Synopses & Reviews
The winner of the James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year Award when it was first published nearly two decades ago, Sauces is, in the words of Mark Bittman, "the single contemporary reference on the subject that is both comprehensive and comprehensible." Through two successful editions, it has established itself as a modern cookbook classicand an essential reference for every serious cook.
James Peterson trained as a chef in France, and the book offers a thorough grounding in the art of classical French sauce making, from velouté, béchamel, and demi-glace to hollandaise, mayonnaise, and crème anglaise. But Peterson also presents a wide variety of lighter contemporary saucesincluding pan sauces, purées, and vinaigrettesas well as sauces from around the world, including salsas, pasta sauces, and Asian-style dipping and curry sauces. Best of all, he includes recipes not just for sauces, but for finished dishes. These recipes give Sauces a broader scope, showing how good cooking and sauce making are intimately relatedand demonstrating how a correctly prepared sauce can transform a well-cooked dish into something truly sublime.
Now, with this new edition, Peterson has thoroughly revised and expanded Sauces to make it even more indispensable. You'll find more than sixty all-new recipes for dishes that showcase the leading role of sauces in cooking, such as Chicken Tagine with Harissa Sauce, Osso Buco with Julienned Vegetables, Lobster à la Nage, and Gold-Plated Chicken with Ginger, Saffron, and Almonds. There are intriguing historical recipes from medieval and seventeenth-century Europe as well as broth-based classics such as Pot au Feu and Bollito Misto. And, by popular request, Peterson at last includes a recipe for traditional American Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy.
This new edition has been completely redesigned to make it easier to use and includes more than thirty beautiful new color photographs of finished dishes with sauces. If you're a fan of the book's previous editions, you should note that Peterson has not cut any recipes for this edition, and that he has reinstated the popular sauce charts that appeared in the first edition.
Lively, erudite, and authoritative, Sauces remains the definitive modern work on the subject. And with this edition's additional recipesthere are now a total of 440it is now even more valuable as a general cookbook. You'll find all the techniques and know-how you need to master the art of sauce making, and you'll also discover how sauces can take your cooking to a whole new level.
Synopsis
Winner of the James Beard Foundation Award for Cookbook of the Year for the 1991 First Edition
"It's the single contemporary reference on the subject that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. I love Jim's recipes (and there are gems all over the place here), but what's special about Sauces is the text: it reads so well that this is the kind of book you can take to bed."
-Mark Bittmanfrom the Foreword to the Second Edition
"James Peterson has done for sauces that which Escoffier did for the cuisine of La Belle epoque. . . . Sauces is a manual for the professional cook and, as such, it will rapidly become a classic and indispensable reference."
-Richard Olneyfrom the Foreword to the First Edition
"Here is yet another cookbook that can stand among the best reference works. I suspect it's a harbinger of kindred books as publishers begin to respond to a growing audience of cook-readers who hunger for connected, nuanced, reliably researchedinformation."
-Gourmet magazine
"This is a book I wish I had written myself. . . . Every few decades a book is written that says all there is to say on a subject, or has all the information and passion that sets the standard for professionals and amateurs alike. Sauces is one of the best culinary books of this century in English."
-Jeremiah Tower
"The art of sauce making is the cornerstone of serious cooking. This book is a must for the new generation of creative cooks who wish to build on the classical French foundation with contemporary, delicious variations."
-Daniel Boulud
"It is a special reference book-comprehensive and inspiring."
-Alice Waters
About the Author
JAMES PETERSON trained as a chef in France and worked at several notable French restaurants before opening his own restaurant in New York in 1979. He has taught professional and home cooks at The French Culinary Institute and The Institute of Culinary Education. He is the author of many widely acclaimed cookbooks, including the James Beard Foundation Awardwinning Glorious French Food and Vegetables, the IACP Awardwinning Fish & Shellfish, and, most recently, the James Beard Foundation Awardwinning Cooking. His Web site is jimcooks.com.
Table of Contents
RECIPE CONTENTS.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
FOREWORD FROM THE FIRST EDITION.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
PREFACE FROM THE FIRST EDITION.
CHAPTER 1 A SHORT HISTORY OF SAUCE MAKING.
CHAPTER 2 EQUIPMENT.
CHAPTER 3 INGREDIENTS.
CHAPTER 4 STOCKS, GLACES, AND ESSENCES.
CHAPTER 5 LIAISONS : AN OVERVIEW.
CHAPTER 6 WHITE SAUCES FOR MEAT AND VEGETABLES.
CHAPTER 7 BROWN SAUCES.
CHAPTER 8 STOCK- BASED AND NON - INTEGRAL FISH SAUCES.
CHAPTER 9 INTEGRAL MEAT SAUCES.
CHAPTER 10 INTEGRAL FISH AND SHELLFISH SAUCES.
CHAPTER 11CRUSTACEAN SAUCES.
CHAPTER 12 JELLIES AND CHAUDS- FROIDS.
CHAPTER 13 HOTEMULSIFIED EGG YOLK SAUCES.
CHAPTER 14 MAONNAISE- BASED SAUCES.
CHAPTER 15 BUTTER SAUCES.
CHAPTER 16 SALAD SAUCES, VINAIGRETTES, SALSAS, ANDRELISHES.
CHAPTER 17 PURÉES AND PURÉE THICKENED SAUCES.
CHAPTER 18 PASTA SAUCES.
CHAPTER 19 ASIAN SAUCES.
CHAPTER 20 DESSERT SAUCES.