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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month November 2007: Inspired by the Strunk and White classic, Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking will quickly prove to be an essential culinary reference for both seasoned cooks and novices who might not know gravlax from gremolata. After a thorough “Notes on Cooking,” Ruhlman, a prolific cookbook author and popular blogger, settles in for an opinionated and informative A-Z roundup (from Acid to Zester) of cooking terms, lessons, and techniques reduced to their essential essence. Even with only one recipe (for veal stock), it’s a must-have for every kitchen library–a book that will help you re-think your approach to food. –Brad Thomas Parsons

From Publishers Weekly

Ruhlman’s slim 12th book, inspired by Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style, would more accurately have been titled Selected Elements of French Cooking. Organized in dictionary format, the book offers short definitions of culinary terms most likely to be encountered in a Continental restaurant kitchen: à la ficelle, jus lie, lardo, mise en place, oblique cut, oignon pique, rondeau, roulade. Entries for ladle, rolling pin and other common implements seem almost superfluous, while international items such as wok, tandoor, udon and cardamom are nowhere to be found (though to be fair, nam pla, kimchi and umami are included). An opening eight-page section announces, with finger wagging, that veal stock is the essential and discourses on eggs, salt and kitchen tools. Ruhlman (The Soul of a Chef) is an elegant writer and the entries he does include can be useful and sometimes entertaining. The real problem is the idiosyncratic, highly personal approach: you just don’t know what you’ll find in this book and what you won’t. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Description

Frustrated by wasting food you just can’t eat or ingredients you can’t use up? Tired of trying to figure out how to scale down a recipe so it doesn’t serve an army?

For this innovative cookbook, the editors and cooks at America’s Test Kitchen thought big but cooked small. We revamped our best recipes from the year to serve two. You’ll find everything from simple weeknight fare to special occasion dinners to salads, soups, sides and desserts. Birthday cake for two? We’ve got you covered!

A great gift for empty nesters, newlyweds, single people, young families (because new moms & dads are sick of eating mac-n-cheese) and more. Cooking for Two includes our guaranteed and much-loved equipment recommendations, Notes from the Test Kitchen feature, and ingredient ratings. The Smart Shopper’s Guide in the front of the book instructs your grocery shopping and meal planning by helping you make the most of ingredients.

Review

“Has it really been 40 years since Julia Child rescued Americans from dreary casseroles? This reissue, clad in a handsome red jacket, is what a cookbook should be: packed with sumptuous recipes, detailed instructions, and precise line drawings. Some of the instructions look daunting, but as Child herself says in the introduction, ‘If you can read, you can cook.’”
- Entertainment Weekly — Review

Review

“Has it really been 40 years since Julia Child rescued Americans from dreary casseroles? This reissue, clad in a handsome red jacket, is what a cookbook should be: packed with sumptuous recipes, detailed instructions, and precise line drawings. Some of the instructions look daunting, but as Child herself says in the introduction, ‘If you can read, you can cook.’”
- Entertainment Weekly

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Amazon.com Review
Book Description
She’s taught us every facet of Italian cooking–from traditional and regional to seasonal and contemporary. She even made us fall in love with pasta again by opening us up to lighter, healthier versions that don’t weigh us down. Now the Food Network star and bestselling author of Everyday Pasta, Giada De Laurentiis, takes us down a new path, sharing her love of food with clean, vibrant, simple flavors and bursts of bright colors that look as beautiful on the plate as they are delicious.

Yes, you will still find those fabulous recipes she remembers so fondly from family meals, but you’ll also find updated twists on classic trattoria favorites–California-inflected, hearty but not overwhelming, and with the perfect balance of healthfulness and terrific flavor. Wouldn’t you love a faster, lighter take on osso buco (here made with turkey instead of veal), a salad with real substance (like one of cantaloupe, red onion, and walnuts), and fish that gets an Italian makeover by way of lots of fresh veggies and accents such as fennel and grapefruit salsa? And let’s not forget dessert. After all, what’s not to adore about little doughnuts dipped in chocolate sauce?

Ranging from soups and snacks to easy entres and elegant dinner-party fare, Giada’s recipes are perfect for any day of the week. And for the first time, she includes a full section of dishes that the little ones will love making as much as they love eating (like mini chicken meatballs). With something to please everyone at your table, Giada’s Kitchen deliciously demonstrates why Giada De Laurentiis has become America’s best-loved Italian cook.

Italy meets California in Giada De Laurentiis’s collection of 100 new recipes. She focuses on fresh ingredients, simple preparation, and bright flavors. Anyone who wants to indulge in the pleasures of Italian food without feeling weighed down will find inspiration for delicious, hearty yet healthy weekday meals. Giada’s recipes satisfy both our desire to eat with gusto and to feel good about what we eat.

