Home Cooking with Jean-Georges

October 3, 2011
Acclaimed chef Vongerichten celebrates simplicity in this appetizing and personal collection. After years of working 18-hour days six days a week, Vongerichten buys a weekend country home and rediscovers the joys of unfussy cooking. He shares recipes for the meals he and his family enjoy in this pleasingly accessible volume. Chicken liver and pancetta crostini, swiss chard braised in shiitake butter, shortbread are among the recipes that cover salads, fish and seafood, meat, desserts, and brunch. All focus on flavor yet rely on a minimal number of ingredients that don’t take a lot of time and effort to prepare, such as fettuccine with Meyer lemon cream and sausage and kale pizza. Several contributions come from close friends and family members including wife Marja’s mac ’n’ cheese, son Cedric’s grilled beef tenderloin, and close friend Dan’s Thanksgiving turkey. Side dishes shine especially bright and are tempting enough to eat as a main course, particularly his pan-roasted green beans with golden almonds, buttered asparagus with lemon and parmesan, and braised endive with ham and Gruyère. Numerous dishes hark back to Vongerichten’s Alsa­tian roots, including warm Alsatian potato salad and choucroute. Dotted with culinary reminiscences both personal and professional, this book shows Vonge­richt­en at his simple best and offers his many fans the opportunity to cook and enjoy his favorite meals without being chained to the kitchen for hours.

September 15, 2011

Continuing in the vein of celebrity chefs publishing collections of their home-cooked favorites, internationally renowned chef Vongerichten here shares what he considers "unfussy" dishes he cooks for family and friends on weekends in Waccabuc, NY. Like two of his previous titles, Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef, this book offers sophisticated recipes that involve doable techniques and feature strong Asian flavors (like yuzu, miso, and Thai chilies) and premium or rare ingredients. Frequent entertainers will be pleased to see cocktail, appetizer, and brunch chapters, with tempting offerings such as Passion Fruit Sangria, Candied Paprika Pecans, and French Toast with Roasted Apples.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2011
New York restaurateur Vongerichten cooks with his family at their upstate retreat. French born and classically trained, Vongerichten startled the 1980s food scene with his then-revolutionary fusion of Asian flavors with French techniques. This blended approach shows up in his richly flavored lamb shanks braised in soy, ginger, lemongrass, and star anise. This synthesis contrasts with a very classical approach to the porky satisfaction of choucroute, a favorite summoned up from memories of his Alsatian boyhood. Seafood recipes take on added depth of flavor with vegetable garnishes and light broths. Kale and sausage top pizza. In complete lack of pretension, he cooks up hot wings, chicken wings made fiery with several varieties of chili peppers. As with many chefs' tables, absolute mastery of technique and access to a panoply of ingredients render easy and quotidian for them what the rest of humanity finds challenging and elaborate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)