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French Country Cooking: Meals and Moments from a Village in the Vineyards: A Cookbook
A captivating journey through off-the-beaten-path French wine country with 100 simple yet exquisite recipes, 150 sumptuous photographs, and stories inspired by life in a small village. “Francophiles, this book is pure Gallic food porn.”—The Wall Street JournalReaders everywhere fell in love with Mimi Thorisson, her family, and their band of smooth fox terriers through her blog, Manger, and debut cookbook, A Kitchen in France. In French Country Cooking, the family moves to an abandoned old château in Médoc. While shopping for local ingredients, cooking, and renovating the house, Mimi meets the farmers and artisans who populate the village and learns about the former owner of the house, an accomplished local cook. Here are recipes inspired by this eccentric cast of characters, including White Asparagus Soufflé, Wine Harvest Pot au Feu, Endives with Ham, and Salted Butter Chocolate Cake.Featuring evocative photographs taken by Mimi’s husband, Oddur Thorisson, and illustrated endpapers, this cookbook is a charming jaunt to an untouched corner of France that has thus far eluded the spotlight.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 25, 2016
97 people are currently reading
468 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 30, 2016
This is a cookbook with lovely photos taken by the author's husband, delicious recipes and tender stories. I made several of the recipes over the Christmas holidays for my family and they were well received.
May 5, 2022
I love her cookbooks.
November 17, 2017
This book will definitely please readers wanting to live vicariously through the author. It is a beautiful compilation of stories and images of country life in Medoc. As a cookbook, I am terribly disappointed. I hate saying this because I love so many of the recipes concepts (and the corresponding images). Unfortunately, the recipes don't come out correctly. I've tried about 9 or 10 recipes and most have had flaws resulting in incorrect measurements. I asked a chef friend of mine and he said it looked like the translation of measurements was off in a few recipes. So afterward, I researched and saw other people attempting recipes had similar issues.
The concept for this book gets five stars from me. The choice to employ recipe testers before the book goes to print--two stars. I prefer my Daniel Boulud books.
The concept for this book gets five stars from me. The choice to employ recipe testers before the book goes to print--two stars. I prefer my Daniel Boulud books.
November 6, 2016
There is nothing wrong with this book. Every single recipe is approachable. Author Mimi Thorisson's story of acquiring a century old country house/hotel and bringing it back to life is fascinating. The photographs make us jealous. I didn't know whether to read it as a gorgeous journey or put it on my shelf of cookbooks. Certainly, it doesn't deserve to be hidden there but any page can be opened and any recipe deemed a success. If you can't afford the airplane ticket, this book is a good way to take the journey anyway.
April 16, 2021
This is my favorite of Mimi's books. I love the story of bringing their long abandoned home back to life.
January 14, 2018
This book stopped me in my tracks and my local bookstore - and for good reason. The photos alone are worth the price of the book. This is the kind of book you can set out on the counter in your kitchen or even lay out on the coffee table. That would be a great idea, actually, since just looking at this book will make you want to cook more. It will make you want to travel to France more. It will definitely make you want to eat more - well, that may not be a good idea. Unless, you are eating recipes from this book.
Once you've drooled over the pictures and actually started reading the recipes, you'll definitely find they are stunning, as well. Everything seems very straight-forward, delicious, and easy enough for a seasoned cook to attempt. Nothing seems too difficult, and the ingredient lists seem fairly standard fare. The desserts really seem to stand out. Nothing too icky, sticky sweet, just lovely little cakes and tarts which look humble, but I'm sure will taste amazing.
No, I haven't cooked any of the recipes, yet. I seriously sat down and read the book today, so no time for cooking. But, I am definitely inspired to do so. I'm also thinking I may need to schedule a trip soon...
Once you've drooled over the pictures and actually started reading the recipes, you'll definitely find they are stunning, as well. Everything seems very straight-forward, delicious, and easy enough for a seasoned cook to attempt. Nothing seems too difficult, and the ingredient lists seem fairly standard fare. The desserts really seem to stand out. Nothing too icky, sticky sweet, just lovely little cakes and tarts which look humble, but I'm sure will taste amazing.
