New Classic Family Dinners

A sumptuous collection of the best "Family Dinner Night" recipes from Mark Peel's award-winning Los Angeles restaurant, Campanile "Like our regular Campanile menus, Monday night family dinner menus are seasonal. Sometimes they revolve around a holiday, sometimes around an ingredient that's in season for a short time, sometimes around a type of food, such as shellfish. My inspiration for the menu is usually an idea for the main dish, and this sets the tone for the meal. Some menus are thematic. Often I'll have a craving for a comforting American or European family dish, like pot au feu, coq au vin, roast beef, seven-hour leg of lamb, or a more low-brow comfort food classic like tuna noodle casserole (but we make it with homemade tuna confit, creamy béchamel sauce, and the highest-quality Gruyère cheese)." —Mark Peel "This book of simple, delicious recipes brings us to our senses and back to the table with our kids!" —Alice Waters, Chez Panisse "Here is a collection of recipes that will make you want to cook at home every night. Mark Peel has revitalized our favorite classic dishes, bringing them up to date with the best ingredients possible in the style of a great cook." —Wolfgang Puck "When you pull back the curtain on any great chef,what you find is a person with a true passion and love for food. Mark's enthusiasm for his craft comes across on every page of New Classic Family Dinners. I hopethis collection of recipes finds its way into yourfamily dinner repertoire." —Tom Colicchio

For more than ten years, Mark Peel has designated Monday nights at Campanile, his James Beard Award-winning Los Angeles restaurant, to be Family Dinner Night: everyone feasts on the same themed, three-course dinner, served family style. Week after week, year after year, diners come back for the warm welcome, the relaxed atmosphere, and, most of all, for Mark Peel's food. Family Dinner Night promises Peel's special takes on popular comfort food dishes; in his hands an old favorite like Veal Parmesan becomes Breaded Veal Scaloppini with Smoked Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Tomato Sauce, and wild mushrooms turn Macaroni and Cheese into something truly memorable. Inventive, enticing, and perfectly satisfying, this is home-style cooking few of us ever thought we could achieve at home. But thanks to New Classic Family Dinners, now you can. In this luscious, inspiring cookbook, Peel shows you how to re-create the most popular dishes from his weekly specials, with more than 200 recipes that will delight your family on a weeknight and wow the crowd on a special occasion. Every single recipe was tested in Peel's own home kitchen—where he has only one strainer, just like the rest of us, and no kitchen staff to clean up after him. Peel stripped away extraneous steps and flourishes, leaving behind only the techniques and ingredients that guarantee spectacular meals. Step-by-step photographs make his instructions perfectly clear. Homemade ravioli? No problem! What began as restaurant recipes are now accessible to any home cook. And oh, what recipes. Simple weeknight dishes like Butter Lettuce Salad with Stilton and Walnuts; Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Basil; or Cornmeal-crusted Pan-fried Trout appear alongside more complicated—but worth every second—recipes like Lobster Pot Pie or Lasagne with Bolognese Sauce, Creamed Spinach, and Poached Egg. Desserts are inspired by in-season fruits and Peel's memories of childhood, treats like Peach Melba, Rhubarb and Strawberry Tart, or Devil's Food Layer Cake with White Mountain Frosting. A section at the end shows Peel's Family Dinner Night menus from Campanile, but of course you're free to put meals together any way you like—the possibilities are endless. Once you discover these extraordinary versions of ordinary dishes and learn how easy it is to adapt them for a table for two or a crowd of ten, you'll be inspired to make every night a special family-and-friends dinner night.

[Starred review] In this sophisticated yet homecentric cookbook, Peel, the longtime chef/owner of Los Angeles s Campanile restaurant has assembled favorite dishes from his famed Monday night Family Dinners. In signature style, Peel, writing with Shulman ( Mediterranean Harvest ), elevates the common vernacular of comfort food veal scaloppine, grasshopper pie to refinement with select ingredients like smoked mozzarella and homemade vanilla ice cream, respectively, plus a bit of extra-mile technique (running a pureed potato leek soup through a sieve or toasting and grinding spices for a shrimp boil). If a reader needs an excuse to revive clams casino in the home kitchen, he s given ample justification with a simple, no-fail recipe, but if there is a hankering, say, for a more seasonal, green market dish like fresh shell-bean ragout, Peel s got it covered, too. Peel offers tips on menu planning, choosing produce and environmentally friendly seafood choices. The skill level required varies making Peel s labor-intensive lobster potpie will demand more experience than his tuna confit. In most cases the ingenuity of process trumps conceptual creativity, and readers will find comfort in the familiarity of the dishes, which will make any home table proud. (Oct.) ( Publishers Weekly , May 26, 2009)