Synopses & Reviews
Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough have written more than a dozen bestselling cookbooks. But their latest book, Cooking Know-How, is a radically new sort of project. Offering far more than just a collection of recipes, it explains the how's and why's of cookingand gives you the techniques and know-how you need to become a better cook.
But don't think it's going to get "cheffy." No chopped chervil here! In a conversational and entertaining way, Cooking Know-How offers sixty-five kitchen-friendly, technique-driven recipes for a wide range of dinnertime favorites, from Roasted Birds, Risotto, and Meatballs to Enchiladas, Ribs, and Veggie Burgers. For each recipe, Bruce and Mark provide detailed, step-by-step explanations (not just directions) that demystify cooking, along with full-color how-to photographs. Who knew dinner could be so much fun?
Or you can skip the explanations and just try one of the eight or so tasty variations that follow each entry. After Beef Stew, for example, you'll find a Sunday Pot Roast Stew with bacon, potatoes, and tomatoes; a French-Inspired Beef Stew with pancetta, prunes, and ground allspice; or even a knock-it-out-of-the-park version of the Belgian classic, Carbonnades Flamandes. Once you understand the science and art of roasting birds, you'll never think twice about making roast chicken, game hens, and even that holiday turkey. Or better yet, create your own signature variations based on the flavors you like or what's fresh at the market.
Throughout the book, Bruce and Mark sprinkle in a wealth of kitchen tips and tricks of the trade. The more you use Cooking Know-Howand you'll find more than 500 specific dishes in totalthe more you'll build your cooking skills and expand your dinner repertoire.
Illustrated throughout with more than 300 color photographs, including hundreds of how-to shots, Cooking Know-How distills the kitchen wisdom Bruce and Mark have gained through decades of writing about food. The result is a brand-new kind of cookbook: a beginner's guide, a pro's library of favorites, a reader's cookbook all in one. It's just what you need to cook with confidence, creativity, and flair.
Review
In this unconventional, friendly cookbook, Weinstein and Scarbrough, the authors of the Ultimate cookbook series, have selected 65 basic savory dishes that, taken together, make up a diverse, international repertoire of nightly dinners. A “How to Use” section orients readers to the particular of the book and some important considerations for translating the general explication to the specific recipe. Each general dish, be it a bean soup or tagine, begins with a description of the basic technique, with photos illustrating each step. Included in the description are suggestions for the cook who wants to improvise with different spices or needs to use up that lone parsnip in the refrigerator. Following the recipe is a chart with multiple variations: eight different versions of enchiladas (including turkey and walnut) or eight different meals cooked in parchment packets, such as ratatouille-style fish and Japanese-style chicken. The recipes are structured without being fussy and the majority are relatively easy. This is a welcome rarity, imparting a useful, innovative framework as well as the confidence to depart from it. (Apr.) RED STAR REVIEW (Publishers Weekly, December 15, 2008)
Synopsis
Anyone can follow a recipe, but it is the ability to improvise that sets a great home cook apart. Cooking Know-Howis the ultimate guide to cooking basics, because unlike most other cookbooks, this useful guide is much more than just a list of recipes. It is a step-by-step manual, packed with photos, that will guide readers towards a true understanding of basic kitchen techniques. The book's unique format mimics a cooking class experience, with 65 "master recipes," each accompanied by examples and suggestions for improvisation. So based on a simple master recipe for Bean Soup, for example, the reader can go on to create Southern Black-Eyed Pea Soup, Minestrone, and countless other related dishes (over 500 included). The master recipes are explained in great detail, and each is accompanied by full-color, step-by-step photos -- 325 in all -- that illustrate key culinary techniques. From absolute beginners to accomplished home cooks and aspiring professionals, everyone can gain something from this thoughtful, step-by-step approach. And with the expertise of two highly experienced food professionals shining through in every recipe, Cooking Know-Howis the ideal resource to teach readers of any level how to cook with confidence.
Synopsis
Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, the creators of the bestselling
Ultimatecookbook series, are known for their great recipes. But in their exciting new book, Weinstein and Scarbrough provide more than just recipes: they demonstrate the essential techniques people need to become more confident in the kitchen.
Cooking Know-Howis organized around 65 "master recipes" for a wide range of dinnertime favorites, from Filet Mignon, Ribs, and Pot Roast to Enchiladas, Thai Curry, and Vindaloo. The authors use each master recipe as a jumping-off point to teach basic techniques, providing detailed step-by-step instructions along with full-color how-to photographs. Once cooks understand the techniques, they can try out one of the eight recipe variations the authors provide at the end of each master recipe section (for Bean Soup, for example, the eight choices range from Black Bean Soup to Minestrone). Or, even better, they can start improvising their own variations.
