The Cooking of Southwest France

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                         "AN INDISPENSABLE COOKBOOK"
—Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue

The culinary classic, now completely revised and enhanced with sixty new recipes 

                       The Cooking of
Southwest France

Recipes from France’s Magnificent Rustic Cuisine

Paula Wolfert

“A true culinary zealot, Paula Wolfert champions forgotten dishes, uncovers regional cooking in surprising places, and reminds us of our resources and roots. In writing about the earthy food of France’s Southwest, she teaches us how to cook foods that are traditional, slow and sustainable.”
                                     —Alice Waters,  Chez Panisse

“No one has broadened our culinary horizons with more generosity, integrity, insight, and charm than Paula Wolfert. Her Southwest France is enchanting, irresistible.   If you don’t yet know the region, you are in for a treat, and if you thought you knew it, prepare yourself for the new vintage, the best ever from the region.”
                                              —Judy Rodgers, Zuni Cafe

“Americans have only recently come to know what the people of Southwest France have known for generations—that the key to great cooking is in its simplicity and depth of flavor.  In this book, Paula has taught us to fully enjoy each bite, to share our joy through the food that we cook and serve.”
     —Thomas Keller , French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon

First published in 1983, Paula Wolfert’s The Cooking of Southwest France became an instant, award-winning classic.  Hailed as “a gastronomic masterwork” by New York magazine, and praised by critics, chefs, and home cooks alike as the definitive source on the legendary subject, Wolfert’s recipes for cassoulet and confit literally transformed our culinary landscape.  For example, confit, now ubiquitous on the American scene, was rarely served before Wolfert’s book premiered. N ow, more than twenty years later, Wolfert has completely revised her groundbreaking book.  In this new edition of THE COOKING OF SOUTHWEST FRANCE (Wiley Hardcover; $37.50; October 3, 2005), you’ll find sixty additional recipes—over thirty completely new recipes, along with nearly two dozen updated recipes culled from Wolfert’s other books.  Recipes from the original edition have been tested and rewritten to account for current tastes and newly available ingredients, while other outdated recipes have been set aside.  Along the way, Wolfert expanded the borders of her own southwestern palate to showcase even more flavors and ingredients.

The many regions of the French Southwest—Gascony, the Périgord, Bordeaux, and the Basque country – —all come alive in these pages.  Let your taste buds travel with superb classic recipes for cassoulet, sauce périgueux, salmon rillettes, and beef daube; new and revised recipes for ragouts, soups, desserts, and more; and of course, numerous recipes for duck—the most exemplary of all southwest French ingredients—including the traditional method for duck confit plus two new, easier variations.

Other recipes include such gems as Chestnut and Cèpe Soup With Walnuts, magnificent lusty Oxtail Daube, mouthwatering Steamed Mussels With Ham, Shallots, and Garlic, as well as Poached Chicken Breast, Auvergne-Style, and the simple yet sublime Potatoes Baked in Sea Salt.  You’ll also find delicious desserts such as Batter Cake with Fresh Pears From the Corrèze, Marie-Claude’s Chocolate Cake with Fleur de Sel, and Prune and Armagnac Ice Cream.

These 200 wonderful recipes are cast in Wolfert’s own unique vision and voice, with sharply etched scenes peopled by local characters ranging from canny peasant women to world-famous master chefs. She captures the region’s living traditions and passion for good food, proving that the phrase so often used by the French—“They really eat well down there!”—remains true to this day.  With sixteen pages of luscious color photographs and classic black-and-white food portraits by acclaimed photographer Christopher Hirsheimer, this edition of THE COOKING OF SOUTHWEST FRANCE is destined to become another Wolfert classic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  Paula Wolfert is one of the premier food writers in America.  Her writing has received many awards, including the Julia Child Award, the M. F. K. Fisher Award, the James Beard Award, and the Périgueux Award for Lifetime Achievement.  She has a regular column in Food & Wine magazine and is the author of six other cookbooks, including Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco, Mediterranean Cooking, and, most recently, the IACP Award-winning The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen.

Author Photograph © Quentin Bacon

Paula Wolfert is available for national media appearances, radio, and print interviews. For more information, please contact Mary Siemsen at 201-748-6625 or msiemsen@wiley.com.

THE COOKING OF SOUTHWEST FRANCE
Paula Wolfert
Wiley Hardcover | $37.50 | ISBN: 0-7645-7602-X | 480 pages | October 3, 2005

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Butternut Squash Soup

Carpaccio of Pig's Feet

Duck Leg Ragout

Ramp and Mushroom Tart

Red Cabbage and Confit

Stuffed Onions

Croustade

Magret on Potatoes

Fricasse of Chanterelles

Fresh Favas with Brined Pork Belly

Chicken Legs with Mushrooms and Pineaud

Cherry Clafoutis