The Bon Appétit Cookbook
by Barbara Fairchild
Wiley & Sons, 816 pp., $34.95
At the precise moment of the party when it’s photo-op perfect, my friend Janelle and I know our cue to exclaim, “Great cook! Great party!” and strike a pose with our glasses raised and happy, animated faces on. We know this because we are both longtime subscribers to Bon Appétit magazine, in which a monthly feature spotlights fabulous hosts in the throes of one of their fabulous soirees. Some years ago the feature’s name was changed from “Great Cook! Great Party!” to the less effusive “Entertaining With Style,” but we’re old-school and prefer the original.The feature captures what is fun about Bon Appétit: It’s not just a cooking/recipe magazine. I loved the entertaining-menu guides of the Eighties that always suggested the proper highball (scotch & soda, gimlet) to start things off. Today’s guides are less boozy, but they still offer practical menus culled from the month’s recipes (low-carb meal, low-sodium, etc.) and whimsical ones (book club menu, preconcert dinner). It’s that kicky personality that’s missing in the new Bon Appétit cookbook, a comprehensive collection of favorite recipes from the past umpteen years.
The volume is organized in the traditional way: breads, appetizers, meats, fish and shellfish, pies, cakes. It’s a tried-and-true method of arranging a cookbook and not a bad one, either. Most of my favorite books adhere to this format. With this being a Bon Appétit book though, I missed the suggested menus for poker night or a baby christening or a Fourth of July barbecue.
Compiled and edited by longtime staffer and current editor Barbara Fairchild, the collection of recipes is that of favorites from the past 20 or so years. And yet, I found that many of my favorite Bon Appétit recipes are not included. The pecan praline cake that I rely upon for the holidays, the ridiculously rich sausage and penne bake with tomatoes: None of these made the cut. These omissions likely say more about me than they do about the editors, but it confirmed that this book will not allow me to toss out my ancient, dog-eared copies of the magazine when I want to strike my “Great cook! Great party!” close-up.
This article appears in December 8 • 2006.