The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese
Kathe Lison - 2013
And there’s much to love: hundreds of gloriously pungent varieties—crumbly, creamy, buttery, even shot through with bottle-green mold. So many varieties, in fact, that the aspiring gourmand may wonder: How does one make sense of it all?In The Whole Fromage, Kathe Lison sets out to learn what makes French cheese so remarkable—why France is the “Cheese Mother Ship,” in the words of one American expert. Her journey takes her to cheese caves tucked within the craggy volcanic rock of Auvergne, to a centuries-old monastery in the French Alps, and to the farmlands that keep cheesemaking traditions alive. She meets the dairy scientists, shepherds, and affineurs who make up the world of modern French cheese, and whose lifestyles and philosophies are as varied and flavorful as the delicacies they produce. Most delicious of all, she meets the cheeses themselves—from spruce-wrapped Mont d’Or, so gooey it’s best eaten with a spoon; to luminous Beaufort, redolent of Alpine grasses and wildflowers, a single round of which can weigh as much as a Saint Bernard; to Camembert, invented in Normandy but beloved and imitated across the world.With writing as piquant and rich as a well-aged Roquefort, as charming as a tender springtime chèvre, and yet as unsentimental as a stinky Maroilles, The Whole Fromage is a tasty exploration of one of the great culinary treasures of France.
The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen
Michael Ruhlman - 2007
But how does a beginning cook become good, a good cook great?Modeled on Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, The Elements of Cooking is an opinionated volume by Michael Ruhlman—the award-winning and bestselling author of The Making of a Chef and coauthor of The French Laundry Cookbook—that pares the essentials of good cooking into a slim, easy-to-take-anywhere book. It will also stand alongside a handful of classics of the kitchen, just as Strunk and White's book sits on the desk of every writer and every English student. Not only does this book deconstruct the essential knowledge of the kitchen, it also takes what every professional chef knows instinctively after years of training and experience and offers it up cleanly and brilliantly to the home cook. With hundreds of entries from acid to zester, here is all the information—no more and no less—you need to cook, as well as countless tips (including only one recipe in the entire book, for the “magic elixir of the kitchen”) and no-nonsense advice on how to be a great cook. You'll learn to cook everything, as the entries cover all the key moves you need to make in the kitchen and teach you, for example, not only what goes into a great sauce but how to think about it to make it great. Eight short, beautifully written essays outline what it takes not merely to cook but to cook well: understanding heat, using the right tools (there are only five of them), cooking with eggs, making stock, making sauce, salting food, what a cook should read, and exploring the elusive, most important skill to have in the kitchen, finesse.
Think Like a Chef
Tom Colicchio - 2000
Rather than list a series of restaurant recipes, he uses simple steps to deconstruct a chef's creative process, making it easily available to any home cook. He starts with techniques: What's roasting, for example, and how do you do it in the oven or on top of the stove? He also gets you comfortable with braising, saute ing, and making stocks and sauces. Next he introduces simple " ingredients" -- roasted tomatoes, say, or braised artichokes -- and tells you how to use them in a variety of ways. So those easy roasted tomatoes may be turned into anything from a vinaigrette to a caramelized tomato tart, with many delicious options in between. In a section called Trilogies, Tom takes three ingredients and puts them together to make one dish that's quick and other dishes that are increasingly more involved. As Tom says, " Juxtaposed in interesting ways, these ingredients prove that the whole can be greater than the sum of their parts, " and you'll agree once you've tasted the Ragout of Asparagus, Morels, and Ramps or the Baked Free-Form " Ravioli" -- both dishes made with the same trilogy of ingredients. The final section of the books offers simple recipes for components -- from zucchini with lemon thyme to roasted endive with whole spices to boulangerie potatoes -- that can be used in endless combinations. Written in Tom's warm and friendly voice and illustrated with glorious photographs of finished dishes, Think Like a Chef will bring out the master chef in all of us.
Thanksgiving 101: Celebrate America's Favorite Holiday with America's Thanksgiving Expert
Rick Rodgers - 1998
From shopping through chopping, from making flawless gravy to fearlessly carving the bird, he offers tips, insight, and inspiration every steop of the way. Whether it a tradition holiday feast with turkey and all the traditional trimming, chutneys, and chowders; a vegetarian dinner with just the trimmings; or new ideas for regional classics, including Cajun- or Italian-inspired tastes, Thanksgiving 101 serves up a delicious education for novice and experienced cooks alike.
Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook: The Secrets of Italy's Best Home Cooks
Vicky Bennison - 2019
They do the work for you." – Lucia, 85Inspired by the hugely popular YouTube channel of the same name, Pasta Grannies is a wonderful collection of time-perfected Italian recipes from the people who have spent a lifetime cooking for love, not a living: Italian grandmothers.Featuring over 80 easy and accessible recipes from all over Italy, you will be transported into the very heart of the Italian home to learn how to make great-tasting Italian food. Pasta styles range from pici – a type of hand-rolled spaghetti that is simple to make – to lumachelle della duchessa – tiny, ridged, cinnamon-scented tubes that take patience and dexterity.More than just a compendium of dishes, Pasta Grannies tells the extraordinary stories of these ordinary women and shows you that with the right know how, truly authentic Italian cooking is simple, beautiful and entirely achievable.
Ama: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen
Josef Centeno - 2019
Think meaty stews, breakfast tacos, and tres leches cake. Home cooks will learn how to make them all—in addition to crunchy salads, slow-cooked meats, and fresh cocktails—in this collection of more than 100 recipes from San Antonio native and Los Angeles chef and restauranteur Josef Centeno. Organized into chapters by type of food—including breakfast, vegetables, main courses, desserts, and a super nacho party—this is down-home cooking and grilling at its most inspiring. Presented in a colorful package with more than 100 food and atmospheric photos, this cookbook is a hands-on winner for anyone who loves big flavors, casual parties, and firing up the grill.
Broth and Stock from the Nourished Kitchen: Wholesome Master Recipes for Bone, Vegetable, and Seafood Broths and Meals to Make with Them
Jennifer McGruther - 2016
In Broth and Stock from the Nourished Kitchen, Jennifer McGruther, author of The Nourished Kitchen and an authority in the traditional foods movement, illustrates why a good broth or stock is the foundation of amazing and wholesome cooking. Included are over a dozen master recipes for base stocks and then 40 recipes using these stocks in complete meals. These accessible recipes are appropriate for vegetarians, pescatarians, and meat eaters alike and showcase the nutrient-dense, real food that nourishes the body and soul. The Whole Chicken Broth is the perfect base for Springtime Risotto with Asparagus, Green Garlic, and Chive Blossoms, while the recipe for Fish Stock will bring new life to a classic dish like New England Clam Chowder. People are catching on to this centuries old appreciation of bone and vegetable based broths, and Jennifer McGruther shows how these can be made quickly and cost-effectively at home.From the Trade Paperback edition.
À Table: Recipes for Cooking and Eating the French Way
Rebekah Peppler - 2021
At once a repertoire-building cookbook and a stylish guide to easy gathering over food and drink, À Table features 125 simple, elegant recipes that reflect a modern, multicultural French table.Paris-based American food writer Rebekah Peppler includes classics, regional specialties, and dishes with a strong international influence. Here are recipes for all the courses, from snacks to desserts, organized into before, during, and after-dinner chapters.Recipes include: Croque Madame and Crème Brûlée; Basque Chicken and Niçoise (for a Crowd); Green Shakshuka; Lamb Tagine; and Bamboo Tonic.Information on shopping and stocking your pantry, helpful tips on having people over, and stories on French food culture make this not just a recipe-driven cookbook but also a chic guide to French living.In a photo-rich package that features aspirational photography from Paris and Provence—charming apartments overlooking the rooftops of Paris, picnics along the Seine, Provencal markets overflowing with fresh produce—À Table is an inviting and accessible cookbook from a fresh voice in the food world.
Fabio's Italian Kitchen
Fabio Viviani - 2013
Now he shares the best of Italian home cooking while telling the story of his hardscrabble childhood, his success as a chef in the United States, and the women in his family who inspired him. In more than 150 delicious recipes, Viviani takes us from his family home, where his great-grandmother taught him to make staples like Italian Apple Cake and Homemade Ricotta, to the kitchen of a local trattoria, where he honed his craft cooking restaurant favorites like Gnocchi and the Perfect Tiramisu, and then across Italy where he studied each region's finest recipes, from Piedmont's Braised Ossobuco to Emilia Romagna's Perfect Meat Sauce. A gorgeously illustrated cookbook, Fabio's Italian Kitchen is a celebration of food and family that brings all the joy, fun, and flair that Fabio Viviani embodies to your kitchen. Fabio Viviani was born in Florence, Italy, and became a sous chef at Il Pallaio, a trattoria in Firenze, at the age of sixteen. He now works as the owner and executive chef of Cafe Firenze, a renowned Italian restaurant in Ventura County, California, and Osteria Firenze, a Los Angeles Italian eatery. He has appeared on Top Chef (season five), Top Chef All Stars, and Life After Top Chef. From growing up in a Florentine housing project to charming millions on Top Chef, Italian chef Fabio Viviani blends his amazing personal story with his favorite recipes from his home country. Fabio shares the best of Italian home cooking while telling the story of his own, hardscrabble Italian childhood (and subsequent success upon arrival in US) and especially the women in his life mother and great grandmother who taught him to cook and inspired him. The book will feature photos and over 150 recipes with stories, including Viviani staples (Italian Apple Cake, 7 Flavors Meat), restaurant favorites (Gnocchi, the Perfect Tiramisu), and recipes from his travels and apprenticeships across different regions of Italy (Braised Ossobuco from Piedmont, the Perfect Meat Sauce from Emilia Romagna).