No, I haven't cooked any of the recipes, yet. I seriously sat down and read the book today, so no time for cooking. But, I am definitely inspired to do so. I'm also thinking I may need to schedule a trip soon...
December 4, 2022
First up the good parts: Some of the recipes in here sound intriguing. They cover some classic French cooking and baking without being too French about it.
However, the entire tone of the book is tinged by the author's tone of "Oh isn't it marvelous" to the point that I personally found it sickening. The photographs are staged for maximum Instagram-ability and the descriptions are written like they were meant to be read aloud by Nigella Lawson.
In a good cookbook, the colour commentary above recipes helps me contextualize them, appreciate them, or understand them better. In an OK cookbook, I can appreciate the recipes without the commentary. In this book, I actively had to roll my eyes at every sentence. That made this a very unenjoyable read, regardless of the quality of the cooking going on.
However, the entire tone of the book is tinged by the author's tone of "Oh isn't it marvelous" to the point that I personally found it sickening. The photographs are staged for maximum Instagram-ability and the descriptions are written like they were meant to be read aloud by Nigella Lawson.
In a good cookbook, the colour commentary above recipes helps me contextualize them, appreciate them, or understand them better. In an OK cookbook, I can appreciate the recipes without the commentary. In this book, I actively had to roll my eyes at every sentence. That made this a very unenjoyable read, regardless of the quality of the cooking going on.
June 30, 2017
Captivating is spot on! I will treasure this beautiful book. Gorgeous photography, thick pages with delightful stories and history of the No 1 rue de Loudenne. I devoured this book in two days... with no jumping around and I read the directions in every recipe. I have never read a cookbook with such rapt attention. I am a clean cook and choose the freshest ingredients so this collection of recipes will serve me very well. Thank you for your fine work and beautiful life story. Inspiring!
August 31, 2022
This is the kind of cookbook I love to read from cover to cover: stunning photos and a little story/description accompany each recipe. The recipes are written well and easy to follow. Admittedly, it is very meat and dessert-centric, but I made the cinnamon crepes and they were delightful and now my go-to crepe recipe. While we try to eat a more plant-centered diet, it'll be nice to tuck in to some of these recipes when we need some hearty comfort food. I am a big fan!
September 23, 2020
A lovely and visually rich cookbook. I enjoyed "reading" this and appreciated the descriptions with each recipe, whether they covered technique, ingredient treatment, or a backstory.
As an architecture nerd, I wanted more photos of the home itself. I also wish there was a preamble about the author - I was not familiar with her or her blog but the book assumes that you do.
As an architecture nerd, I wanted more photos of the home itself. I also wish there was a preamble about the author - I was not familiar with her or her blog but the book assumes that you do.
February 23, 2018
A new favorite on French Country Cooking. This is a beautiful and very useful cookbook with mostly accessible recipes for the home cook who loves French food culture and real French food, like one would prepare for your family in France. Mimi Thorisson is a talented food writer.
November 26, 2019
So good I want to own it so that I can enjoy it whenever I want. I don't know that I've made anything out of this book yet but it is inspiring in its creativity and her narration and her husband's photographs
April 16, 2020
I love reading a good cookbook! Would love to go visit and eat Mimis food! Have done a dinner club using her recipes and it went over really well! Makes me want to move to Medoc, maybe she’d hire me!
November 8, 2020
Потрясающая книга!
Мими дает не просто рецепты, а рассказывает истории. Истории, после которых нельзя не влюбиться в нее, в книгу, в ее семью и ресторан. И это одна из немногих книг, из которой хочется приготовить просто все!
Мими дает не просто рецепты, а рассказывает истории. Истории, после которых нельзя не влюбиться в нее, в книгу, в ее семью и ресторан. И это одна из немногих книг, из которой хочется приготовить просто все!
