sand Dabs Stuffed with Lobster (artichoke confit, parsley beurre fondue)
- Maine Lobster Tail with John Desmond's Black Pudding (potato mousseline, fennel and leek relish, blood orange jus)
- Pan-Seared Foie Gras (bosc pear confit, almond pain perdue, sherry vinegar reduction, and assorted salts and peppers)
- Quail Stuffed with Foie Gras and Roasted Porcini Mushrooms (kabocha squash puree and asian pear, thyme and Spanish sherry relish)
- Glazed Sweetbreads in Potato Crust (chanterelle mushrooms and red wine reduction)
- Pan-Roasted Mediterranean Rouget Barbet (melted eggplant, shrimp and basil beignets, heirloom tomato carpaccio)


FISH:

- California White Sea Bass Roasted with Olives and Basil (potatoes crushed with garlic, chiles, and arugula, tomato vinaigrette)
- Pan-Roasted Halibut Fillets and Cheeks (Fresh morel mushrooms, spring vegetables, green garlic pesto, and morel mushroom jus)
- Pan-Roatsed Wild King or Ivory Salmon (potato bacon, and watercress cake, shaved apple and fennel salad, cider sauce, and mustard vinaigrette)
- Roasted True Cod (tomato gratin, pancetta and baby spinach salad, pine nut relish)
- Pan-Roasted Black Bass (Santa Barbara Spot Prawns, Cauliflower "Risotto")
- Crispy-Skinned Onaga (braised shellfish mushrooms and fresh hearts of palm)
- Bacon-Wrapped Maine Monkfish Stuffed with Lobster and Avocado (fresh coriander risotto and green almonds)
- Spiny Lobster Paella (with a pot of steamed clams and chorizo)

POULTRY AND GAME:

- Buttermilk-Brined Fried Little Chickens (mashed potatoes, gravy, and cream biscuits)
- Roasted Poussin with Spicy Corn Bread Stuffing (andouille gumbo sauce)
- Pot-Roasted Guinea Hens (twice-cooked potatoes with garlic mousseline, warm arugula and olive salad with glazed walnuts)
- Pan-Roasted California Pheasant Breast (spring onions, prunes in armagnac, braised bascon, savoy spinach, and lisa's potato pancakes)
- Duck Breast Stuffed with Apples and Chestnuts and Roasted in Bacon (celery root puree and calvados sauce)
- Pan-Roasted Squab (hazelnut pancakes, grape and kumquat relish, foie gras sauce)
- Rabbit Two Ways (legs fried in a parmesan crust and roasted loins wrapped in Smithfield County "prosciutto," fava beans, English peas, and mint)


MEAT:

- Fennel-Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Porcini-Pork Sausage Wrapped in Pancetta (white and green beans with garlic confit, pork-porcini juc)
- Cider-Brined Berkshire Pork Loin Chop (bacon, pomegranate, and pistachio relish, shaved brussels sprouts, and cider jus)
- Lamb Porterhouse Chop Stuffed with Broccoli Rabe and Melted Garlic (potato risotto)
- Veal Chops Stuffed with Porcini Mushrooms and Asiago Cheese (roasted fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, sage, pancetta, and arugula)
- Veal, Veal, Veal (roasted tenderloin, veal osso buco, and veal cheek ravioli)
- Fire-Roasted Angus Beef Filet (sweet white corn and chanterelles, blue cheese fritters, and heirloom tomatoes)
- New York Strip Roasted in an Herbed Salt Crust (creamed morels with aged Madeira on Toast)
- "Steamship" Short Ribs Bourguignon
- New Year's Eve Venison Chop "Rossino": Venison, foie gras, toast, creamed spinach, truffle sauce, and shaved black truffled

DESSERTS:

