Susan Herrmann Loomis

On Rue Tatin by Susan Herrmann Loomis is another French ex-pat type memoir that combined cooking and recipes. Win-win for me!

Most times I travel through the written word, through books instead of airline terminals…….so many reasons.

Much of what I enjoy is the detailed descriptions of the sites and history, paired with the local food. From afar I have fallen in love with France, as did Susan Herrmann Loomis. I visited France about 100 years ago when I was a young pup of 21. Culture shock show more aside, I loved the food, anticipated exploring the cultural differences and it was all an adventure. I had stepped through a looking glass of sorts as this was my first European experience.

Loomis fell in love with France too. Our similarities? She went to France when she was 20, she was interested in cooking and very interested in the culture and food. But I was an old hippie enjoying what life brought, not seriously looking beyond the next chocolate croissant to be scored in the morning. But Susan……. Susan acquired an apprenticeship at La Varenne de Cuisine in Paris. One girl coasting, another with drive and goals.

When Susan and her husband Michael moved to France they brought their small son along. He had his share of culture shock too. Through a fortuitous turn of events, they are able to purchase a dilapidated former convent in Louviers – This leads to another portrait of Susan’s industrious work ethic. The convent was in awful condition but together, they fixed it up and Susan embarked on a writing and culinary career. She hooked up with Patricia Wells and fell ass backwards into an amazing cooking gig. Wow.

A life as ex-patriates……what a romantic idea. One my spouse and I have hashed out over the years. The venue changes periodically but the end result has us living overseas, enjoying all the wines, cheeses, specialty foods of the area …..I guess I haven’t changed too much but have a soul mate that shares the (unattainable)dream.

In this book Susan shares the stories of her family’s adjustment to French culture, interactions with her friends, neighbors and best of all…..recipes!

If you enjoy the genre of Peter Mayle, Frances Mayes and Carol Drinkwater (I love Carol Drinkwater) – the sort of travel, adventure in settling in another country, foodie type book, then I think you’d like On Rue Tatin.

Many good recipes but let me share the Stuffed Tomato.

Stuffed Tomatoes

3 tablespoons canola oil
8 round medium tomatoes, halved crosswise
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 pound ground pork
1/4 pound ground veal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Using a melon baller, hollow out the tomato halves, leaving thin cups; reserve the scooped out tomato flesh in a bowl. Set the tomato cups on the prepared baking sheet.

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the ground pork and veal and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the ground pork and veal with a wooden spoon, until the meats lose their pink color, about 4 minutes; don't let them brown. Add the reserved tomato flesh to the skillet and cook until the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer the meat mixture to a bowl and let cool slightly. Beat in the parsley, eggs, 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and the Parmesan. Spoon the stuffing into the tomato cups, mounding it slightly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs over the tomatoes and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil.

4. Bake the tomatoes for about 45 minutes, or until the sides are soft and the stuffing is hot throughout. Set 4 stuffed tomato halves on each plate and serve.

Make Ahead - The baked stuffed tomatoes can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Cover them with foil and reheat in a 350° oven for 10 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 15 minutes longer, or until heated through. show less

Summary: Susan Herrmann Loomis is an American expat who lives in a small town of Louviers in France. She's written cookbooks and memoirs about French food, but this book is meant to answer the basic question: How do French cooks do it? How do they live regular, busy lives and still manage to put exceptional, elegant meals on the table multiple times a day? Loomis gathers stories from her friends and neighbors, and combines them with her own observations and over eighty recipes to give show more readers an insight into the French way of thinking about food and cooking.

Review: This book falls square into one of my pet-peeve pitfalls of food writing: the author forgets that most people don't have access to the time or resources that they themselves do. This happens pretty frequently, even in books I otherwise enjoy - Michael Pollan in Cooked forgets that not everyone has time to supervise a six-hour braise during the workweek, and Barbara Kingsolver in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle forgets that some people live in apartments instead of on several acres of Virginia farmland. (Books that I've enjoyed that are more broadly applicable and offer more practical perspectives include The Kitchen Counter Cooking School and Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant.) While Loomis's stated goal is to provide insight on how the French cook, not necessarily on how to replicate the French experience in your own kitchen, there are definitely hints of "the French live busy lives just like you, but THEY manage to turn out delicious meals three times a day, so you should be able to too." To wit: in addition to the recipes, she also includes lists of what should be in a well-stocked French pantry and refrigerator, guidelines for how to select cheese for a cheese plate, etc. However, I found this less than useful, because Loomis doesn't entirely recognize that her selection of informants (in the anthropological sense, not the criminal sense) are all upper-middle-class people living in a relatively small town, many of whom have custom-redesigned kitchens, substantial gardens, orchards, or farms, and all of whom have access to multiple nearby bakeries, butchers, cheesemongers, and farmers' markets on a daily basis. Not entirely practical for the rest of us who approached this book wanting to gain some tips about the French's approach to cooking. (Also, I suspect that most of us have jobs where a large glass of wine with lunch on a daily basis wouldn't go over particularly well.)

