La Cuisine

A culinary bible featuring 1,000 recipes from the legendary woman who revolutionized French cooking by simplifying recipes for the home cook. With the revival of interest in Julia Child, everyone is hungry for French food again. But why does French cuisine have to be so complicated? Well, it doesn't. Not according to Francoise Bernard. Beginning in the 1960s, Bernard revolutionized French cooking by writing cookbooks aimed at the modern woman. Until that time, the only cookbooks available were full of fussy recipes handed down by the grand chefs of the past. Bernard set out to make classic dishes accessible to everyone, paring down to a recipe's true essence. She continued to publish and teach, building her forty-year career on the principle that good food can be simple, easy, and economical. This grand volume is the culmination of her work, a collection of the best, most tried-and-true recipes. Each recipe is labeled with degree of ease, prep/cooking time, and cost. The book overflows with charmingly homey recipes that take you back to the basics: onion soup, croque mignon, steak au poivre, coq au vin, tuna provencale, and potatoes boulangere.This is the ultimate reference book, not just for those who love French cuisine, but for anyone who craves simply delicious food.

“"Mme. Bernard has taught generations of French women how to cook simple, homey, economical fare. Here she collects 1,000 of her best recipes, from croque mignon to soupe ”

à l’oignon." ~New York Times, "Best Culinary Books of 2010"

"Everyone knows someone—a mother, an aunt, or a friend—who owns a copy, either new or in tatters, of a book by this star of home cooking."  ~Le Monde

"Françoise Bernard has inspired so many Sunday suppers with my family—my aunts and grandmothers collected her recipes religiously. She has an incredible talent for understanding how you can cook delicious, original, yet simple and often very economical dishes for a real family celebration or for a quick but inspired meal."  ~Eric Ripert, Executive Chef/Co-Owner, Le Bernardin

"In the 1960s, Françoise Bernard invented a new way of cooking, simple and free. Bernard returns today with the work of a lifetime, a brick of a book of 1,000 recipes, among her most delicious."  ~ParisMatch

"What a great idea to give new life to thismonument of our national cuisine, which is responsible for teaching several generations of women how to bring good food to the family table! . . .An eternal classic, definitely indispensable."  ~Elle France

"For generations, French home cooks have turned to Françoise Bernard for simple, straightforward recipes and down-to-earth kitchen wisdom, and now we can too. With this collection, the belovedMadame Bernard shares her vast knowledge of the everyday food of France and, as she has for millions of French cooks, shows us how to feed families and friends easily, economically, and deliciously."  ~Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking from My Home to Yours and Around My French Table

Francoise Bernard is the grande dame of France's popular cuisine. She began her career more than 50 years ago by creating and publishing thousands of easy, clearly written recipes for housewives. She launched a successful magazine of her recipes and advice, and hosted one of the first cooking shows on French television, and her first cookbook, Mes Recettes Faciles, published in 1963 and still in print, has sold more than one million copies. In 1982, she published Les Recettes Faciles de Patisserie. Jane Sigal is a contributing editor at Food and Wine and has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Fine Cooking.

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