How to cook like the French—in Chicago January 25, 2012

Food writer shares the everyday joys (and surprising accessibility) of French home cooking

WHAT: When it comes to exquisite food, many have looked to France for inspiration: the care with which ingredients are prepared, the time taken to enjoy each delicious bite, and most importantly, the appetizing dishes themselves.

Many American home cooks may feel they have neither the time nor expertise to cook like the French. Yet according to food writer Wini Moranville, who has lived in France’s cozy villages and vibrant cities nearly every summer for 20 years, American cooks needn’t fear French cooking. They just need to learn the bonne femme style.

In The Bonne Femme Cookbook: Simple, Splendid Food That French Women Cook Every Day (Harvard Common Press, October 2011), Wini brings authentic French food to American home cooks, with 250 recipes that reflect the way real French families eat today. With a focus on fresh, tasty ingredients and a generosity of spirit, it’s French cooking without fuss or fear.

Now that the typical bonne femme works outside of the home just like her American counterpart (and now that French men, like their American frères, are often in charge of getting dinner on the table), Wini’s emphasis is on easy techniques and speedy preparation. Her book shows readers that it is possible to cook and dine like the French, no matter where you live, without breaking the bank or spending all day in the kitchen.

WHO: Wini Moranville writes a monthly wine column for Relish magazine, a monthly food magazine with a circulation of over 15 million. She has also contributed to many food publications, including Better Homes and Gardens, Country Home, Creative Home, and MasterChef magazine. Find her online at www.chezbonnefemme.com.

WHEN & WHERE: Meet Wini Moranville and purchase a signed copy of The Bonne Femme Cookbook on Saturday, Feb. 25th, 2pm, at The Book Stall, 811 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL, 847-446-8880, www.thebookstall.com.

Praise for The Bonne Femme Cookbook

“For those who struggle to find enough time to craft an inspired dinnertime meal without slaving for hours, this simple and delicious approach to French home cooking allows even the busiest people to taste joie de vivre.”
—Wine Enthusiast Magazine, November 2011

“Wini approaches French cooking with the freshness of an outsider and the wisdom of an insider. Her conviction that French home cooking is accessible plays out winningly in recipes like Any-Day Chicken Sauté and Green-on-Green Avocado and Arugula Salad. But I will relish the book for enticing riffs like Olives with Fennel and Pernod, and for the fact that Moranville writes with such ease and intimacy, you feel you are in France with her, cooking by her side.”
—Amanda Hesser, co-founder of Food52.com and author of The Essential New York Times Cookbook

“It’s les bonnes femmes who keep the culinary traditions of France alive. Cooking the simple classics and the daily meals that form the canon of the cuisine...they draw family and friends to the table. Wini has given us everything we need to do the same, whether our table is in Paris or Peoria.”
—Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table

Official Website: http://www.chezbonnefemme.com