Everyday Cooking with Jacques Pepin

I bought this book well over 25 years ago when I was cooking in a kitchen the size of a postage stamp in midtown Manhattan. It was probably the first or second book that started my collection which has grown substantially in size since that time. It is dog-eared, pages are stained, but everytime I open it I am reminded of the wonderful smells of food cooking, the sighs of satisfied friends and family, and the fun I had playing with Jacque's recipes. This little book, much less expensive at that time than the "popular" writings of today, gives a novice cook the opportunity to follow his recipes to a T, or to veer off and imagine what they can really do. As for the experienced cook - he gave and continues to give them so much food for thought. His vegetable soup is awesome, but at the same time it inspires a cook to see what's happening on a cold winter's night, what's available in that fridge, and create something amazing. The pate, so simple, teaches techniques that make this dish a signature piece. It's all about food that's available, technique and imagination. Oh, and the Stew of Chicken Wings...a perfect play on a simple paella. Jacques Pepin inspired the foodies revolution a long time ago, and continues to do so. As a previous reviewer noted, grab it if you can find it. My collection continues to grow. Jacques Pepin's book are definitely not taking up space. They will move over a bit, but they are here to stay! Most importantly, they will always be dog-eared!

This Pepin book has a wide range of recipes that are very interesting. Nothing is studied in depth, but there's a chatty informality about the text, where you can dig out more information. I enjoyed it on first read-through, and I'm confident I'll be quite at ease with cooking the recipes. Not an essential part of your cookbook collection, but one very enlightening that widens your horizons.

I've tried a couple of things in this book and they were great. I like the versatility of the recipes. Very homestyle cooking (remember he is French and preparing everyday recipes from his childhood) make this a great, and not overly difficult or inacessable, french cookbook.

This is one of those books that is just fantastic. It is great for accomplished cooks as well as novices. I consider this book the original "french food made easy" cookbook. All of the recipes are easy, and most of them are inexpensive to prepare. Jacques does a magnificent job explaining basic techniques within the recipes themselves. Just by using this book you will learn a lot of the techniques on french cooking. Many of my friends that are new to French cooking has borrowed this book with great results. If you want to add some French cooking to your menu's but don't want to go into the depth of a Julia Child tome, this book great. This book covers: Menus First Courses The Main Dish Desserts Of all the recipes in this book I think the Crepes Souffles is my favorite; beautiful, unusual, easy and delicious. If you ever run across a copy of this book pick it up, you won't be disappointed.