Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook [Hardcover]

Nicole Routhier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 1996

At last it's here, a definitive cookbook starring fruit from one of America's most popular food writers, Nicole Routhier. Author of The Foods of Vietnam--awarded the Cookbook of the Year in 1990 from both the James Beard Awards and the IACP--Ms. Routhier has had a love affair with fruit since growing up in the tropics, and now she combines her passion for fruit with her culinary gifts to create 400 recipes of fruit magic. Borrowing from cuisines around the world, reinventing traditions, and adding a twist to classic pairings, Nicole Routhier presents dishes with fruits for every course. In each case her use of fruit--sweet or tart--adds an unexpected depth of flavor; a cleaner, fresher taste; and a festive, sensuous appeal. There are fruit and fruit-influenced starters: Steamed Shrimp with Roasted Pepper and Apple Dip and Fruity Bruschetta. Soups: Mexican Lime Soup, Cream of Fennel and Pear Soup. Salads: Sicilian Orange Salad, Tropical Lobster Salad. Entrees: Pepper Steak with Plum Ketchup, Braised Cranberry Pork Chops, Lemon Chicken. And of course, desserts: Sour Cherry Pie, Blackberry-Lime Parfaits, Best Raspberry Brownies. In addition, there are beverages, preserves, and chutneys; plus how to buy and store fresh fruits; boxes on exotic fruits; and suggestions for substituting one fruit for another or dried, frozen, or canned fruits for fresh.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Routhier (The Foods of Vietnam and Cooking Under Wraps) is a generous cookbook author. This outstanding compendium of dishes with fruit is not only packed with interesting, flavorful recipes, but sidebars and tips?on everything from best-taste combinations for a fruit-and-cheese board to working with chocolate? could almost stand alone as a second book. And all this guidance comes without clutter or filler. Drawn from many cultures, even the traditional recipes take an innovative edge. Rosy Baba Ghanoush is perked up with pomegranate juice and seeds. Shiitake mushrooms float atop Mom's Green Papaya Soup ("the Asian equivalent of Jewish chicken soup"); in Fruited Noodle Pudding, white wine and beaten egg whites stand in for sour cream. Routhier often brings tastes together in new combinations like Steak Salad with Blackberries, Grilled Tuna Steaks with Strawberry Salsa, and Iced Apple Tea with Apricots. Other recipes introduce unusual ingredients and/or techniques (always with meticulous instructions) such as Veal Scaloppine with Grapefruit, Festive Cactus Pear and Wine Jelly, and Tea-Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Tangerine Glaze. American cooks, many of whom are just learning how to make the most of vegetables, are well served by Routhier's authoritative guide to the unfrequented culinary world of fruits.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Here are 400-plus recipes using fruit in more ways than most cooks might think imaginable, from Roasted Pepper and Apple Dip to Lemon-Lime Spaghetti to Gratin of Red and Black Berries. Routhier is author of the acclaimed The Foods of Vietnam (Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, 1989) and a cooking teacher in New York City. The wide-ranging recipes reflect her Vietnamese-French heritage and her interest in a variety of cuisines. Some of the recipes are intriguing, others seem a bit contrived (Grilled Banana Pizza?), but the author's enthusiasm is contagious, and there are certainly lots of imaginative ideas here. Elizabeth Riely's A Feast of Fruits (LJ 6/15/93) and Rolce Payne and Dorrit Senior's Cooking with Fruit (LJ 3/15/92) provide more basic information on selection, storage, and so forth, but neither can match the number or diversity of Routhier's recipes. For most collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 7, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761105069
• ISBN-13: 978-0761105060
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,117,663 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars great recipes and a great read, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook (Paperback)