- Whole-Apple Crisp (Rum raisin ice cream, cider caramel sauce)
- Chocolate Cherry Short (old fashioed vanilla ice cream and cherries jubilee)
- Majari Chocolate Truffle Tart with Salted Caramel Ice Cream
- White Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie
- Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Filling (candied walnut ice cream, cream cheese ice cream, carrot sorbet)
- Heather Hot's Lemon Meringue Icebox Cake
- Bittersweet Chocolate Cake (caramel corn ice cream and caramel sauce)
- Chocolate Temptation (chocolate panna cotta, chocolate toffee crunch)
- vanilla, vanilla, vanilla (creme brulee, bavarian timbale, ice cream sandwich)

In response to the negative reviews stating that it takes an army of chefs to execute the menues: It is true that completing an entire menu would be rather dounting, but as is mentioned in the introduction, just pick one, maybe two items from the menu and replace the rest with recipes that you are familiar and comfortable with. So far I have made the potato cakes (potato, watercress wraped in bacon). Absolutely marvelous with a grilled steak. The fingerling potatoes roasted with tomatoes, garlic and cream are sensational. Basic roast chicken is a great match. The cider brined pork chops also were very good. My next project will be the lamb chop stuffed with broccoli rabe

This book is not for novice cooks but wonderfully inspiring for a food writer/teacher. Any excuse to transit through San Francisco on our way from NZ to Chicago is eagerly pounced on . Yay, another meal at Boulevard.

I'd been to Boulevard a few times and loved the food there. I remembered seeing in a bookstore that they had a book. At the time I thought it was a bit daunting as there were a lot of steps. But I had the Alinea cookbook and cooked out of that since then and figured this would be much easier.

You can learn a lot from this book. Oakes does a good job of explaining each dish and its ingredients and how dishes kinda came together. It's pretty interesting.

Everything is well laid out. Each piece of each dish has it's own ingredient list and set of instructions then a plating portion. You could easily mix and match parts of the dishes or just take portions out for your own meals.

The ingredient list is not very hard to find. I don't live in a major city and could make many of the recipes. There is also a source list so you can find the ingredients you need that might not be available to your area (most are websites).

The only thing is, I feel the flavor profiles of this book do not match the food of Boulevard today. Obviously things change. I was there in the winter and spring of 2010. The book is from 2008 I believe which is the publish date which means most of the recipes are from 2007 and earlier. Not to say this is disappointing but their food has gotten even better in time. Just makes you want another book by Oakes.

This is a beautiful book for the coffee table but forget the kitchen unless you have a brigade of chefs. Most of the ingredients are special purchase not something you would have in your pantry. A cup of blood anyone?? And what the hell is "paradise" as in "a few grains of paradise". I can't even find that one in my dictionary of foods and cooking terms. I am an excellent cook with more than 40 years of cooking experience Thomas Kellers "The French Laundry" was workable, albeit complicated. A cup of blood anyone, I think I have 1 left after paying more than $35.00 plus $8.00 shipping for this book. (not from Amazon) Amazon I have learned my lesson I will write 500 times I will not buy books from any source other than Amazon and I will not pay shipping on purchases over $25.00 Thank You!!! However I will keep this book and frame it as a reminder never to purchase thru over priced cook book clubs. Membership now canceled.

I'll be brief: this lavishly-designed book is eye-candy, straight up. It is the quintessence of that lamentable recent breed of art-house "cook"books that are far better on the coffee table than on the kitchen counter. One overwrought, decorative, fussy recipe follows another in a titilating but ultimately boring succession of vanity shots. Basically, this book and its ilk are an extension of the interior decorating market: if you print it, they will come. Any experienced cook can glance through this book and instantly dismiss its recipes as outrageously unsuited to the domestic kitchen. Very silly indeed. But nice pix!!!

Wonderful tips, perspective and techniques. Definitely not for the beginner or a "semi-homemade" type of chef. Besides being an inspirational cookbook, it is also very nice on the coffee table ... lots of fun to page through. Written in a very honest, personal style. I love the glossary and tips on where to buy certain products. The only downside is that it is a little expensive and would be great to have a few more recipes.