August 2, 2017
Absolutely loved all the stories and recipes in this book!
January 7, 2019
Devoured this book. When can I move to the French countryside and have wine with every meal, perfectly paired?! Also, Dan and I agree we should incorporate foie gras into more dinners.
May 30, 2019
Dreamy. I can’t decide what to make first but I think it will be the pear cake.
June 8, 2019
Gorgeous photos, fun narrative, a little aspirational, but still beautiful photos with some good recipes, as well.
June 11, 2019
Delicious read, nice recipes - most are pretty straightforward. Great photos, nice wine commentary. This book is a treat.
January 16, 2021
2 stars because it is so Visually beautiful and a lovely story but not much inspiring that I wanted to cook.
June 14, 2021
loved it
November 25, 2022
Ідэальная кулінарная кніга!
March 17, 2024
Nice book. Sweet stories. Recipes aren't all American or amateur cook friendly
October 8, 2025
Beautiful book! I loved this one.
October 25, 2025
Well crafted and organized.
December 2, 2016
beautiful photography; some recipes easily doable
March 12, 2017
Beautiful book, most likely delicious recipes. However, complex recipes loaded with butter which, unfortunately, is not good for my heart. Thus, I probably won't be revisiting this one.
March 2, 2017
Mimi Thorisson and her husband were house-hunting without much success until their realtor took them to a house that was nothing like what they thought they wanted. So of course, because this is how life goes, it was perfect. Perfectly run-down and in disrepair, but perfect in so many other ways, too. A big, sprawling house for her and her big, sprawling family. Its slightly and delightfully semi-scandalous origins and its history as a B&B just added luster. Of course, they opened a restaurant.
While the first recipe is a gorgeous apple pie, the first chapter of recipes is full of cakes! In celebration of l’heure du goûter when folks enjoy their cake and eat it too, a special time of day, usually after school for a tasty reward for the day’s work. Thorisson is not hiding dessert at the end, but front and center.
Thorisson is not doctrinaire about the lines on the map of French cuisine and includes recipes from other cuisines. The emphasis is on fresh, seasonal ingredients and on accenting the natural flavors with spices and herbs that enhance the natural flavors, rather than transform the flavors. She points out you can make steak and potatoes anywhere, but it was invented in France and no one does it better.
Mimi Thorisson is the sort of person who might inspire envy. She is extraordinarily beautiful with a clutch of seven children, an amazing home, a successful restaurant and a life of travel and adventure. Worse, she makes it seem easy, but you can read between her lighthearted descriptions of cleaning up and repairing their home and the haps and mishaps of opening their restaurant and recognize that her success and happiness come from the family working hard together to succeed. There is not one gram of smug self-congratulation in this warm-hearted book that celebrates the history of her home, but also her neighbors and friends. Recipes that came from neighbors are credited with little stories about them.
The photos are taken by Thorisson’s husband Oddur, an Icelandic professional photographer. They are stunning, infused with light. I think the entire family is captured working in the kitchen or restaurant and even the family pets are there. There is a lot of love in those photos. The food is delicious looking and the photos do not have that over-saturated appearance that is common in cookbooks. When the skin on a chicken is pale because it was simmered, not roasted, as in the poule-au-pot, it stays pale. The picture of the Country Terrine is downright frightening though, that hornet is huge! The fashion of strewn tabletops continues, but with a welcome restraint. I did not once think with pity of the poor person who had to clean up after the photos.
All in all, this is a lovely book that is mostly about the delicious, rustic foods of rural France, but it also about a lovely family who are living their dream with joy, gratitude, and love. It is a book about a style of living. So there are lots of photos of the countryside, the raw ingredients, the family. Fewer photos and more recipes might please some folks, but I enjoyed it just the way it is.
I received a copy of French Country Cooking from Blogging for Books.
★★★★
http://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpres...
