Ducasse Made Simple by Sophie: 100 Recipes from the Master Chef Simplified for the Home Cook

First, I appreciate cookbook reviews from people who have actually "walked the walk." Save me from the tedious "table of contents" reviews that are the norm. But I must agree with Ms. Thurm that "pedestrian" is not the adjective to be used for this book. I normally try a number of recipes before I write a review, so this is almost the exception since, as of this moment, I've only made two.I am NOT a fan of turkey, but who can resist the ridiculous low prices for that bird around Thanksgiving? So I bought a small one and cut it up to use in various treatments, one of which was the Rolled Stuffed Escalopes of Turkey with Mustard Sauce (p.106). Except for my idiotic attempts to be a butcher, the recipe is quite easy and quite delicious (considering it was turkey, of course).The Macaroni Gratin (p.190) was the suggested accompaniment, but I didn't make it until tonight. If you cannot excercise portion control, pretend you never heard of this dish. SO rich, SO delicious, SO unhealthy! And that element, rich/delecious/unhealthy is why I almost subtracted a star. But we're all grown-ups, aren't we, and some things are worth that one delicious bite -- and no more.The vegetable and fruit recipes -- many variations and combinations that I can't wait to try -- are also spectacular in their innovativeness. And if you are "into" desserts, this is, without a doubt, the book for you.Ducasse Made Simple is THE cookbook I plan to explore in more detail in the next few months.

I suspect you would not find any of those simple receipts in Ducasse Restaurant.Of course, the goal to make recipes simple is well done.I am very suspect of some translation like "Grilled Duck Breasts" for "Magret de Canard à l'Orange". The French term "Magret" refer to the breast of the duck over feed with a large piece of fat covering them. The term "Duck Breast" refers to any Breast of Duck (also call filet)not cover with duck fat as they did not have been over feed. Of course their taste are quite different.Editing job is well done with pastel color to present ingredients and nice picture of the suggested presentation.Those presentation seems more those of Sophie Dudemaine than Alain Ducasse Restaurant.I also regret they did not make any suggestion of wine. Most of the time picture show empty glass in background.Source Guide is a mess: Vermont Butter and Cheese purveyor of Foie Gras, D'Artagnan for Goat Cheese, Ideal Cheese Shop for Chocolate, backing sugar, imported flours...Even I would recommend for those who want to go further in their cooking knowledge.

I am happy with this book! Thanks a lot! ❤️

This is an absolutely lovely book. The recipes are "simple" as the title suggests and directly across from the recipe, which is efficiently on one page, is a gorgeous photograph of the dish. Sophie Dudemaine has taken 100 of famous chef Alain Ducasse's recipes and made them approachable for the home cook. In the back of the book is a source guide for tracking down ingredients you might not be able to find locally and an index of recipes. There are also some basic recipes for components of the main recipes of the book. Well done!

I wish it was even more simple. But I guess you can only dumb down a genius so much.

Extremely great buy, good photos

Yum yum!

Excellent

This is an interesting book. Very pleasant to flick through as the photos are very beautiful and make you want to hold a posh dinner party straight away. A good book for people who wish to compete on "Come dine with me" and present dishes with a waow factor.Quite a variety of ideas for dinner parties but I was annoyed at the fact that the recipes only gave American measurements in the recipes (no warning) for a book with a price in US and CAN $ but also in £ and euros (back cover) it should at least have included a metric version and temperatures in C, not only F, particularly so as the original book was published in French (so no additional work involved...). Also not mentioned is an indication of how long the recipes will take, of course this may vary from cook to cook but to have an idea is always useful for us mortals. There is an interesting basics section at the end of the book but for example while it includes a recipe for sweetened whipped cream (not sure I needed one), it does not include one for the (rich) vanilla ice cream needed in several recipes (much more interesting).I would also gladly have done without the recipe for chocolate mousse which takes 2 pages for 1 photo and 1 recipe (a welcome addition to the basics section maybe?) and prefered another splendid offering such as the Apple Tatin with Caramelised Cider Sauce or Chocolate Fondant cake with Earl Grey Tea Sauce, two great recipes that make the book worth buying for them alone. On the savoury front, I have tried the Hake with Pine Nut Chutney, the Vegetable Tartlets with Roasted Prawns, Shrimp Darioles and the Duck Breasts with Red Wine and Orange Sauce, quite nice.So, as far as I am concerned, mixed feelings about that book -yes, I expected perfection from a book endorsed by Alain Ducasse even if the recipes have been simplified for the layman- but it is worth buying if you want to impress your guests with restaurant-like presentations and ideas. Beware though, some recipes are not that simple despite the book title and require a lot of ingredients (sometimes quite expensive ones too), but after all if you want to impress, it takes what it takes, doesn't it?

I was expecting great things of this book - Master Chef he may be but a great many of the recipes are easily available elsewhere. I had hoped for something new but was disappointed. If you are a serious cook with a wide range of experience this will offer you nothing new. If you are a less experienced cook looking for something to take you to the next step above day to day this is worth a look. Very nice photos and presentation but for me not worth the money.

I can't wait to try the recepies. I would like to see if my results are like the dishes presented in the book

An opportunity to improve on your cooking skills.