France: The Beautiful Cookbook (Hardcover)

~ Scotto Sisters (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though at first glance too luscious for the pots, pans and grease stains of the kitchen, this opulently illustrated oversize volume--travel book as much as recipe collection--can function there admirably, seducing the hungry and the restless. The latest in the publisher's series of regional cookbooks (others on Italy, China and Asia have preceded it), it will keep readers turning pages even if they never pick up a saucepan. Chapters alternate between discussing the different regions of France and offering a good selection of traditional recipes. French-born authors and cooks Marianne Comolli, Elisabeth Scotto and Michele Carles reflect on the history and geography of France with appetizers from Provence, entrees from Lyonnais and desserts from Anjou. This is hearty, not haute , cuisine: well-organized recipes are scaled for the average cook, who won't have to go in search of rare ingredients or spend hours chopping and mincing. Les soeurs Scotto make use of blenders and food processors when needed.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The fourth title in this series, following last year's widely popular Italy the Beautiful Cookbook (Knapp, 1988), is quite similar to Robert Freson's The Taste of France (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1983). Both explore the various regions of the country, both are lavishly illustrated with full-page color photographs, and both provide recipes for traditional specialties from the areas they depict. The authors are well-known French food writers, but it is the photographs that stand out. A lovely book for those who can afford it.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Beautiful Cookbooks (October 18, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0002154129
• ISBN-13: 978-0002154123
• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 10.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #355,629 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #15 in	Books > Travel > Asia > Pakistan
  #31 in	Books > Travel > Asia > Afghanistan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Recipies for the French Food Lover!, March 5, 1999

By A Customer

This cookbook is the best one I've seen! It's comprehensive selection of food covers all styles of French food and offers a wide variety of tastes that suit even the most selective of appetites! Easy to follow recipies combined with the outstanding photographs make this a truly enjoyable book to own and use.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Cookbook Ever, December 16, 2002

By	Jeff Balch (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This is easily the greatest French cookbook I've ever seen and one of the best cookbooks overall. I've been to France many times and the same food is in this cookbook as is in France. The recipes are easy to understand, the food is great, and the photographs just make you more and more hungry. I am a 16 year old boy who has a hard time cooking and filling myself, but this cookbook remedies both of these problems. The meals are simple, yet elegant, not to mention delicious, filling, and scrumptious. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cooking and would like cooking to become a passion.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Armchair: 5. Recipes: 4., January 11, 2006

By	Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I got this book on a closeout at my local bookstore, and at that low price the book is wonderful. I'd be a little less thrilled if I paid full-price... but only a little.

I would guess that most "...The Beautiful" books are probably purchased for their coffee table appeal. This is a large format book (12"x18"), with stunning photos of different areas of France and of the food (there's generally one picture of the finished dish for every two recipes). If you want a book to inspire you to travel to France or to go out to eat at a French restaurant, or if you are searching for an impressive and pretty gift, this is a no-brainer. It's gorgeous.

The recipes are very good, too, but I'm tempted to say that they're almost beside the point. There are 240 recipes, divided in menu-like sections (first courses, fish and shellfish, poultry and game, etc.) rather than regionaly. Each recipe is marked with the region it comes from, so you know that the mussels in cream is from Normandy and the veal rolls (paupiettes) are from Provence. There's also a couple of pages, with photos, describing each region. Nicely done.

I'm not knowledgeable enough about French cooking to speak to the authenticity of the recipes, but none of them were jarring. Most of the dishes are kept on the simple side (I get the feeling that the "real" version might require a few more hours in the kitchen), and they do have interesting, if short, introductions. The intro for cassoulet, for instance, gives a little history of this well-known dish, and mentions regional variations ("Toulouse adds Toulouse sausage, leg of lamb and confit"). You'll find the usual suspects of French cuisine; 240 dishes is a bunch, but far from exhaustive.

Most of the recipes are, as I said, very good. Their recipe for sole meuniere matches the one I use, and I have my eye on their recipe for beef braised with Calvados.

However, the book does show that it was written in 1989, when it was difficult to find some "exotic" ingredients. The recipe for chaoucroute (saurkraut with pork and sausage) calls for, among other things, a smoked kielbasa, and 6 Strasbourg sausages or frankfurters. David Rosengarten's _Taste_ has a whole chapter devoted to charcoute (which led me to spend my sole evening in Paris at a restaurant for which it's the specialty -- maybe I'll send him the bill), and it's obvious that these are gringo subsitutions. Kielbasa, maybe; frankfurters, no way. (Oddly, though, they don't shy away from dishes made with venison or rabbit, which I find much harder to find.)

As someone else mentioned, the desserts chapter feels short; there's about 20 recipes here, and I think most of us would assume that the French pastry section would be far larger.

Overall, this is a fine book -- particularly for inspiration purposes. If you can get it at a good price, grab it.