Here are a few general principles that should be followed in the creation of the dishes that are given in this book. I trust that experienced cooks will forgive me for mentioning what, for them, must appear to be obvious. Nevertheless, I feel that insistence on the artistry of a profession or a hobby, be it painting or cooking, can bear repetition if it is for the benefit of those who may feel that they have not yet mastered certain techniques.

Most of the recipes given here are timed according to the use of earthenware pots, and copper and enamel pans, as dis­tinct from aluminum utensils. But it is not every home that is in possession of such ware. So, if it has to be aluminum, then use the heavier kind, so as to be able to cook these dishes d la minute (i.e. for the exact time given). If thin aluminum pans are employed, then care must be taken to adjust accord­ingly the prescribed cooking time; for the food in the thin aluminum pan will heat centrifugally and cook too rapidly, instead of heating gradually and retaining a steady, even, overall temperature. This is of major importance in cooking.

Careful timing in cooking contributes greatly to Alexandre Dumaine's insistence on precision in the kitchen. A kitchen alarm clock and a keen interest in preparing food are about all that are required—provided the ingredients are of the best quality—to be able to succeed in perfecting simple dishes. A good test is to be able to prepare the Fillets of John Dory* and the accompanying Sauce Hollandaise* so that they are ready to be served together the minute that both of them are just cooked and no more.

It really is worth the effort to spend the little extra money, time and trouble in buying and cooking just the required amount of top-quality food, instead of playing around with an unnecessary amount of the second-best. It should be borne in mind that the presentation of a carefully prepared dish is of considerable importance. For example, it can make a great deal of difference as to how my Indo-Chinese Curry* dish is ar­ranged and set on the table. It can easily be made to look both attractive and appetizing. Lack of interest or imagination will result in the opposite, distressing, effect.

In a few of these recipes, I state that the sauce should be reduced, or cooked gently, until it thickens. Careful and closely watched reduction and blending of a sauce can make all the difference to a dish which, in itself, may have required exacting measurements and preparation. So, surely, as far as sauces are concerned, it is worth both time and trouble to stay in the kitchen and to cook the sauces cautiously without having to go off to attend to other household matters.

That little extra patience in the kitchen will also be re­warded if you wish to please your guests by preparing your own Sauce Tomate,* Sauce Mayonnaise,* Sauce Hollandaise* (according to the easy recipes given here) instead of buying tasteless, commercial "concentrated" substitutes.

Whenever possible, use dry white wine, wine vinegar, and fresh, unsweetened cream in cooking. And when I mention butter, I mean pure butter, and not a substitute. Brillat-Savarin, the celebrated author of The Physiology of Taste, claimed that one of the basic principles of cooking was the use, in the kitchen, of the finest quality table butter.

The use of herbs and seasoning is also of great importance in both simple and classic French cooking. Here I have deliber­ately avoided naming, or advising the use of bottled flavoring products for these recipes. Instead, I give the different pro­portions for various herbs to be employed in their preparation. The judicious use of herbs and seasoning can, and does, make such a difference to soups and stews.

Two conclusions can be drawn from Alexandra Dumaine's remark that "exactness in cooking is difficult to achieve." One is that the difficulty resides in achieving the exact required result, according to the precise indications in the recipe; the other, that you have to reckon with your own particular taste and that of the family, or of your guests. We are not all born with uniform palates: you may like garlic, others may not; some prefer lemon juice, instead of vinegar, in the salad dressing, etc. There must, therefore, remain a margin in the prescribed amount of herbs and seasoning to be used in the preparation of these dishes.

For those not versed in menu French, I have translated each dish into English; this also means that there is a double index for the recipes.

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