Synopses & Reviews
Simone "Simca" Beck is known to millions of Americans as Julia Child's French partner in the creation of the two classic volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Simca's Cuisine offers up her own delectable recipes - the ones she most treasured form a lifetime of cooking creativity that made her one of the great cuisinières of her day. Here are recipes that were inspired by old French family specialties found in her mother's and grandmother's well-thumbed notebooks; recipes that grew out of Simca's life in the provinces (particularly Normandy, Alsace, and Provence), where she gardened, cooked, dined out, and entertained - simple delights and fabulous concoctions all set down with a beautiful clarity. Skillfully adapting French ways to American needs, Simca's Cuisine presents over one hundred recipes in thirty-one alluring menus designed for every sort of occasion, from the informal "earthy dinner for high-spirited friends" - centered around a cassoulet with duck and hot sausages - to the ornate "spectacular dinner with champagne" that begins with salmon or striped bass in brioche. (6 X 9, 368 pages, illustrations)
Review
"The last of the great personal cookbooks to come out of France." —
New York Times Book Review "Simply and brilliantly done." —Vogue
"A personal statement by a distinctive, original cook." —Washington Post
"A memoir of glorious eating." —New York magazine
Review
"The last of the great personal cookbooks to come out of France." —
New York Times Book Review "Simply and brilliantly done." —Vogue
"A personal statement by a distinctive, original cook." —Washington Post
"A memoir of glorious eating." —New York magazine
“Classic recipes never go out of style. There is no fuss and no frills in Simcas Cuisine, only solid, tasty, reliable dishes that are just as good today as they were when first published.”
—Jacques Pepin, cookbook author, teacher, and PBS-TV cooking host
Synopsis
Skillfully adapting her French methods to American needs, Simone "Simca" Beck presents over one hundred recipes in thirty-one alluring menus -- including specific wines and cheeses -- from the informal Menu for All Seasons of pork braised with bourbon, sauteed broccoli, and frozen chocolate mousse with meringue, to the more formal Gala Sunday Lunch of broiled trout with tarragon cream sauce, small whole broiled tomatoes, and orange tart. And "Simca's Cuisine" offers techniques that can make the difference between a good dish and an extraordinary one.
With sixty thousand copies sold before going out of print fifteen years ago, this culinary classic is a lasting treasure for everyone in search of joy at the table.
Synopsis
Millions know Simone “Simca” Beck as Julia Child’s French partner in creating the two unforgettable volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Simca’s Cuisine offers the delectable recipes that Beck personally treasured most. She presents family specialties from the well-thumbed notebooks of her mother and grandmother as well as recipes from her life in Normandy, Alsace, and Provence where she gardened, cooked, and entertained. Skillfully adapting French ways to American needs, Simca’s Cuisine gives us both simple delights and fabulous concoctions presented with elegant clarity and delightful illustrations. Menus range from informal dinners that include a beef, lamb, and pork stew from “After a winter walk in the woods” and a baked apple dessert from “Autumn in Normandy” to more formal lunches and dinners that include “A gala Sunday lunch” with its sautéed trout with an almond cream sauce and “A spectacular dinner with champagne” that begins with salmon in brioche. With a charming foreword by Julia Child—her student, co-author, collaborator, and friend for forty years—here is a cookbook truly for every occasion.
About the Author
Simone “Simca” Beck was born in Normandy and studied at the Cordon Bleu, which Julia Child was attending when the two women met at a party. Together they wrote the landmark Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Beck traveled extensively in America and taught at James Beards cooking school among others. She died in 1991.