While the first recipe is a gorgeous apple pie, the first chapter of recipes is full of cakes! In celebration of l’heure du goûter when folks enjoy their cake and eat it too, a special time of day, usually after school for a tasty reward for the day’s work. Thorisson is not hiding dessert at the end, but front and center.
Thorisson is not doctrinaire about the lines on the map of French cuisine and includes recipes from other cuisines. The emphasis is on fresh, seasonal ingredients and on accenting the natural flavors with spices and herbs that enhance the natural flavors, rather than transform the flavors. She points out you can make steak and potatoes anywhere, but it was invented in France and no one does it better.
Mimi Thorisson is the sort of person who might inspire envy. She is extraordinarily beautiful with a clutch of seven children, an amazing home, a successful restaurant and a life of travel and adventure. Worse, she makes it seem easy, but you can read between her lighthearted descriptions of cleaning up and repairing their home and the haps and mishaps of opening their restaurant and recognize that her success and happiness come from the family working hard together to succeed. There is not one gram of smug self-congratulation in this warm-hearted book that celebrates the history of her home, but also her neighbors and friends. Recipes that came from neighbors are credited with little stories about them.
The photos are taken by Thorisson’s husband Oddur, an Icelandic professional photographer. They are stunning, infused with light. I think the entire family is captured working in the kitchen or restaurant and even the family pets are there. There is a lot of love in those photos. The food is delicious looking and the photos do not have that over-saturated appearance that is common in cookbooks. When the skin on a chicken is pale because it was simmered, not roasted, as in the poule-au-pot, it stays pale. The picture of the Country Terrine is downright frightening though, that hornet is huge! The fashion of strewn tabletops continues, but with a welcome restraint. I did not once think with pity of the poor person who had to clean up after the photos.
All in all, this is a lovely book that is mostly about the delicious, rustic foods of rural France, but it also about a lovely family who are living their dream with joy, gratitude, and love. It is a book about a style of living. So there are lots of photos of the countryside, the raw ingredients, the family. Fewer photos and more recipes might please some folks, but I enjoyed it just the way it is.
I received a copy of French Country Cooking from Blogging for Books.
★★★★
http://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpres...
November 12, 2016
It's not often that I gasp when I open a cookbook, but I did just that upon opening French Country Cooking: Meals and Moments from a Village in the Vineyards. Whether you like to cook or not, this book by Mimi Thorisson reads more like a novel than a cookbook. Part recipe book, part family chronicle, part a detailed commentary on life in France, this book is a stunner. Mimi Thorisson chronicles her journey of buying a century house and brining it back to life in delicious form. As if engaging text and mouth-watering recipes aren't enough, the photography, by husband Oddur, is outstanding. It, alone, could be a study on how to learn food photography.
Handsome and gracious hosts, the Thorissons take you inside their home to share their lives in this superior tome that you are not only going to want to cook from, but also keep close at hand to page through and savor. Once your friends catch a glimpse of it, they'll want to get their own copy to similarly enjoy.
The recipes are a tad past the beginner stage, but not so much as to make this a book for experienced cooks only. While not all recipes are hundred percent doable for the American cook (I have no idea, for example, where I would be able to find some black-footed pig chops), this made absolutely no difference to my enjoyment of the cookbook. There is the rare cookbook indeed in which I am able to use every recipe, and this one is no different. It is, however, beautiful, inspiring, full of new recipes, and sprinkled with French phrases throughout that just add to the charm. The Ham Cruque-Madame is both delicious and doable, as is the Ham and Spring Onion Omelette, Kale and Sausage Pasta (I subbed spinach), and. The over-the-top delicious Wise Guy Chicken.
The recipe portion of the book is divided into sections: Starters, Main Courses, Sunday Suppers with the Family (I loved this section.), Staff Meals, Side Dishes, and Desserts. As I mentioned before a lot of these recipes are geared toward more experienced cooks, however I honestly think there is something in this book for everyone. While some of the recipes may look daunting, it's largely because the measurements are given in both ounces and grams, and instructions are detailed and concise. Read through each one and I believe you will find all of these recipes are quite doable. One example of this is the recipe for Mashed Potatoes with Fennel. This is easy and delicious, and would make an excellent addition to your Thanksgiving table. Why not mix things up this year if you're hosting an American Thanksgiving celebration and add a French dish or two.