Zingerman's Bakehouse
Amy Emberling - 2017
Find your favorite Bakehouse recipes: Since 1992, Michigan's renowned artisanal bakery, Zingerman's Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, has fed a fan base across the United States and beyond with their chewy-sweet brownies and gingersnaps, famous sour cream coffee cake, and fragrant loaves of Jewish rye, challah, and sourdough. It's no wonder Zingerman's is a cultural and culinary institution. To coincide with its 25th anniversary, Bakehouse co-owners Emberling and Carollo have crafted a cookbook that intimately blends the business's unique history and philosophy of service with never-before-published recipes for its best-loved baked goods.Features 65 meticulously tested, carefully detailed recipes in a beautiful hardcover book.Showcases more than 50 color photographs and bountiful illustrations.Includes behind-the-scenes stories of the business that enrich this collection of best-of-kind, delicious recipes for every "I can't believe I get to make this at home!" treat.Notably, the book includes a wealth of traditional Hungarian and Jewish foods.Bring home delicious and enjoy the Zingerman's classics (and discover new favorites!) in your very own kitchen.Contains 8 chapters featuring various topics that are full of fantastic recipes, as well as a recipe index so you can quickly find the one you're looking.Makes an excellent gift for any fan of Zingerman's or anyone who appreciates a good bakery treat.
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Aki Kamozawa - 2010
Their book shares the knowledge they have gleaned from numerous cooking adventures, from why tapioca flour makes a silkier chocolate pudding than the traditional cornstarch or flour to how to cold smoke just about any ingredient you can think of to impart a new savory dimension to everyday dishes. Perfect for anyone who loves food, Ideas in Food is the ideal handbook for unleashing creativity, intensifying flavors, and pushing one’s cooking to new heights. This guide, which includes 100 recipes, explores questions both simple and complex to find the best way to make food as delicious as possible. For home cooks, Aki and Alex look at everyday ingredients and techniques in new ways—from toasting dried pasta to lend a deeper, richer taste to a simple weeknight dinner to making quick “micro stocks” or even using water to intensify the flavor of soups instead of turning to long-simmered stocks. In the book’s second part, Aki and Alex explore topics, such as working with liquid nitrogen and carbon dioxide—techniques that are geared towards professional cooks but interesting and instructive for passionate foodies as well. With primers and detailed usage guides for the pantry staples of molecular gastronomy, such as transglutaminase and hydrocolloids (from xanthan gum to gellan), Ideas in Food informs readers how these ingredients can transform food in miraculous ways when used properly. Throughout, Aki and Alex show how to apply their findings in unique and appealing recipes such as Potato Chip Pasta, Root Beer-Braised Short Ribs, and Gingerbread Soufflé. With Ideas in Food, anyone curious about food will find revelatory information, surprising techniques, and helpful tools for cooking more cleverly and creatively at home.
The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History
Ana Sofia Peláez - 2014
Cuban-American food writer Ana Sofia Pelaez and award-winning photographer Ellen Silverman traveled through Cuba, Miami and New York to document and learn about traditional Cuban cooking from a wide range of authentic sources.Cuban home cooks are fiercely protective of their secrets. Content with a private kind of renown, they demonstrate an elusive turn of hand that transforms simple recipes into bright and memorable meals that draw family and friends to their tables time and again. More than just a list of ingredients or series of steps, Cuban cooks' tricks and touches hide in plain sight, staying within families or being passed down in well-worn copies of old cookbooks largely unread outside of the Cuban community.Here you'll find documented recipes for everything from iconic Cuban sandwiches to rich stews with Spanish accents and African ingredients, accompanied by details about historical context and insight into cultural nuances. More than a cookbook, The Cuban Table is a celebration of Cuban cooking, culture and cuisine. With stunning photographs throughout and over 110 deliciously authentic recipes this cookbook invites you into one of the Caribbean's most interesting and vibrant cuisines.
Bar Tartine: Techniques & Recipes
Nicolaus Balla - 2014
Bar Tartine--co-founded by Tartine Bakery's Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt--is obsessed over by locals and visitors, critics and chefs. It is a restaurant that defies categorization, but not description: Everything is made in-house and layered into extraordinarily flavorful food. Helmed by Nick Balla and Cortney Burns, it draws on time-honored processes (such as fermentation, curing, pickling), and a core that runs through the cuisines of Central Europe, Japan, and Scandinavia to deliver a range of dishes from soups to salads, to shared plates and sweets. With more than 150 photographs, this highly anticipated cookbook is a true original.