Customer Reviews

Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way

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

 

 

Jacques Pepin returns in a 3 DVD disc set that is a visual companion to his book of the same name, both a sequel to the original series Fast Food My Way. In a way, the Fast Food series are a testament to a long distinguished career, showcasing how all those years and experience can culminate in the most difficult frontier for any master in his craft: simplicity.

8 Episodes per disc, each beginning with an idea for a quick, throw-together dish appetizer ("minute" recipes), a warm welcome from Jacques and a 30 minute episode comprising of a 1st course, a main dish, and a dessert. Wine pairings are also gently suggested, with type and region noted.

Each show features combinations that are presented as menus at the end of book equivalent. Knowing how to match dishes to compliment the palette is, in itself, an art form.

The recipes have an international expanse (although onion, garlic, "good" olive oil, chives, parsley, and sour cream seem to be the recurring staples), ranging from seafood Paella (tried this recipe: delicious!) to baked lobster loafs using hot dog rolls, sauteed mustard greens with spicy Italian sausage, New England style chowder, middle eastern coucous with veggies, pork medallions in pomegranate sauce, tibetan bread (ready in 15 minutes!) shrimp with cabbage and caviar, almond paste Mont Blanc and Salmon Pizza on lavash bread, and my favorite one, potato gnocchi with eggs and truffles. There is also some simple but surprisingly elegant looking desserts that will sure be a delight to guests, ranging from apricot clafoutis to cherries in Armagnac sauce, and a fancy raspberry tart on cookie dough. Daughter Claudine joins him for a few episodes, providing light banter and added familial warmth. You can get a taste of the menu of this 3 dvd set by having a peek at KQED's website's Pepin page.

The basis of Pepin's "Fast Food" is the edict that you should look at your supermarket as your prep cook. "Make your supermarket work for you!" So whether it be something as obvious as rotisserie chicken (you make the sauce), cream cheese, prepacked salmon, canned caviar, seedless raspberry preserves, or the controversial truffle oil (which Pepin wisely hints, only contains the "essence" of truffles), jarred alcaparrado, pre-cut lobster tails, salsa, you will wisely cut down on your time by using one or two bought, pre-made items. Also, it helps to pre-prepare some of the ingredients to your fast food, whether it be pre-cut, pre-rinsed onions (to rid it of sulfuric acid), chicken stock, or lamb stew cubes.

Keep in mind however, that a big contributing factor to the "fast" in Pepin's fast food is the instructor himself. Head chef to France's president de Gaulle, resume entries from Howard Johnson to the Russian Tea Room, departmental dean of New York's French culinary institute, and cooking professionally for over 60 years, this is also the man who can famously remove every bone from a chicken with merely a slash..AND keep the whole chicken intact... in 20 seconds. As long as you understand this, you won't feel set back when you have to account for just a tad little additional time in the preparation of Pepin's "Fast Foods." Still, consider the time well-spent, because you will definitely be able to dazzle your guests in both taste and presentation. An added treat is seeing some of his complete techniques being demonstrated in practice.

Now, a little about Pepin's personality. All great artists train us not only to enjoy beauty in life, but also to find new ways of seeing beauty in our surroundings. Pepin's Masters degree in French poetry certainly contributes to his delight when he comments on the beauty of pieces of vegetables and fruits or his crystalline observation that "the recipe is only the expression of the moment," a comment that instantly aligns cooking with jazz improvisation. His eye for proportion and balance in composition is evident even down to the way he tops a tomato with a garnish or cuts a skirt steak to show you the insides: it's almost painting with food. Yet his instructions are casual and his gentle resonant voice is warm and inviting. Pepin sips coffee or wine at the beginning or end of the shows, adding to the welcoming atmosphere. At one point, you can even hear the film crew chuckling when he winks at the camera and says, "don't tell the guest I ate half his egg."

You may be able to watch some of these shows online. But with the dvds' crisp sound quality (the sizzle of a sautee, the knock of knife on chopping block, and of course the instructor's voice) and excellent resolution and definition, the sensual and beautiful pleasures of cooking is a delightful gift from Jacques Pepin and his way.

Ah, Jacques Pepin....master of all things cooking. This series is wonderful in it's simplicity. You'll learn the basics of paring an apple, spatchcocking a chicken and to really make a great hollindaise. Pepin is featured in a simple kitchen with minimal distractions. He doesn't talk much about anything but the food he's preparing. (nice change from some of the "gabby" chefs of today). Very good on basic technique and simple food prepration. When you get the box, you'll think it's small but there are 13 hours worth on 3 DVDs.

