French Roots

I've always had an interest in French culture. It all started with Madame Martin, my 6th grade French teacher. Since she sparked my initial interest in all things French I continued my taking classes until I graduated high school, a couple semester at college, and proceeded to study abroad in Montpellier, France. So yes, I might be what most people consider a Frencophile.

Whenever I get wind of a book on French cooking it piques my interest.  I got to cook with my host mom in France and I'm always eager to try out new recipes. I'm no culinary expert, but I do enjoynew recipes, as you can tell from this blog.

Unfortunately, most of these will be outside of my college-student price range, but there are a few simple classics that I'll be able to make, My host mother Isabelle got her recipe from a friend in Bordeaux, and made them for us on occasion. I was eager to compare the recipes, and see what Jean-Pierre and Denise recommended. Although I don't have a cannele pan, perhaps one day, I gave these a try and was pleasantly surprised with the result.

The cookbook itself is a combination between a traditional French cookbook, (no pictures, continual recipes and less descriptive instructions) and a narrative about the authors', Jean-Pierre and Denise. It was fun to read about their lives, and the food plays in it.

My rating: Only if you're really into French recipes and don't want to invest in the traditional Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French cooking.
Overall, I enjoyed this cookbook. However, if you don't have more exotic taste, and aren't willing or able to drop a bit of money on a single meal, this isn't for you. Although there is a range of recipes, most call for more expensive and somewhat harder to find ingredients, this isn't for you.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all the opinions are entirely my own.