Publisher's Weekly Review
With more than twice as many color photographs as recipes (350 vs. 150), this lavish, oversize volume may be more at home on the coffee table than the kitchen counter. Illustrations ranging from prepared dishes to wildflowers and landscapes complement a collection of recipes in which sheer artistry predominates. Every dish, even an item as simple as little stuffed cabbages or red radish soup with tapioca, is marked by highly stylized presentation. Focusing on fresh produce and seafood, the recipes are lucidly written and within the abilities of serious home cooks. Fresh spinach with skillet-roasted salmon, squash blossom beignets with fried parsley, and wild mushroom ravioli with herb sauce number among the vegetable and seafood dishes. Fresh fruits are presented in such recipes as pear charlotte with fresh figs and pineapple fritters with macerated kiwi. Blanc presides over La Mere Blanc, a three-star (Michelin) restaurant in Burgundy; Baker photographed Martha Stewart's Weddings. Author tour. (October 14) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
The chef/owner of Burgundy's three-star, four-toque restaurant, Le Mere Blanc, supplies his original and tempting vegetarian (no meat and little seafood) version of modern provincial cooking a la francaise. Blanc incorporates many light, natural elements into his cuisine, but he says he has also found a great deal of inspiration from his predecessors in the family kitchen. Whatever the source, traditional or nouvelle, the results are outstanding both in their original flavors and in their sumptuous presentation. Blanc especially admires the seasonal produce of Burgundy and utilizes the region's greens, fruits, and vegetables in a number of innovative ways, arranging his recipes to take advantage of this bounty. An appendix contains conversion charts and basic recipes. The gorgeous color photographs both evoke the landscape and life of Burgundy and picture some of Blanc's stunning concoctions. Index. JB. 641.5'636 Cookery, French / Vegetarian cookery [CIP] 87-10768
