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Jacques Pepin Celebrates

 


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LOCAL LISTINGS FOR JACQUES PÉPIN CELEBRATES

NOTE: Date and time listed is for premiere episode, series will then run consecutively--same day, same time each week for 20 weeks, plus 6 one hour specials to air around specific holidays.

WNET-TV, New York -- Sun 10-14-01, 4:30 pm
KCET-TV, Los Angeles -- Sat 11-10-01, noon
WTTW-TV, Chicago, IL -- Sat 10-6-01, 2 pm
WHYY-TV, Philadelphia, PA -- Sat 10-6 or 13-01, 3 pm (Note: we'll provide the actual date shortly)
KQED-TV, San Francisco, CA -- Sat 10-13-01, 10:30 am
WGBH-TV, Boston, MA -- Sat 10-6-01, 3:30 pm
KERA-TV, Dallas, TX -- Sat 10-6-01, 5:30 pm
WETA-TV, Washington, DC -- Sat 10-6-01, 6 pm
WTVS-TV, Detroit, MI -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WGTV-TV, Atlanta, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
TPT2-TV, Minneapolis/St Paul, MN -- Sat 10-6-01, 4pm
WVIZ-TV, Cleveland, OH-- Sat 10-6-01, 2pm
KAET-TV, Phoenix, AZ -- Sat 10-27-01, 1:30 pm
WQED-TV, Pittsburgh, PA -- Sat 10-13-01, 12:30 pm
WQEX-TV, Pittsburgh, PA -- Sat 10-13-01, 12:30 pm
WMFE-TV, Orlando, FL -- Sat 10-13-01, 4pm
KCPT-TV, Kansas City, MO -- Sat 10-6-01, 10:30 am
KLRN-TV, San Antonio, TX -- Sat 10-20-01, 4:30 pm
WNED-TV, Buffalo, NY -- Sat 10-13-01, noon
WITF-TV, Harrisburg, PA -- Sat 10-6-01, 2 pm
WJCT-TV, Jacksonville, FL -- Sat 10-6-01, 5pm
WXGA-TV, Waycross, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WPTD-TV, Dayton, OH -- Sat 10-6-01, 11:30am
KLRU-TV, Austin, TX -- Sat 10-13-01, 2 pm
WSRE-TV, Pensacola, FL -- Sat 10-6-01, 10:30am
WPNE-TV, Green Bay, WI -- Sat 10-13-01, 2:30 pm
KHET-TV, Honolulu, HI -- Sat 10-6-01, 5 pm
KMEB-TV, Honolulu, HI -- Sat 10-6-01, 5 pm
KSPS-TV, Spokane, WA -- Sat 3-23-01, 10am
WILL-TV, Urbana, IL -- Sun 10-7-01, 4:30 pm
WHA-TV, Madison, WI -- Sat 10-13-01, 2:30 pm
WCLP-TV, Chatsworth, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WNIT-TV, South Bend -- Sat 10-6-01, 11:30am
WVAN-TV, Savannah, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WCES-TV, Augusta, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WEBA-TV, Allendale, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WDCO-TV, Macon, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WHLA-TV, La Crosse, WI -- Sat 10-13-01, 2:30 pm
WHWC-TV, Menomonee, WI -- Sat 10-13-01, 2:30 pm
WJSP-TV, Columbus, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
WACS-TV, Dawson, GA -- 10-6-01, time TBA
WHRM-TV, Wausau, WI -- Sat 10-13-01, 2:30 pm
WLEF-TV, Park Falls, WI -- Sat 10-13-01, 2:30 pm
WABW-TV, Albany, GA -- Sat 10-6-01, time TBA
KAKM-TV, Anchorage, AK -- Sat 11-3-01, 7 am

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About the Author On Tour Author's Desktop Table of Contents Recipes Menu
Picture of Author

Author Name



In our family, we love to celebrate. Anything is an excuse for a celebration, and celebrations always mean food and wine. The holidays, from Christmas to the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, are usually celebrated at home, as well as the obvious occasions—birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries. A lovely spring day or a cold, crisp day in winter is a pretext for my wife, Gloria, and me to celebrate. Likewise, beautiful artichokes and a plump duck from the market make me want to cook and share the bounty. In our house, life itself is a celebration.

Any ritual means being together around the table. In our family, the table is the place where all the important events of our life are discussed and resolved, and it is where our family traditions are upheld and sustained. Above all, the table is the place for sharing and pleasure, for, as Brillat-Savarin said, “The pleasures of the table are for every man, of every land, and no matter of what place in history or society; they can be part of all his other pleasures, and they last the longest, to console him when he has outlived the rest.”

In this book and its companion television series, I am offering recipes that I have prepared over many years and for countless celebrations. Many of the recipes are drawn from the two volumes of The Art of Cooking, which was published in the late 1980s. I have given new life and interpretation to many of these recipes, which are part of our family culinary tradition. With many of the recipes, I have added pictures of the proper techniques required to create these dishes. These often basic procedures and techniques are a very important part of the book and are meant to show certain tours de main, or tricks of the trade, that are difficult to explain in words alone—and isn’t a picture worth a thousand words? Although each of these techniques is presented with a specific recipe to which it applies in the book, it often can an0d should be used in conjunction with other recipes to which it applies. For example, peeling and seeding a tomato, crushing garlic, making a mignonnette, and using a pastry bag are techniques used over and over again in the book. Knowing how to master these procedures will free you from having to look at a recipe over and over again, and that basic knowledge will help you, regardless of which cookbook you choose to cook from. Furthermore, this useful and essential part of the book relates also to the visuals of television, and all the recipes and techniques included in the book are demonstrated on the PBS series Jacques Pépin Celebrates.

