Plat du Jour by Susan Herrmann Loomis, Reviewed

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In the interest of full disclosure, I am a fan of Susan Herrmann Loomis. I had three of her books already in my culinary library (Farmhouse Cookbook, Italian Farmhouse Cookbook, and Clambakes & Fish Fries), when Plat du Jour came into my possession thanks to Melissa’s Produce. I like her style, I like the time and research that she puts into writing each cookbook, and I love her recipes.

   Her love for France and its cuisine shines through in all of her books, but particularly here. She wants to share this love with her readers, and consequently has created this book on making [what may seem to be complicated] French dishes into easy every day fare.

I enjoy this book as much for the recipes for the side dishes as I do for the mains. Her sides are unique, easy to prepare, and intensely flavorful. What she does with mashed potatoes (a bay leaf added to the cooking water and nutmeg added to the mix) has altered the way I view and prepare mashed potatoes. This is not to say that the main dishes aren’t equally wonderful, case in point the Butter-Drizzled Seared Steak with Potato Gratin. 

She is a genius with chicken; her Roast Chicken with Fresh Tarragon is particularly good, as is the Golden Roast Chicken with Shallots and Apples, the perfect dish to welcome fall.

I feel a kinship with the French in that love their eggs, and so do I. If you feel the same, you will no doubt enjoy her various ways in which to prepare them, my personal favorite being her Country Omelette with Wild Mushrooms and Potatoes. If you are a lover of poached eggs, you will enjoy her recipe for Mushrooms with “Broken Eggs” (so simple to prepare, and yet so satisfyingly delicious).

 

In addition to all of the wonderful things you’re going to learn about France and French cuisine, you are going to come to know Susan as well, thanks to her wonderful tips, sides, bits of history, and other such comments. One thing I really appreciated was that each recipe tells you what equipment you’re going to need, preparation time, cooking time, as well as level of difficulty. Inexperienced cooks, particularly, will find this invaluable. She is very honest in describing difficulty level, in some cases stating that while the recipe is not difficult it does require patience. I really appreciated that aspect.

This book is also loaded with beautiful, mouthwatering photos, an absolute must for every cookbook, in my opinion. Even though I am older and experienced, I still appreciate having a colorful photo of what the end product is supposed to look like for my own personal comparison.

Whether or not you, like me, have “known” Susan for a long time, or if this will be your introduction to her, you are thoroughly going to enjoy this book. Buy it, read it, cook from it.

Recommended.

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Melissa’s Produce in exchange for an honest review.