Petite Patisserie

Copy editor Jane Sigal

This delightful volume is devoted to the charming treats that fill the windows of French neighborhood patisseries. With expert guidance from baking guru Christophe Felder, any home cook can now re-create the sweet enchantments and small indulgences that usually exist only in memories of visits to France.

Felder, along with his longtime collaborator, Camille Lesecq, are back with a new volume that focuses on French baking favorites. Recipes include classics and traditional recipes, plus inventive creations, such as amandines, rum babas, bostocks, chouquettes, financiers, flans, mirlitons, madeleines, Alsatian manderlis, millefeuilles, petits fours, eclairs, and tarts.

Did you know that muffins, cookies, and carrot cake have entered the national baking repertoire? The chefs add a distinctly French accent to these and other recently adopted desserts, like cheesecake, pecan pie, cookies, brownies, blondies, crumbles, scones, and much more.

The book opens with a section on twenty-seven basic recipes, the building blocks of la patisserie. This is the place to find such essentials as sweet pie pastry, choux pastry, sweet almond pastry, puff pastry, ladyfingers, dacquoise, pastry cream, and almond cream. Chapters build in complexity, finishing with a collection of playfully decorated small and large-format cakes designed to delight children or for parties.

Each recipe comes with precise preparation and cooking times, step-by-step decorating tips, and suggestions for vegan and gluten-free alternatives. This seemingly petite package contains a wide range of sweet and simple pleasures to delight big and small gourmets alike.

Modern Greek Cooking
100 Recipes for Meze, Entrees, and Desserts

Written with Jane Sigal

The cooking at the acclaimed Greek seafood restaurant, Kyma, in Atlanta, is an evolution and continuation of the rustic, traditional dishes Greek grandmothers prepare. Chef Pano Karatassos is inspired as much by the flavors and ingredients of Greece as by his classic French training and even his Southern roots. In addition to 100 of his best-loved recipes, tailored to the home cook, the cookbook features sections on such Greek specialties as octopus, pies, spreads, phyllo and avgolemono, plus a recommended Greek wine pairing for each recipe and a chapter on one of the fastest growing viticultural regions in the world.

Bistronomy
Recipes from the Best New Paris Bistros

by Jane Sigal

IACP AWARD FINALIST

To order, click here.

Hardcover / 240 pages / 8 x 11/ 250 color photographs
40 black-and-white cutouts and line drawings / $39.95 U.S. & CAN
ISBN: 978-0-8478-4610-8 / Publication date: September 2015

I cannot think of anyone more qualified to report on and write about the ever-changing Paris
bistro scene than Jane Sigal. --Patricia Wells from the foreword

There is a new movement afoot in Paris. Chefs have turned their backs on stuffiness and are creating an experience that is more fun and a lot less formal. In tiny independent bistros mostly in off-the-beaten-track neighborhoods, rigorously trained chefs are letting loose, turning out fantastically inventive food that shuns many of the old sauces and relies instead on the vibrancy of responsibly sourced ingredients.

A highly regarded authority on French cuisine, writer Jane Sigal spent a year squeezed into the minuscule kitchens of Paris, notebook in hand, researching what would become Bistronomy: Recipes from the Best New Paris Bistros.

Capturing the brash cutting edge of Parisian cooking, this thoughtful (and beautifully photographed) cookbook offers more than one hundred recipes that prove bistros have turned into idea factories. From Ami Jean chef Stephane Jego comes Winter Squash Soup, accented with a totally unexpected cocoa whipped cream. Haricots Verts Salad with Strawberries and Feta is an early summer charmer from Sota Atsumi at Clown Bar. And there is the showstopper Cherry and Beet Pavlova from Shaun Kelly (who sneaks in cracked black peppercorns), plus many more mouthwatering recipes all designed with the home cook in mind.

Among the many tricks shared here--which could fit easily into any repertoire--are finding inspired uses for humble root vegetables like rutabaga and parsnips, presenting a vegetable raw and cooked in the same dish, and revitalizing the classic airy meringue to create exquisite desserts that do not rely on big-deal equipment or a pastry chef. Readers will also find a Selected Guide, which lists the addresses and information of all the restaurants included in the book, along with more author favorites.

Like a trip to Paris, Bistronomy will make you fall in love with French cooking all over again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jane Sigal lived in Paris for twelve years and earned a Grand Diplome at
Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne. She is a contributing writer at Food & Wine, and her articles appear in such publications as The New York Times, Saveur, The Wall Street Journal, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and Time Out New York.
FOREWORD: Patricia Wells is a celebrated cooking teacher and the author of more than a dozen books, including the award-winning Bistro Cooking and The Food Lovers Guide to Paris.

