`Braise' by leading New York restauranteur and chef, Daniel Boulud and leading culinary writer for hire, Melissa Clark is high on my list of books I look forward to reviewing for both the authors' track records and the importance and value of the subject. The fact that another recent book, `All About Braising' by Molly Stevens covers the identical territory makes reviewing this book even easier than usual for a book by someone of Boulud's stature.
The very first observation I must make about Boulud's book is that Stevens' book contradicts the comments on Boulud's back jacket which suggest Boulud and Clark have written the last word on the subject, as there are many things about Stevens' book which make it a superior first book on braising, and even give one grounds for passing on Boulud's book, if money or bookshelf space is tight.
Being simpleminded, I first check the size and recipe count of the two books. While Boulud / Clark has 228 pages, Stevens weighs in at 480 pages, over twice as much for a similar list price. Another simpleminded comparison shows that while Boulud / Clark give us nine (9) pages of introductory material on braising technique, Stevens gives us 33 pages, including some superb illustrations of the variety of braising pots. Boulud / Clark speaks about these briefly, but offers little illumination on the great range of pots used for braising. They say enough, but certainly don't cover the field thoroughly. And, in the appendices on sources, while Boulud / Clark give us only sources for their wide range of ingredients, Stevens also gives us sources for braising cookery such as Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma, Lodge Cookware, and Big Tray. I am surprised she doesn't give a reference to Le Creuset.
I am very happy that both authors use a very simple `by principle ingredient' table of contents and I am doubly happy that both authors list the titles of all recipes in their tables of contents. If I were to choose one over the other, I like Stevens' breakdown of chapters for four meats, Beef, Veal, Pork, and Lamb over Boulud's one chapter on `Meat'. The only area in which Boulud and Stevens don't cover exactly the same territory is in Boulud's final chapter on braising fruits with nine (9) recipes. Stevens includes no fruit recipes.
On the other hand, on every other subject, Stevens has over twice as many recipes as Boulud / Clark. For example, Stevens has 34 recipes for vegetables while Boulud / Clark has but 13. And yet, even though both authors focus on the same few vegetables such as eggplant, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli rabe, and other members of the cabbage family, there seems to be practically no overlap in recipe names. Stevens does give us a lot more on white potatoes, however, Boulud does give us the insight that sweet potatoes work well with a much different range of spices (especially citrus and the cookie spices) than do white potatoes.
Of the recipe writing style in the two different books, there are some important differences in Stevens' favor. The first is that she gives the braising time for each recipe. The second is that her numbered recipe steps highlight the point of each step, making it easier to mentally tick off where you are in the recipe. The third is that Stevens gives several more variations, albeit relatively small variations in recipes, than does Boulud / Clark. Both writers (and in this area I think we are primarily reading Melissa Clark) give us very nice sidebars on technique and ingredients. As Boulud has a wider range of ingredients, his asides in this area are more interesting.
On the use of color photographs, both use the `economical' option of special `rotogravure' sections scattered throughout the book where all the color pics appear. If color pictures are important to you, this may be a nuisance, but both books are the same, and I think the quality of the photography is the same in both books.
Now we get to those areas where Boulud / Clark has something special to offer.
The first thing we encounter is Boulud's characterization of the book as a collection of International recipes. Braising has often been described as THE distinctive French technique, just as stir-frying is THE distinctive Chinese method of cooking. But, Frenchman Boulud pulls in techniques from around the world and adapts them to his own style.
Thus, the second distinctive aspect of the book is that unlike Stevens' recipes, almost all the recipes in this book are Boulud originals. While every recipe may have started somewhere else, he has made them all his own by some change or other.
A third distinction is that Boulud tends to use a wider range of ingredients than Stevens. Now I encountered absolutely nothing in Boulud's recipes which I have not seen a dozen times before, but you will definitely need a bigger pantry if you start making Boulud's dishes. One ingredient I am especially happy to see (and which seems to be a Boulud favorite) is chestnuts.
The fourth and most important aspect of Boulud's book that sets it apart is the fact that his recipes may generally be considered more `artisinal'. What that means is that on average they can be more complicated and take more time and more effort to prepare. This is not a bad thing, if you really want to make a big impression.
The fifth distinction one finds in Boulud / Clark is the excellent photographic tutorials you get for the techniques of some of the more distinctly artisinal dishes. My favorite is the stuffed cabbage with pork and chestnuts, which requires no less than twelve (12) pictures to fully illuminate the method for assembling the dish.
If you like distinctive dishes and ingredients, Boulud is your man. If you are a foodie cookbook collector, you need both books. If you prefer simpler, easier dishes, definitely get Stevens first.
