Essential Cook S Kitchen

"From foolproof techniques, including the best way to get a good sear on a steak and how to butterfly a chicken, to hundreds of invaluable product reviews, this one-stop reference has all the authority of the test kitchen's extensive tasting, testing, and recipe development protocols behind it. You'll also get tutorials on basic cooking skills and useful cooking science, 85 essential recipes (50 master recipes and 35 variations), and an extensive section of appendices packed with even more information."--

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of the country kitchen, from the simple pleasures of baking bread and cakes, to curing, dairymaking, bottling, potting and preserving. Discover the endless joys of the country kitchen, with recipes that stand the test of time as well as helpful technique sections and information on the ingredients and equipment you’ll need. An artisan food revival has taken place in recent years, making country kitchen skills a celebrated part of everyday life. These days, many cooks are seeking out the techniques their grandmothers took for granted, and realising that patient preparation and tantalising anticipation can make home-produced delicacies taste even better. Experience the delights of the dairy by churning your own butter and soft cheese; make the most of seasonal fruits by transforming them into cordials and liqueurs; enjoy the aroma of freshly baked cakes, pastries and biscuits; feel the satisfaction that comes from salting and smoking meat at home; and fill up your larder with a mouthwatering array of jams, jellies and chutneys.

In this indispensable volume of kitchen wisdom, Julia Child gives home cooks the answers to their most pressing cooking questions—with essential information about soups, vegetables, eggs, baking breads and tarts, and more. How many minutes should you cook green beans? What are the right proportions for a vinaigrette? How do you skim off fat? What is the perfect way to roast a chicken? Here Julia provides solutions for these and many other everyday cooking queries. How are you going to cook that small rib steak you brought home? You'll be guided to the quick sauté as the best and fastest way. And once you've mastered that recipe, you can apply the technique to chops, chicken, or fish, following Julia's careful guidelines. Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom is a perfect compendium of a lifetime spent cooking.

In this unrivaled practical guide, one of America's most widely respected cookbook authors distills his vast knowledge and experience into the 100 essential techniques that every cook needs to know. Seven hundred and fifty photographs unravel the mysteries of the method and provide practical application on the spot. Each technique is further explained in terms of how it makes the food taste: What happens, for example, if you cook the fish in butter versus oil? Why does roasting make vegetables taste so good? How do you decide whether you want to make a chicken stew or sautT? Here are answers to just about every cooking question, from the simple to the sublime: how to boil an artichoke or cook a soft-boiled egg, or how to clean soft-shell crabs or even butcher and roast a whole saddle of lamb. Knowing how to execute a technique makes you efficient; knowing why you've chosen that technique makes you a master.

Take your cooking skills to the next level while developing a knockout repertoire of 200 essential, satisfying dishes—from simple meals to dinner-party center­pieces We’ve made improvements to well-loved dishes by incorporating innovative techniques in recipes such as Butter-Basted Rib-Eye Steak and added modern classics such as Vegetable Bibimbap and Olive Oil-Yogurt Bundt Cake. In this book, you’ll find the perfect roast chicken and a killer banana bread but also a Turkish-inspired tomato soup, luscious Chinese braised short ribs, and a set of wholesome grain bowls. A chapter on weeknight dinners offers smart paths to great flavor—from Bucatini with Peas, Kale, and Pancetta that cooks in one pot to a pizza that bakes in a skillet—including plenty of vegetarian options. Other chapters turn up the volume on breakfast and dessert standbys; try the 100 Percent Whole-Wheat Pancakes and Brown Sugar Cookies and you may never go back to the regular versions. We'll also help you pull off your next—or even your first!—dinner party with recipes guaranteed to impress (and to work), such as Braised Lamb Shanks with Bell Peppers and Harissa, Miso-Marinated Salmon, and Roasted Zucchini and Eggplant Lasagna. Most of us—not just newbies—could stand to bone up on certain culinary basics, and our methods may surprise even more experienced cooks, from seeding fresh chiles (we use a measuring spoon) to hulling strawberries (a plastic straw works well). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what these recipes teach. You'll discover how to “reverse sear” thick pork chops so they turn out juicy all the way through, grind meat in a food processor for the ultimate burger, and shape fresh corn tortillas without a tortilla press or rolling pin. As you progress through this book, you will also gain a deeper understanding of ingredients, better ­techniques, and the secrets we use in the test kitchen via sidebars called “Think Like a Cook,” which offers insights that can help in your larger culinary life—from picking the perfect avocado to cooking the perfect eggs.