Some recipes, like the Consommé Printanier with Chicken Quenelles, the Caviar with Blini and Frozen Vodka, and the Volcano Surprise with Lemon Mousseline Cake are more elaborate, intended for special parties. Other dishes, such as the Black Bean Soup Augier, the Roasted Turkey with Bread-and-Mushroom Stuffing, and the Rhubarb Galette are inexpensive, simple fare, part of what we eat every day. Meals should be eclectic, diversified, and reflect the occasion, the season, and the mood of the cook.



In my family, sometimes dinner is quickly prepared, inexpensive, and extremely simple, such as a soup, an omelet, and a tomato salad, or a pizza, a green salad, and some cheeses, and, always, a glass of wine. At other times, the fare is more elaborate and more time-consuming to prepare, often the type of food we enjoy making on the weekend. Such a menu may include the Soufflé of Mussels and Basil, Braised Duck with Glazed Shallots and Honey Sweet Potatoes, a salad, cheeses, and Red Berries–Soaked Cake. In summer, we sometimes eat only from the garden, enjoying a green salad, or a stew of zucchini or eggplant. One type of meal is not necessarily better than another when everything is prepared with care, with love, with fresh ingredients, and with some knowledge of cooking. A simple vegetable soup can be as extraordinary as our Stuffed Salmon in Flaky Dough or Lamb Loins in Ambush with Fava Beans Neyron and Leek-and-Mushroom Pie. What is important is the sharing of food with family and friends.

Although my basic training was in French cooking, I have not tried in the following recipes to be strictly “French,” or, for that matter, not to be “French.” I have cooked food that satisfies my palate, my stomach, and my soul, food that my family enjoys. Most of the time, my recipes have accents from other cuisines, from Vietnamese and Chinese to American Southern to Tex-Mex. I’ve always been enthralled by the cuisines of Italy and the south of France, and I adore Spanish seasonings, so many of my dishes reflect those particular loves. I invariably try to emphasize the functional aspects of recipes, to simplify dishes and procedures, and to stress the use of fresh and healthful ingredients, and I attempt to explain my recipes in a clear, concise, Cartesian way.

This cookbook has a larger scope than the other cookbooks and television series I have done. From the Oyster-and-Corn Chowder with Small Cornbreads and the Molded Eggs with Carrot Puree and Truffles to the Broiled Lobster Benjamin with Caramelized Corn and Potato Flats, I have demonstrated dishes that are complex but not difficult to make, dishes that you can prepare successfully at your next party. I have not come close to covering the whole spectrum of cooking, but I have made an attempt to create distinct and diverse recipes, from Venison Steaks with Black Currant Sauce, Chestnut Puree in Zucchini Boats, and Cranberry Relish to Bouillabaisse, and Cassoulet with Pumpkin Seed Sausage to Salmon with Mousseline Sauce. I have created many charcuterie dishes—Home-Smoked Salmon with Cucumber Salad and Salmon Gravlax Evelyn with Onion-and-Cucumber Garnish, Chicken Galantine, Parsleyed Ham with Rémoulade Sauce, as well as Fresh Foie Gras with Port Wine Aspic and a white cheese dish, called Fromage Blanc Jean-Victor with Roasted Garlic and Coral “Tree,” that my father used to make.

I have recipes for several types of bread, from standard baguettes to Black Pepper Bread with Walnuts, and Brioche Mousseline to Cheese Bread. I have tried to show the versatility of certain mixtures, such as pâte à choux, and to demonstrate how it is used with some of my favorite dishes—Gougères, Parisienne Gnocchi, and Potatoes Dauphine, as well as Profiteroles with Pastry Buttercream and Chocolate Sauce and Paris-Brest Cake with Praline Cream. I’ve done the same thing with puff pastry, giving recipes for three different types of puff paste: a classic version, a fast version, and a practically instant puff paste. I have given extensive examples of uses for this dough in savory as well as sweet dishes, from Puff Pastries of Oysters and Asparagus to a Flaky Raspberry Strip. Great summer fruit desserts are included, as well as a series of soufflés, several chocolate desserts, and petits fours. Because of the complexity of the recipes as well as the special celebrations where these dishes are served, more emphasis is placed on the presentation than would be for everyday cooking; many dishes—cakes and fruit desserts, for example—are served on large, beautiful platters rather than on individual plates. An impressive whole ham with peaches is enticingly carved at the table, and a beautiful, large orange vacherin makes for a stunning presentation.

My daughter, Claudine, is again my companion and partner in both the book and the television series, and although my wife, Gloria, makes only brief appearances on the shows (she loves her privacy too much), she is very much a part of the soul and spirit of the recipes. After so many years of companionship, our palates crave the same flavors most of the time.

I want in this book to demonstrate what a great pleasure cooking is for me and my family, how much a part of our lives it is, and how much cooking contributes to the makeup and civilization of the different countries of the world. My hope is that some of my food will add to your family’s enjoyment, relaxation, and pleasure at home, and that, by sharing with you my view of food and wine, I will become, in a small way, a part of your own celebrations and family gatherings.




Excerpted from Jacques Pepin Celebrates by Jacques Pepin Copyright 2001 by Jacques Pepin. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

& drawings by Jacques Pepin