Books about Provencal from Amazon.com

Richard Olney, best known as a general food writer, is one of America's most erudite experts on authentic French cooking, but it's difficult to find anyone who knows much about him, except for such authorities as Patricia Wells and the late James Beard. The reprinting of Olney's classic and indispensable Simple French Food offers readers the chance to learn more about this most idiosyncratic and accomplished of cooks. No pared down, paint-by-numbers recipes here: Olney is obsessed not only with showing you how to cook, but how to see, smell, feel, listen, and taste as well. Read, for example, Olney's description of Scrambled Eggs and you will understand what you are missing when they are not properly prepared (as they almost never are): "correctly prepared, the softest of barely perceptible curds held in a thickly liquid, smooth, creamy suspension." To scramble eggs, Olney insists on a wooden spoon, a generously buttered copper pan or bain-marie, and a precise control of the temperature--very simple to accomplish, as all his recipes are, as long as you take care to absorb fully his sensuous and exact instructions. --Sumi Hahn Almquist.
Price: $10.08 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Four Queens is a rich pageant of glamour, intrigue, and feminine power at a time when women were thought to have played limited roles. In thirteenth-century Europe, four sisters from a single family—Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice of Provençe—rose from obscurity to become the queens of, respectively, France, England, Germany, and Sicily. All four were beautiful, cultured, and ambitious, and their stories offer a window into the era of chivalry, crusades, poetry, knights, and monarchs that will appeal to fans of Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser..
Price: $1.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

8 1/2 X 10 In, 160 Pp, 125 Color Photos. Provencal Interiors: Inspired by the sun-drenched colors of southern France, french country, or provencal, decorating is the epitome of understated luxury, as fitting in the city and suburbs as in rural reaches. No matter that it's roots are firmly planted in the small stone farmhouse, or mas, the typical dwelling in the provencal region. It is eqaully appealing in a remote chateau as in a stately manor house, or bastide. The most inviting homes exude comfort,tradition, and grace. Most people, though, say it is charm that best characterizes the french interior. Through stunning photographs, informative text, and an extensive resource list, provincal interiors detail everything necessary for creating this harmonious mingling in america.< BR>.
Price: $5.91 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Of all of the culinary treasures that Richard Olney brought home from France for his American audience, the spritely and commanding Lulu Peyraud is perhaps the most noteworthy. A second-generation proprietor of Provence's noted vineyard Domaine Tempier, and producer of some of the region's best wines and meals, Lulu has for over 50 years been Provence's best-kept secret. Mother of seven, Lulu still owns and operates Domaine Tempier with her family, serving up wit and warmth with remarkable food year-round at the vineyard. Hosting a parade of American tastemakers like Alice Waters, Paul Bertolli, Gerald Asher, Paula Wolfert, and Kermit Lynch through the years, Lulu has willingly shared her sweeping culinary knowledge, wisdom, and resourcefulness with anyone who stopped by. In LULU'S PROVENÇAL TABLE, Olney, who shared an unguarded friendship with Lulu, relays the everyday banter, lessons, and over 150 core recipes that have emerged from her kitchen. Peppered with over 75 photographs, Olney's tribute aptly celebrates the spirit and gifts of this culinary legend..
Price: $19.77 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Far away in the remote, untraveled southwestern French countryside, there is a small village which contains two homes, an eleventh-century church, and a very special farm known as Pistoulet " Thus begins The Secrets of Pistoulet, a charming and beautiful little book filled with food, magic, and love. Part fiction, part cookbook, this richly illustrated book is reminiscent of the popular Griffin and Sabine, with its collection of letters to be removed from envelopes, and recipes tucked into their own little pockets. Drawings, photographs, snippets of diaries, and mysterious maps decorate this tale of Mademoiselle J., who arrives at Pistoulet with a broken heart. There she is welcomed by the farm's tenants: Madame Claude; Monsieur Andre; the black dog, Marcel; and a chicken that lays golden eggs. Soon, such soul-strengthening dishes as Potage of Babble (guaranteed to cease excessive chatter), Potage of Passion (Cooks beware: this soup has been known to result in marriage proposals!), and Tart of Sunshine (sure to heat both body and soul) have Mademoiselle J. on the road to recovery.