The experts behind the popular cooking platform show new cooks how to get comfortable and be successful in their own kitchens. Since its launch in 2014, the Kitchen Stories app has acquired a dedicated following among seasoned and beginner cooks alike. Now the best of their recipes, expertise, and tips are distilled into this essential cookbook that will help even a timid home chef feel like a pro. Designed with the elegant simplicity their fans have come to expect, Anyone Can Cook focuses on dinners-- for many the most important and stressful meal to prepare. The book offers recipes that take no more than one hour from kitchen to table, and many can be cooked in a single pot or pan. Most importantly, the book is designed to help beginner cooks develop basic skills, stock their kitchens and pantries, and master easy yet elegant meals. From the correct way to hold a knife, the art of sautéing vegetables, and composing the perfect salad bowl, to popular basics such as stir fries, chicken cutlets, meatballs, and sheet pan salmon, the book's instructions are clear, concise, and accompanied by large full-color photographs to match. Best of all, Anyone Can Cook demystifies many techniques and dishes that new cooks think are beyond their skill level, and even encourages adaptations based on diet and preference. If the words "chiffonade" or "homemade pesto" make you nervous, the chefs and editors at Kitchen Stories are here to tell you that anyone, including you, can cook, and cook well.

A provocative, handpicked collection of relevant (and surprising) essential recipes for today’s cook. We have countless recipes at our disposal today but what are the real keepers, the ones that don’t just feed us when we’re hungry or impress our friends on Saturday night, but inspire us to get into the kitchen? At the forefront of American cooking for more than 20 years, the editors at America’s Test Kitchen have answered this question in an essential collection of recipes that you won’t find anywhere else: 100 Recipes Everyone Should Know How to Make. Organized into three recipe sections—Absolute Essentials, Surprising Essentials, and Global Essentials—each recipe is preceded by a thought-provoking essay that positions the dish. For example, Treating Pasta Like Rice Simplifies Everything; A Covered Pot Is a Surprisingly Good Place to Roast a Chicken; and Re-imagine Pie in a Skillet to Simplify the Process. You’ll find useful workday recipes like a killer tomato sauce that’s almost as easy as opening a jar of the store-bought stuff; genius techniques for producing amazing flavor—try poaching chicken breasts over a garlic-and-soy- spiked brine (trust us, it’s that good); and familiar favorites reinvigorated—the best beef stew comes from Spain (and it’s even easier to make than the stateside stew you’ve been eating for years). Gorgeous photography (shot right in the test kitchen) accompanies every recipe, revealing the finished dish as well as highlights of its preparation. Likely to stir debate among anyone interested in food and cooking, 100 Recipes Everyone Should Know How to Make provides a snapshot of how we cook today and will galvanize even the most jaded cook to get into the kitchen.

After more than 20 years of obsessive research and testing, America's Test Kitchen has literally written the book on how to master your kitchen. Logically organized and packed with step photography, this will be the ultimate one-stop resource for both shopping and cooking. Have you ever wished that your kitchen came with instructions? Let the experts at America's most trusted test kitchen show you the ropes in this new illustrated compendium of techniques, tips, tricks, recipes, and reviews for the home cook. This is a handbook for everyone, beginner to expert, that is not only useful but also entertaining, thought-provoking, and utterly unique. It will appeal to longtime fans of the magazine who want to see behind the scenes as well as to novice cooks who want to get everything right in the kitchen from the beginning. Never before has America's Test Kitchen revealed the secrets behind our extensive testing procedures and exacting recipe development process; in this new book, come behind the scenes to see how we pick the best equipment and ingredients and create the most foolproof recipes out there. With dozens of equipment recommendations, hundreds of ingredient entries, mini lessons on basic cooking skills and useful kitchen science, plus illustrated step-by-step instructions for 50 of our most essential recipes.