Cooking French!

(photo via Food & Wine)

Today I read an excerpt from the book, The Table Comes First by Adam Gopnik, in Food & Wine.

In it, Gopnik described his take as to why the preference of Italian food dominates over French cuisine. His take: Italy represents in the American - or at least New York - mind, a reflection of the easy Old World. Olive trees and cheap red wine, pasta and garlic, tomatoes cooked down - it all feels accessible, whereas French cooking has some evident degree of difficulty about it. The simple acts of French country food - separating eggs, beating egg whites, reducing sauces, making liaisons of a sauce and a thickener..to name a few, are hard, or harder, anyway.

Which sparked a thought for me: how do we all appreciate food when we cook?

I, for instance, feel greatly accomplished rarely making something intricate and detailed. But feel equally gratified in knowing I can whip something up in five minutes or less (which is few and far in between, I'll admit!) But now I have set out to challenge myself: learning to skillfully cook intricate and traditional French recipes! Don't get me wrong, I love Italian cooking! But this could be a fun way to educate myself in cooking challenging cuisine.

Do you guys have any French food classics you live by or have tried out? Or perhaps a foreign cuisine you'd like to know more about? I would love some suggestions! Perhaps I can start with Truffle-Infused French Onion Soup. Yum!