At Home with the French Classics (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If you are cowed by puff pastry, souffles and things sauteed, Grausman's book will help you conquer your awe of French cooking. His title reflects his aim: to make classic French recipes and techniques approachable for the average cook. With more than 20 years of experience as a teacher in this country of the Cordon Bleu technique, Grausman knows the classic dishes inside out but favors the exercise of independent judgment in preparing them, on the theory that "there is always more than one way to achieve a desired end." Accordingly, he advises flexibility and creativity as a cook's cardinal virtues; urges us to adjust ingredients to taste in recipes; and notes that the "timing given in recipes should be viewed merely as a guide, not an absolute." Where practical, recipes have been shortened and do-ahead steps included. Grausman reduces or even eliminates certain staples (salt, sugar, egg yolks, cream) and uses appliances (e.g., food processors) to blend, chop and mix.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

"French Cooking Without Fear" might be another title for cooking teacher Grausman's book; his aim is to update traditional French cuisine by cutting out calories and salt, simplifying preparation and techniques, and using readily available ingredients. His intentions are good, but there is still a fair amount of butter and cream--and time--required in many of these recipes; that is part of classic French cuisine. And are all of Julia Child's and Jacques Pepin's books really so intimidating? For larger collections.-- JS
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; F edition (January 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894806335
• ISBN-13: 978-0894806339
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #347,261 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and accessible, March 16, 1999

By	Stephen Sykes (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Having a French Chef in Your Kitchen, May 25, 2000

By	Angela Heuzenroeder (South Australia, Australia) - See all my reviews

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Home Cooks!, July 5, 2001

By	steven marsey (Virginia Beach, Virginia) - See all my reviews

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.