broadbean's Reviews
Cookbook Reviews
Ma p'tite cuisine
By Julie Andrieu
Marabout - 2005
This is a cookbook published by the French publication house Marabout. I bought it a few years ago from a cookshop which had a number of absolutely beautiful cookbooks from the same press. After lengthy (and hungrifying) browsing, I picked this one because the recipes looked most like ones I would actually make.
Julie Andrieu apparently presents (or presented) a daytime cookery programme and contributed to the food pages of magazines like Marie Claire. This book is focused around storecupboard staples and quick meals - although that doesn't necessarily mean simple ones. It's divided into themed sections like "we all have an Italian mamma inside us", "useful for when you've invited your boss to dinner" (fancier food, also useful for impressing the in-laws), "what's more difficult than coming up with an intimate dinner for lovers" and "under the pine tree" for Christmas food. Each section starts with a list of Julie's "fetishes" for this kind of food, amusingly written up: she comments that she is tempted to carry a tube of anchoiade around in her handbag because it's such a useful condiment, and suggests that if you can't find Kikkoman soy sauce in the supermarket, you should try and buy a bottle from your local sushi bar. It was a fun browse and I turned down the corners of half-a-dozen recipes to try later.