Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, Recipes

"The first time I stepped into a Sur La Table store many years ago, it instantly became my favorite kitchenware store, and it still is. Its variety never fails to surprise me. I have always found what I needed or even what I didn't know I needed until I saw it there." --Marcella Hazan, godmother of Italian cooking in America and author of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes., the first in a series of Andrews McMeel Publishing books by the trusted culinary authority Sur La Table, speaks to the love that cooks of all levels feel for their tools. Whether you're passionate about the gorgeous copper pot you just received as a gift, a rice cooker you have always wanted to try, or your grandmother's well-aged cast-iron skillet, award-winning author Marie Simmons provides inspiration to make the best use of your cookware along with delectable recipes to enhance the experience.

Since the 1972 opening of its flagship store in Seattle's Pike Place Market, Sur La Table has become the destination of choice for iconic chefs from Jacques Pepin and Martha Stewart to Mario Batali. A favorite of culinary connoisseurs and gadget gurus alike, Sur La Table sells the A-to-Z of kitchenware and prides itself on teaching how to properly buy, use, care for, and cook with your newfound kitchen additions.

Things Cooks Love presents more than 100 satisfying recipes along with 125 detailed descriptions of commonly used and more unusual kitchen implements. Simmons focuses on how to choose basic cookware, and then branches out to an international array of essentials for Asian, Mexican, French, Indian, Iberian, and Moroccan kitchens. Each recipe includes preparation and cooking times, serving portions, and implements necessary to prepare the dish. Alternative cookware is offered for kitchens that aren't stocked with the exact cookware or tools.

Unlike any other tool-focused book on the market, this book celebrates the deep connection between cooks and their treasured tools. Things Cooks Love is more than a reference tool or a cookbook--it is a cook's book.

"This globe-trotting collection from the Seattle-based cookware chain Sur la Table uses cooking equipment as its inspiration. Authored by Simmons, who writes for Food & Wine and Cooking Light, this book recognizes that having 'the most suitable tool' is critical to fun and successful food preparation. In the opening chapters, Simmons outlines the basic items a home cook should stock, like a peeler and whisk, before moving on to more sophisticated tools, e.g., a karahi (an Indian wok) and mattone (an Italian terra cotta press). From there, the book is organized by implement: a recipe for a chef's torch, for example, is Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes with Bubbling Mozzarella; a pommes anna pan produces, well, Pommes Anna with Herbs and Mushrooms. The recipes appeal to a new cook with their precision, so homemade crepes or fresh sushi will seem accessible, especially with the most suitable tool at hand." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The first book in a new series by the trusted culinary authority Sur La Table speaks to the love that cooks of all levels feel for their tools. Award-winning author Simmons provides inspiration to make the best use of cookware along with delectable recipes to enhance the experience.

Things Cooks Love is a true celebration of food--more than 300 pages packed with wonderful recipes from around the world plus tips, techniques and in-depth looks at ingredients, tools, cookware and more. From selecting the perfect chef's knife to preparing Cornish hens al mattone, if you love to cook, this book will become the cornerstone of your global kitchen. A sampling of recipes you'll find in the book:

• Pizza with Radicchio, Pears, Gorgonzola, and Walnuts
• Chicken, Shrimp and Chorizo Paella
• Lamb Tagine with Artichoke Hearts, Dried Apricots and Preserved Lemons
• Many, many more...

Highlights include:

Equipping your Kitchen

Cooks know having fun in the kitchen depends on having the right tool for every task. Things Cooks Love opens with comprehensive lists of basic cookware and tools. It's an ideal reference for equipping your kitchen, expanding your collection or simply learning more about the tools you already have.

The Global Kitchen

An ultimate wish list for the passionate cook, Things Cooks Love helps take your kitchen to a new level of global sophistication. You'll find comprehensive looks at the implements of global cuisines, detailed lists of essentials you'll want in the pantry for a culinary tour, plus delicious recipes to put it all together.

Recipes, Tips and Techniques

Things Cooks Love is packed with invaluable recipes and wisdom to help make cooking easier and more fun. From the best way to peel a tomato or clarify butter to inspirational quotes and advice from trusted experts, discover great ways to hone your skills and get more enjoyment out of your time in the kitchen.

Seattle-based Sur La Table has kept its finger on the pulse of America's cooks since opening its doors in 1972 at Seattle's historic Pike Place Market. Since then, chefs and home cooks with a taste for adventure have flocked to the culinary mecca. A destination for iconic chefs like Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Martha Stewart, and Mario Batali, Sur La Table entices aficionados and curious beginners alike with its amazing selection of cookware and tools. With a successful catalog, Web site, cooking class program, and stores coast to coast, Sur La Table continues to share its passion for the traditions and tastes of the world with people who love to cook and entertain. To find out more about Sur La Table goto surlatable.com.

Marie Simmons is an award-winning author of eighteen cookbooks, popular cooking teacher, and established food writer. Her work has appeared in Food and Wine, Cooking Light, and Eating Well, and she has written a fifteen-year monthly column in Bon Appetit and articles for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Marie has won two James Beard awards and a Julie Child award. She lives in the Bay Area.