Every month, the Sauce editorial staff divvies up the four or five books selected for By the Book. If there’s a system for who tackles which book, it is that if you claim it, it’s yours. So I pounced on Daniel: My French Cuisine, the new coffee-table book by Daniel Boulud.
I’ve interviewed St. Louis chefs many times over – people like Jim Fiala, Cary McDowell, Kevin Nashan, Josh Galliano and Aaron Teitelbaum – who’ve spent time in Boulud’s flagship Restaurant Daniel and his other NYC restaurants. These chefs are quick to attribute time in a Boulud kitchen as paramount to their formation. They note how French cooking rules and codes were deeply imprinted upon them, the exactness of the kitchen brigade, and the highest level of work ethic necessary to meet expectations of The Big Guy – and diners. Apart from being teased by highly refined dishes, I hoped to see these elements of Boulud’s persona and the type of operation he runs come forth in Daniel: My French Cuisine. And I did.
{Chilled white asparagus soup, wild chervil, chive blossoms}
The photography in Daniel is stunning. Perfectly composed appetizers, fish and meat plates, and desserts boast vibrant color and texture that will make you salivate, such as the chilled white asparagus soup with wild chervil and chive blossoms or the chocolate-coffee bar with mascarpone whipped cream. In the introduction, Boulud calls the dishes at Daniel “vibrant, modern and alive almost.” Photos by Thomas Schauer visually relay Boulud’s style of contemporary French cooking; one that, while relying on exacting (and, in some cases, time-honored) technique and seasonality, also depends on creativity to make a meal that impresses all the senses.
{Daniel on Cheese}
Boulud offers 10 essays on subjects that range from bread to cheese to sauces to seasonings. These are a wonderful, casual tutorial for the home cook who seeks to improve or for the stalker of celeb chefs who wants personal insights from Boulud himself.
Recipes from Restaurant Daniel and Boulud’s home kitchen accompany every photographed dish. While the average home cook is unlikely to prepare these recipes because they are highly involved, Boulud does give enough instruction to pull them off at home for anyone so inclined. Possibly the most helpful recipes are those published at the back of the cookbook; nearly 50 base recipes can help you build your French cooking muscle.
If you’re looking for a coffee-table book that will keep your dinner guests entertained in the living room while you prepare a culinary masterpiece (French or not) in the kitchen, Daniel: My French Cuisine is worth adding to your “buy” list.
And now, we’d like to congratulate Hao, whose comment on last week’s By the Book column has won her a copy of Sicily. Hao, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew!
-photos by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in December 2013.