One of the things that I have enjoyed in reading the works of Chef Escoffier was his frustration with the turn of the century trend towards simplification of recipes. His praise of inventiveness and hope for the development of new and wondrous recipes reflects someone who believes that not everything has been discovered. He was a master chef who was continually willing to explore . Who can argue with that?
This little book is part dictionary and part recipe short hand that gives both the professional and the amateur a wonderful reference. Here is the Escoffier shorthand for an entree I made other other day:
“LOBSTER THERMIDOR: Dress the collups in halved carapaces and coat with Bercy reduction and mustard cohered with Mornay sauce, glaze.”
In case you are staring at this with glazed eyes, here are a few definitions to help understand the shorthand:
MORNAY SAUCE: Béchamel sauce with shredded or grated cheese added.
(Béchamel sauce is made by whisking scalded milk — or cream in the old way — gradually into a white flour and butter roux)
BERCY BUTTER: a sauce made with a reduction of white wine with shallots, butter, marrow, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper.
COLLOPS: thin slices of meat.
CARAPACE: the thick hard shield of lobsters
To take a quote from the preface:
In using the Répertoire, one learns — or will be reminded — of largely forgotten categories like Dessert Croutes (even though Pain Dore became the All-American favorite — French Toast). Le Répertoire de La Cuisine is not a book of abstraction, but a handy, brilliantly conceived, easily compressed compendium of everything you should know about the organized system of the culinary arts.
One of the truism of the book can be found in an obscure passage:
“The better the ingredients employed, the better will be the final result.”
Bon Appetite
Roger
PS. this beautiful handbook can be purchased very inexpensively on Amazon.com
