This last week I have thought a lot about food… and as I scent my second batch of Tomatoes Provencal wafting from the kitchen… I am still reflecting on menus, cooking, entertaining and all those bits that come to mind when a houseful of guests are about to arrive. As I mentioned earlier… I entertain simply… lunch and dinners are always buffet style… there are too many of us to have individual plates… so I set up a table specially for the food and everyone can help themselves.
I am often asked which cook books I rely on and which ones I prefer, especially in the summer time, when I have many around the table. Every year I change books… and recipes… I might have a crush on a certain chef and work devotedly from his book one year and then completely ignore his brilliance the next… The practical advantage to my fickle nature is that if the same friends return year after year… hopefully they might try some different meals… I have always intended to start one of those books where you list ‘who’ eats ‘what’ at ‘which’ meal… but well intentions are sometimes just that…
This year I am cooking from the Bill Granger cookbooks… Bill is a Sydney chef, who has helped me no end… and he doesn’t even know it. Sydney food works well in southern France… the weather and lifestyles are simpatico and most of the ingredients are available… The other master that I owe my table to this summer is Yotam Ottolenghi, the London based chef. I have used his first book, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook so many times that I have lost count and now… as a suggestion from one of my lovely readers, Monica… I am waiting for his second, Plenty, to arrive on my doorstep. I have only heard fabulous words about Plenty, a vegetarian cookbook, and I cannot wait to start on some of Yotam’s suggestions.
My Summer Cookbooks
Feed Me Now… My latest Bill Granger addition and the one I am using this year…
Bill’s Sydney Food... my first and most well thumbed of his cookbooks…
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Ottolenghi: The Cookbook… Try the French beans with hazelnut and orange on Page 36… ‘heaven’
Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi
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Do you have a summer favourite?… xv
P.S… Since posting this… I have had lots of enquiries about the plates… you can find them here… once on their site, click on ‘for your home’ and then ‘dinnerware’… ‘view all’…mine in the photograph above are called ‘watercolour petals’… I also succumbed to the ‘meadowsweet’… and if I were being entirely truthful… the ‘pomme’ plate… Will show you those later… xv
The vegetarian cookbook you listed sounds great! I’ll check that out…
But in summer, I just don’t cook. It’s too hot. I’m too busy running with my harp to weddings and outdoor music performances (and, as in this weekend to a county fair – harp music amid the cows…). So if it takes time and heats up the kitchen, I won’t do it. But I’m perfectly happy with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella / cucumbers and onions / simple pasta with a drizzle of oil and some parmesan cheese / fresh cherries, strawberries and raspberries out of a bowl / maybe an egg salad if I get around to it.
what a pretty table set for a queen!
I made note of your tomato recipe {i LOVE cooked tomato}, and will try it very soon.
I had never thought of setting the table with printed quilts like you have done here – I really like this idea, especially mixing the patterns. Add flowers and a variety of crystal glasses – beautiful!
Jolie table, Vicki, and I believe you and I have the same wine glasses… mine do not live in a Provencal kitchen, however, but on a large wooden deck in the Pacific Northwest
As we are about to embark on a 3-week cruise on our sailboat, I can guarantee that my cooking will be very simple over the next few days. If my boys do well, I will be able to serve fresh crab on a couple of occasions! Happy summer! Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Ican’t really say that I have a favourite one, but i do like to pop into Ottolenghi’s for a nice salad, cupcake…
Your plates are beautiful.
I adore cooking but haven’t been able to do much lately because my husband has been on an insane diet!
I did try your tomatoes and they were fantastic.
Loved the tomato recipe – I made it two nights in a row !!!!! My family loved it as well
we have lovely tomatoes in our little potager right now – thank you for all your lovely posts and great ideas ! Next summer we will go to Provence and see it all for ourselves 
Ah, love hearing what cookbooks you are using. I am culling recipes from the internet mostly–looking forward to making watermelon mojitos and homemade fancy ice pops in the near future, but just pulled out my old favorite More Home Cooking by Laura Colwin. Hoping your week has been a good one–by the looks of your beautiful table, I know it must’ve been!
xo Mary Jo
Those plates!! Who? What? Where? Anticipating they are a vintage find; how do I find similar ones?
