From the Editors

The sequel to the classic <i>Mastering the Art of French Cooking</i><br>Here, from Julia Child and Simone Beck, is the sequel to the cooking classic that has inspired a whole American generation to new standards of culinary taste and artistry. On the principle that “mastering any art is a continuing process,” they continued, during the years since the publication of the now-celebrated Volume One, to search out and sample new recipes among the classic dishes and regional specialties of France—cooking, conferring, tasting, revising, perfecting. Out of their discoveries they have made, for Volume Two, a brilliant selection of precisely those recipes that will not only add to the repertory but will, above all, bring the reader to a yet higher level of mastering the art of French cooking.<br>This second volume enables Americans, working with American ingredients, in American kitchens, to achieve those incomparable flavors and aromas that bring up a rush of memories—of lunch at a country inn in Provence, of an evening at a great Paris restaurant, of the essential cooking of France.<br>Among its many treasures:<br>• the first authentic, successful recipe ever devised for making real French bread—the long, crunchy, yeasty, golden loaf that is like no other bread in texture and flavor—with American all-purpose flour and in an American home oven;<br>• soups from the garden, chowders and bisques from the sea—including great fish stews from Provence, Normandy, and Burgundy; <br>• meats from country kitchens to haute cuisine, in master recipes that demonstrate the special art of French meat cookery;<br>• chickens poached (thirteen ways) and sauced;<br>• vegetables alluringly combined and restored to a place of honor on the menu;<br>• a lavish array of desserts, from the deceptively simple to the absolutely splendid.<br><br>But perhaps the most remarkable achievement of this volume is that it will make Americans actually more expert than their French contemporaries in two supreme areas of cookery: baking and <i>charcuterie</i>.<br>In France one can turn to the local bakery for fresh and expertly baked bread, or to neighborhood <i>charcuterie</i> for <i>pâtés</i> and <i>terrines</i> and sausages. Here, most of us have no choice but to create them for ourselves.<br>And in this book, thanks to the ingenuity and untiring experimentation of Mesdames Child and Beck, we are given instructions so clear, so carefully tested, that now any American cook can make specialties that have hitherto been obtainable only from France’s professional chefs and bakers. <br>With the publication of Volume Two, one can select from a whole new range of dishes, from the French bread to a salted goose, from peasant <i>ragoûts</i> to royal Napoleons. Each of the new master recipes is worked out, step by infallible step, with the detail, exactness, and clarity that are the soul of <i>Mastering the Art of French Cooking</i>. And the many drawings—five times as many as in Volume One—are demonstrations in themselves, making the already clear instructions doubly clear.<br>More than a million American families now own Volume One. For them and, in fact, for all who would master the art of French cooking, Julia Child and Simone Beck open up new worlds of expertise and good eating. <i>Bon appétit!</i>
Product Description

Customer Response

A note on the index.
An earlier reviewer gave this item one star because they thought the index was useless. The Index in volume two is an index for both volumes. I believe the previous reviewer misunderstood that. For example the Mushroom Appetizer recipe they were looking for says "I: 202" meaning volume 1, page 202. This may have confused the reviewer but it is not a defect in the book.

On another note the book is well bound so it should last for many years of kitchen use.

Learning the meaning of cooking
Cooking has always been fun for me, but now I am loving it, because Julia goes to great depth explaining why, you let the eggs come to room temperature before beating, and why you dry off the meat before browning. All questions and steps in cooking that I now know not to skip, because of Julia. Great teaching tool. I love it. If you want to know why you need to do a step, then this is the book for you....You can sit down and read this cookbook like a BOOK. It is amazing. If you don't know about Julia Child, then pick the cookbook
'Julia's Kitchen Wisdom'. Happy Cooking...

Nice reference
I like the emphasis on technique rather than on recipes. I wish I could found more books like this.

Julia Child cookbook
My wife REALLY wanted this as a companion to volume one. She loves cookbooks that also tell a story and give the flavor of the region; Julia Child does just this. This was the hardcover edition, NEW, perfect condition, and reasonably priced. Thanks Amazon!

great gift for newly weds
i purchased these books for my new daughter in law, she is going to love them

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