Comments on: Book Review — Happy in the Kitchen

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:32:36 +0000

Excellent write up, thanks deno! I love all of those things too, and don’t have as much resistance to frozen anything you might — I’m completely agnostic as to how we get to culinary nirvana, and if a great teacher like Richard can get us there quicker through just about any means at all, a round of salutes to him! Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

By: Deno

Deno — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:13:46 +0000

I’ve been a Michel Richard fan since I lay eyes on his first book “Cooking with a French Accent”. After reading this review I immediately bought the book at Stacey’s Bookstore. Incidentally, when I worked in the restaurant business, a co-chef gave me a few recipes he learned while working with Chef Richard at Citrus in Los Angeles. My favorite of them is a orange-pistachio tuille that is made in a similar manner to the raspberry tuille in this book. It is wonderfully delicious and pretty. From what I can tell, Chef Richard has always loved plastic wrap and still maintains a playful and innovative relationship with food. I love that we reworked tater-tot’s into Spuddies, which are seeming lighter and creamier with the addition of gelatin. I love that he uses onions as spaghetti noodles and reconstructs eggs into both sweet and savory items. From a purists perspective, however, I have to say I am a little mixed on the frozen brussels sprouts idea. He uses these in his Jolly Green Giant vegetable and even though is he is so well reasoned in his approach it goes against my feelings about frozen vegetables. I draw the line at Frozen Pea’s. But, hey. If Julia Child and Jacques Pepin can freeze cabbage heads instead of boiling them for stuffed cabbage, just how different is is to use a freezer for blanching brussels sprouts. I suppose I should set my prejudices aside for a moment and give it a try. And then there is the idea of microwave béchamel. I’m a little split on this since I have a hard time microwaving water, rewarming coffee and melting butter in this radiation incubator. I do these things but something in my soul seems to give a little as every second ticks along, enervating the water molecules and bringing my food to a pleasant place. At the same time I see this as incredibly innovative and this shortcut could save a good amount on a number of recipes I make from time to time. So I will cast my pride aside and see this as a way to balance the forces of good and evil – I’ll give the sauce a try. One thing I can say is that if these recipes are even remotely as tasty as the ones I have from Chef Richard in the ’90′s then I’m in for a treat! It is a beautiful book and I can’t wait to break out the plastic wrap and try many of these recipes.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:18:19 +0000

You really should lift it JUST ONCE Karena — it’s like culinary school, buddhist retreat, and adult child playhour all in one!

By: Karena

Karena — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:51:07 +0000

LOL…I almost bought this on Sunday and put it back because of a self-imposed moratorium on cookbooks. The last cookbook I purchased was for exactly the same reason you cited–the author seems genuinely happy to be in the kitchen. “Sunday Suppers at Lucques” is full of recipes that keep you in the kitchen all day, and it’s obvious that the author enjoys the process. She doesn’t feature the innovative techniques that Monsieur Richard does, as her style is more about braises than brunoise. I may have to lift this moratorium.

By: cookbook lover

cookbook lover — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:06:50 +0000

What a great idea, I can’t wait to see what other cookbooks you review. Tomato water – that IS an innovative one that I think I will be using a lot this summer.