When most people think of French food, they anticipate "complicated to make," "hard-to-find ingredients" or "too fancy." In French Food at Home, Laura Calder shows that great French food doesn't have to be any of that. The French cooking of everyday life is lighthearted, accessible, and suited to modern tastes. It's about creating a meal using easy-to-find local ingredients. And, above all, it's about slowing down and savoring the pleasures of good food, wherever you live.

Whether it's getting weeknight dinners on the table fairly fast (Basil Beef, Pickle Chops, or Carrot Juice Chicken) or leisurely cooking for dining at a slightly slower pace (Lamb Tagine, Holiday Hen, or Fennel Bass), Laura Calder shares recipes that she's created at home in her own French kitchen. Balance these with just the right side dishes (Olive Potatoes, Buttery Two Tomatoes, or Endives with Honey and Golden Raisins). And, for a special meal, bookend main dishes with a first course (Orange Asparagus, Toast Soup, or Beet Stacks) and a dessert (Nutty Figs, Fireplace Camembert, or Coffee Pots).

You'll enjoy reading French Food at Home as much as cooking from it. About her Camembert Salmon, Laura writes, "You're thinking, 'Ugh, she's got to be kidding.' But this is no mental lapse; just because it's strange to the ear doesn't mean it will be to the tongue." Or, for the Lemon Tart of My Dreams: "There are more recipes for lemon tart out there than you can shake a stick at. Some have candied lemon slices afloat on top like so many shipwrecked unicycles; others, for reasons I cannot divine, are hell-bent on involving ground almonds ... But all I want in a lemon tart is the plainest possible thing: flat, smooth, and puckering with intense lemon flavor."

From apéritifs to desserts, Laura offers recipes ranging from easy to those that need just a little extra effort. From dishes that are ready in minutes to those slow and savory, from traditional to contemporary, French Food at Home lets you bring French food to your home.

LAURA CALDER is the author of French Food At Home; French Taste: Elegant Everyday Eating, awarded gold at the Canadian Culinary Cookbook Awards in 2010; and Dinner Chez Moi: The Fine Art of Feeding Friends.

She wrote and hosted 78 episodes of the Food Network Canada series French Food at Home (also airing on Cooking Channel USA and worldwide, and the winner of a James Beard Award for best food television show in a fixed location). She also hosted the James Beard-nominated one-hour special The Chateau Dinner and was a participating host in the Food Network Canada Christmas special Twas the Night Before Dinner. She was a panel judge for two seasons on the Food Network Canada series Recipe to Riches, and has judged on both Iron Chef America and Top Chef Canada. In 2011, Cooking Channel USA produced and aired a one-hour "Chefography" on Laura Calder, a biography of her life and career in food. She has most recently filmed a one-hour special/pilot in the French Alps for Cooking Channel USA, which aired August 2012.

Laura Calder's profile page