THE FRENCH FAMILY FEAST

by Mireille Johnston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 28, 1988

Bouillabaisse, paella, pot-au-feu, daube de boeuf en gelÉe: Hearty, unpretentious, but often time-consuming and elaborate dishes are at the heart of Johnston's feasts; and she makes them even more elaborate with her effusive introductory chats and her fussy attention to table decoration (a different scheme for every menu) and her precisely scheduled ""strategy."" Johnston is big on cooking ahead, refrigerating, and reheating (for a dinner of molded mousaka provencale, even the rice gets this treatment), and she seems to operate on the principle that ""the most is the bestest,"" as she herself remarks of a potÉe that calls for dried beans, cabbage, several vegetables, seven different forms of pork, and altogether a page-long list of ingredients. But if all this is a little demanding for an American family's Sunday get-together, it is unmistakably real country French fare, experienced firsthand; and with Johnston (Cuisine of the Sun; Cuisine of the Rose) as a guide, you can be confident that the outcome is worth the candle.

Pub Date: Nov. 28, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION