My French Family Table – Beatrice Peltre

If you are looking for inspiration to eat lighter, fresher, and healthier with a touch of rural France thrown in for good measure, then buy this book. Now.

I’ve been reading Beatrice’s blog La Tartine Gourmande since it’s beginning and so I almost feel like I know her.  I’ve certainly become a fan of the way she approaches food. She takes ordinary ingredients and employs and presents them in ways that are delightfully beautiful, tasty, and unique.

I’ve owned her first cookbook La Tartine Gourmande for quite some time and some of her recipes have become favorites. So earlier this year when she announced that her second cookbook My French Family Table was available for preorder at Amazon, I wasted no time doing so.  I arrived a few days ago and was definitely worth the wait. This is French cuisine at its finest: Light, simple, healthy, unique, and delicious.

The first thing that strikes you about her book is the photography.  This is a book to leave out of the coffee table.  Unlike many ‘coffee-table cookbooks’ I’ve owned, this is one you’ll actually use instead of just look at.  I’ve already made Zucchini, Tomato, and Potato Tian (page 256) and my dinner guests saw it and went ‘Woo!’. Yet it used common ingredients and was very simple to make.  Later today I’m going to try to find romanesco so I can make Romanesco Gratin (page 248).

And I can’t wait to make Pea Risotto with Lemon, Basil Oil, and Steamed Lobster (page 296)

(I would be remiss if I did not point out that every one of these recipes is gluten free but you would never know it by appearance or taste.)