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Boulevard
The Cookbook
by Nancy Oakes
and Pamela Mazzola with Liza Weiss
Reviewed
by Kim Fay
One
of the great pleasures of dining out—aside from actually
eating—is that moment when your plate is placed in
front of you. It's like being presented with a small work
of art, created just for you. A drizzle of black truffle
sauce, a scattering of smoked Spanish paprika... Rarely
do we serve with such artistic attention at home, but with
Boulevard, you'll be inspired to try.
From
Nancy Oakes, owner of the fêted Boulevard
restaurant in San
Francisco, and her chef de cuisine, Pamela Mazzola,
this beautiful cookbook offers 75 recipes from Boulevard
and its predecessor, L'Avenue bistro. Because Boulevard's
menu continues to evolve, the book is representative, rather
than definitive. But that doesn't mean the recipes are watered
down for lay chefs. This is complex restaurant food, and
the authors make no apologies for that. What they do, as
compensation, is employ an unpretentious tone and insightful
narrative style that make Boulevard a literary
as well as culinary contribution to the cookbook world.
Consider,
for example, a recipe for pan-roasted wild King or Ivory
Salmon with potato, bacon and watercress cake; shaved apple
and fennel salad; cider sauce; and mustard vinaigrette.
You're reminded about the environment impact of commercial
fish farms and informed that, "It's good to be a patient
cook and wait for each season to unfold. Although we're
not particularly known for our patience, we do try to wait
until late summer to put this dish on the menu." Further
reading reveals the benefits of seasonal produce for this
particular meal, suggestions for serving the fennel salad
on its own, the appeal of Gravenstein apples and the steps
necessary to prepare the dish.
Boulevard
is unique in that—as
evidenced above—it
doesn't isolate side dishes into a separate chapter, but
pairs them harmoniously with a main, much the same way a
restaurant menu does. We love this. You don't have to flip
pages back and forth while working on a meal, and you can
feel confident in your combinations. After all, if fresh
coriander risotto and green almonds worked with bacon-wrapped
Maine monkfish stuffed with lobster and avocado in an acclaimed
restaurant, it's sure to succeed in your dining room. Recipes
come with detailed kitchen and shopping notes, which are
small food essays unto themselves. Vivid, full-page photographs
mean you don't have to guess at the presentation of Dungeness
crab cakes with asparagus, lemon vinaigrette and crab salad,
or Manjari chocolate truffle tart with salted caramel ice
cream.
Much
of the food in this cookbook is rich and therefore probably
not for everyone. You'll find venison and lots of veal;
don't be surprised to see bacon referred to as a muse in
a recipe for endive and heirloom apple salad. But before
you let skepticism get the best of you—salt-roasted
Bosc pears and Roquefort salad threw us before we examined
the recipe—read
a page or two. Not only will you be hooked, you'll be confident
that you, too, can prepare pan-roasted California pheasant
breast with spring onions, prunes in Armagnac, braised bacon
and Savoy spinach for your next dinner party. 
(Published:
12/07/05)
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