Nourish French Brasserie Cookbook: The Heart of French Home Cooking

As an American 'Grandmother Suzanne' I had lost my French identity. But I feel like I have regained it through cooking these wonderful family style recipes and sharing the results with my step daughter who was born in Paris and left before she could cook.I bought a second copy of French Brasserie Cookbook for her and we email each other after we try each one and it has brought us closer than ever.The stories of French childhood memories are wonderful and come to life in the flavors of the country.My friends have been dropping by hoping I have something good in the pot or from the oven.Thanks to Chef Galmiche for giving me back a lost part of my heritage.I am also'Grand Mere Suzanne' now.

This is a mini-haute cuisine primer that gives you the basics for some classic french cooking. Anyone who has fond memories of France over the last 50 years or so will be attracted to the idea of this book and the recipes it contains along with a nostalgia for something that is pretty much lost in the modern day. The recipes are good; several reviewers make mention of the pork in mustard and cornichon (gherkin) sauce which has a mouth-watering picture of the dish, but there are many more winners in this 1st class recipe book. I teach professional cookery and have bought this book as a resource for young cookery students to learn the fundamentals of good cuisine and what a good dish looks like on the plate, but this is a book about home-cooking as much as it is about cooking for the public; the kind of cooking the family ate and shared with their customers deep in rural France. It's modern, perhaps less hearty than country cooking used to be, but a great book to work from.

The chef's approach is down to earth and unintimidating. His technical descriptions are easy for home cooks, and the results are really delicious. The selections are good foundations to french food. His descriptions of brasserie history is interesting and his home stories are enjoyable. This cookbook will be busy at my house. BTW, you may find Duck Fat in the frozen section of your local gourmet grocery. That was the only tricky ingredient.

I wanted to start cooking something other than Chicken and rice, or various other training meals - So I purchased 'French brasserie cookbook' as my first forray into the culinary world proper. Firstly, the book itself is of excellent quality - Thick, textured cover, glossy pages and high quality images. My only complaint here is that there aren't images for all the dishes in the book, which almost makes them less desirable to prepare. The book starts off with the basics of making stock, sauces, vinagrettes etc., that are referred to in some of the dishes. The instructions could be a little more comprehensive in places perhaps indicating common mistakes and how to rectify, but generally the recipes are very easy to follow. The selection of dishes was okay, though I would have liked to see a few more. Another point which I felt could have improved the book was including how each recipe differed from it's traditional version - it would be great to have a go at some really authentic French dishes! All in all, I got exactly what I wanted from this book - an introduction to cooking famous French dishes. I would highly recommend this book for the beginner, but I get the feeling it may be a little simplistic for people who can already cook to a decent standard!

This cookbook is special. The meals are well illustrated to set the tastebuds going,the recipes incredibly easy to follow, giving the reader of any level of skill the confidence to give them a try. A wonderful book, full of fabulous french cuisine. It will either evoke warm memories of holidays or a desire to start them.