Cooking Know-How: Be a Better Cook with Hundreds of Easy Techniques, Step-by-Step Photos, and Ideas for Over 500 Great Meals

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Overview

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

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

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 style 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.)

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From The Critics

The latest from the authors of the popular "Ultimate" series presents 65 master recipes, organized alphabetically from Bean Soup to Vindaloo. Each gives step-by-step instructions for the general approach to the dish, followed by eight or so variations. Those looking for a technique-driven, rather than recipe-driven, approach may prefer James Peterson's Cooking.

—Judith Sutton

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780470180808
Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
Publication date: 3/30/2009
Edition number: 1
Pages: 416
Sales rank: 566,370
Product dimensions: 8.30 (w) x 10.10 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough are the bestselling authors who penned the Ultimate cookbook series, including The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. They are contributing editors to Eating Well and columnists for weightwatchers.com ("The Every Day Gourmet"), as well as Today's Health & Wellness ("Five After Five"). They file regular features for Cooking Light and Relish magazine, and have written for Gourmet, the Washington Post, Wine Spectator, Fine Cooking, and numerous other publications. Weinstein and Scarbrough have appeared on the Today show, the CBS Early Show, and The View, among other programs. They find their peace in the northern woods of Litchfield County, Connecticut. Visit their interactive Web site for this book at cookingknow-how.com.

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.

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.

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Cookin-in-carmel

Posted January 9, 2010

Practical cook book for beginning cooks and those who have been preparing meals forever.

Very practical book. The book demonstrates how to make a basic item and then it shows you how to "dress it up" and also to vary the taste for different events. Another great feature is that is helps organize the cook. You are shown what step to do first and how much time will be involved.

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Cooking Know-How: Be a Better Cook with Hundreds of Easy Techniques, Step-by-Step Photos, and Ideas for Over 500 Great Meals

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Practical cook book for beginning cooks and those who have been preparing meals forever.