Cuisine Rapide (Illustrated) [Hardcover]

Pierre Franey (Author), Bryan Miller (Author), Lauren Jarrett (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 1989

        Now available in paperback for the first time, Cuisine Rapide is the respected "60-Minute Gourmet" columnist's breakthrough volume on making good food fast. Working with Bryan Miller, Pierre Franey devised more than 250 brilliant recipes combining the best of French country cooking with contemporary flavors and favorite American ingredients for marvelous meals that are easy to prepare, elegant, and healthful. All of the dishes in this superb cookbook -- from hot appetizers to cold soufflés -- can be made in less than an hour. Provençal Seafood Stew, Peppered Salmon with Onion Compote, Duck Braised in Red Wine and Thyme, Pork Chops Basque Style, Corn and Pepper Fritters, Ziti with Prosciutto and Tomato Sauce, and Bittersweet Chocolate and Cherry Soufflé are just a few examples of Franey's stylish and flavorful fare.

With clear instructions, helpful sidebars, and sixty-five line drawings illustrating special cooking techniques such as boning a leg of lamb and trimming an artichoke, this groundbreaking book continues to set the standard for fast and delicious cooking.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this age of micro-minute menus, Franey ( The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet ) and Miller's ( The New York Times Guide to Restaurants in New York City ) recipes for "quick" couscous, pot-au-feu "a la minute" and other hearty meals requiring about an hour of preparation time are not uniformly fast. In fact, "cuisine rapide" combines Franey's impeccable classical French technique with the broad range of American ingredients, not always heeding time (boeuf bourguignon cooks for hours). Quicker though not always simpler recipes range from hamburgers with goat cheese to sauteed pheasant with herbs. Time-consuming, complicated, elegant ravioli formed with untraditional wonton wrappers embodies the melding of international and American flavors and methods. Desserts are light and classically French (Grand Marnier souffle), except for the more experimentally flavored sorbets (e.g., pear and passion fruit). A companion volume for a new television series, the book and its recipes are precisely written, including diagrams detailing operations such as trussing a chicken. Illustrations not seen by PW. HomeStyle Book Club main selection ; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The latest from "the 60-Minute Gourmet," this one to accompany Franey's new year-long PBS series. The recipes, arranged by course, are designed for streamlined cooking, from simple dishes like Hamburgers with Garlic/Shallot Butter to an elegant Pheasant in Beaujolais Sauce. Clear line drawings of cooking techniques are scattered throughout the text. Sure to be in demand. Homestyle main selection, BOMC alternate.-- JS
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Times Books; 1st edition (March 25, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812917464
• ISBN-13: 978-0812917468
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #649,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite cookbook, December 8, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Cupertino, Ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cuisine Rapide (Illustrated) (Hardcover)

I love this book, and I'm about to order one for my daughter. I've used the book for over five years and have tried about half the recipes. All are consistently good and are quick and fairly simple.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Author on his Adopted Speciality, November 12, 2003

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cuisine Rapide (Illustrated) (Hardcover)

There is something droll about seeing Pierre Franey, the former executive chef of La Pavillion, classically trained French native doing books of quick cooking. It suddenly started making sense to me when I read that Franey was employed as the head of the Howard Johnson's research and development kitchen in the 60's before going to his gig as a culinary columnist for the New York Times. The credentials of this chef, along with my interest in preparing good food quickly lead me to buy this book shortly after it was published in 1989.

Franey is especially qualified to write recipes with this slant due to his long service at the New York Times column devoted to quick cooking.

Like some modern writers on fast cooking such as Rachael Ray, I believe Franey does alter classic recipes such as pot a feu to get them done faster, but mostly selects those recipes which can be done in less time. There are some exceptions to this such as Pierre's recipe for Chile con carne, typically a long cooking dish. I have prepared this chile many times over the last 12 years and at one time I thought it was very good. Now, after being exposed to some of the more authentic, classic southwestern recipes, I find Pierre's recipe merely a good expedient. Pierre also does not limit himself to the cuisines of western Europe

On the other side of the coin, I find that this book contains many bonus features on techniques which one would not expect to find in a book with this slant. For example, it covers the always challanging method for dealing with an artichoke and a method for charring the skin of a sweet pepper.

This is a very good book for the novice, occasional cook, as it was for me when I first purchased it. The only warning I have is that being short does not always mean easy. A novice cook may find himself challanged by some of the preparations and find yourself taking much longer than an experienced chef.

If you are a serious foodie who dotes on Paula Wolfert and Diana Kennedy, you can skip this volume.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars cuisine rapide, November 13, 2008

By 

Clarice Feldman (washington DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cuisine Rapide (Illustrated) (Hardcover)

I have two copies of this book already. One at home and one at our vacation place. This is a gift. I own many dozens of cookbooks. This is one of my favorites for quickly prepared delicious food made of ingredients easy to find in any urban area . When we used to rent a home in France in the summers, I used to keep a copy there, too. It's an exceedingly useful addition to anyone's kitchen library.