I fell in love with Nicole Routhier's book about three years ago, and I've been cooking from it ever since. I really enjoy using fruit in main dish recipes, and had never before been exposed to some of the ideas she presents. Some of my tried-and-true favorites are Curried Chicken Salad with Rice, Roasted Pork Chops with Grape Sauce (unbelievable!), Cracked Wheat Salad with Grapes and Pecans, Banana Muffins, Coconut Chicken, and Scallop Curry with Thai Flavors--the best ever!!--in which I followed her suggestion for substituting chicken. That's the thing; sometimes she does incorporate hard-to-find fruit (and other ingredients) in her recipes, but she always suggests substitutions that are totally accessible, like apples, bananas, and lime zest instead of Kaffir lime leaves, which I have yet to find in Arkansas. I highly recommend this book if you're into slightly sweetened entrees, and if you're trying to increase your three to five servings a day. Oh, and check out the chapter devoted to ice creams and sorbets. I bought a new ice cream maker because of it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fruit for breakfast lunch and dinner, June 2, 2004

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook (Paperback)

With nearly 500 pages of sweet and savory international recipes, with shopping and storing advice, descriptions of more exotic fruits, numerous tips for taste combinations, and a chart showing months of availability and peak seasons, this is a valuable volume for any fruit lover.

Author of the award-winning "The Foods of Vietnam," Routhier organizes this imaginative book by course. Starters include Raspberry-glazed Chicken Wings and Tex Mex Mussels with pineapple, tomato, cilantro salsa. The soups will interest more adventurous cooks (Mexican Lime; Clam Chowder made with pineapple juice and coconut milk). First course and main dish salads include Smoked Trout and Pear, two kinds of carrot salad, Scallops with Cantaloupe and Cucumber.

The Pasta & Grains chapter features Couscous with Dried Fruit and a kugel with apples and raisins. For sides try Baked Acorn Squash with Peach Butter, or Braised Red Cabbage with apples and raspberry vinegar.

For main courses there are Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Peaches or Grilled Chicken with Nectarine-Tomato Salsa, Orange-Glazed Flank Steaks or Braised Cranberry Pork Chops. There are desserts, of course, Raspberry Rhubarb Pie; Peach Cobbler, Three-Fruit Terrine with Banana Sauce.

Routhier also includes chapters of drinks and smoothies: (Raspberry Cooler, Strawberry Iced Tea), sorbets and ice creams, breakfasts (Sausage and Orange Marmalade Omelets, Cranberry Apple Corncakes, toast spreads like raspberry butter and blueberry-walnut spread) breads (Blueberry Banana Muffins, Strawberry Lemon Bread) and pantry items (Cherry Jam, Spiced Apricot Chutney, Fresh Plum Sauce, Blueberry Vinegar).

This is a comprehensive, informative guide to using fruits the year round and should be a must for any cook's well-stocked bookshelf.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely superb, a must for your kitchen!, March 19, 2004

By 

ANT "azraelart" (Crofton, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook (Hardcover)

A friend of mine was buying this particular book for another friend as a Christmas gift. He was asking my advice, since I do far more around the kitchen than he; was it a good enough book for a fellow kitchen-dweller? Well, after a brief examination and a flip-through, I gave him the okay and snuck off to buy a copy for myself! What an incredible book!

For those of you who are visually inclined, the bad news is, there are no pictures in this book. However, that is greatly outweighed by the sheer amount of recipes, tips, and useful information. There are notes about fruits (obviously) and many more about non-fruit foods (not quite so obvious). For example, in the meats section, there is a great tip on cooking and preparing pork products.

The recipes range from original and well-found, to the similar and familiar, to the exotic and delightful, and of course the stand-by fruit recipes that are so essential (i.e. jams, jellies, spreads, and the like).

If you are a kitchen-dweller, too, or know someone who loves to cook, with or without fruit, this is a must-have. Oh, let's be serious, this book is a must-have for any kitchen. Make no mistake, this book is loaded with facts and incredible recipes, some that will do in a pinch for quick dinners, some that can assist in preparing that Sunday feast. A superior buy and a necessary addition to any kitchen library!