That said, however, I did actually enjoy reading this book. Loomis's writing about food and cooking is clear and evocative (and frequently made me hungry.) The book is organized well, with chapters on salad, bread, cheese, produce, kitchen organization, dessert, breakfast, leftovers, etc., each with relevant recipes. I also did pick up a few tips that are more practical to incorporate into my daily life, such as making sure to take the time for meals - with place settings and everything - and the concept of eating salad after the main course, which I've tried and really does seem to round off the meal nicely. (I've also started keeping a supply of shallots on hand for making my own simple vinaigrettes, which I don't whisk (for shame!) but shake up and then store in a small mason jar - a good blend of French and American tradition, I suppose!) I haven't yet cooked any of the recipes (other than the vinaigrettes), but many of them looked good and not too difficult to replicate. Overall, this book was easy and light reading, and definitely enjoyable if not entirely practical. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Fans of food writing who can treat this as food writing and not as a how-to book should enjoy this. Read it with some good bread and cheese on hand, though! show less

Loomis has written several charming books recounting her experiences as an American, now living -- and cooking! -- in France. I have always enjoyed her chatty, conversational style. I understand she also gives cooking classes in her home. Her writing takes on the same warm tenor as one imagines you would hear sitting at her kitchen table. Her latest "In a French Kitchen: Tales and Traditions of Everyday Home Cooking in France" allows us a peek, not just into her own kitchen but those of her show more friends and acquaintances.

As explained by Loomis (and in my experience typical of other nationalities' home cooking), much of French home cooking has a solid basis in the recipes and techniques learned from Mamie or Maman. (Everyone with a treasured family receipe, raise their hand. Yup. Thought so.) These traditions are not the basis of fussy rarified restaurant cooking but the satisfying stuff enjoyed every where. I love that Loomis includes a chapter on the French use of 'leftovers', which spells 'homey' to me. There are separate chapters on produce, salad, cheese, desserts, bread, breakfasts, and pantry organization. The book helpfully ends with a by-the-month collection of menus with accompanying recipes.

There are 85 recipes scattered throughout. However, this is not a cook book per se. The recipes are provided more as an example and guide to the techniques and traditions being discussed. Mine was an early Uncorrected Advanced Reader Copy. The organization was a bit rough for the titles of the recipes in the index and for locating what one wanted. However, I felt the recipes themselves were clearly written, with proper techniques and quantities needed and servings produced.

I have made a few of the recipes, and the Cream of Mushroom soup, various salads, Rhubarb and ginger tart, and braised broccoli were all excellent. My favorite chapter by far was on Cheese!!! As handy a primer as one will find anywhere. Quite useful as I prepare a cheese tray for the upcoming Super Bowl party!!

I am a big one for sitting down to read a cookbook cover to cover. This book --with the lovely talks of how people like me cook on the other side of the world -- certainly hit the spot! show less

I received this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I was sent an advance uncorrected proof of the book. Some of the setup involving the recipes was missing from the book. This is not necessarily just a cookbook, but it does include 85 recipes. I usually try out a few recipes but was only able to try the braised broccoli. The recipe makes a nice change from steamed broccoli and was easily accomplished at dinner time.

The book attempts to explain how French women can make all their meals, show more raise their kids and look fabulous. I did enjoy reading stories of how her neighbors cook and prepare meals. I thought there was a lot of useful information on how they stock their pantries and on different cooking techniques. I do think I will use some of the recipes and enjoy them. Where I thought it lost me was in the characterization of Americans vs the French. I am one of those Americans who cooks a lot of meals. I don't have a local patisserie, fromagerie, etc. I live in the middle of the woods surrounded by corn fields. Can we also discuss French laws on the hours in a work week and vacation time! show less