Giada De Laurentiis’s Whole-Wheat Linguine with Green Beans, Ricotta, and Lemon

Not all cream sauces are super-rich. This pasta gets its creamy sauce from a combination of part-skim ricotta and pasta water, which come together to make a really easy, lighter cream sauce. Don’t leave out the lemon zest; it brightens the flavor and adds a wonderful lemony aroma as well. –Giada De Laurentiis

Whole-Wheat Linguine with Green Beans, Ricotta, and Lemon
(4-6 servings)

1 pound whole-wheat linguine
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound French green beans (haricots verts), trimmed and halved lengthwise
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Zest of 1 lemon

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Transfer the hot pasta to a large heat-proof bowl and add the ricotta. Toss to combine.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the green beans, garlic, salt, and pepper and sauté for 4 minutes. Add the reserved pasta cooking liquid and continue cooking until the beans are tender, about 4 more minutes. Add the ricotta-coated pasta to the pan with the green beans and toss to combine. Add the tomatoes and toss gently. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with the lemon zest. Serve.

Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network’s Everyday Italian, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, and Giada in Paradise. She attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant in Los Angeles. This is her fourth book.

From Publishers Weekly

In her usual bright and cheery manner, De Laurentiis (Everyday Italian) offers her newest collection of accessible Italian-accented recipes. The host of Food Network’s Everyday Italian and Giada’s Weekend Getaways brings to the table recipes with basic, readily available ingredients like ricotta and canned beans, with which she whips up a surprisingly diverse array of dishes, like Hearty Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary, and Asparagus Lasagna. Now and again she goes out on a limb with a contemporary twist—Tomato, Watermelon and Basil Skewers or Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto, while an entire chapter devoted to kids’ food brings out her sense of whimsy with dishes like Pizza Pot Pies. Throughout, Giada celebrates food that’s refreshingly simple. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Frustrated by wasting food you just can’t eat or ingredients you can’t use up? Tired of trying to figure out how to scale down a recipe so it doesn’t serve an army?

For this innovative cookbook, the editors and cooks at America’s Test Kitchen thought big but cooked small. We revamped our best recipes from the year to serve two. You’ll find everything from simple weeknight fare to special occasion dinners to salads, soups, sides and desserts. Birthday cake for two? We’ve got you covered!

A great gift for empty nesters, newlyweds, single people, young families (because new moms & dads are sick of eating mac-n-cheese) and more. Cooking for Two includes our guaranteed and much-loved equipment recommendations, Notes from the Test Kitchen feature, and ingredient ratings. The Smart Shopper’s Guide in the front of the book instructs your grocery shopping and meal planning by helping you make the most of ingredients.

Amazon.com Review

The elegant simplicity and exquisite flavor of Deborah Madison’s food make her one of America’s leading cooks. In Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, she offers more than great food: her book includes comprehensive information about ingredients and techniques, plus more than 800 recipes. The recipes range from dishes as familiar as Guacamole to those as distinctive as Green Lentils with Roasted Beets and Preserved Lemons, and Cashew Curry. The 124-page chapter titled “Vegetables: The Heart of the Matter” is a virtual book of culinary revelations; you could use it as a manual on buying and preparing vegetables. Madison provides equally inspired recipes and guidance for everything from grains and soy to dairy foods and desserts.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Madison, whose The Greens Cookbook sold more than 300,000 copies, offers recipes that will please even nonvegetarians.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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From Booklist

Ruhlman, who explained the basic ingredients, tools, and cookbooks essential to the home chef in The Elements of Cooking (2007), now offers an illuminating read on the magic numbers that lie at the heart of basic cookery. He divides the book into five parts (doughs, stocks, sausages, sauces, and custards). In each section he explains what essential properties make the ratios work and the subtle variations that differentiate, for instance, a bread dough (five parts flour, three parts water) from a biscuit dough (three parts flour, one part fat, two parts liquid). While making his case that “possessing one small bit of crystalline information can open up a world of practical applications” gets a little repetitive, it’s certainly a lesson worth taking to heart. This revealing and remarkably accessible read offers indispensible information for those ready to cook by the seat of their pants; with a handy grasp of these ratios (and a dash of technique), willing chefs should have no excuse to remain tethered to recipe cards and cookbooks.

Review

“Cooking, like so many creative endeavors, is defined by relationships. For instance, knowing exactly how much flour to put into a loaf of bread isn’t nearly as useful as understanding the relationship between the flour and the water, or fat, or salt . That relationship is defined by a ‘ratio,’ and having a ratio in hand is like having a secret decoder ring that frees you from the tyranny of recipes.
Professional cooks and bakers guard ratios passionately so it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Michael Ruhlman is forced into hiding like a modern-day Prometheus, who in handing us mortals a power better suited to the gods, has changed the balance of kitchen power forever.
I for one am grateful. I suspect you will be too.” — Alton Brown, author of I’m Just Here for the Food

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Amazon.com Review
Book Description
Imagine having Martha Stewart at your side in the kitchen, teaching you how to hold a chef’s knife, select the very best ingredients, truss a chicken, make a perfect pot roast, prepare every vegetable, bake a flawless pie crust, and much more.