They are from Anthropologie.. I am crazy about them too! http://vickiarcher.com/2012/07/my-provencal-table-this-summer/ You can find the links to their site on that post…
Your new dishes and table look very pretty! Looking forward to adding a provencal touch to Arkansas tomatoes!
Have you tried Belinda Jeffrey, ex Sydney now northern NSW, her food is simple, healthy easy but still has a wow factor than even I can manage?
I love your plates. Are they available for purchase?
They are from Anthropologie… I wrote about them http://vickiarcher.com/2012/07/my-provencal-table-this-summer/ and there are links to the site within that post… I have to say I love them and have since found myself a few more! Couldn’t resist…. xv
Yes, I love Bill Granger’s as well, I haven’t heard of Yotam Ottolenghi…will check out your link.
xxx
I too love Bill Granger and Yotam Ottolenghi, so am going to order ‘Plenty’on your recommendation. Your photos and stories are wonderful, Vicki! I could eat Tomatoes Provençal everyday!! I’m looking forward to Spring and Summer in Toowoomba after a very wet winter so far.
You will really enjoy PLENTY Vicki – my sister-in-law who lives near Carcassonne gifted me with a copy a year or ago.
Love the table setting – very pretty and fresh.
Mary
I spy my coverlet there, being used as a tablecloth, very nice.
Vicki,
Thank you for sharing your cookbook list. Sometimes selecting a good cookbook can be daunting.
I’ve gotten to where I really appreciate the simplest forms of fresh foods because they usually have the best flavor and preparing them doesn’t stress me out!
My newest favorite recipe actually came from a website I found (and I’ve since pinned it on one of my Pinterest boards). It’s called zucchini carbonara. It has a delicious blend of flavors, and it gives me a new way to serve zucchini during those summer months where I’m innundated with zucchini from the garden.
I appreciate knowing that a woman as sophisticated as you encourages/welcomes buffet style entertaining…
Mandy
The new plates are perfect! Stunningly beautiful table!
The quilted table coverings are so pretty. x
Oooh Jeanne mentioned a Bill Granger cookbook recently in a post on South-East Asian cookbooks and now you are recommending him too? Sold!
A beautiful table…of course!
Bon j’ai déjà les deux d’Ottolenghi que j’aime beaucoup.
Dois je commander les deux de Bill????
Belle journée avec ce beau temps.
Manon
Gorgeous table. Nothing like cold foods int he summer, but I love tarts too!
Have a great weekend, Debby.
Teresa
xoxo
Vicki,
Thank you for the cookbook suggestions, I cannot wait to search them out. If you are not familiar The barefoot Contessa cookbooks are filled wil beautiful and simple recipes using quality fresh foods. The sorts of recipes that are great for a crowd.
Beautiful table setting, thanks for sharing. Enjoy your holiday.
Elizabeth
Love the table setting it looks georgous! I have been using BIll Granger’s cook books for years my husband gave me my first book for Christmas some years ago.I love his recipes they are fantastic and as you say fit very well with our Auatralian climate.Have a wonderful weekend.x Trish
Ahh Cookbooks!+ thanks for the list + what a beautiful table setting. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
Vicki,
Thank you for sharing the cookbook list. I like the title of that first one
We have an Anthropologie near us and I’m thinking about heading over today. Have you seen their little bowls? They are adorable.
Your table looks so pretty.. feminine, summery, crisp.. love it.
Have a nice weekend!
leslie
Hi Vicki, As we can in Spain and Mexico: “Bueno Provecho”—have a wonderful week-end filled with those you love. And stay cool. xoxo. Mary
Must get Bill’s book Vicki….I’ve eaten in his Sydney restaurant many times…light, fresh, seasonal produce cooked simply. I think it could be perfect for Paris too.
