Cafe Boulud Cookbook: French-American Recipes for the Home Cook

This superb chef provides intense food that the home gourmet that has been cooking for sometime can easily handle with ingredients that are not as bizarre and hard to find as most cookbooks from star chefs.Unique is the organization of recipes, here into four groupings of Traditional French, Seasonal Specialties, Other Cuisines and Vegetarian.Offerings in each include main entrees, sides and desserts as well as first courses, soups, etc. A marvelous dish from French category is Sea Bass en Croute or the Cornish Hens a la Diable. Unusual combo exemplefies Boulud's coupling of tastes, Sweet Swiss Chard Tourte. Don't tell your guests what this is until they eat. Swiss Chard done right is magnificent. A tangy sweetness to it that here is married with honey, orange and pine nuts. This is superb!How about Cod with Blood Orange Sauce and Creamy Grits from Seasonal section? Who would have thought to put blood organes with cod? Citrus goes so well with seafood as this, but with grits? This guy is truly French-American chef.I find his abilities and recipes to be inspirational for amateur gourmet. Techniques are not too formidiable and much is offered in the way of purchase and prep techniques. The small, details are what is worth the book. The user will see that this guy is on to each ingredient and wants to display its savor at max.This is breakthrough cuisine, with simple, straightforward technique, but full throttle flavor and expert combining of luxurious components. You'll have fun with this one!

Three of my seven courses at my latest dinner party were from this book and all three were astounding! The Pancetta-wrapped Tuna with Ramp Puree was perfect in bite-sized pieces for hors d'oeuvres. The Braised Short Ribs were so meltingly tender that no knives were necessary. And the Celery Duo that accompanied them was so simple to make and the surprise hit of the evening. For dessert, the Chocolate Mousse Trio was the best I've ever had. After the first bite, everyone just stood and clapped and toasted to me! This book is loaded with great photos and the directions are very clear for the home cook. It is now one of my top three cookbooks ever.

This is by far the best cookbook of the year (French Laundry 2nd IMHO). Not only are the recipes within the grasp of the average home cook, but they taste great as well. I've eaten at Daniel and Cafe Boulud and and more than a few of the dishes I've enjoyed at the restaurants are in this book. I've cooked over a dozen dishes and haven't had a disappointment yet. Most, if not all ingredients are easily accessible and no exotic kitchen tools or highly advanced cooking techniques are neccessary for 90% of the recipes. If you love to cook and eat, this book is a must have.

Daniel Boulud, one of America's best chefs, has teamed up with one of America's best cookbook authors, Dorie Greenspan, and the results are delicious. Café Boulud Cookbook is wonderful for picking up and reading--transporting one to Boulud's hometown of St.-Pierre de Chandieu, a small village near Lyon, France, inspiring dreams about Chicken Grand-Mère Francine, and back again to Café Boulud in New York City. But beyond that, the book is filled with dishes that not only make me hungry, but actually inspire me to run out and buy the ingredients and make them. And best of all, the recipes actually work! Nor are they too difficult. Boulud's voice comes through loud and clear in the wonderful headnotes, and Greenspan's gentle hand-holding is evident in the careful and thorough instructions. Bravo!