My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking

by John Besh

Overview

My Family Table is rooted in the American kitchen, reconnecting folks with 130 recipes for roasting, braising, frying, baking and all the other easy skills take-out readers have forgotten or never learned.

Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2012: USA Winner, Best Easy Recipes Book

2012 IACP Award Winner in the Children, Youth and Family category

2012 James Beard Award Nominee

"Of the recently published books by gourmet chefs on home cooking (e.g., Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Home Cooking with Jean-Georges and Rick Tramonto's Steak with Friends), James Beard Award-winning Louisiana chef John Besh's latest is easily the most beautiful. This stunning volume is filled with intimate photographs of the Besh family in the kitchen, at the table, and outdoors with friends. Recipes like Risotto of Almost Anything and Whole Roasted Sole with Brown Butter reinforce Besh's Jamie Oliver-like argument that practical home cooking does not require reliance on processed products. Includes some excellent holiday recipes. Highly recommended." —Library Journal

Renowned chef and James Beard award-winner John Besh invites us into his home and shows us how we can put good, fresh, healthy food on the table for our families every day.

In My Family Table, the Iron Chef champion makes a case for the importance of home-cooked meals. "If I can help make a difference by cooking simply and sharing what I love to cook, I can possibly help us all use our passions and skills to make our lives better at almost every meal."

From organizing your kitchen and stocking your pantry to demystifying fish cookery, John Besh shares his favorite recipes he cooks with his family every day. Master recipes Risotto of Almost Anything and Creamy Any Vegetable Soup show you how to make the food without worrying about having the right ingredients or mastering complicated techniques. Filled with mouthwatering photographs of each recipe as well as showing John in his kitchen with his wife and four sons, My Family Table captures the spontaneity, intimacy, and fun of home-cooking and will inspire the nation back to the family table.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781449407872
Publisher:	Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date:	11/01/2011
Series:	John Besh , #2
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	9.66(w) x 11.24(h) x 1.17(d)

About the Author

 John Besh is a chef and a native son dedicated to the culinary riches of southern Louisiana. In his restaurants, entrepreneurial pursuits, and public activities, he preserves and promotes ingredients, techniques, and heritage one mouthwatering dish at a time. Besh grew up in southern Louisiana and has set the benchmark for fine dining in New Orleans. Each of his eight acclaimed restaurants (August, Besh Steak, Lüke, La Provence, American Sector, The Soda Shop, Domenica and Lüke San Antonio) celebrates the bounty and traditions of the region.

 From the outset of his career, Besh's talent and drive have earned kudos: Food & Wine magazine named him one of the "Top 10 Best New Chefs in America," and his flagship restaurant, August, was featured in Gourmet magazine's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants" and "America's Top 50 Restaurants." Besh won the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southeast in 2006 and received Food Arts' Silver Spoon Award in 2009 for revitalizing the culinary legacy of New Orleans.

 Besh's devotion to local ingredients and cuisine also extends to his entrepreneurial projects, including the creation of Besh Restaurant Group Catering; a line of gourmet products; the publication of his first cookbook, My New Orleans (Andrews McMeel Publishing, October 2009); and a follow-up cookbook, My Family Table (Andrews McMeel Publishing, November 2011).

 Besh is a frequent guest chef on NBC's Today Show and has appeared on top programs on The Food Network and the Sundance Channel.

Editorial Reviews

"Many of his recipes, written in his warmn natural voice, are easy. Yet some are more special-occasion..." (Corby Kummer, New York Times)

"a solid, practical collection of simple recipes, well-larded with personal history and strategy tips. It's well-written and timely for anyone pressed for time..." (Terra Brockman, Zester Daily)

Praise for John Besh & My New Orleans:

“Best in show for coffee table cookbooks…”
—Julia Moskin, New York Times

“John Besh is one of America’s best chefs, and this engaging book captures the best of both worlds—compelling stories of growing up in Louisiana, together with a wealth of savory and authentic recipes.” —Drew Nieporent, restaurateur/owner Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Corton

“My New Orleans is a gumbo—thick with colorful stories drunk in love with a great American city...with culinary traditions as burnished as a dark roux.”
—Greg Morago, Houston Chronicle

“This beautifully curated book by John Besh…is one of the most loving and informative tributes to the city’s food culture that’s ever been put into print.” —Ben Mims, Saveur

“…the book itself reads like a celebration.” —Daily Dish, Los Angeles Times

“There’s a lot of heart in this book, the way
there is in Louisiana music…the spicy, rocking blues of Dr. John and Fats Domino. You’ll find it in the stories of Besh’s friends, mentors, and suppliers. But mostly you’ll find it in the recipes. You’ll wish you were in Besh’s family.” —Jesse Kornbluth, headbutler.com (Praise for John Besh & My New Orleans)

From the Publisher

Of the recently published books by gourmet chefs on home cooking (e.g., Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Home Cooking with Jean-Georges and Rich Tramonto's Steak with Friends), James Beard Award-winning Louisiana chef Besh's latest is easily the most beautiful. This stunning volume is filled with intimate photographs of the Besh family in the kitchen, at the table, and outdoors with friends. Recipes like Risotto of Almost Anything and Whole Roasted Sole with Brown Butter reinforce Besh's Jamie Oliver-like argument that practical home cooking does not require reliance on processed products. Includes some excellent holiday recipes. Highly recommended.

Library Journal