Bistro Cooking

by Patricia Wells

Bistro Cooking paperback, Patricia Wells

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, France, Reference, Nonfiction, Cuisine

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 1989

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

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This contains many of the recipes one would find eating in bistros throughout France. Wells also suggests wine pairings which is helpful. This is basic French comfort food. I do prefer cookbooks with photographs and wish this book included them.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is a bistro? Patricia Wells, the author, says (Page x): "Most simply, a bistro is a small neighborhood restaurant serving home-style, substantial fare."

The book is divided into a number of sections: hors d'oeuvres and first dishes, Soups, Salads, Pastas, Seasonal vegetables, Potatoes, Eggs (cheese, tarts), Fish and shellfish, Poultry, Meat, Desserts, and Pastries.

The recipes provide hearty food. Soups? An onion soup; Monkfish soup with garlic cream; Leek, potato, and bacon soup. Fish? Codfish with herbed tomato sauce is intriguing (tomato and fish don't seem to go well together to me--based on some unfortunate dining experiences--but this works! Other examples: Smoked haddock with Savoy cabbage; Oven-roasted scallops. Poultry? Chicken with tarragon vinegar; Chicken sautéed with scallops; Roast duck with olives. And on it goers.

The recipes are easy to understand. Not all are quite so simple, but the array of recipes provides a good resource for the kitchen.

All in all, a nice work.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: I haven't cooked from this book yet. I did read it cover to cover and I have had several recipes from it that were wonderful. In general, I can look at a recipe and know if it will work anyway. This is excellent, hearty bistro fare from the famous Patricia Wells and while there are some recipes that could have been left out, this is a rather old cookbook and I can see how her audience would benefit from their inclusion. The one downside for me is that while I like and eat chicken, I rarely work with it on the bone except to roast and this book has a lot of bone-in poultry recipes. Who knows, maybe they will inspire me to be more diligent about sourcing better birds to eat. Grocery store chicken is horrific.

[John Form · Rating 5 out of 5]

It dawned on me that since I read cookbooks like a book of short stories that they belong in my good reads. My first choice is one of my favorites, Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking. I love the Frenck cooking and bistro cusine transfers so well to the home. Well's selections are spot on for the home. I have made at least a dozen of her recipes and have be pleased with most. But to read her book as a book adds to the joy of selecting and trying one stews, roasted meats, small plates, soups,... I hope you get the point. I will have to check my margin notes and list a few favorites and why but that will have to wait.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to read this for simply years. Her love and enthusiasm for bistro cooking is infectious.

I do find some of the chapters a bit repetitive though, not just in recipes but in commentary. A little edit wouldn't have gone amiss. However this is still a worthy addition to my cookbook collection.

I can't help but wonder though if the bistro scene has changed significantly since this was written?

[Jane G Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband loves all the books by Patricia Wells. There's a Poulet Basquaise recipe in this one that is delicious, and two chocolate cake recipes that are unbelievable. You don't want to make them too terribly often, or you'll end up in the ER with clogged arteries, but they are wonderful in small portions and on special occasions :)

[Degan Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of recipes from French bistros around the country, many of which are easy to make.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

i find bistro cooking and food so comforting... and this book has all the recipes for all the dishes you could ever dream of finding at a quaint bistro in some out of the way village in france. with no airs or pretension, simply really good flavours. the only drawback with this recipe book is there are no beauty shots...

[Citoyenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use this more frequently than any other cookbook - not particularly vegetarian friendly, but you can make most of this stuff for a reasonable price, none of it is very complicated, and it always seems to come out well.

[Flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite possibly my favorite cookbook; every single recipe I've tried - and I've tried a lot - has been fabulous, and the writing is charming without being cute (precious cover aside). Really wonderful.

[sarah gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I turn to Patricia Wells' books again and again, and this is my favorite, an ideal tome for those who would embrace local, seasonal food. In its pages are so many recipes that have become my personal specialties, and I turn to it whenever I want something truly simple and amazing.

[Helen]

I bought this book after I came back from a week in France. I was enthralled with the country-side cuisine of France. I wanted to try to recreate some of my favorites. I had no idea who Patricia Wells was but I loved this cookbook. Simple and yummy I still use it quite often.

[Profiterole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite, go-to books in the kitchen --and I do own a pretty extensive cookbook library! The recipes are extremely well explained, very traditional French bistro cooking, and utterly delicious. One of my favorite is the oxtail terrine. Quite involved, but delicious!!!

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite dessert ever is the pear clafoutis in this. Except when I was very small I called it "pear plafoutis."

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one, well recommended

[Jennifer Eremeeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most butter/batter/oil spattered tomes in my collection. Everything I make from this wonderful cookbook is a keeper!

[Jim Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one looks great. I am not saying that Brasserie Four should be afraid -yet. More to follow.

The eighty-ninth book I have finished this year.

[Swagswag]

This book helped me cook a lot better now people like my food

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. One of my first cookbooks. Some very simple and delightful dishes.

[Nell Gwynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites. Utterly reliable for both simple and complex dishes, and fun to cook from too. I've had great results following the instructions for roasted chicken, chocolate mousse, stewed rabbit, summer tart...

[patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I look forward to trying out recipes from this book. It's a nice complement to my French cookbook collection. Couldn't pass up this "like-new" book for the mere sum of fifty cents.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oldies but goodies

[Martha Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one looks great. I am not saying that Brasserie Four should be afraid -yet. More to follow.

The eighty-ninth book I have finished this year

[Scott Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent. Every home should have this book ready and waiting.

[Richard Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in Heaven thank you! I have leaned on this book for more than a few choice dishes to prepare and all well worth it. If you like French cooking and want to enjoy yourself in the process, read it but be sure you have a nice bottle wine handy.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to transport yourself to a Parisian bistro, this book does just that. With over 200 recipes celebrating simple, rustic and flavourful French cuisine, accompanied by concise step-by-step instructions, the mouthwatering food of small back-alley bistros immediately bursts to life.

Bistro Cooking is filled with tips to make home cooking easier and more efficient, including tips for using leftovers (les restes). Perfect. The Kindle version is currently available (May 2023) in Canada for $3.99. That's a great bargain for a quick trip to France!

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book lacks the food-porn photos that some people seem to need, the recipes are first rate and their aren't any obvious gaps (all the standard bistro foods are in here). Some of the ingredients maybe harder to find and some of the dishes may take longer to prepare than some want, but it's a great cookbook for people who like cooking good food.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should cook more out of this--it is the kind of food I like to make in the middle of the week

[Beka · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an old-school cookbook. Nothing at all wrong with it, but I prefer the newer style that includes lots of drool-worthy pictures.