Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking
by Anthony Bourdainbook data
367 ratings, 4.09 average rating, 53 reviews
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published
October 15th 2004
by Bloomsbury USA
binding
Hardcover, 304 pages
isbn
158234180X
(isbn13: 9781582341804)
description
In this long-awaited cookbook, Anthony Bourdain reveals the hearty, delicious recipes of Les Halles and the provocative tricks of the trade that have ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 500)
If I were allowed to read only one cookbook (that's read, not necessarily make the recipes) this one would be it. Bourdain has that rare ability to condescend to you and motivate you to try something new at the same time. It's a mix found in the finest drill instructors, high school math teachers, and apparently, celebrity chefs.
As a side note, I went to Les Halles in NYC in June of this year, and my meal SUCKED! My steak was tough, the fries, about which he rhapsodizes for page after p...more
As a side note, I went to Les Halles in NYC in June of this year, and my meal SUCKED! My steak was tough, the fries, about which he rhapsodizes for page after p...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
people who like to eat.
probably the funniest cookbook you'll ever read. i may not boil pounds and pounds of bones down over two days in an economy-size cooker that i don't own to make my own demi-glace, but it's not like mssr. bourdain is really standing behind me with a meat cleaver for not doing so.
some recipes are totally approachable and do-able, some require more of you and maybe more than you're able to handle.
one of the more enduring passages has to do with the subject of cooking lobsters, and the proba...more
some recipes are totally approachable and do-able, some require more of you and maybe more than you're able to handle.
one of the more enduring passages has to do with the subject of cooking lobsters, and the proba...more
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If you take nothing else from this book, follow these 3 rules:
1. make your own stock, making your own demi glace from the stock, you'll understand once you've done it why this is essential.
2. only eat mussels at home.
3. a well-prepared meal inspires not only confidence, it can be a great way to get back at someone and show them up.
Sometimes the instructions are too skeletal for my liking--I find myself panicky and sniveling about unexpected events I encounter between steps. If you want culin...more
1. make your own stock, making your own demi glace from the stock, you'll understand once you've done it why this is essential.
2. only eat mussels at home.
3. a well-prepared meal inspires not only confidence, it can be a great way to get back at someone and show them up.
Sometimes the instructions are too skeletal for my liking--I find myself panicky and sniveling about unexpected events I encounter between steps. If you want culin...more
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how do you review a cookbook? this is the most non-traditional, unforgiving, scathing cookbook you can find. He's got insane recipes but just biting commentary, I actually found myself reading it almost as a book. If you're into food, I'd definitely recommend owning a copy.
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As a huge cookbook reader and a Bourdain fan, this one rates top shelf placement in my collection. From the perspective of a plain old, ordinary cookbook, it's great: bright, sexy photographs, clearly printed recipes, nicely organized into sensible (not kitchy) sections. Everything I look for.
The recipes are presented in an unusual fashion. They begin with the standard ingredient list, but the step by step instructions read like prose: he's teaching you how to create the dish the way your ...more
The recipes are presented in an unusual fashion. They begin with the standard ingredient list, but the step by step instructions read like prose: he's teaching you how to create the dish the way your ...more
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Bourdain fans
I haven't made my way through the whole book yet, but for those of you who enjoy Bourdain's unapologetic style of writing...this book does NOT disappoint. I haven't laughed this much while reading a book in a while. How many cookbooks have you read where the writer/chef addresses the reader as "Numbnuts"? Even the recipes are written as if he was standing next to you telling (and at times, yelling at) you what to do. My favorite comment that had me in tears...
"Don't worry. Lob...more
"Don't worry. Lob...more
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Yes, only I would have a cook book sitting in my living room on my coffee table.
A good read full of plenty of useful hints, techniques and some great recipes. Many of them are classic french but are a lot easier to get through than Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which I found to be a little bit dated. It's also filled with plenty of anecdotes, funny witticisms and classic Bourdain instructions. If you're just starting to try and recreate a good boueff bourginon or...more
A good read full of plenty of useful hints, techniques and some great recipes. Many of them are classic french but are a lot easier to get through than Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which I found to be a little bit dated. It's also filled with plenty of anecdotes, funny witticisms and classic Bourdain instructions. If you're just starting to try and recreate a good boueff bourginon or...more
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This is a very meat-heavy cookbook that calls for all sorts of ingredients that I can say with the utmost confidence I will never buy: wild boar shoulder, a whole wild pheasant, beef bone marrow.
