The Short-Cut Cook : Make Simple Meals with Surprisingly Little Effort

Rating:
Summary: Easy Access to Good Food
Review: I began cooking from this book about 12 years ago, when it was first released in hardcover. I did not know Jaques Pepin's reputation, I simply wanted recipes one can do quickly. My bottom line on this book is that it succeeded in delivering on the promise of the book's title.

I confess I was a little cynical about Pepin's book at first. Pierre Franey, a chef whose very very impressive pedigree I did know had published, at that time, at least three volumes of quick cooking recipes based on his well-known New York Times column. I interpreted this as simply 'jumping on the bandwagon' of a popular trend. I got it anyway because the evidence of Pepin's previous books and the blurbs on the back of the dust jacket attested to Pepin's credentials in the kitchen. Little did I realize that Franey and Pepin were close friends and had worked together for many years.

Regarding thie recipes in this book, I am very happy to find the reliance on prepared foods such as the famous Campbell's soups, to be much smaller than one may expect from the introduction. I also believe that unlike Rachael Ray, Jacques does not accomplish his objective by finding short cuts to long techniques, but keeps his dishes short by selecting recipies which are classicly short on preparation. In this way, he succeeds in describing recipies with few or no compromises on results.

Having prepared several dishes from this book, I will warn you that Pepin is wise not to give any expectations about how long these dishes should actually take. While there is not a lot of prep work in most recipes, some of the recipes do require a fair amount A perfect example is the Salade Nicoise. This may be faster than the recipe in Julia Child's books, but you still need to plan for some serious shopping and prep work to get a good result.Another example is one of my favorites, his Asian influenced tangy rice stick salad. It looks simple on page 105, until you realize you need to do an ingredient preparation on page 22 which takes longer than the final recipe.

All grousing aside, this is really good stuff. The price for 200 recipes of this quality is a real bargain. My only other complaint is that the short section in the beginning of the book on stocking one's pantry is probably a waste of time. Whenever I buy anything with the expectation that I will use it in some unknown recipe in the future, I usually find the stuff spoils or expires before I get around to using it. After a fair amount of experience in cooking from cookbooks, I have learned to ignore all such recommendations and simply buy what I need for what I know I will be making in the next week.

Rating:
Summary: No Ego Here -- A Title That Delivers
Review: Jacques Pepin is known for honest, straight-forward, fool proof techqniue and advice. As the most familiar French face for most American foodies, his association has generally been with what Americans consider "classic" French cooking.

But Pepin has been touting all along the simplicity of "real" French cooking -- from his home kitchen to that of his mother's, these recipes attest to the paradigm that a few high quality products can transform a meal into something memorable.

Many contemporary food writers tout quick cooking as a new phenomenon, borne from the hectic digital lifestyles we live. However, quick cooking has always existed and been in continuous evolution for the busy individual for, sadly, time has never been on our side.

This collection of recipes, efficiently organized and simply presented all offer genuine short cuts to fantastic meals. He offers priceless insight on how to stock your pantry (although, what he recommends calls for a fabulously Martha-large kitchen), but you get the general idea of being well prepared. Practical advice on how to entertain surprise guests and making do with what you've got allows the home cook (and individual with a life) to create Mock Chocolate Mousse, Easy Cheese Souffle (a la Madame Pepin), and his daughter Claudine's favorite cake (simple butter cake, a little apricot preserves, allfrosted with vanilla pudding mixed with whipped cream)!

The book is a joy to read. Pepin is a humble, genuine culinary figure eager to offer his expertise to reinforce the love of everyday cooking. No ego here. Just good food.