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15th out of 110 books
—
35 voters
Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Stategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking
In this long-awaited cookbook, Anthony Bourdain reveals the hearty, delicious recipes of Les Halles and the provocative tricks of the trade that have made him a celebrated name across the globe.
Before stunning the world with his bestselling Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour, Anthony Bourdain spent years serving some of the best French brasserie food in New York. With...more
Before stunning the world with his bestselling Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour, Anthony Bourdain spent years serving some of the best French brasserie food in New York. With...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
October 15th 2004
by Bloomsbury USA
(first published January 1st 2004)
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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 page in t...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 page in t...more
Dec 28, 2007
Stacy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like to eat.
Shelves:
cooking-eatings
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 probable sque...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 probable sque...more
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 culinary...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 culinary...more
Lots of swearing at Americans for how we choose our cuts of beef, overcook green beans, etc. All of which I agree with because I am in love with Anthony Bourdain.
My only criticism of this book is that there are not enough pictures of Anthony Bourdain in it.
My only criticism of this book is that there are not enough pictures of Anthony Bourdain in it.
Best known as the globe-trotting loudmouthed chef from his TV shows on the Food and Travel networks ("A Cook's Tour" and "No Reservations" respectively), Anthony Bourdain is something of a rarity in the TV world. He holds no punches, admits to many vices and wholly resists the kind of veneer that most TV chefs seem to thrive on. He's a foul-mouthed wise-ass, and proud of it.
Now you will believe me when I say his cookbook is far from the standard collection of recipes. You will believe that state...more
Now you will believe me when I say his cookbook is far from the standard collection of recipes. You will believe that state...more
Yes. I'm a vegetarian and I'm giving Bourdain a 5-star rating.
It's an oddly entertaining cookbook. You can actually read it cover to cover and enjoy just that experience, but I'd highly recommend trying your hand at any of the recipes. My copy is now well worn and covered with various food stains. A true sign of a well-loved cookbook.
The recipes are exceptionally easy to follow. I love Julia Child as much as the next girl, but sometimes her instructions are lacking in clarity. I find Bourdain t...more
It's an oddly entertaining cookbook. You can actually read it cover to cover and enjoy just that experience, but I'd highly recommend trying your hand at any of the recipes. My copy is now well worn and covered with various food stains. A true sign of a well-loved cookbook.
The recipes are exceptionally easy to follow. I love Julia Child as much as the next girl, but sometimes her instructions are lacking in clarity. I find Bourdain t...more
this book is what it says it is, it's Tony Bourdain's recipes from Les Halles along with his style of commentary. I like the recipes, if only for the same reasons I like the recipes in the French Laundry Cookbook - I probably won't make most of them, but they're something to aspire to, or adapt to my own abilities (for instance, i'm NOT going to make veal stock any year soon... it's just over the top when you're normally cooking for 2. Demi-glace from D'artagnon however? that I will buy).
I've b...more
I've b...more
Look...I love Anthony. I've watched every episode of Cook's Tour, No Reservations and the Layover three or four times each. I've read almost all of his books. I used to eat at Les Halles back when he actually worked there. Big fan. All that being said...this cookbook just isn't very good. If you follow the recipes to the letter, what you wind up with is adequate meals that approximately appear & taste as they should on a most baseline level. Nothing more. And certainly nothing special. I've...more
I don't know much about French food, but I've read a couple of Anthony Bourdain's books and seen his travel show, so I figured I'd try my hand at a few dishes straight from the French/American bastard himself.
First of all, you'll never find a more entertaining cookbook. A good 30% of the dishes in this book are beyond the capabilities of mere mortal men. And you don't get those stereotypical pastoral-fantasy explanations of dishes that you get in other cook books (eg. "...the fond memories of my...more
First of all, you'll never find a more entertaining cookbook. A good 30% of the dishes in this book are beyond the capabilities of mere mortal men. And you don't get those stereotypical pastoral-fantasy explanations of dishes that you get in other cook books (eg. "...the fond memories of my...more
I love Anthony Bourdain, but I don't think I will cook anything from this collection.