If you treat yourself to a special book now and again, this should be the one, it also makes a perfect gift.
Disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary copy from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
Handsome and gracious hosts, the Thorissons take you inside their home to share their lives in this superior tome that you are not only going to want to cook from, but also keep close at hand to page through and savor. Once your friends catch a glimpse of it, they'll want to get their own copy to similarly enjoy.
The recipes are a tad past the beginner stage, but not so much as to make this a book for experienced cooks only. While not all recipes are hundred percent doable for the American cook (I have no idea, for example, where I would be able to find some black-footed pig chops), this made absolutely no difference to my enjoyment of the cookbook. There is the rare cookbook indeed in which I am able to use every recipe, and this one is no different. It is, however, beautiful, inspiring, full of new recipes, and sprinkled with French phrases throughout that just add to the charm. The Ham Cruque-Madame is both delicious and doable, as is the Ham and Spring Onion Omelette, Kale and Sausage Pasta (I subbed spinach), and. The over-the-top delicious Wise Guy Chicken.
The recipe portion of the book is divided into sections: Starters, Main Courses, Sunday Suppers with the Family (I loved this section.), Staff Meals, Side Dishes, and Desserts. As I mentioned before a lot of these recipes are geared toward more experienced cooks, however I honestly think there is something in this book for everyone. While some of the recipes may look daunting, it's largely because the measurements are given in both ounces and grams, and instructions are detailed and concise. Read through each one and I believe you will find all of these recipes are quite doable. One example of this is the recipe for Mashed Potatoes with Fennel. This is easy and delicious, and would make an excellent addition to your Thanksgiving table. Why not mix things up this year if you're hosting an American Thanksgiving celebration and add a French dish or two.
If you treat yourself to a special book now and again, this should be the one, it also makes a perfect gift.
Disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary copy from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
October 23, 2016
Mimi Thorisson’s cookbooks are a marvelous ménage of memories combined with the current everyday experiences of food, family, and friends. With “French Country Cooking: Meals and Moments from a Village in the Vineyards”, readers are once again treated to the epicurean expertise of Ms. Thorisson accented by the beautiful color photos captured by her husband, Oddur. In this book, the family and their dogs move to the small village of St. Yazans in the Medoc region of France. The historic chateau which becomes their new home bears a rich legacy as a former renowned hotel and restaurant. The locale of the chateau offers a bounty of resplendent resources as friendships are made with “winemakers, hunters, vegetable growers, and local gourmands”. Each new find inspires creativity in the kitchen and a growing sense of familial contentment. Reading the book, savoring the recipes and the photos, and dreaming of such a life in the French countryside is glorious feast for lovers of good food and the “good life”. Here is a sampler of the wonderful recipes you will find: “Fig and Pistachio Cake”; “Rhubarb and Raspberry Cordial”; “Pumpkin Quiche with Bacon”; “Cassoulet”; “Black Peppered Filets Mignons with Cognac”; “Roast Chicken with Chestnuts and Cabbage”; “Wine Harvest Pot-Au-Feu”; “Ham and Spring Onion Omelette”; “Wise Guy Chicken”; “Garlic Potato Chips”; “Salted Butter Chocolate Cake”; “Walnut Tart”; and “Orange Blossom Cake”. MIMI THORISSON is the author of A Kitchen in France and Manger, a blog devoted to French cooking and her life in the French countryside. She is the host of the French cooking shows La Table de Mimi and Les Desserts de Mimi. She lives with her husband, their children, and their smooth fox terriers in an old château in St Yzans, in the Médoc region of France.
Review Copy Gratis Clarkson Potter Publishers via Blogging for Books
Review Copy Gratis Clarkson Potter Publishers via Blogging for Books
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews