Learn the Secrets to Great Cooking without Going to Cooking School Reaching your full culinary potential takes more than just starting with high-quality ingredients and following a solid recipe. You also need to learn proper technique, master essential kitchen tools and know the secrets to great cooking that all chefs learn in culinary school. Chef Michelle Doll shines new light on familiar tools such as rolling pins, sheet pans, skillets, Dutch ovens, blenders, mixers, pressure cookers and more in this comprehensive, readable and entertaining guide. Her exceptional recipes demonstrate these techniques in action. Learn why a tapered French rolling pin is the best tool for rolling out dough, and then use it to make the flakiest pastry for Prime Time Fruit Galette. Follow Michelle as she delves into what she calls the stovetop–sauté pan matrix and make Better Than Take-Out Teriyaki Chicken that will have you taking your favorite Chinese restaurant off of speed dial. You’ll also learn some surprising techniques for using your kitchen tools in new ways, making tender Grape Shallot Focaccia in a cast-iron skillet, Peanut Butter Jelly Quick Bread in a blender and Slow and Easy French Onion Soup in a Dutch oven (you won’t be tied to the stovetop stirring caramelized onions every five minutes—genius!). With the perfect blend of fresh kitchen science and delicious examples of that science in action, this book is a must-read for kitchen geeks and everyday home cooks alike!

From America’s favorite cooking teacher, multiple award-winner James Peterson, an invaluable reference handbook. Culinary students everywhere rely on the comprehensive and authoritative cookbooks published by chef, instructor, and award-winning author Jim Peterson. And now, for the first time, this guru-to-the-professionals turns his prodigious knowledge into a practical, chockablock, quick-reference, A-to-Z answer book for the rest of us. Look elsewhere for how to bone skate or trim out a saddle of lamb, how to sauté sweetbreads or flambé dessert. Look here instead for how to zest a lemon, make the perfect hamburger, bread a chicken breast, make (truly hot) coffee in a French press, make magic with a Microplane. It’s all here: how to season a castiron pan, bake a perfect pie, keep shells from sticking to hardcooked eggs. How to carve a turkey, roast a chicken, and chop, slice, beat, broil, braise, or boil any ingredient you’re likely to encounter. Information on seasoning, saucing, and determining doneness (by internal temperatures, timings, touch, and sight) guarantee that you’ve eaten your last bland and overcooked meal. Here are 500 invaluable techniques with nearly as many color photographs, bundled into a handy, accessible format.

An illustrated, practical guide to everything you need to know about using knives in the kitchen. As the number of gourmet home kitchens burgeons, so does the number of home cooks who want to become proficient users of the professional-caliber equipment they own. And of all kitchen skills, perhaps the most critical are those involving the proper use of knives. Norman Weinstein has been teaching his knife skills workshop at New York City’s Institute of Culinary Education for more than a decade—and his classes always sell out. That’s because Weinstein focuses so squarely on the needs of the nonprofessional cook, providing basic instruction in knife techniques that maximize efficiency while placing the least possible stress on the user’s arm. Now, Mastering Knife Skills brings Weinstein’s well-honed knowledge to home cooks everywhere. Whether you want to dice an onion with the speed and dexterity of a TV chef, carve a roast like an expert, bone a chicken quickly and neatly, or just learn how to hold a knife in the right way, Mastering Knife Skills will be your go-to manual. Each cutting, slicing, and chopping method is thoroughly explained—and illustrated with clear, step-by-step photographs. Extras include information on knife construction, knife makers and types, knife maintenance and safety, and cutting boards. “In the old days, when kitchens weren’t equipped with a lot of fancy gadgets, a skilled chef needed only one tool to ply his trade: a sharp knife. This book will introduce novice cooks to and reacquaint experienced chefs with everything they need to know about a good knife and the art of using it.” —Cecilia Chiang, James Beard Award–winning restaurateur and author of The Seventh Daughter “This beautifully illustrated book, written with passion and precision, minces no words in guiding the reader to choose, maintain, and use a knife. Indispensable for anyone who prepares food, it has taught me how to cut produce much more efficiently.” —David Karp, Fruit Detective

The “concise, informative, indispensable” work by the grand master of cooking skills and methods—now completely revised and updated (Anthony Bourdain). For decades, Jacques Pépin has set the standard for culinary greatness and mastery of French cuisine—ever since his seminal works on kitchen how-tos, La Méthode and La Technique, hit the shelves in the seventies. Now Pépin revisits the works that made him a household name in a completely revised and updated edition of his classic book. Filled with thousands of photographs demonstrating techniques; new advice and tips; and hundreds of recipes ranging from simple to sublime, this is the must-have manual for any kitchen aficionado. Pépin offers step-by-step instructions on every aspect of cooking, including: learning basics, such as how to use knives correctly and how to cut a flawless julienne; conquering classic recipes, such as crêpes suzette and hollandaise sauce; creating whimsical and elegant decorations, such as olive rabbits and tomato flowers; tackling inventive ways of becoming a culinary superstar, such as turning an old refrigerator into a makeshift smoker; and much more. No matter the recipe or skill, Pépin has time-tested instructions on how to do it like the pros—and Jacques Pépin New Complete Techniques brings all of the master chef’s secrets into one easy-to-use guide, guaranteed to please any palate, wow any guest, and turn any home cook into a gastronomic expert.

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An essential resource for any cook, this book offers a comprehensive evaluation of both classic and contemporary equipment for the home kitchen and also explains more than 300 important cooking techniques that will help you execute tricky culinary tasks. The book discusses basic and specialty tools for cooking and baking, cutlery, cookware, electric appliances and useful accessories. Along with a foreword by noted chef Thomas Keller, the book includes over 1,500 color photographs, 50 basic recipes plus variations, and a wealth of how-to tips. H A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.

Sharpen Your Knife Skills and Hone Your Knowledge of Kitchen Tools A precise carrot julienne . . . A perfect basil chiffonade . . . A neatly quartered chicken . . . Proficiency with knives and other kitchen tools is essential if you want to perfect your culinary artistry. Written by the experts at The Culinary Institute of America, this indispensable guide delivers all the information you need to assemble a knife kit, build your knife skills, and use a wide range of additional tools, from peelers and pitters to Parisienne scoops and pastry bags. Featuring instructional photographs throughout plus insights and tips from top professional chefs, In the Hands of a Chef provides: A complete guide to culinary knives Comprehensive instructions for knife sharpening Guidance on using specialty knives and cutting tools Detailed cutting techniques for a variety of ingredients Advice on tools for measuring, baking, and mixing Equipment sources as well as checklists for knives and tools "This comprehensive overview of techniques associated with knives and other key kitchen tools truly benefits those concerned with preparing food safely and efficiently. . . . In the Hands of a Chef is an impressive guide, as important as the tools themselves." —Richard Von Husen, co-owner of Warren Kitchen & Cutlery Founded in 1946, THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA is an independent, not-for-profit college offering bachelor's and associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. A network of more than 37,000 alumni in foodservice and hospitality has helped the CIA earn its reputation as the world's premier culinary college. Courses for foodservice professionals and food enthusiasts are offered at the college's main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, California. Greystone also offers baking and pastry, accelerated culinary arts, and wine certifications.

A New York Times Bestseller Winner of the James Beard Award for General Cooking and the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award "The one book you must have, no matter what you’re planning to cook or where your skill level falls."—New York Times Book Review Ever wondered how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that's perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it? How to make homemade mac 'n' cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? How to roast a succulent, moist turkey (forget about brining!)—and use a foolproof method that works every time? As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new—but simple—techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

200 Skills Every Cook Must Have is an illustrated guide to the most important tips and techniques that are the key to cooking with confidence and consistency.

Learn to cook from the best chefs in America Some people say you can only learn to cook by doing. So Adam Roberts, creator of the award-winning blog The Amateur Gourmet, set out to cook in 50 of America's best kitchens to figure out how any average Joe or Jane can cook like a seasoned pro. From Alice Waters's garden to José Andrés's home kitchen, it was a journey peppered with rock-star chefs and dedicated home cooks unified by a common passion, one that Roberts understands deeply and transfers to the reader with flair, thoughtfulness, and good humor: a love and appreciation of cooking. Roberts adapts recipes from Hugh Acheson, Lidia Bastianich, Roy Choi, Harold Dieterle, Sara Moulton, and more. The culmination of that journey is a cookbook filled with lessons, tips, and tricks from the most admired chefs in America, including how to properly dress a salad, bake a no-fail piecrust, make light and airy pasta, and stir-fry in a wok, plus how to improve your knife skills, eliminate wasteful food practices, and create recipes of your very own. Most important, Roberts has adapted 150 of the chefs' signature recipes into totally doable dishes for the home cook. Now anyone can learn to cook like a pro!