However, this is a beautifully designed book and the design was my primary reason for buying it. I also just really like Anthony Bourdain! It also has a great glossary, and I can definitely see myself making the Blueberries with Lime Sugar (served with creme fraiche on the side). Yum!
However, this is a beautifully designed book and the design was my primary reason for buying it. I also just really like Anthony Bourdain! It also has a great glossary, and I can definitely see myself making the Blueberries with Lime Sugar (served with creme fraiche on the side). Yum!
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recommends it for:
Anyone who wants to take a stab at great French food
Again, I heart Bourdain. His recipes are great (I love his Poulet Roti - I fell in love with it when I had it at LH, as are his Pomme Puree).
Better yet are his narratives. HILARIOUS!! Never before have I heard anyone rightfully identify pearl onions as "little f-ers", and wholly encourages you to finish the bottle of whatever alcohol you use to start cooking the dish with. "Stagger to the table" is a valid part of the recipe.
Better yet are his narratives. HILARIOUS!! Never before have I heard anyone rightfully identify pearl onions as "little f-ers", and wholly encourages you to finish the bottle of whatever alcohol you use to start cooking the dish with. "Stagger to the table" is a valid part of the recipe.
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Read in December, 2007
I bought a copy of this for my mom for Christmas and couldn't help pre-reading it before I wrapped it up. It makes bistro cooking much less intimidating and provides very practical tips on cooking. The only drawback is that it might be overwhelming for a novice cook. I would suggest maybe tackling some of Julia Child's recipies before heading into this cookbook.
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Read in July, 2006
It's the cookbook that reads like a novel! Bourdain's conversational tone in the narration of this book is fantastic. He explains where the food comes from, how to treat the food, how to get to know your purveyors and why you need to do that. If you're a true foodie, and love French Bistro cooking, this is a book that needs to be on your shelf.
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Read in January, 2007
This cookbook exudes a bare-boned and unpretentious approach to French cuisine. The classic French bistro recipes (taken from Bourdain's restaurant in New York, Les Halles) are broken down and presented in such an approachable way that anyone can replicate, respect and appreciate. Every recipe I've tried thus far has been phenomenal.
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Only Bourdain could get me to try a French cookbook. I have failed on the few things I've tried, but he has all the most basic recipes you've heard of if you are interested in trying French cooking. Additionally, there is commentary on the inside that is typical Bourdain that makes for great reading even if you aren't cooking that day.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
I don't think I've actually cooked from this book, because the recipes are so hardcore (I feel spiritually unfit to approach any of them, seeing as I don't have a freezer full of demi-glace and pig bones ... ). However, this is a gorgeously-designed book chock full of the Tony wit and wisdom. Plus the F word. Hurray!
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
Anthony Bourdain fans
Amusing if occasionally misguided (in terms of items such as storage of made products such as the Le Halles version of berre blanc) cookbook. The explicit and demeaning language to try to separate this book from, say, your average Food Network "star" cookbook is informative at best, gimmicky at worst.
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Mark
This book has prompted me to read about the importance of grass-fed livestock and to know my cuts of beef beyond the topical David Letterman scenario. I look forward to making my own veal stock twice a year like Bourdain suggests, even though this might result in a weird smell emanating from my house.
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Read in January, 2006
recommended to Sommer by:
Dad
I fell in love with this book the moment I opened it up to some random spot in the middle and the first sentence I read included the word "fuck." Nothing like one of the naughtier of the four letter words in a cook book. I heart Anthony Bourdain.
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For pure "i don't give a shit" cooking, this is the book. Now you too can walk around with an air of undeserved authority after banging out a few of these recipes. The onglet gascon (p.127) May be the best thing I ever put in my mouth!
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recommends it for:
bookish chefs
Patrick read this cover-to-cover like a novel because Bourdain is that good of a writer. The steak salad is a bit salty but still I dream about it every night--as I do the Pork a la Charcutiere. Damn, veal stock and butter and meat are good.
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