Once-a-Month Cooking, Revised and Expanded: A Proven System for Spending Less Time in the Kitchen and Enjoying Delicious, Homemade Meals Every Day (Paperback)
June 24, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Artistic Culinary Art Styles
Product Description
Contains many easy, prepare-ahead recipes for dinner time success such as:
–Baked JambalayaMexican–Chicken Lasagna–Chicken Taco Salad–Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork–Veal Scaloppini–And more!
Whether you are a busy parent on the go or you just want a quick dinner to warm your spirit, you’ll be instantly hooked on this cookbook classic and its fool-proof Once-a-Month Cooking method!
About the Author
Mary Beth Lagerborg is Director of Media at MOPS International (Mothers of Preschoolers). She is a speaker, the author of Dwelling: Living Fully from the Space You Call Home, and editor with Karen J. Parks of Beyond Macaroni and Cheese. She and her husband Alex live in Littleton, Colorado.
The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen (Hardcover)
June 12, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
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.
Buy The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen (Hardcover) at Amazon
The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen (Hardcover)
May 31, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Artistic Culinary Art Styles
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.
Buy The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen (Hardcover) at Amazon
Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites (Hardcover)
May 25, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
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.
Buy Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites (Hardcover) at Amazon
Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites (Hardcover)
May 21, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
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.
Buy Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites (Hardcover) at Amazon
Preparing Your Culinary Skills
May 6, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Dining In Style
Is creating a culinary masterpiece in your future? Being careful and following these instructions will help you on your way to an enjoyable culinary experience.
Preparing Food Lists
What ingredients do you have on hand? Do you have the right ingredients for the recipe? Are the ingredients fresh? If not, replace them. Make a list of the ingredients that you are missing and the quantity needed. When cooking for either one or two, don’t buy the family size packages of perishables unless you are able to freeze the unused portion and use it before it gets freezer burn. Most dried spices keep fairly well, however they will lose their potency if they are stored in a damp, warm, place.
Checking the grocery ads
Read the ads to see what is on sale. Why pay more for groceries than you have too? When buying groceries consider how many people you are going to cook for and how much freezer and refrigerator space is available. It isn’t a bargain if it spoils and you need to throw it out. Some things that you can do are simple like buy a large roast on sale and cut it into portion servings before freezing it. Another thing you can do is cook half and freeze the other half in portion serving sizes. If you cook it, think about what you can do with the leftovers such as chop it up and make a stew. Plan your buying and storage of groceries.
Use coupons:
Using coupons does not always mean that you have saved money. They can cost you money as well. If you use coupons for something that you planned to buy, even if it is a different brand than you normally buy, use them. If you are buying something solely because you have a coupon, you are spending money that you did plan to. Buy yourself treats from time to time. The occasional treat helps make it easier to eat healthier as a regular routine.
Determining quantities
Many supermarkets have moved away from ticketing individual items. They put the price per unit on the shelves. You have to think about the price when you are buying items. Larger packages are sometimes less expensive per unit of weight than smaller “convenience” packaging. This does not apply across the board. Go shopping with a small calculator and you will find that savings can be achieved by taking a little time to figure out prices and value.
Foods that have require refrigeration or freezing, or perishables like fresh fruits and vegetables that will spoil quickly buy only what you are able to realistically use before they are no long fit to eat. Remember that the fresher the food, the better the nutritional value and flavor. Even though some foods can be kept for extended periods, try to use it as quickly as possible. It is important to keep track of the food in the freezer; date food items when you put them in; so that no food gets buried and forgotten at the bottom of the freezer.
It’s very easy to buy too much when you are buying things on sale. By doing so, you may end up eating it simply to get rid of it before it spoils or throwing out what does spoil.
Are brand names worth the cost? Are generic brands as good as the brand names?
All major supermarkets have branded and generic products or both. Check your local supermarket and try the generic or house branded products. Decide if you feel that, to save a bit, you are willing to buy them instead of the brand names. If you are adamant about buying brand name products, keep an eye on sales flyers and stock up when they are on sale. A large number of store brand are produced and packaged by the companies that produce brand name items. The major difference is that supermarket chains buy in large quantities hand there are no advertising costs.
Food staples required in every kitchen
Cornstarch, all-purpose flour, assorted pasta, rice, oils (olive, vegetable, peanut, etc), vinegar (white, red wine, plain distilled, apple cider), canned soup (beef and chicken broth, cream of mushroom, tomato), assorted spices (dried minced onion, oregano for Italian dishes, salt, pepper, any others you like) are all necessary staples in most kitchens. When buying new items, buy them in small quantities and taste them before deciding to stock up.
Good things to have on hand.
Canned vegetables and meat, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, ready-to-eat cereal, horseradish sauce, oatmeal, drink mixes, gravy mix, and other favorites are handy to have on hand.
