The Fireside Cook Book: A Complete Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert [Hardcover]

James Beard (Author), Alice Provensen (Illustrator), Martin Provensen (Illustrator), Mark Bittman (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2008

The Fireside Cook Book is designed for people who are not content to regard food just as something one transfers periodically from plate to mouth. It is for those who recognize that a simple family meal (as well as a dress-up dinner party) can be a pleasure and a special event.

The wide variety of I-can't-wait-to-try-it dishes in the book are presented according to a new and different theory. You will find here no attempt to overwhelm the cook with all the recipes ever concocted. Instead, you will find clear, easy-to-follow instructions for the basic preparation of every food, followed in each case by fascinating variations. The basic recipes and variations add up to 1,217 tested dishes -- simple enough for the novice, delicious enough for the most meticulous master chef, complete enough for the most imaginative menus without a repetition.

A detailed chapter is devoted to the art of outdoor cookery, another to the preparation of hors d'oeuvres, cocktail snacks, and supper snacks. There is an entire section of suggested menus subdivided into cold weather meals and summer doldrum hints. There is also a complete section on wines and liquors.

The 36 full-color pictures and the nearly 400 other color pictures are themselves full of helpful invention. Handsome double-page spreads employ visual-aid methods to give practical details about, and special uses of, cuts of meat, varieties of wine, and types of fish.

Here, in short, is a book that is an indispensable addition to every American home in which good food is appreciated. It is a book to use constantly, to pore over with delight, and give to all friends from whom you can reasonably expect a future dinner invitation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Beard had a national reputation as an authority on every phase of food. Consultant to a wine and spirits establishment, he wrote seventy-six other books and numerous articles for national magazines on widely varied phases of cooking. Mr. Beard, who knew the cooking of every corner of our country, cooked in nearly every language. He lived abroad, traveled throughout Europe a number of times, saw most of the Western Hemisphere, and visited Hawaii and North Africa. His familiarity with exotic foreign foods spiced his extensive knowledge of American cooking at its best.

Mr. Beard was adviser to several large food companies, was food editor of Argosy magazine, and made many appearances on radio and television. His first three books are Hors d'Oeuvres and Canapes, Cook It Outdoors, and Fowl and Game Cookery. Equally at home in the kitchen of his own New York apartment and that of a hotel, James Beard brought the same sure touch to a half-hour supper as he did to the most elaborate buffet. He died in 1985.

Alice Provensen collaborated with her late husband, Martin, on numerous highly acclaimed picture books, including the Caldecott Medal-winning The Glorious Flight and Nancy Willard's Newbery Medal-winning A Visit to William Blake's Inn, which was also a Caldecott Honor Book. The Provensens have been on the New York Times list of the Ten Best Illustrated Books eight times. Alice lives in Staatsburg, New York, on Maple Hill Farm.

Mark Bittman is the author of Food Matters, How to Cook Everything and other cookbooks, and of the weekly New York Times column, The Minimalist. His work has appeared in countless newspapers and magazines, and he is a regular on the Today show. Mr. Bittman has hosted two public television series and has appeared in a third.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Anv Col edition (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416589678
• ISBN-13: 978-1416589679
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beard's Beginnings, January 1, 2009

By 

Channon Coats "channoncoats" (Yuba City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fireside Cook Book: A Complete Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert (Hardcover)

Okay, folks, the message here is clear and completely Beard. If you don't get it by now, starting at James' beginning may not help. The recipes are dated, yet some are so classic, we just need to be reminded how much fun tradition CAN be. However, if you don't get his theme - always use the freshest, highest quality in season ingredients to get outstanding results, don't waste your time and money on this nostalgic trip. If you admire the man, his message and your memories, get the book and just read it for the historical pleasure, but beware, his siren song is seductive and the techniques are too easy and clearly written to pass by without a try. Is this book necessary in your library? Perhaps not, but it IS fun, quite well-written and worth the perusal as an homage to a simpler time of entertaining in the earlier 1950's.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, November 18, 2008

By 

sullivan "loves art" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fireside Cook Book: A Complete Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert (Hardcover)

In my opinion this is one of the greatest cookbooks out there. What I especially love is the quirky illustrations that go along with the recipes. The cover opens up to a 4 panel chart which is also great!

This would make a great gift for anyone who enjoys food and/or art.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still relevant today, and lots of fun, too!, March 18, 2009

By 

Avid Reader (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fireside Cook Book: A Complete Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert (Hardcover)

I found this masterpiece in my local bookstore today and could not pass it up. The recipes look like lots of fun; the illustrations are lively, amusing, beguiling and perfect companions to James Beard's straight forward, down-to-earth presentation. The book itself, originally published in 1949, serves as a time-capsule full of insights into both yesterday and today's culinary worlds. As an added bonus, tonight I discovered that the book jacket is folded double and opens up into a large poster of farm/food/tidbits! I've never seen that before! The un-jacketed book looks lovely with artwork from the illustrators on the cover. This is a delightful, interesting, and absolutely useful book.