Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 641.509755395 EAN: 9780679447368 ISBN: 0679447369 Label: Random House Manufacturer: Random House Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 208 Publication Date: November 19, 1996 Publisher: Random House Release Date: November 19, 1996 Sales Rank: 199957 Studio: Random House
Product DescriptionThis cookbook is the distillation of a life's work by a self-taught American chef who learned to cook by reading cookbooks and went on to become one of the world's most renowned chefs. O'Connell began his career with a catering business in an old farmhouse, cooking on a wood stove with an electric frying pan purchased for $1.49 at a garage sale. (The pan was used for boiling, sautéeing and deep frying for parties of up to 300 guests.) This experience sharpened his awareness of how much could be done with very little. The catering business evolved into a country restaurant and Inn which opened in 1978 in a defunct garage and which is now America's only 5 star Inn. Craig Claiborne raves, 'the most magnificent inn I've ever seen, in this country or Europe, where I had the most fantastic meal of my life.'
This is not a typical 'Chef's Cookbook' filled with esoteric, egomanical, and impossibly complicated recipes which only a wizard with a staff of eighty would ever attempt to produce. Rather, the recipes assembled here make up a practiced, finely honed repertoire of elegant, simple and straight-forward dishes. Everyday ingredients are elevated to new heights through surprising combinations and seductive presentations. []A Consuming Passion[] propels the home cook into a new world of American Haute Cuisine and provides the formulas for reproducing it at home. Careful and detailed instructions, all written by the author, assure success.
Tim Turner's luscious photographs capture the playful but elegant spirit of the food and introduce the reader to some of the charming local characters who provide products for the Inn's kitchen as well as taking the reader on a delightful and romantic culinary journey throughout the Virginia countryside surrounding the small town affectionately known as 'Little' Washington and reveals an America we thought was lost forever.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook
The book came in plenty of time for a gift. It did have a slice in the paper cover and slightly on the main book it's self. Looks like when someone opened a box with a box cutter. It didn't effect the out come of the book though.
Rating: - Surprisingly Accessible Recipes
This cookbook contains many of the most popular dishes served at the Inn at Little Washington. I was surprised how true the recipes are to the dishes served at the Inn. Few recipes require exotic or inaccessibly expensive ingredients. While some recipes are labor-intensive, others can be prepared rather quickly and easily with excellent results, such as the Rockfish with Mushrooms and Grapes.
The Red Pepper Soup with Sambuca Cream has become a favorite in our house, even among those ... Read More
Rating: - Easy to follow & true to the INN!!!
We had the pleasure of spending a weekend at the inn and on one of our 2 dinners there actually ate at the "chef's table" in the kitchen. While there we were able to sample a large portion of the menu and obtain an autographed copy of his cookbook. Upon returning home I assumed the recipes would be convoluted and difficult to follow. THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Patrick's recipes are clear, straight-forward and enable any cook with moderate kitchen skills to wonderfully replicate the dishes he serves at his ... Read More
Rating: - It doesn't get any better than this...
We have been guests at the Inn at Little Washington and enjoyed lovely repasts there. In the book, "The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook," we have taken the magnificent offerings to our own table. Especially memorable is the tomato salad, rated the best by the Washington Post reviewer, with tri-colored tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, and shaved asciago cheese - a feast for the eye and the palate. The lobster medallions with grapefruit are delicions and easy to prepare. There is practicality in the preparation ... Read More
Rating: - I'm waiting for a sequel
This is the restaurant by which all other restaurants are measured. It is perfection in every way. Therefore, it is not surprising that I would want the cookbook. What may be surprising to some, then, is how good the book is. There are many notable restaurants and famous chefs are not rare. Chefs, however, who write well and present good cookboooks is less commonplace. The writing is excellent and the recipes turn out as anticipated. I pick up the book (together with Levin's book) sometimes just to recall ... Read More
- The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook
