In “Essential Pepin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food,” world-renowned chef Pepin, popularly known for his cooking show, shares his recipes—which are divided into categories like soups, salads, eggs and cheese, pasta/rice/grains/potatoes, breads/sandwiches/pizzas, shellfish and fish, poultry and game, meat, charcuterie and offal, vegetables and side dishes, fruit desserts, puddings/sweet soufflés/ crepes, cakes/cookies/candles, tarts/pies/pastries, frozen desserts, and basics. After each category, a page of recipes and corresponding page numbers is listed. The recipes themselves are listed with a related tidbit of information, list of ingredients, and a couple of short paragraphs detailing the preparation techniques. Most of the ingredients for the recipes are pretty basic and, thankfully, easy to find. The recipes cover a wide range of food: anything from risotto with vegetables, mint ice cream, black truffle salad, chocolate soufflé, cheesecake with apricot blueberry sauce, chocolate mousse, potato crepes with caviar, poached oysters with mushrooms and red pepper, apricot fondue, to Christmas fruitcake, broiled lobster with bread stuffing, onion and bread soup, smoked salmon, strawberry buttermilk shortcake, and etc, etc, etc. Throughout the book, well-known dishes are mixed up with more exotic once. The book ends with a long and comprehensive index, organized by ingredients and meal categories. A DVD is included with the book. Now to my thoughts: I tried making some of the recipes in the book, and was impressed by the results. My favorite so far is the black truffle salad. The book is pretty hefty—as the 700 plus recipes in the title indicate. It’s definitely worth it though. Recommended for fans of cooking programs, newbies, as well as professional cooks. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. October 2011. 704 pages. List price $40.00
