Book Review: Everyday French Cooking
Everyday French Cooking: Modern French Cuisine Made Simple by Wini Moranville
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jacques Pepin taught me long ago that French cooking doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. Fresh, wholesome ingredients are the main requirement, along with a sense of adventure. A sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either. Fast-forward to this week: when I saw “Everyday” paired with “French Cooking”, I just knew I had to give this cookbook a try.
Author Wini Moranville has a quarter of a century of experience cooking everyday French food. At the beginning of this cookbook there’s a half-dozen chatty, anecdotal pages filled with her memories and experiences, which makes a pleasant read and helps set the mood for what’s to come.
The food photography is as unpretentious as the recipes. Appetizing-looking helpings of food are featured without the photographer feeling the need to show off every special effect in the toolbar (the “Vignette” feature is great for landscapes but please, let’s keep it off the dining room table, folks!)
Many of the featured meals take 30 minutes or less to make—and that’s precisely how long I allow in my busy days to make dinner! I’m anxious to try the Beef Stew with Orange and Balsamic Vinegar first. I have all the ingredients and those flavors certainly sound as if they will play well together.
And for breakfast tomorrow, I’m thinking about Baked Eggs with Ham and Gruyere. Again, these are ingredients I already have, and it sounds like a fine change from scrambled eggs.
My thanks to author Wini Moranville, Quarto Publishing Group – Harvard Common Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
Lori Alden Holuta
Lori Alden Holuta lives between the cornfields of Mid-Michigan, where she grows vegetables and herbs when she’s not writing, editing, or playing games with a cat named Chives.
2 Comments
Wini Moranville
Lori — thank you so much for this nice review of my book. And thank you for noticing the straightforward appeal of the photographs. I really did want my book to be about enjoying French cooking that’s inspired, yet grounded in reality, and I think the photographer mastered that. I’m glad you noticed.
Thanks again!
Lori Alden Holuta
You’re very welcome! I appreciate that you’ve created a cookbook that will actually get used, not just admired. I expect those buying this book will soon compliment that photography with oil stains, flour in the center seam, smudges from sauce covered fingers, and the occasional wine spill. 🙂 The best cookbooks are those that are often open on the kitchen counter.