Parisian Home Cooking: Conversations, Recipes, and Tips from the Cooks and Food Merchants of Paris

Chef and hotel restaurant consultant Roberts brings a disarmingly relaxed approach to French cooking and succeeds in taming a cuisine that can intimidate with its sometimes exacting procedures. He shows that Parisian home cooks are as hampered by small kitchens and time shortages as the rest of us, and that, as a result, their daily recipes are far less complicated than traditional French cookbooks suggest. Roberts proves that techniques are within the reach of anyone; his book provides ingredient lists that are not overwhelming and brims with such fresh ideas as the simple Cream of Radish Leaf Soup. Steamed Mussels West Indian Style tingles with coriander, curry and red pepper flakes. Pan-Seared Tuna Served with Its Marinade boasts a virtually effortless sauce of red wine, Dijon mustard and shallots. Casserole Roasted Chicken is one of several recipes that recall earlier Parisian stoves without thermostats, while delivering a very moist bird. Veal Shanks with Bread Sauce has a braising liquid ingeniously thickened with bread crumbs. Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Roquefort Sauce lavishly weds savory flavors popular with Parisians, as does Pork in the Style of the Butcher's Wife, heady with a mustard cream sauce, herbs, capers and cornichons. Many dishes are not for the fat conscious, but those who want to prepare French food with an informality that's almost Italian will relish Roberts's delectably casual recipes. (June)