The Provence Cookbook: A James Beard Award Winning Cookbook – A Home Cook's Guide to 175 Authentic Provencal Recipes from Southern France

by Patricia Wells

No matter where you live, or how gloomy it may be outside, Patricia Wells will brighten your kitchen with the sunny flavors of France's bountiful south with The Provence Cookbook. A French-food expert and longtime Provence resident, Patricia offers readers an intimate guide to the culinary treasures of this sun-drenched landscape and dishes that will transport you and your guests with every flavorful bite. The Provence Cookbook's 175 enticing recipes reflect Patricia's long and close ties with the farmers and purveyors who provide her and her neighbors in Provence with a kaleidoscope of high-quality foods. Their year-round bounty is the inspiration for these exciting, healthful Mediterranean-French dishes,which Patricia shares with home cooks everywhere. Over the past twenty years, it is Patricia who has often been the student, learning Provencal ways and regional recipes directly from the locals. With The Provence Cookbook, her readers benefit from this rich inheritance, as she passes along such recipes as My Vegetable Man's Asparagus Flan, or Maussane Potter's Spaghetti. Along side authentic and flavorful dishes for every course from hors d'oeuvre to dessert, as wellas pantry staples, The Provence Cookbook features eighty-eight of Patricia's artful black-and-white photographs of Provence's farmers, shopkeepers, and delightful products. More than a cookbook, this is also a complete guide and handbook to Provencal dining, with vendor profiles, restaurant and food shop recommendations and contact information, and twelve tempting menus -- delight in An August Dinner at Sunset or perhaps A Winter Truffle Feast. Whether you are a home cook, a traveler, or an armchair adventurer, enjoy Provence as the locals do, with Patricia Wells and The Provence Cookbook as your guides.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, France

352 pages, Hardcover

First published April 13, 2004

About the author

Patricia Wells (born 5 November 1946 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a cookbook author and teacher who divides her time between Paris and Provence. Her book Patricia Wells at Home in Provence (1996) won the James Beard Award for Best International Cookbook. Wells is the only American and the only woman to be a restaurant critic for a major French publication, L'Express (1988–1991). She was also a restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune from 1980 until 2007.

Reviews

[Julie]

Beautiful presentation featuring simple, classic recipes that are authentic, yet don't require exotic ingredients. Because of their simplicity, the recipes require the freshest of ingredients. They are inherently healthy and balanced. In the two days I've had the cookbook, I've made three recipes. Each beautiful! I can easily envision cooking my way through the entire book.
Wonderful introductions to each recipe, describing its origins and/or significance to Wells. Fantastic wine recommendations.
So, true confession: The Provençal Cookbook features recipes from my most cherished spot on the planet; I'm predisposed to love anything Provençal. But Wells has captured its magic without playing on cliches or trivializing traditions.

[Shannon Clark]

I cook her Madelines recipe for parties many times each year and they are always a huge hit. This is a great example of a cookbook created out of a passion and love for the food of a region with easy to follow and very modern recipes.

[Kristine]

Fantastic and simple recipes. Reminds me of my trip to Provnece

[Nancy]

Good recipes from a well-known cookbook author and teacher who knows her way around France. Loaded with information about the region.

[Emily D]

She has got it down.

[Jennie]

I need to live in Provence.

[Christopher Prosser]

cookbooks

[Cynthia]

Not very well written (a little goofy and pleased with herself) but great ideas and recipes.

[Lea]

The author's reminiscing and chit chat lend an entertaining tone to this cookbook which contains some solid recipes.

[Catherine Woodman]

the daub is outstanding