The Secrets of Pistoulet packs a lot of charm into a small package. Readers who love to cook will want to try these simple, tasty recipes, though it may be difficult in some cases to follow the directions exactly ("Go to the nearest fishing port and acquire moules from the fisherman with the largest pecs and most tattoos....). Those who don't will be more than content to simply imagine these sumptuous meals as they, along with Mademoiselle J., attempt to unlock Pistoulet's magical mysteries..
Price: $8.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Showcasing 22 beautiful homes in Provence and the Cote d'Azur, "Provencal Escapes" is an abundant source of inspiration and practical decorative ideas, making it a feast of delight for all those who are seduced by the thought - and the reality - of the Provencal way of life..
Price: $13.43 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Tour the markets of seven towns while exploring the role of the market in Provencal life, plus receive dozens of insider tips as the authors focus on food, present information on regional and seasonal specialties (with recipes in every chapter), wines, restaurants, and picnic spots..
Price: $7.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Tomato clafoutis, herb-cured filet of beef Carpaccio, garlic family soup, Catalan tuna daube: these and 171 other recipes pour off the pages of this sumptuous coffee-table cookbook by the author of Bistro Cooking and Simply French. Wells concentrates on coaxing the utmost flavor out of simple, fresh food, and her French recipes are not all swimming in cream, oils, and fats: the filet, for example, profits not from a heavy sauce but from being wrapped for two days in tarragon, parsley, basil, thyme, and salt. In a couple of places Wells even commits the heresy, for a French-style chef, of switching a red wine used to simmer meat to a white wine. .
Price: $10.40 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In books including The Paris Cookbook and Bistro Cooking Patricia Wells offered personal takes on delicious French fare. The Provence Cookbook finds Wells, a resident of the region, evoking the terroir in over 200 recipes culled form chefs, home cooks, farmers, and more. Like her other collections, Provence yields easy but elegant fare--modern, light-on-their-feet dishes like Six-Minute Cod Braised in Spicy Tomato Sauce and Francks's Roasted Duck Breasts with Green Olives. While the recipes are truly French (with an occasional cross-cultural contribution), Wells has done her usual trick of translating them for relaxed American cooking; she's also provided enticing vignettes on local markets; on ingredients, like the nutty camargue rice; and on other culinary suppliers such as Hervé Poron, "The Truffle King." In themselves, the listings make a useful guide.

In addition to the expected categories, the large recipe range includes breads, pasta, and egg and cheese dishes, such as Quick Polenta Bread with Rosemary, Linguini with Saffron, and Baked Arugula Omelet. Desserts are hardly neglected, and include evocative specialties like Fresh Fig and Homemade Apricot Jam Tart, Three Pear Cake, and Individual Cherry-Hazelnut Gratins. Tips like "On Peeling Tomatoes," menus, and photos further distinguish a book that will delight both Wells's fans and those fortunate to discover her culinary France. --Arthur Boehm.
Price: $5.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Attention bread lovers!

In the first of his famous books about Provence, Peter Mayle shared with us news of a bakery in the town of Cavaillon where the baking and appreciation of breads “had been elevated to the status of a minor religion ” Its name: Chez Auzet.

Now, several hundred visits later, Mayle has joined forces with Gerard Auzet, the proprietor of this most glorious of Provençal bakeries, to tell us about breadmaking at its finest.

Mayle takes us into the baking room to witness the birth of a loaf. We see the master at work–slapping, rolling, squeezing, folding, and twisting dough as he sculpts it into fougasses, bâtards, and boules.

Auzet then gives us precise, beautifully illustrated instructions for making sixteen kinds of bread, from the classic baguette to loaves made with such ingredients as bacon, apricots, hazelnuts, garlic, and green and black olives. There are tips galore, the tricks of the trade are revealed, and along the way Mayle relates the delightful history of four generations of Auzet bakers.

One of Provence’s oldest and most delicious pleasures is now available at a kitchen near you, thanks to this charming guide. Read, bake, and enjoy..
Price: $5.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]