Hungry for France
Adventures for the Cook & Food Lover

Recipes by Jane Sigal

It is a dream of food lovers to tour the French countryside, stopping at luxurious inns with world-class restaurants and sampling delicacies from artisanal markets and producers. That journey becomes real in the pages of Hungry for France.

Each chapter covers a different region, from Normandy to Provence, and describes in tantalizing detail the experience at some of the excellent restaurants there. Uniting all of the places in the book is an embrace of the farm-to-table ethos that has swept a new generation of chefs in France. Photographs show the tempting dishes, beautiful restaurant interiors and inspiring scenery to be enjoyed along the way.

The more than 75 recipes sprinkled throughout exemplify contemporary riffs on regional specialties. For instance, from the Loire Valley there is Roasted Oyster Mushroom Salad with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette; from the North, Hanger Steak with Onion-Beer Mousseline; from Burgundy, Turkey Coq au Vin; from the Southwest, Duck Confit with Fried Smashed New Potatoes; from the Basque Country, Grilled Dorade with Garlic Vinaigrette and Parsley; from the Languedoc-Roussillon, Roasted Asparagus with Basil-Tarragon Aioli; from the Riviera, Lamb Stew with Tomatoes, Olives and Pancetta; from Provence, Cavaillon Melon Gazpacho. Hungry for France will inspire you to transform your cooking at home as well as to plan the trip of a lifetime.

A Table at Le Cirque
Stories and Recipes from New Yorks Most Legendary Restaurant

Recipes tested and perfected by Jane Sigal

The first cookbook from the New York institution that has cultivated some of the best chefs of our time and has served as the social club for bold-face names and power brokers for more than thirty-five years. If you had to pick a single restaurant that has wielded the greatest influence in the last fifty years, it would be Le Cirque. Started in 1974, Le Cirque has redefined fine dining for the entire country. The seductive man behind it all, Sirio Maccioni, slyly introduced patrons to the delights of fine Italian cuisine alongside French classics. Most famously, he created a hangout for titans and tastemakers from all walks of life--presidents and kings, cafe society and business magnates, stars such as Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Andy Warhol. In the cooking department, Maccioni has always has a nose for up-and-coming talent. Among its alumni are David Bouley, Michael Lomonaco and Terrance Brennan. Now, for the first time, the recipes for iconic dishes are presented here, including the famed (but never listed on the menu) Spaghetti Primavera and Creme Brulee and classics such as Black Tie Scallops (with black truffles), Bouillabaisse Le Cirque and deconstructed Caesar Salad. Woven throughout the book are colorful anecdotes and candid photographs documenting the glitz and glam of the restaurant, where a reservation is always coveted.

For a family tree of amazing Le Cirque grads, click here.

Patisserie
Mastering the Fundamentals of French Pastry
With 3,200 step-by-step photos

Project Editor: Jane Sigal

For every serious home baker, French pastry represents the ultimate achievement. But to master the techniques, a written recipe can go only so far. Equally important is seeing a professional in action. Only then can one figure out the nuances of say, rolling out dough for croissants or caramelizing apples for a tarte tatin. For each of the 210 recipes here, there are multiple photos that lead through every step of the instructions. It is an unparalleled, comprehensive course on patisserie.

Neue Cuisine
The Elegant Tastes of Vienna

Kurt Gutenbrunner written with Jane Sigal

Gustav Klimt and strudel are two icons in Neue Cuisine. This book celebrates Austrian art and food with more than 100 contemporary and traditional dishes from Cafe Sabarsky in the Neue Galerie New York on the Upper East Side, Wallse in the West Village and Blaue Gans in Tribeca. Recipes include favorite kaffeehaus staples like pretzels, goulash and open-faced sandwiches; Viennese specialties such as sachertorte and Wiener Schnitzel, as well as modern dishes using fresh-from-the-market ingredients, such as pea soup with pineapple mint; spaetzle with white corn, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms and tarragon; and lobster with cherries, fava beans and bearnaise sauce. Essays throughout the chapters feature Wiener Werkstatte glassware, silverware, tableware accessories and fin-de-siecle coffee and tea services that still inspire designers in the twenty-first century. Photographs with period tabletop accessories and art from the Neue Galerie New York capture the elegance of Vienna in 1900.