These recipes remind me (once again) why I do not love French cooking. Too much meat, too much meat fat, not enough fresh flavor. Most of the recipes call for homemade stock (veal, chicken, beef, duck, lamb, fish) and a bit of demi-glace. Bourdain devotes several pages to stocks and demi, without mentioning anything of a roasted vegetable stock, which I make and am fond of. I make other stocks, too, mostly not...more
These recipes remind me (once again) why I do not love French cooking. Too much meat, too much meat fat, not enough fresh flavor. Most of the recipes call for homemade stock (veal, chicken, beef, duck, lamb, fish) and a bit of demi-glace. Bourdain devotes several pages to stocks and demi, without mentioning anything of a roasted vegetable stock, which I make and am fond of. I make other stocks, too, mostly not...more
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.
Recipes are picky preparations but absolutely worth it. This is the book and the chef that brought me my dearest friends and kicked off our first cookbook club gathering.
Here's what I've tasted and the cookbook club cooks who made them:
Me - boeuf bourguingon: not your corn starch thickened momma's beef stew. Use a good wine and you won't regret it.
Gretchen - moules a la grecque: Nothing could sway my love of mussels. The Fennel bulb was a delightful twist
Molly - petatou: Olives are annoying to...more
Here's what I've tasted and the cookbook club cooks who made them:
Me - boeuf bourguingon: not your corn starch thickened momma's beef stew. Use a good wine and you won't regret it.
Gretchen - moules a la grecque: Nothing could sway my love of mussels. The Fennel bulb was a delightful twist
Molly - petatou: Olives are annoying to...more
I cannot rate this cookbook highly enough. Bourdain's personality shows through, but it doesn't detract from the food - much (if not most) of which I tried at Les Halles before the Washington store closed. If this doesn't turn you on to French bistro and peasant food, I'm not sure anything will.
Witness his introduction to Pâté de Campagne:
"You've made meat loaf, right? You've eaten cold meat loaf, yes? Then you're halfway to being an ass-kicking, name-taking charcutier. "Ooooh... pâté, I don't...more
Witness his introduction to Pâté de Campagne:
"You've made meat loaf, right? You've eaten cold meat loaf, yes? Then you're halfway to being an ass-kicking, name-taking charcutier. "Ooooh... pâté, I don't...more
When I have a serious piece of meat or an ingredient I want to show off and still manage to cook it so I can eat dinner, I reach for Les Halles cookbook by none other than Anthony Bourdain. I don't eat meat too often, I know he does and writes about it a lot, but when I do I like to treat it with respect and use it to its full potential, when I finally do indulge in it, I can think of a few other French cookbooks that I have but this one has spunk, and is so gosh darn entertaining too. It has kn...more
This cookbook has served me very well over the few years I've owned it. Love Bourdain's style, and his recipes are unbeatable.
I originally bought this book on the strength of its mushroom soup recipe- simple, tasty, versatile, but the page with all the greasy stains on it which gets pulled out all the time is the Poulet Roti-- the best roast chicken recipe I've ever seen.
Even with all its use, I only recently went back and read the lengthier written portions. He is a truly engaging writer and...more
I originally bought this book on the strength of its mushroom soup recipe- simple, tasty, versatile, but the page with all the greasy stains on it which gets pulled out all the time is the Poulet Roti-- the best roast chicken recipe I've ever seen.
Even with all its use, I only recently went back and read the lengthier written portions. He is a truly engaging writer and...more
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 mom or...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 mom or...more
It's well written, but a lousy cookbook.
Does that make sense? It does to me. And I've TRIED to make his food. Pelé help me: I've tried. But some of them are just fricking impossible.
Take rillettes. Wonderful food. Absolutely delicious. His recipe makes them sound as good as they are.
I double dog dare anyone who has no previous experience with charcuterie to figure out what the H he is actually talking about. His steps are so vague as to be almost useless.
My wife's gramma used to give barely...more
Does that make sense? It does to me. And I've TRIED to make his food. Pelé help me: I've tried. But some of them are just fricking impossible.
Take rillettes. Wonderful food. Absolutely delicious. His recipe makes them sound as good as they are.
