Susan Herrman Loomis’ Insider’s FRENCH GRILL Book

(Gerry Furth-Sides)  I love French cuisine, and with a well-respected cookbook author like Barbara Hansen singing the praises of Susan Herrmann Loomis’ there was no way I going to miss the presentation of this French expert’s brand new (13^th) cookbook, FRENCH GRILL.  The award winning book author and enormously popular cooking teacher’s compendium of the very best from the year-round phenomenon of French Grilling is not only the most meticulous guide, but so much fun.   She chuckles that “the French still really don’t like to eat with their hands, but they are learning.”  And example of her whimsical humor is the recipe Grilled, Stuffed Turkey Not Like Thanksgiving.

Susan, who laughs are her mission-like role in France of being a “tall, slender, redhead female chef among the proud French male cadre,” emphasizes that “There isn’t a rush to sear, to blacken, to carbonize; only a desire to get the fullness of flavor—giving food a “kiss of smoke” to enhance its flavors, not bury them.  Grilling insists on your total attention, which is so French.

Susan’s own take on her enviable job of bringing the French culinary life, “in all its elegant and sometimes smoky glory” to readers and cooks around the world has made her a popular and highly esteemed author.  Here she introduces readers step by step into the French grilling world with an astonishing variety of rustic-refined dishes and information.  Is shows even though not in a literal sense, that Susan “spent 10,000 more hours on research than she used.”

“The French invented barbecue,” Susan says.   “Since the early Gauls, who hunted in the lush forests of Brittany, Normandy, and the Loire Valley, then returned to the village to roast their prize from labarbe à la queue(head to tail), the French have been perfecting their grilling for centuries, and are only now beginning to celebrate their traditional skill.”

The Flourless Chocolate Cake that goes together in minutes and bakes on the grill is so regal and dense and rich it is a miracle it takes minutes to prepare.  Chicken Crapaudine (flattened and seasoned with pepper),  to the slices of winter squash drizzled with maple syrup is so original and yet so natural it appears as an instant classic.  There is also  The Best Burger You Ever Ate (with Camembert and apples), Baby Back Ribs that take less than 30 minutes.

The French grill simply, and the 125 recipes here are straightforward and do-able, and work on or off the grill. Loomis shows how to prepare an entire meal over the grill, from amuse-bouches(appetizers) to dessert, while still entertaining your guests. Fifty full-color photographs by Francis Hammond accompany the recipes.

Loomis has had years of experience cooking and writing about French cuisine.  We admire and agree with her notion that, “dishes are regional. Politically drawn borders don’t mean anything when you’re studying cuisine.  There are 13 instead of 22 regions in France actually.  However, what is true in her experience is that the French favor using few spices and using them well, love shopping in a farmers market and have remembered how to “stay out of the way of ingredients.”

She shares her wisdom in each recipe, including astuces—tips and tricks—as well as current French grilling trends and recipes from her favorite French restaurants that have embraced French barbecue. She shows how to incorporate classic French ingredients, like lamb and pork, cod and chicken, as well as vegetables and fruits, with favorite French flavors, such as vanilla, curry, mustard, Herbes de Provence, and spices from North Africa. French grilling is ideal for vegetarians, even vegans, since the French grill vegetables, fruit, and fish as often as meat, and Loomis includes plenty of recipes for all palates and tastes:

• Spiced Melon Salad
• Potatoes with Onions and Maple Syrup
• Drunken Lobster
• Garlic Polenta with Olives
• Flourless Chocolate Cake on the Grill

About the Author:Susan Herrmann Loomis, an award-winning journalist and cookbook author, has been featured in TheNew York Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and Cooking Light. She is the author of numerous cookbooks, including On Rue Tatinand In a French Kitchen. She lives in a restored twelfth-century convent in Louviers, Normandy, where she owns and operates the cooking school  On Rue Tatin, named by food52 as one of the seven best cooking schools in France.

“I am totally in love with Susan Loomis’s French Grill. It’s a remarkable tome, with voluminous variety, impeccable detail, seasoned advice, and marvelous historical tidbits. I want to make everything in the book, and applaud her from the brilliant range of ingredients and combinations.”

—Patricia Wells, author and cooking school teacher, living between Paris and Provence

More about Susan:  //onruetatin.com/