This is a great DVD of Jacques continuing series on PBS - Fast Food My Way. In this series you get simple recipes that have that gourmet WOW factor. The receips are easy to prepare, make a great presentation and taste delicious. Mini Savory Cheescakes and Scrod (fish) Packages are favorites. If you can buy the cookbook and DVD of the series together you will really enjoy both.

If you liked the first Fast Food My Series, this certainly won't let you down. Especially since, for some unknown reason, this entire 3-disc series costs 1/3 as much as first series. Additionally, the annoying audio problem that was present on the DVD's of the first series has thankfully been fixed. This is all good news.

Other good news is that there are a whole new set of recipes here that you're going to be able to work into every day life. To be honest, the first time I watched this series I wasn't terribly impressed - I didn't think it was going to stand up to the original. But upon second viewing I wondered what I was thinking. There's a lot of simple dishes here that prepare really well. So far I've successfully done the mustard crust chicken, the cod with an olive & tomato crust, the instant Tibetan flatbread, the stuffed pork tenderloin with tomatoes, the pork medallions with pomegranate reduction, the broccoli stem risotto, the corn parfait, and a couple of the fruit desserts (there are about 9,000 of these) and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head. I've yet to have a recipe that was a loser, and honestly these are pretty easy. (Yes, you have to make some adjustments to cooking times, liquid levels, etc. depending on your ingredients/stove/etc., but nothing that wouldn't be expected when dealing with any cookbook.)

So why'd I dock this a star? Well, a couple of things: First, 1/3 of this book is desserts. Really nice, easy desserts that involve a lot of fruit and fruit preserves. These are good recipes! But the problem is that they pushed out other dishes like soups and salads in order to fit a dessert into EVERY episode. (Pepin himself says he rarely eats dessert at home!) So while I like the dessert recipes that are here, there are almost no soups or salads compared to the last series. I'd find soups & salads much more useful on an every day basis. My other issue has to do with some of the recipes seeming a bit mailed in: Microwaved bacon with maple syrup on it immediately comes to mind. Granted, this is one of the shows introductory 30 second recipes, but it just feels... I don't know... cheap. But it must be said that good recipes far outweigh these, so don't be put off by this. Also don't let that fool you into thinking this is a bunch of microwaved food - this is real cooking.

Overall this is another great series from Jacques and KQED, and would do wonders for someone who is new to cooking, or someone who just wants to add a few more simple but *good* recipes to their everyday repertoire. And if you're going to get this, you'd might as well spring for the companion book as well, so you can have everything down in writing to take with you to the market. (The nice thing is after you do a lot of these recipes, you realize you can do them again from memory without worrying too much about specific proportions/measurements. That's when you can start lending the book to all your friends!)

So four stars compared to the first Fast Food My Way, and about a million stars compared to any other cooking shows currently on-air. Check it out.

I want Jacques to be my Dad. I would love to cook with him in his kitchen, but this is the next best thing. He is charming, smart and a master in the kitchen. His techniques make cooking great food fast and fun. Elegance, variety, excellent food. The best cooking series I have ever seen. Thank you, Jacques! The book and the video series are a must go-together pair.

Jacques Pepin's 'More Fast Food My Way' is loaded with all sorts of delightful techniques and treats-13 hours worth! He teaches the basics along with many quick food tricks that are just awesome in their simplicity and elegance- a great combo for any cook, aspiring or experienced. This 3 Disc Set is chock full of many interesting and informative demonstrations, includiing the proper use of some equipment, by a true Master Chef and Instructor at his best. He is friendly and kind and not one bit aristocratic in his manner or attitude, putting his viewers at ease and instilling confidence. His love for food and fine cooking shine throughout.
My only reason for not giving it a 5 star review is that the Dics do not have a "Play ALL" feature. One can by-pass the commercials at the beginning of each segment by using your player's "fast -forward".
All in all - this is a whole lot of what Jacques Pepin is known for- Fast and Happy Cooking!

Fantastic cooking as one would expect from Monsieur Pepin. However, the commercials throughout are obnoxious, and disappointing given the price of this item. At the beginning of each episode, Jaques' shameless use of the sponsor's food processor cheapens his performance considerably. Tant pis!

I have always enjoy Jacques Pepin cooking. I was very annoyed to discover that there were so much commercial ads content present in this video. I pay for this in full and there is no subsidy by commercial company so why do I have to force watch commercials in it is beyond me.

Apart from that I love the simplicity of Pepin's recipe. Easy to follow recipe is the best and this dvd has many. I will enjoy better minus the commercials.