Patricia Wells is my new best friend. I have had her cookbook, Bistro Cooking, for a while but only recently began cooking out of it. The recipes are simple but hearty French bistro fare that rely on the best ingredients for flavor, and each one I have attempted has been delicious. Her Marinated Goat Cheese, for instance, should be a pantry staple; it keeps for a long time, and it is a tasty snack and a useful ingredient to have on hand for salads and other dishes.

Wells’ book Bistro Cooking encourages you to keep great ingredients on hand in order to quickly put together satisfying meals that don’t require the fussy handling and intricate preparation we often associate with French cooking. I love turning my kitchen into a French bistro.

Patricia Wells is on a mission to translate everyday French cooking into recipes that Americans can love. Bistro Cooking is a compendium of the best recipes of beloved French bistro chefs crafted for the American kitchen. I've tried dozens of these recipes and they all work well. Many have become part of my regular repertoire. Here you will find the very best way to make potatoes au gratin with very little trouble and consistently perfect results; a melt-in-your-mouth apple tart that looks like it came from a Paris bakery window; simple salads that satisfy; and many other dishes from soup to dessert.

Wells' book is an excellent teacher for the home chef and I have learned a good deal about French cooking from her. She shows techniques learned from kitchens that must serve a discerning public. These are far easier than Julia Childs' painstaking classics. A one-time food critic, Wells has chosen well from the bistro repertoire.

This is not a book for the busy. Many of its recipes require planning ahead (the beef daube must be marinated in red wine for a day in advance) and longer cooking times (again, a few hours for the daube). But it is a godsend for a special Sunday dinner or a party. ( )