Author Description

In this book, Pierre Franey celebrates American food--the rich lode of fresh produce and the cooking skill, ingenuity and lore that are among our national treasures--and provides us with 200 delectable recipes that are in themselves a celebration. Born in Burgundy and trained as a chef in the great French tradition, Franey has become a true champion of American cooking. We follow him across the country as he searches out local specialties and secrets, talking to all sorts of Americans, from crabbers in Maryland to citrus growers in Florida, from cattle ranchers in Nevada to strawberry and artichoke growers in California. He visits restaurants and their kitchens, from the elegant River Cafe in New York and the vibrant Tra Vigne in the Napa Valley of California to a rustic lechonera in San Juan, Puerto Rico-a pig roasting at the entrance-and the whimsical Cafe Spudnik in Moscow, Idaho. All the while he learns the secrets of the food each region yields up as its bounty for the rest of the nation. With irresistible enthusiasm and an expertise born of decades of experience, Franey conveys how the local American cooks prepare their best dishes. Then- in recipes rangeing from Marinated Brochette of Lamb with Honey and Meadowbrook Muscovy Duck to Strawberries in a Purse-he provides his own interpretations, exhibiting the skills that have become his hallmark: simple, clear steps; the minimum number of ingredients to make a dish work to perfection; cooking insights that can be applied to other dishes as well; and an approach to each dish that cuts down on the time required from beginning to end. This is a fitting tribute to America's extraordinary culinary heritage.