Hey Vicki,
Well, your friend is indeed a good friend (or, at the very least, she’s a smart one)if she’s recommending Ottlenhi’s “Plenty”. I was sent a review copy this past year and have been using it on a weekly basis ever since. As with the initial “Ottlenghi Cookbook” (with its fasincating melange of Palestinian, Jewish, and Italian influences), all-vegetarian “Plenty” is just gratifyingly handy to have around, particularly when you are sort of tired/bored with “the usual”. It’s particularly helpful if you have vegetarians coming for dinner (I regularly do); all that’s necessary is to roast a chicken or two (I always use Marcella Hazan’s simple-but-perfect “two-lemon chicken” recipe) for the carnivores, and then serve it all up with a magnificent, interesting vegetarian dish from “Plenty”. Basically, I’m currently “into” making a vegetable dish the center/highlight of a buffet meal. In addition, most of Ottlenghi’s dishes can be altered (or at least there are plenty of alternatives in the book) for visiting lacto-intolerants, gluten-intolerants, and diabetics (for better or worse, I know a lot of these folks, in addition to having many elderly friends on restricted diets). In contrast to a lot of folks, I actually enjoy coming up with a buffet menu that has options for everyone….it’s not as though these folks ENJOY being diabetic, on Atkins, Lactose-intolerant, etcetera. Most are accustomed to taking short shrift when they go out to a restaurant or someone else’s house; Ottelonghi’s books make it E-Z to accomodate and gratify them. I happen to like doing that and think it’s the entire reason I’m entertaining in the first place.
Actually, I’m fairly bored with meat-dishes these days (I entertain at least twice per week), so “Plenty” has been an invigorating godsend for me…..as has been Nigel Slater’s equally wonderful and informative “Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch”.
For those of your readers who are unfamiliar with Provencal cooking (and don’t you love that it’s so straightforward and damned GOOD that we can simply call it “cooking” rather than making obligatory-honors to it as a “cuisine”?)I’d recommend the justly-renowned Patricia Well’s “Patricia Wells at Home in Provence” and “Provencal Cooking”. Both contain recipes that have become complete, no-brainer-but-delicious “standards” in this household’s repertoire, such as her “summer mustard-white-wine daube” and her really invigorating (and quite simple, if you were bright enough to think of the combination, as she did) “lentil walnut salad” (the secret is the wonderful dressing of walnut oil, lemon juice, capers, and mint).
Patricia’s also got a GREAT, new book titled “Salad as a Meal”. Once again?…the recipes and ideas are perfect for adaptation. go to amazon.com and read the reviews (and her “biography”, which indicates quite sufficiently what an amazing career she’s had….first American to write a regular restaurant review in Paris, etcetera).
Well, enough from me.
Level Best as Ever,
david Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
Thanks for sharing the cookbook list. Love new ideas and fresh cooking. I too love all the outdoor dining that can be done in France. It’s just great to be outside, with a dressed up table, enjoying fresh food, great company and of course the wine! Will definitely look into those cookbooks!
Bonjour, cette table est délicieusement jolie ! Les hortensias en Provence c’est très original, they need so much water… Très bel été ! Stéphanie
Dear Vicki,
Your blog is delightful as always. Thanks for sharing your favorite cookbooks. The gorgeous table you set made me feel like having a 7 hour lamb leg with cherry tomatoes from Provence, of course (with lots of herbs). With a lavender sorbet for dessert. Oh my I ma hungry just thinking about it… Too bad I live in Florida where lavender is not esay to find !
Also I added a while ago a link to your blog is on my own blog (playing with scarves). If you could return the favor, I would highly appreciate it. In adavnce thanks !
Finally, I have nominated you for a richly deserved Blogger Award(called…The Sunshine Award !!!). Please go to my latest post on my Blog for more details. Sharing blogs is a fun aspect of the blogosphere and I hope you’ll enjoy that.
Bon weekend Vicki
Anne
I’m currently addicted to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘Veg everyday’. It has some beautiful combinations. I’ve become addicted to the dry roasted ratatouille!