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Modern Bistro

In stock

SKU

CL42

Special Price $19.99 Regular Price $35.00

Make your table the delicious place everyone wants to linger.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating at a French bistro, you know that this beloved style of cooking is rustic yet elegant, intimate and inviting. Researched and developed by our team of test cooks, Modern Bistro is an ode to the comforting, classic and soul-satisfying cuisine of French Bistros. Over 180 failproof bistro recipes complete with variations bring this celebrated style of cuisine in your own home. Dishes like classic French Onion Soup, Whole Roast Duck with Cherry Sauce, and fluffy Omelets with Asparagus and Smoked Salmon transport you to the side streets of France with your first bite.

Some of what you'll find inside

Walkaway Ratatouille

Most ratatouille recipes call for labor- and time-intensive treatments like salting and/or pressing to remove excess moisture from the vegetables. We started our streamlined recipe by sautéing onions and aromatics and then added chunks of eggplant and tomatoes before transferring the pot to the oven, where the dry heat thoroughly evaporated moisture and caramelized some of the vegetables. The tomatoes and eggplant became meltingly soft and could be mashed into a thick, silky sauce. Zucchini and bell peppers went into the pot last so that they retained a hearty texture.

Croque Monsieur

We chose to amp up the béchamel sauce called for in traditional recipes by adding some Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses. To ensure that the sandwiches were ready to eat at the same time, we assembled all four of them on a baking sheet, layering in the cheese sauce and Black Forest ham before topping them all with more sauce and cheese. A stint under the oven's broiler was all that was needed to meld the sandwich ingredients together, creating a bubbly-browned top in the process.

Duck-Fat Roasted Potatoes

Duck fat provides unmatched flavor and richness, and combined with satisfying, crispy potatoes you are left with one irresistible recipe. We peel the potatoes for maximum surface area and roast them on a sheet pan on the top shelf of a hot oven to cook them from all sides at once, then rough them up in the pot to create a starchy paste that transforms into a crispy shell in the heat of the oven. And we use an easy but effective scrape-and-toss approach rather than turn them one at a time.

What you'll find inside:

BRUNCH AND BREAD BASKET

Croque Monsieur
Chocolate-Orange Crepes
No Knead Brioche
Potatoes Lyonnaise

SEAFOOD

Bouillabaisse
Oven-Steamed Mussels
Roasted Salmon with Orange Beurre Blanc
Pan-Seared Trout with Brussel Sprouts and Bacon

BEEF, PORK, AND LAMB

Cold Seared Thick-Cut, Bone-In Pork Chops
Authentic Steak Frites
Cassoulet
Beef Burgundy

DESSERTS

Crème Brûlée
Grand Marnier Soufflé
Roasted Plum and Mascarpone Tart
Chocolate Pots de Creme

DETAILS

Recipes: 180+
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Item Number: CL42
Item Weight: 1.5 pounds

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More about Modern Bistro:

Perfect for Lovers of France and Bistro Cuisine

We bring the test kitchen’s valuable experience testing classic French recipes to home cooks, guiding you through modern techniques so you can easily cook bistro food with American ingredients.

Techniques for Success

You’ll learn from our discoveries, such as our splatter-free cold searing techniques for steak and pork chops, a two-step cooking technique for evenly cooked roast whole duck, and our trick of adding cream of tartar to egg whites while whisking to guarantee height.

Makes French Cooking Approachable to All

Modern Bistro makes French cooking simple, accessible, eminently doable (and fun!) in a home kitchen with stories and glimpses into food history, techniques, and ATK adaptations.