I double dog dare anyone who has no previous experience with charcuterie to figure out what the H he is actually talking about. His steps are so vague as to be almost useless.
My wife's gramma used to give barely...more
This is a great cookbook, and I love his descriptions of things. Clear, simple, etc... But it doesn't get four stars because I haven't been able to use it. The circumstances of living with my parents for the time being means that I don't have the kitchen space or the headspace to cook anything so lovely as these recipes. So one day, when I get to come across this cookbook again, I will make things and then I will star it accordingly. For now, just as a fun read, it's three stars.
Also, Mr. Bourd...more
Also, Mr. Bourd...more
I will confess, I've not made a single dish from this cookbook since acquiring it months (and months) ago. But Anthony Bourdain writes a pretty entertaining cookbook! Not surprising, since I find his quirky sense of humor very appealing. The book would have gotten 5 stars if I could actually find veal bones (easily) in the market. It might actually drive me to try and make veal stock to use regularly in my cooking.
While the book perfectly reflects Tony's pisstake attitude, this book has been designed more to confuse the amateur chef, rather than help him out. The jokes in the book are ok, but it looks more like a private project, rather than a book, that might belong to anybody's library, unless you are a big kitchen troll (I am not sure this existed, but it does now!).
Reading his writing is just like walking around behind him through dusty streets of a far-off country. You are instantly drawn in, while he straight-forwardly tells why French food is crap, and you should be certain not to buy strawberries out of season. It's delightfully refreshing, and I loved an afternoon with him.
Hands down the most condescending and yet most informative cookbook I have ever read. I treated this book like a normal autobiography and read it cover to cover - laughing at Bourdain's cockiness and ability to make the reader feel like they know nothing.
That said, this book has so much good information about setting up a kitchen, tips on dinner parties, etc. I borrowed it from the library this time, but it is on my must buy list. He lays out great tips and tricks on how to be successful in the...more
That said, this book has so much good information about setting up a kitchen, tips on dinner parties, etc. I borrowed it from the library this time, but it is on my must buy list. He lays out great tips and tricks on how to be successful in the...more
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. Lobsters are essential...more
"Don't worry. Lobsters are essential...more
I love, love this book, and so want to own it. It does two things a cookbook should do, wonderfully well. It makes you believe that you can cook this stuff, and, reading it makes you hungry, and hungry to give the recipes a try. Oops, that's three things. Even better.
I really really like Bourdains writing. Witty and lyrical and straight to the point. This is not only a very good practical cook book minus the glossy pictures. The story he tells of his time at Les Halles is fascinating and heart warming. Keep it up Mr!
Cooking techniques make fascinating reading, but oftentimes the materials and tools are beyond the reach of the everyday cook. Still, this was an interesting book to peruse and offers Bourdain's typical high energy style and back kitchen prose.
"If you're afraid of a little grease on your chin or of eating with your hands, are squeemish about bones, fish heads, and guts, are ambivalent about garlic, are too precious with your food, then put this book down now (you probably didn't get any food on it yet) and return it."
Bourdain has a lively and casual writing style that is a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the text even though I don't much care for French bistro cuisine.
Bourdain has a lively and casual writing style that is a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the text even though I don't much care for French bistro cuisine.
Best food book I've read in a long time, enjoyed on a cold, rainy weekend in a motel in Maine. Anthony Bourdain is an awesome, bad-ass chef, yes, but he's also a first-rate writer and someone I would kill to have dinner with.
A fine book by the well-known chef, Anthony Bourdain. I'm not likely to make a lot of the recipes here, but it is a nice work. I learned here the term "mise en place" (although I'd been doing it--without knowing the term).
Tying the book it to a place as mediocre as Les Halles probably not the wisest decision but a fun read none the less. Those looking for a guide to French techniques would do better with any of by Jacques Pepin's books.
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Anthony Bourdain is the author of the novels Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo, in addition to the megabestsellers Kitchen Confidential and A Cook’s Tour.
His work has appeared in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and he is a contributing authority for Food Arts magazine. He is the host of the popular television show No Reservations.
More about Anthony Bourdain...
His work has appeared in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and he is a contributing authority for Food Arts magazine. He is the host of the popular television show No Reservations.
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