Customer Reviews

At Home with the French Classics

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Note to the beginning French chef: begin here, not with Julia Child. In "At Home with the French Classics" author Richard Grausman presents a tutorial on French cooking that is both unified and accessible. It is unified in that the recipes all work together and make use of the same types of ingredients. It is accessible in that both the recipes and the techniques used to create them are described in an easy-to-follow manner that takes all the mystery out of French cooking. The book provides such a solid foundation to an everyday cuisine, that it could quite easily be the only cookbook you'd ever need. It will come as a relief to many readers of French cooking texts that there aren't any 'eye of newt' recipes - recipes that require you to search far and wide for some exotic ingredient. Grausman takes great pains to ensure that virtually everything you will ever need is available at your local supermarket. No trips to the gourmet store are required (though some might be desired!). For example, the brown stock essential for many red meat dishes is made from easy-to-find beef bones rather than the more traditional and exotic veal bones. And if you don't have time to make stock, Grausman presents canned equivalents along with the dilutions required for various name brands. Along with the recipes, the margins are filled with notes presenting a wealth of background information on tools and techniques. Grausman discusses which techniques are necessary and which are outdated holdovers from a different era. He frequently presents modern refinements to classic techniques that often make the recipes much easier to execute. He also respects modern dietary sensibilities by reducing or eliminating excessive butter, eggs, and cream whenever it is possible to do so without sacrificing essential flavors.

People who aim to be good cooks read and try things out. They learn about food traditions and classic dishes. They learn little tricks to make these dishes and experiment with variations. It takes quite a few years of reading and quite a few mistakes before people can call themselves fantastic cooks. I for one have often wished, when the sauce has curdled or the meat won't brown properly, that a chef would step into my kitchen and just show me how to get the desired result. Well, I found the next best thing when I acquired Richard Grausman's book "At Home With the French Classics". Reading this book is really like having someone talking to you in the kitchen. That's because it's written by a person who has tried every recipe several different ways and can give you little practical suggestions that really make sense. For making tart pastry, for example, he tells you how to go about it using the food processor as well as using the traditional hand method (which needs a little more water). And there is a panel of pencil drawings down the side of the page, to show you the different techniques, which is almost as good as looking over a French chef's shoulder. Often as I was reading, little surprises kept me saying: "Well, I never knew that!" I didn't know that you could bake chocolate mousse and end up with a cake - a moist, luscious chocolate cake that has no flour in it. I like the flavour and texture of Grausman's Gratin Dauphinois. That's because he soaks the fine potato slices in the milk they will be cooked in, rather than water, and so the final dish has a lovely, creamy, almost cheesy, finish. Food stains are the most telling things in cook books. My copy of "At Home With the French Classics" has food stains on the pages for Tarte Tatin, (upside down apple tart), Canard au cidre (duck with apples and cider), Marinated mushrooms (I spilled the tomato paste here!) and the courgettes Farcies, (zucchini stuffed with mushrooms and ham). That leaves hundreds of pages and hundreds of recipes to go before this comprehensive book is exhausted. By that time, I'll be completely at home with the French classics. I'll be a French chef in my own kitchen.

Move over Betty Crocker. Not just a cookbook, Richard Grausman's "At Home with the French Classics" contains interesting text and approachable recipes. Compared to others, my joy of cooking with Richard's cookbook is that his didactic style, honed by his years of teaching, offers detailed explanations, warnings of potential problems, and the step by step guidance of a well-marked trail.

Take his recipe for genoise. Before listing the ingredients, he recommends warming the eggs in hot water instead of beating them over heat. He also describes the classic French preprations and why his vary. Usually less butter or eggs for health concerns. Or just because he thinks his way is better. Less sugar if it's too sweet.

Many of his recipes contain a short list of ingredients and are easy to prepare. His chocolate mousse calls for chocolate, eggs, butter, and cream of tartar. That's it. And you'll enjoy reading about all the wonderful dishes that you can create with this versatile mousse.

I think Richard's book is a classic.

By far my favorite cookbook...the recipes are wonderful, easy to do, and what's really great are the extra tips which explain the reasons why (or why not) to do something!

I asked my mother, who lives in the US, to send me my first French cookbook (I live in Israel and the better foreign cookbooks are unavailable). She randomly selected At Home with the French Classics. It proved to be a stroke of luck. I had never had any contact with French food and this book opened my eyes to the varieties of things possible.

The book is clearly written, beautifully laid out and illustrated, and filled with brief explanations which go beyond the mechanics of preparing a specific dish. The dishes themselves are delicious and, considering its french food, reasonably health conscious. I particularly appreciate that the author lets you know what he has taken out of recipes to this end, so that those who like to live dangerously can add things back in.