In Martha Stewart’s Cooking School, you get just that: a culinary master class from Martha herself, with lessons for home cooks of all levels.

Never before has Martha written a book quite like this one. Arranged by cooking technique, it’s aimed at teaching you how to cook, not simply what to cook. Delve in and soon you’ll be roasting, broiling, braising, stewing, sautéing, steaming, and poaching with confidence and competence. In addition to the techniques, you’ll find more than 200 sumptuous, all-new recipes that put the lessons to work, along with invaluable step-by-step photographs to take the guesswork out of cooking. You’ll also gain valuable insight into equipment, ingredients, and every other aspect of the kitchen to round out your culinary education.

Featuring more than 500 gorgeous color photographs, Martha Stewart’s Cooking School is the new gold standard for everyone who truly wants to know his or her way around the kitchen.

Martha Stewart’s Prime Rib Roast

Prime rib, or standing rib roast, has long been a mainstay at the holiday table (where it is often paired with Yorkshire pudding, a British specialty made from the pan juices and a simple batter of flour, eggs, and milk). As it is expensive, prime rib should be handled with extra care. It is imperative that you have an instant-read thermometer for determining the internal temperature; if allowed to cook too long, the meat will no longer be a rosy pink inside, the optimal color for any high-quality roast. Remove the roast when still rare, as it will continue to cook as it rests, rising as much as 10 degrees in 20 minutes.

Rubbing meat (as well as chicken and fish) with herbs, spices, and a bit of oil will add tremendous flavor. Here, the beef is coated with a mixture of bay leaves, sage, and orange zest, all familiar holiday flavors. Allowing the meat to “marinate” in the rub overnight deepens the flavor even more. A similar result is achieved by simply salting the meat a day or two before roasting, whereby the salt will have penetrated the meat much like a brining solution.

Larger roasts such as prime rib, crown roast, and a whole turkey are started at a high temperature (450-degrees F) to sear the meat, then the temperature is lowered after 30 minutes to prevent the outside from burning before the meat is cooked through. The exterior won’t develop a crust right away, but the initial high heat gives the outside a head start so that it will be perfectly browned in the end. –Martha Stewart

Prime Rib Roast

For Rub
15 dried bay leaves, crumbled
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh sage leaves, plus several whole leaves for garnish
1/2 cup extra–virgin olive oil
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup finely grated orange zest (from 2 to 3 oranges)

For Roast
1 three-rib prime rib of beef (about 7 pounds), trimmed and frenched

Prepare Meat

Stir together crumbled bay leaves, sage, the oil, 1½ teaspoons salt, and the orange zest in a small bowl. Season with pepper. Rub herb mixture all over the beef, coating evenly. Refrigerate overnight, covered. About 2 hours before you plan to cook the beef, remove it from the refrigerator. Place beef, fat side up, in a roasting pan and allow it to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450-degrees F.

Roast

Cook beef for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350-degrees F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into meat (away from bone) registers 115-degrees F to 120-degrees F (for rare), about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes longer. Let rest 20 minutes.

Carve and Serve

Slice meat away from ribs, cutting along the bones. Then, slice meat crosswise to desired thickness. Serve, garnished with whole sage leaves.

Martha Stewart is the author of dozens of bestselling books on cooking, entertaining, gardening, weddings, and decorating. She is the host of The Martha Stewart Show, the Emmy-winning, daily national syndicated program, and founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which publishes several magazines, including Martha Stewart Living; and produces Martha Stewart Living Radio, channel 112 on SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Stewart’s trademark ability to simplify everything that seems complex or overwhelming in domestic life serves her well in this excellent foundation course in cooking techniques. Like Stewart herself, its pages exude authority along with accessibility, with numerous helpful checklists, charts and boxed tips artfully arranged throughout the numbered lessons that build from essentials such as roasting chicken perfectly or wilting leafy greens just so to more involved, less frequently used methods featured as extra credit, such as grinding and binding meat into paté or producing a peerless vegetable puree. Each technique is illustrated by numerous stylish yet instructive photos, and accompanied by a few carefully selected recipes and variations that successfully aim to familiarize cooks with a basic procedure without inundating them with the full range of possibilities right away. They will also appreciate Stewart’s concise but enlightening introductions to each chapter and the lessons within, For new cooks looking to establish a core set of kitchen skills as well as for those just looking to brush up or to have a ready reference to cooking fundamentals, this impressive volume will be an ideal choice. Color photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.