La Cuisine
Everyday French Home Cooking

Translated and with a foreword by Jane Sigal

A culinary bible featuring 1,000 recipes from the legendary woman who revolutionized French cooking by simplifying recipes for the home cook. Watch a video of Francoise Bernard here.

With the revival of interest in Julia Child, everyone is hungry for French food again. But does French cuisine have to be so complicated? Not according to Francoise Bernard.

Beginning in the 1960s, Bernard transformed French cooking by writing cookbooks aimed at the modern woman. Until then, the only cookbooks available were full of fussy recipes handed down by the celebrated chefs of the past. Bernard made classic dishes accessible to everyone, paring each recipe to its essence. She continued to publish and teach, building her 40-year career on the principle that good food can be easy and economical.

This grand volume is the culmination of her work. Each recipe is labeled by ease, prep/cooking time and cost. The book overflows with charmingly homey recipes: golden gratineed onion soup, steak au poivre, tuna provencale, potatoes boulangere. This is the ultimate reference book, not just for those who love French cuisine, but for anyone who craves delicious food.

Backroad Bistros, Farmhouse Fare

by Jane Sigal

This unique collection of authentic, classic and updated recipes from the four most popular regions of France will prove once and for all that French food can be simple and that the French people who cultivate, process and prepare it are warm and devoted to their traditions.

Traveling back roads through the farms and villages of Normandy, Brittany, Burgundy and Provence, Jane Sigal makes connections between the nature of the land and the kind of food that is served. As she writes about snail farming, salt harvesting, olive-oil making or raising free-range chickens, we hear from small growers, artisans and cooks about the pride they take in preserving the quality and standards of what they produce.

The recipes are regional classics that are still prepared by farmwives today, as well as more sophisticated, modern interpretations of those dishes using local ingredients. A warm salad of greens, chicken livers, croutons and eggs, for example, represents the best of Burgundy farm food, while a light tomato tart topped with fresh basil sauce uses typical Provencal produce in a contemporary way.

But whether it is a Norman dish featuring native apples or cider, a Burgundian meal showcasing the pedigreed poultry of Bresse, fresh fish from coastal Brittany or a salad fragrant with Provencal olive oil and herbs, each of the nearly 200 recipes in this book can be readily prepared by American home cooks with easily acquired ingredients.

The evocative writing and on-site photography add a sense of immediacy and intimacy with the people, the land and, most of all, the food of the French countryside. And for those who cannot resist the urge to see and taste for themselves, a list of addresses for the restaurants, inns, shops and museums mentioned in Backroad Bistros, Farmhouse Fare serves as a very special gastronomic guide.

Normandy Gastronomique

by Jane Sigal

Normandy, one of the richest gastronomic provinces in France, boasts traditions of cheesemaking, cider making and fruit-growing, but its culinary specialties extend far beyond world-famous Camembert and Calvados. In lush pastures, bustling fishing ports and elegant resorts, the traveler will find a wealth of seafood, markets, haute modern cuisine and farmhouse cooking.

This book sets out the culinary traditions of the five Normandy regions (departements): Seine-Maritime, Eure, Calvados, Manche and Orne. The emphasis is on what exists there today, whether an old tradition revived or an import given a Norman twist.

Special essays include the making of a farmhouse cheese, the pressing of cider, even the fabricating of the local hand-hammered copper pots. The regional, classic and revisited recipes feature such dishes as teurgoule (creamy, cinnamon-y rice pudding) and chicken with Calvados, apples and the incomparably thick and pleasantly tart creme fraiche.

For the traveler, a guide features a wealth of restaurants, markets, museums and other spots with a food interest. With outstanding recipes, lively text and 200 evocative photos of the region, Normandy Gastronomique is the essential traveling companion, a celebration of the unique invention of the moment and the time-honored repertoire that together make up Norman cuisine.

Star Chefs on the Road

Co-author Jane Sigal

Food & Wine magazine, the guide for the adventurous eater, presents Star Chefs on the Road. This collection of stories, recipes and photographs features 10 legendary cooks as they travel the world in pursuit of new flavors and ideas to bring back home. Jacques Pepin on a culinary safari in Botswana and Zambia. Bobby Flay on a golf and food spree in Scotland. Wolfgang Puck at a homecoming in Austria. Writers including Jane Sigal, Pete Wells and Tad Friend follow chefs to destinations as far-flung as Patagonia, as romantic as Tuscany, and as down-home as the Mississippi Delta, to report on their discoveries. For anyone who believes that the best way to experience a new place is to explore its cuisine, Star Chefs on the Road is a thrilling compendium.