| | |  | Cook Books | Home » » The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook: A Consuming Passion | | | | | | | Description: | | This cookbook is the distillation of a life's work by a self-taught American chef who learned to cook by reading cookbooks and went on to become one of the world's most renowned chefs. O'Connell began his career with a catering business in an old farmhouse, cooking on a wood stove with an electric frying pan purchased for $1.49 at a garage sale. (The pan was used for boiling, sautéeing and deep frying for parties of up to 300 guests.) This experience sharpened his awareness of how much could be done with very little. The catering business evolved into a country restaurant and Inn which opened in 1978 in a defunct garage and which is now America's only 5 star Inn. Craig Claiborne raves, "the most magnificent inn I've ever seen, in this country or Europe, where I had the most fantastic meal of my life."
This is not a typical "Chef's Cookbook" filled with esoteric, egomanical, and impossibly complicated recipes which only a wizard with a staff of eighty would ever attempt to produce. Rather, the recipes assembled here make up a practiced, finely honed repertoire of elegant, simple and straight-forward dishes. Everyday ingredients are elevated to new heights through surprising combinations and seductive presentations. []A Consuming Passion[] propels the home cook into a new world of American Haute Cuisine and provides the formulas for reproducing it at home. Careful and detailed instructions, all written by the author, assure success.
Tim Turner's luscious photographs capture the playful but elegant spirit of the food and introduce the reader to some of the charming local characters who provide products for the Inn's kitchen as well as taking the reader on a delightful and romantic culinary journey throughout the Virginia countryside surrounding the small town affectionately known as "Little" Washington and reveals an America we thought was lost forever. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Patrick O'Connell | | Hardcover:
| 208 pages | | Publisher:
| Random House | | Publication Date:
| November 19, 1996 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0679447369 | | Product Length:
| 9.34 inches | | Product Width:
| 0.87 inches | | Product Height:
| 11.77 inches | | Product Weight:
| 3.19 pounds | | Package Length:
| 11.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 9.1 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.9 inches | | Package Weight:
| 3.25 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 16 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 16 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Culinary Delight!Feb 26, 1999
If you have ever eaten at the Inn at Little Washington then you know how fabulous the food is. Everything that enters your mouth is a masterpiece! This book contains some of Patrick O'connell's best recipes. Unlike some gourmet cookbooks, these recipes are easy to follow and "realistic." The photography is beautiful and accurately depicts the Virginia countryside. This is an excellent gift book, for yourself or your favorite cook!
21 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Delightful, a great find from a real chef.Sep 08, 1999
By headhunt@pacbell.net
It only takes one visit to The Inn at Little Washington to realize that a little bit of heaven lives in the Shenadoah Valley. Virtually few other restaurants offer the experience or the chance to experience what it's like to cook with one of the world's truly great chefs without going to the ends of the world to find the five hundred ingredients most require. Patrick O'Connell has written a book that is charming to read with easy to follow directions. For once, you need not be afraid to purchase a book written by a professional chef. You may not be dining at the Inn, but at least your taste buds are going to bring back some exceptional memories or the desire to get on the next plane headed for Washington D.C. to gain your own personal experience. Needless to say, some of my most pleasant evenings have been spent there or at home recreating memories of them with this book.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
It doesn't get any better than this...Feb 13, 2002
By Jane Phillips
We have been guests at the Inn at Little Washington and enjoyed lovely repasts there. In the book, "The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook," we have taken the magnificent offerings to our own table. Especially memorable is the tomato salad, rated the best by the Washington Post reviewer, with tri-colored tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, and shaved asciago cheese - a feast for the eye and the palate. The lobster medallions with grapefruit are delicions and easy to prepare. There is practicality in the preparation and easy-to-find ingredients. The photographs are wonderful. I have given this lovely book to many friends who have shared my delight with Patrick O'Connell's gift from the heart!
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Captures the pleasure of the inn and is a practical cookbookOct 17, 2001
By D. Wolf
"wolfd"
Having eaten at the Inn twice, it's a real joy to have a cookbook that lets you experience at least part of the joy (the setting there is amazing) at home. O'Connell provides recipes for exotic dishes in a way that makes them accessible for any modestly adept cook. Nor is he pretentious at all - If you don't happen to have foie gras in the fridge for the tuna and foie gras dish, that fine he says. Leave it out. The dishes are beautiful without being self-indulgently elaborate. The accompanying photos and narrative make it fun to read, but the real value is his practical explanations of how to make extraordinary dishes. Enjoy!
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Easy to follow & true to the INN!!!Jan 15, 2004
By Vincent J. Abrami
"Vinny A"
We had the pleasure of spending a weekend at the inn and on one of our 2 dinners there actually ate at the "chef's table" in the kitchen. While there we were able to sample a large portion of the menu and obtain an autographed copy of his cookbook. Upon returning home I assumed the recipes would be convoluted and difficult to follow. THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Patrick's recipes are clear, straight-forward and enable any cook with moderate kitchen skills to wonderfully replicate the dishes he serves at his fantastic inn! If you want to produce delicious dishes, with a hint of southern US, French & Italian influences then buy this book!!! You will not be disappointed & your guests will be amazed!
See all 16 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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