All About Braising

The art of braising comes down to us from the earliest days of cooking, when ingredients were enclosed in a heavy pot and buried in the hot embers of a dying fire until tender and bathed in a deliciously concentrated sauce. Today, braising remains as popular and as uncomplicated as ever. Molly Stevens's All About Braising is a comprehensive guide to this versatile way of cooking, written to instruct a cook at any level. Everything you need to know is here, including:

• a thorough explanation of the principles of good braising with helpful advice on the best cuts of meat, the right choice of fish and vegetables, and the right pots,
• 125 reliable, easy-to-follow recipes for meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables, ranging from quick-braised weeknight dishes to slow-cooked weekend braises,
• planning tips to highlight the fact that braised foods taste just as good, if not even better, as leftovers,
• a variety of enlightened wine suggestions for any size pocketbook with each recipe.

"Cuisines as diverse as Vietnamese, Moroccan, Italian, British and American all use braising; the technique can be a means to cook everything from vegetables to pork belly. Stevens, a Fine Cooking contributing editor, says that braising is simply 'tucking a few ingredients into a heavy pot with a bit of liquid, covering the pot tightly and letting everything simmer peacefully until tender and intensely flavored.' With the help of appetite-inducing photos of Vietnamese Braised Scallops, and Braised Endive with Prosciutto, Stevens illustrates just how exciting a braise can be. 'Braising,' she clarifies, 'is a building process. The cook adds layer upon layer of flavor, nuance, and character to a dish at each stage.' Although braising is a relatively simple cooking method, Stevens takes her time explaining it, drawing on food science to explain not just how, but why (for example, 'Give food plenty of space,' because 'If the pan is too crowded... the released moisture can't escape and will cause the meat to steam, not brown'). Aside from Stevens's sometimes superfluous prose and ho-hum anecdotes, the book contains interesting tasting notes and cultural information, and Stevens's lengthy instructions will be particularly valuable to beginners. Photos, line drawings. Agent, Marion Young. (Aug.) Forecast: Celebrity endorsements (e.g., from Judy Rodgers, a recent James Beard Award winner) and marvelous photos and layout will draw readers to this work." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

From the perfect pot roast to the fragrant complexity of braised endive, there's no food more satisfying than a well-braised dish.

Molly Stevens is a contributing editor at Fine Cookingmagazine and co-author of the cookbook One Potato, Two Potato. She lives near Burlington, Vermont.