One of the most important elements of the book is that it *teaches,* almost. If one has never made sauces, custards, etc., it is possible to learn without being intimidated.

The only drawback to the book is that since more effort is given to covering the breadth of French cuisine and to teaching technique, some sections have as few as 3 recipes in them. No matter, what's there is delicious and whomever chooses to go farther can find more sophisticated books.

I have dozens of cookbooks on my shelf but "French Classics" is always my "go to". From soup to dessert, the recipes are clearly written, easy to follow and mouth-watering. It assumes that the reader might want clear directions for a variety of culinary skills. The first time I brought home leeks I found them full of soil. Not to worry, on page 211, Mr. Grausman taught me how to clean them. What a relief to find that I was not the only person who might have found that a challenge. The Coq au Vin, fragrant and soul-satisfying, would be enough to recommend the cookbook but every page yields a happy new choice. Some take little time to prepare without detracting from their presentation, for instance, the elegantly simple Oranges au Champagne. Never patronizing or intmidating, Richard Grausman understands what is best in French cuisine and is willing to share its secrets. I think he understands me, too.

We have used this book for over twenty years. It was a gift to us from an Austrian cook while we were living in Europe. At that time we were just beginning to explore French cooking. It was one of our first volumes referencing traditional French cooking techniques and style. We have acquired numerous other French cook books since that time. Richard Grausman's book continues to be a signifigant point of reference for us about French recipes and his approach to cooking. Beginning with interest in a particular dish, we may consult an old Raymond Oliver cookbook, Julia Child's early and recent works, the Larousse cookbooks, Jacques Pepin's work, the Cordon Bleu cookbooks, The Culinary Institute of America's books, and others, but frequently refer to Grausman's distillation of a great amount of information and advice into a simpler manner and method of approach. Some of the advice is limited to the perspective of the time (first edition published in 1988). An updated editon would be welcomed by many of we loyal followers, but the techniques and style probably couldn't be more straight forward than in this cookbook. We continue to give this cookbook as wedding and housewarming gifts for beginning cooks and newly weds. This cookbook is like a Lonely Planet Guide might be to travel and adventure in the French kitchen. It cuts to the chase. There are libraries of more detailed and historically profound works, but Richard Grausman gets you on your way to sucessful French style dishes without delay. Do you want to get started and eat well or write a thesis?

Thirty years ago I took cooking classes with Richard Grausman. I was unable to boil water, but by the end of the week, I could make Profiteroles Au Chocolat, Souffle Au Grand Marnier, Mousse Au Chocolat, Poule Portugais and much more. As long as I did things exactly as he tought and demonstrated, my results came out perfect, every time. My career, however, kept me very busy and for the next several decades I had to leave the kitchen.

Now that I have some time, I was very excited to find Rick's book on the shelf. I turned to page 270 and made my favorite dessert, Profiteroles au Chocolat. The instructions and illustrations are so clear and so easy that, for the first time in over 25 years, I made perfect Profiteroles! Armed with this confidence I went on and made all of my favorites, and they came out to perfection. Here is a book filled with foolproof recipes.

Last night I made Chicken with Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Olives, Riz Pilaf and a Grand Marnier Souffle along with Salade Verte. It was so much fun watching my guests enjoy great food.

Step by step, word for word, illustration by illustration - this is a great book and I highly recommend it.

I took cooking classes with Richard Grausman many years ago when he was the sole American representative of the prestigious Cordon Bleu school in France, and I was thrilled to find this cookbook. So were my family and friends! Grausman is intelligent, talented, gives valuable background information, and - best of all - the dishes come out perfectly. Traditional French dishes - with attention to ease of preparation and healthful food choices. The most used cookbook I own.

I lucked on to this book more than 20 years ago and have made delicious meals from it ever since. The dishes are mostly classics with a few fun surprises added to make it fresh and interesting. The steps are intelligently pared down so that the results taste as they should with a minimum of effort. (Often you're given the option of skipping steps or ingredients.) One reviewer mentioned context, and I agree--the suggestions for side-dish and wine pairings are helpful when planning a meal.

I have a number of other books on French food but if I only had one, it would be "At Home with the French Classics." The others are not as clearly written, contain too many unappealing recipes, ask more than reasonable effort, or dumb things down too much. Grausman gives you maximum results for an amount of effort suitable for foodies who have real lives and need to be efficient. If you want to make wonderful French food for yourself and guests, buy this book. It's the only one you'll ever need.