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(More customer reviews)"Techniques are the key to good cooking. The Cook's Book provides the most comprehensive guide to all you may ever need in the kitchen." ~Jill Norman
Jill Norman, editor of the Elizabeth David classic cookbooks, has created a celebration of cooking that is bursting with knowledge and techniques. There are over 1800 full-color photographs and the recipes cover all major cooking styles, including Thai, Mexican, French, Indian and Chinese. Top Chefs from around the world present cooking methods you can master at home. They also include many of their signature dishes. Each Chef has their own chapter:
Sauces & Dressings - Paul Gayler, UK
All the basic saucemaking techniques are covered from deglazing to using a paste of butter and flour to thicken a sauce. Classics are covered in step-by-step beauty as mayonnaise, Hollandaise and Béarnaise are created and then varied to suit all occasions.
Foams - Ferran Adrià
We all know the types of foams we don't want, like when making food and a pot boils over or when making strawberry jam, but how do you make foams on purpose and with a sense of perfection. Here they take the form of Pistachio foam, frozen chocolate mousse and cappuccino almond foam with truffle juice.
Stocks & Soups - Shaun Hill, UK (All the basics for soups and heartwarming meals)
Flavorings - Peter Gordon
An especially exciting chapter filled with freshly crushed spices and herb mixtures. How do you dry-roast spices or grind them in a mortar and pestle? The recipes include sexy offerings like Saffron-Poached Peaches or Coconut & Palm sugar sauce.
Latin American Cooking - Norman Van Aken (Classics like caramelized plantains served with Mojo marinated chicken.)
Eggs & Dairy Products - Michael Romano
Fish & Shellfish - Charlie Trotter (He goes to great lengths in this chapter to show you how to prepare every type of seafood imaginable. This is Seafood 101.)
Japanese Cooking - Hisayuki Takeuchi from Paris (Sushi fans will adore this chapter.)
Poultry & Game Birds - Shaun Hill (A special section on how to cut up poultry into eight pieces - useful for all sorts of recipes.)
Indian Cooking - Atul Kochhar
Meat - Marcus Wareing, UK (Techniques that will take roasting meats to unexplored levels.)
Chinese Cooking - Ken Hom
Vegetables - Charlie Trotter
Charlie Trotter's chapters are highly detailed, showing you ever way to slice and dice vegetables or prepare tomatoes and peppers. He even shows you how to pickle cucumbers and create gourmet Asparacus & Goat Cheese Terrines.
Pasta & Dumplings - Michael Romano (Pasta from scratch!)
Asian Noodles & Dumplings - Christine Manfield from Australia
Thai Cooking - David Thompson
Grains & Beans - Paul Gayler (Secrets for cooking rice or turning lentils into smooth perfection in a Dal.)
Breads & Batters - Dan Lepard (The first recipe I've ever found for Crisp Rye Bread.)
Mexican Cooking - Rick Bayless from Chicago
Pastry & Sweet Doughs - Pierre Hermé (Unique crisp Arlettes and even a recipe for Croissants.)
Middle Eastern Cooking - Greg Malouf (Turkish Coffee)
Desserts - Pierre Hermé (The basics of sugar syrups, candied fruits and nuts, Crème Pâtissière, Rose Ice Cream and unimaginably beautiful Italian Meringue.)
Cakes - Stephan Franz (Essential information on how to cut and fill cakes.)
Fruits & Nuts - Shaun Hill (Figs in cinnamon and lemon, baked apples, steamed orange puddings and even Nougat with almonds, pistachios and candied cherries. Perfect for Christmas.
"Cooking is like a language in which I can communicate my emotions and the love I feel for life and nature." ~Hisayuki Takeuchi
Each chef is featured in the contributing chef's section which gives background information and current projects. This is followed by a section on the equipment you will need to prepare the recipes. There is a focus on accurate measuring and finding high-quality ingredients.
As you read this book from cover to cover you may feel a great sense of accomplishment as you see how many techniques you have already mastered just from cooking for years and years.
I can't think of a more perfect book to give a new cook and if you are just starting to delve into this magical world of flavors and experience, this book will take you into the world of step-by-step instruction. This will make following just about any recipe much easier because you will have seen the techniques and you can also refer back to this book through the index to find just about anything you need to know.
I had barely made it to page 45 when the need to cook up a steak dinner complete with garlic sauces, broccoli in a plum wine sauce and crisp herbed potatoes fried in olive oil overtook me. You may find yourself creating new recipes just because you learn a new technique or it could be an infusion of inspiration born of the pure celebration of cooking itself. Either way, this book will not be only for reading in bed, this is a cookbook you won't be leaving on the counter for long because of the inspirational recipes, excellent glossary and complete index.
Have you ever imagined recipes like this?
Streusel Tart with Pistachios & Cherries - Beautiful simplicity
Tarte Au Citron (Lemon Tart) - So smooth and creamy you may faint with pleasure.
Milk Chocolate Truffles with Passion Fruit
Lime Ice Cream with Cajeta
Some of the classic recipes include:
Sachertorte - The chocolate cake topped with a chocolate glaze
Dresden Stollen - Perfect for Christmas gifts.
Pears swim in syrup poaching to perfection. Lamb is infused with rosemary and orange juice. Sliced carambola drowns in zabaglione. Chocolate marries pumpkin pie and settles into a cheesecake with a splash of country cream.
Such perfection! This is the type of cookbook you can fall in love with, instantly. Looking through this book all at once might leave you a little heady.
~The Rebecca Review
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