Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way

Over time, in his cookbooks, and on his TV series, Jacques P pin has taught people how to cook simple, fully flavored dishes--food that reflects his French training while embracing American informality. Jacques P pin: Fast Food My Way takes this approach one step further by providing 100-plus recipes for a wide range of delicious, meant-to-be fast dishes. These include Stuffed Scallops on Mushroom Rice; Chicken Breasts on Mashed Cauliflower with Red Salsa; Pasta, Ham, and Vegetable Gratin; and Apple, Pecan, and Apricot Crumble. The "my way" of the title can mean the use of time-saving tools (P pin uses pressure cookers to achieve easy stews like his beef short-rib, mushroom, and potato dish) and convenience foods (canned black bean soup or sweet potatoes for new soup versions). Generally, though, the P pin approach emphasizes the use of foods that are themselves quickly cooked, like chicken breasts or beef fillet and that can be made flavorful with equally fast-to-fix accompaniments, like his salsa mayonnaise or his tomato-olive sauce.

Fast is, of course, a relative term, and readers will find more than a few dishes in the book that may require more time or attention than they're willing to spend on a daily basis. But overall, the book offers enough easily made recipes, and super-time-saving formulas, like Instant Vegetable Soup, to make it a true cooking resource. --Arthur Boehm