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The Fireside Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Fine Cooking
Rereleased with the title now saying "cookbook" instead of "cook book".
This was part of the The Original Basic Cookbook series of books.
The Fireside Cook Book is designed for people who are not content to regard food just as something one transfers periodically from plate to mouth. It is for those who recognize that a simple family meal (as well as a dress-up dinner party) can be a pleasure and a special event.
The wide variety of I-can't-wait-to-try-it dishes in the book are presented according to a new and different theory. You will find here no attempt to overwhelm the cook with all the recipes ever concocted. Instead, you will find clear, easy-to-follow instructions for the basic preparation of every food, followed in each case by fascinating variations. The basic recipes and variations add up to 1,217 tested dishes -- simple enough for the novice, delicious enough for the most meticulous master chef, complete enough for the most imaginative menus without a repetition.
A detailed chapter is devoted to the art of outdoor cookery, another to the preparation of hors d'oeuvres, cocktail snacks, and supper snacks. There is an entire section of suggested menus subdivided into cold weather meals and summer doldrum hints. There is also a complete section on wines and liquors.
The 36 full-color pictures and the nearly 400 other color pictures are themselves full of helpful invention. Handsome double-page spreads employ visual-aid methods to give practical details about, and special uses of, cuts of meat, varieties of wine, and types of fish.
Here, in short, is a book that is an indispensable addition to every American home in which good food is appreciated. It is a book to use constantly, to pore over with delight, and give to all friends from whom you can reasonably expect a future dinner invitation.
note about the author:
Books would be released not only as "James Beard", but also "Jim Beard" and "James A. Beard". "Jim Beard" is what his books were first published under.
This was part of the The Original Basic Cookbook series of books.
The Fireside Cook Book is designed for people who are not content to regard food just as something one transfers periodically from plate to mouth. It is for those who recognize that a simple family meal (as well as a dress-up dinner party) can be a pleasure and a special event.
The wide variety of I-can't-wait-to-try-it dishes in the book are presented according to a new and different theory. You will find here no attempt to overwhelm the cook with all the recipes ever concocted. Instead, you will find clear, easy-to-follow instructions for the basic preparation of every food, followed in each case by fascinating variations. The basic recipes and variations add up to 1,217 tested dishes -- simple enough for the novice, delicious enough for the most meticulous master chef, complete enough for the most imaginative menus without a repetition.
A detailed chapter is devoted to the art of outdoor cookery, another to the preparation of hors d'oeuvres, cocktail snacks, and supper snacks. There is an entire section of suggested menus subdivided into cold weather meals and summer doldrum hints. There is also a complete section on wines and liquors.
The 36 full-color pictures and the nearly 400 other color pictures are themselves full of helpful invention. Handsome double-page spreads employ visual-aid methods to give practical details about, and special uses of, cuts of meat, varieties of wine, and types of fish.
Here, in short, is a book that is an indispensable addition to every American home in which good food is appreciated. It is a book to use constantly, to pore over with delight, and give to all friends from whom you can reasonably expect a future dinner invitation.
note about the author:
Books would be released not only as "James Beard", but also "Jim Beard" and "James A. Beard". "Jim Beard" is what his books were first published under.
408 pages, Spiral-bound
First published January 1, 1949
3 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
James Beard
60 books95 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: James Beard.
James Andrew Beard, an expert, wrote several authoritative cookbooks, focusing on American cuisine.
James Andrews Beard, a chef, teacher, and television personality, pioneered shows, lectured widely, and taught at his namesake school in city of New York and in Seaside, Oregon. He emphasized preparation with fresh, wholesome ingredients to a just aware country of its own heritage. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He published more than twenty times, and annual awards of his foundation honor his memory.
source: Wikipedia
He published his first books under Jim Beard.
Please see: James Beard.
James Andrew Beard, an expert, wrote several authoritative cookbooks, focusing on American cuisine.
James Andrews Beard, a chef, teacher, and television personality, pioneered shows, lectured widely, and taught at his namesake school in city of New York and in Seaside, Oregon. He emphasized preparation with fresh, wholesome ingredients to a just aware country of its own heritage. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He published more than twenty times, and annual awards of his foundation honor his memory.
source: Wikipedia
He published his first books under Jim Beard.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 16, 2011
The art is charming and the book is fascinating. it's like taking a trip back in history. When you wait long enough everything comes back into fashion. Serve dishes from this book at your next dinner party and it will be so retro you'll start a new trend!
March 29, 2020
In my quest to learn more about the “why” of cooking, I picked up this cookbook. It’s an oldie and so can be a bit dated in some of it framing - the dinner party was still very much alive at the time and anchovies seem to have been looked on fondly.
It provides a cursory review if all the majors food groups and how to prep the basic as well as vary the recipe. Most of the ingredients are the basics and there is a very good glossary in the beginning as to cooking terms.
All that said, none of the recipes particularly excited me. Some seems actually quite yucky (though preferences obviously vary).
It provides a cursory review if all the majors food groups and how to prep the basic as well as vary the recipe. Most of the ingredients are the basics and there is a very good glossary in the beginning as to cooking terms.
All that said, none of the recipes particularly excited me. Some seems actually quite yucky (though preferences obviously vary).
January 6, 2013
I got this from the library because it was recommended by a Food Network chef (forget which one), but I hated it. I guess if you're a fan of basic, classical French cooking, this is the book for you -- but that's just not me.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews