Here is the first English-language cookbook from the Parisian cooking school whose very name epitomizes excellence. Le Cordon Bleu at Home provides a solid understanding of the philosophy and skills taught for nearly a century in the school’s nine-month “Classic Cycle” course. Moving through three stages, from basic to advanced techniques, this in-depth approach to classical French cuisine offers a series of easy-to-follow menus and recipes that correspond to classes at the school. Nearly three hundred beautiful color photographs depict finished dishes, serving ideas, and cooking techniques at each stage through completion. Learning to cook means mastering the fundamentals. In “Part Getting Started,” you’ll learn how to roast, poach, fry, saut, braise, and stew. You’ll learn which cuts of meat are most appropriate for a dish, which utensils to use and how to use them, and preliminary preparations that simplify tasks. The menus focus on basic dishes — from roast chicken and lamb to pan-fried sole, apple fritters, and poached fruit. “Part Perfecting Skills” takes you through pastry-making and introduces such preparations as pts, souffls, consomms, and more. This is where you’ll find such glorious dishes as Daube d’Agneau Avignonnaise (braised lamb cooked as it is in Avignon), Tournedos Baltimore (tenderloin steaks with Chateaubriand sauce), and Pilaf de Volaille la Turque (Turkish