French Cuisine


Feature Writer: Larry Ervin
Mug shot (with carrot) for The Bachelor Cooks, Nancy Dasenbrach

Bienvenu. The French elevated cooking to a culinary art that has influenced the entire world's cuisine and even the way we talk about food.

No Cordon Bleu training needed here. The basic techniques of French Cuisine are accessible to any home cook. Check the glossary when you see a term you don't know.

What’s on the menu? While haute cuisine's sauces were once reserved for royalty, nouvelle cuisine offers a cleaner, lighter approach, revealing rather than masking the flavor of fresh local ingredients. Discover each region’s distinctive dishes from Normandy to Provence.

Omelettes, Crèpes, Pâtés, Soufflés to Ragouts--from saucy to simple, the choice is yours. Bon appetit!

Leftovers? Money in your pocket: Learn to Love Leftovers.

feature articles
Larry Ervin

Caribbean Black Bean Soup with Pumpkin

In: French Cuisine (general)

French colonization of the West Indies is seen / heard / tasted in these French-speaking areas of the Caribbean: St Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti. French Guiana. more...

Braised Endive with Gruyère Cheese Gratin Recipe

In: French Cuisine (general)

Often served raw in salads or stuffed, this chicory relative's natural bitterness mellows with cooking, as exemplified in this gratin recipe. more...

Eggplant Gratin with Provençal Tomato Jam

In: French Cuisine (general)

Eggplant (a.k.a. aubergine in France and much of the world) has grown wild in India, Southeast Asia and China since at least the first century BCE. more...

Vermouth to Steam Mussels or Sauce Pork Chops

In: French Sauces

The herbal overtones in good quality Vermouth add depth in most recipes that call for white wine, especially if the dish already rings herbal notes. more...

French Vermouth de Chambéry Attacks US Market

In: French Cuisine (general)

Martini afficianados have been crying in their gin since Noilly-Prat announced in January that they were changing the formula for the dry vermouth they export to the US. more...

How to Make Cream of Artichoke Soup

In: Classical French Cuisine

Catherine de Medici is credited with bringing to French cuisine, among other things, an appreciation for artichokes. more...

How to Make a Provençal Chard Omelette

In: French Farmhouse Cooking

Simple, economical, nutritious and tasty: what more could you ask for? more...

How to Make Provençale Stuffed Tomatoes

In: French Farmhouse Cooking

Olive oil instead of butter, tomatoes, olives, zucchini, eggplant: you might think you were cooking Italian! That is the Mediterranean you smell, but you are in Provence. more...

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