The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking
In the 1950s, James Beard inaugurated an approach to cookery that announced to the world that American cooking had finally merited real distinction. His love for the freshest, finest products of America’s fields and streams combined with disciplined technique and impeccable taste. Beard’s embrace of the new medium of television gave him a wider audience than his books could have hoped to achieve. This compilation of some of Beard’s best recipes spans the breadth of his culinary achievement. In true American fashion, he draws from French, Italian, Indian, African, and other cuisines and adapts them to American kitchens and techniques, often simplifying otherwise complex dishes, such as cassoulet, without compromising flavor. Betty Fussell contributes a perceptive essay on Beard’s complicated life and his teaching talents. Those too young to have already encountered Beard’s sensible and always tasty rendition of American cooking will welcome this volume onto their shelves. --Mark Knoblauch