Filled with authoritative how-to instructions, lively advice and asides, over 300 illuminating color photographs, and more than 500 terrific recipes, Cooking Know-How is a one-of-a-kind how-to cookbook--the ideal kitchen companion for both cooking beginners and veteran home chefs seeking to expand their skills and repertoire.
Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (Colebrook, CT) are the authors of the bestselling series of single-topic Ultimatecookbooks, including The Ultimate Ice Cream Book(978-0-688-16149-1). They are contributing editors to Eating Well and columnists for Cooking Light, Today's Health and Wellness, weightwatchers.com, and Relish.Weinstein and Scarborough also write regularly for other magazines and newspapers and have appeared on the Todayshow, the CBS Early Show, and The View, among other programs.
Synopsis
Welcome to a whole new kind of cookbook."Knowing how to cook has challenged lots of men. Women, too. What most people learn is a specific recipe: how to make this pasta sauce, or that loaf of bread. What about learning how to cook in general? And not just the 'how' but the 'how come?' That requires a technique book.
"What you'll find in this book is an alphabetical list of sixty-five recipe-driven, technique-centered explications that build out into hundreds of dishes.
"Armed with the knowledge of the simple mechanics of a dish, the five or so steps it takes to make it, you can walk into the market, find what's fresh (or on special), bring it home, and have dinner on the table without any worries, any overly romantic pretensions, or any cookbooks piled on the floor: fresh every time—and your way, too."
—from the Introduction
"The recipes are structured without being fussy and the majority are relatively easy. This is a welcome rarity, imparting a useful, innovative framework as well as the confidence to depart from it."
—Publishers Weekly
About the Author
LUCY SCHAEFFER is a New York City-based food, travel, and lifestyle photographer. She worked for five years as a photo editor and photographer at Food & Wine magazine.MARK SCARBROUGH is the bestselling coauthor of the Ultimate cookbook series, including The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. He is a contributing editor to Eating Well and a columnist for weightwatchers.com ("The Every Day Gourmet"), as well as Today's Health & Wellness ("Five After Five"). He has also written for Cooking Light, Relish magazine, Gourmet, the Washington Post, Wine Spectator, Fine Cooking, and numerous other publications. Weinstein has also appeared on the Today show, the CBS Early Show, and The View, among other programs. He lives in Litchfield County, Connecticut.BRUCE WEINSTEIN is the bestselling coauthor of the Ultimate cookbook series, including The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. He is a contributing editor to Eating Well and a columnist for weightwatchers.com ("The Every Day Gourmet"), as well as Today's Health & Wellness ("Five After Five"). He has also written for Cooking Light, Relish magazine, Gourmet, the Washington Post, Wine Spectator, Fine Cooking, and numerous other publications. Weinstein has also appeared on the Today show, the CBS Early Show, and The View, among other programs. He lives in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
Bean Soup.
Beef Stew.
Biryani.
Boneless Center-Cut Pork Chops with a Pan Sauce.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with a Pan Sauce.
Braised Bone-in Chicken Breasts or Thighs.
Braised Bone-in Pork Chops.
Brunswick Stew.
Burgers.
Cacciatora.
Chicken and Rice.
Chicken Soup.
Chili.
Chilled Fruit Soup.
Creamy Vegetable Soup.
Duck Breasts with a Fruit Sauce.
East Indian Curry.
Enchiladas.
Escabeche.
Filets Mignons and Other Red Meat Medallions with a Simple Sauce.
Fish Fillets with a Simple Pan Sauce.
Fricassee.
Fried Rice.
Frittata.
Gratin.
Hash.
Jerk Casserole.
Lo Mein.
Macaroni and Cheese.
Marinara.
Meatballs.
Mediterranean Fish Stew.
Mussels.
New England Chowder.
Omelet.
Oven-Frying.
Packets.
Pad Thai.
Paella.
Pan-Frying.
Pasta in a Cream Sauce.
Picadillo.
Pizza.
Poached Fish Fillets.
Pot Pie.
Pot Roast.
Rack of Lamb.
Ribs.
Risotto.
Roasted Birds 1: Under 4 Pounds Each.
Roasted Birds 2: Large Birds.
Roasted Fish.
Roasted Meat.
Roasted Shrimp.
Scallops or Shrimp with a Pan Sauce.
Scaloppine.
Shanks and Bones.
Skewers.
Soufflé.
Steaks 1: Strips and Sirloins with Herb Butter.
Steaks 2: Rib-Eyes, T-Bones, Veal Chops, and Other Bone-In Steaks.
Steamed Whole Fish.
Steam-Roasted Duck and Goose.
Stir-Frying.
Strata.
Tagine.
Tetrazzini.
Thai Curry.
Veggie Burgers.
Vindaloo.
Index.