Lee Hanson

Brutally murdered in an Orlando townhouse, Topaz Bonnefille was a cipher, a zero, a beautiful woman in her late thirties with no past and suddenly, no future. There are no leads and the case is languishing. A compassionate, elderly neighbor, a woman of means who was her only friend, hires Private Investigator Joe Garrett to find and notify Topaz Bonnefille's family... if she has one. Joe enlists the help of his associate and lover, body language expert Julie O'Hara. They find an old family Bible that leads to New Orleans... and an outcome nobody expected...

When restaurateur Keith McNally and co-chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson opened Balthazar in 1997, it immediately became one of the hottest restaurants in the country. Famous for its star-studded clientele, a beautiful room in the chic SoHo neighborhood, and superbly executed food, Balthazar has been embraced by New Yorkers and visitors alike for its perfect evocation of a French brasserie. The Balthazar Cookbook captures that energy, that style, and that cuisine, with recipes for the most-loved and most-accessible French dishes: seafood ranging from the ultra-simple Moules la Marini re to more ambitious Bouillabaisse; chicken and game favorites that include Coq au Vin and Cassoulet; red-meat classics such as Braised Short Ribs and Blanquette de Veau; sides like the perfect French Fries or sublime Macaroni Gratin; and finales that include Cr me Br l e and Chocolate Pot de Cr me. This is the best of French cooking, from one of the best-loved French restaurants in the country.