These tips help you be on your way toward having kitchen that is well stocked and enjoyable to cook in.
Culinary Kitchen Must Haves
May 5, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Necessities
Every cook fantasizes about having a state-of-the-art kitchen like those on TV, complete with the hanging pot rack filled with shiny cookware in every size and shape. While this dream isn’t realistic, attaining part of it is. Having a well-stocked kitchen that meets most of your culinary needs is possible. Before heading out to buy pots and pans, find out cookware is best suited to your cooking needs. Use this checklist to identify what your kitchen needs.
Skillets: A skillet, or a frying pan, is a long handled pan with low sides. They are usually available in four sizes; 12 inch, 10 inch, 8 inch, and 6 inch. Cookbooks will often refer to the size of the skillet to be used; therefore it’s important to know the size of each one. Sometimes a recipe requires that you place the skillet in the oven, so buy skillets with handles designed not to hold the heat. Skillets with removable handles are also available in many stores.
Saucepans: Typically saucepans are available in three sizes; 1-quart, 2-quart, and 3-quart. It is wise to have a couple in each size since you often have to make more than one thing such as make a sauce and heat soup at the same time. Make sure that the saucepans you choose have a tight fitting lid and a long handle.
Dutch oven or cast iron kettle: A Dutch oven or cast iron kettle is a large, heavy pot that has lid that fits tightly. Unlike a saucepan, these pots have two small rigid handles on opposite sides of the pot. Dutch ovens are the perfect pot for stews, braising meats and soups. When you are making a pot of stew or soup or doing some home canning, a kettle pot is ideal.
Vegetable steamers: A steamer is a perforated basket that food is put into and water is boiled below the basket. Steam is able to rise through the perforations and the steam cooks the food. Vegetable steamers come in a variety of designs including bamboo baskets with lids, collapsible metal baskets and rigid metal baskets.
Double boilers: Double boilers are incredibly handy pots. They are two pots that work as one. A double boiler consists of two pots, one fits into the top of the other and the top has a ridge to keep the pot well of the bottom of the other. They have a lid for the top pot. Water is put into the bottom pot and set to simmer and the steam will melt or cook the contents of the top pot. This is the ideal cookware for melting things like chocolate and preparing milk based sauces. Things seldom stick or burn in a double boiler.
Griddles: Griddle are flat, rimless pans that convert your stove burner into the ideal surface for cooking crepes and pancakes. The lack of a rim makes flipping pancakes a breeze.
Omelet pans: The slightly sloped sides of an omelet pan help form your eggs into the perfect shape. The pan usually has a nonstick surface that makes it easy to fold your omelet and slide right out of the pan and onto your plate.
Grill pans: Grill pans are a skillet that is designed to have meat cooked in it. These pans have deep groves in the bottom so that the fat is away from the meat. In addition to draining fat away from the meat, the ridges add grill marks to the food and make it look as if it was seared on the grill of a barbeque. Some grill pans come in the rimless, flat shape.
Woks: Woks are an extremely versatile piece of cookware. A wok is a deep, almost bowl shaped pot that allows you to stir-fry, deep-fry, or braise food. The deep, sloping sides keep pieces of food pieces in the pan when stir-frying. They come with either flat or rounded bottoms, and can be found in electric models.
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Hardcover)
April 30, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
Amazon.com Review
A classic tome of gastronomic science and lore, On Food and Cooking delivers an erudite discussion of table ingredients and their interactions with our bodies. Following the historical, literary, scientific and practical treatment of foodstuffs from dairy to meat to vegetables, McGee explains the nature of digestion and hunger before tackling basic ingredient components, cooking methods and utensils. He explains what happens when food spoils, why eggs are so nutritious and how alcohol makes us drunk. As fascinating as it is comprehensive, this is as practical, interesting and necessary for the cook as for the scholar.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Before antioxidants, extra-virgin olive oil and supermarket sushi commanded public obsession, the first edition of this book swept readers and cooks into the everyday magic of the kitchen: it became an overnight classic. Now, 20 years later, McGee has taken his slightly outdated volume and turned it into a stunning masterpiece that combines science, linguistics, history, poetry and, of course, gastronomy. He dances from the spicy flavor of Hawaiian seaweed to the scientific method of creating no-stir peanut butter, quoting Chinese poet Shu Xi and biblical proverbs along the way. McGee’s conversational style—rich with exclamation points and everyday examples—allows him to explain complex chemical reactions, like caramelization, without dumbing them down. His book will also be hailed as groundbreaking in its breakdown of taste and flavor. Though several cookbooks have begun to answer the questions of why certain foods go well together, McGee draws on recent agricultural research, neuroscience reviews and chemical publications to chart the different flavor chemicals in herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables. Odd synergies appear, like the creation of fruity esters in dry-cured ham—the same that occur naturally in melons! McGee also corrects the European bias of the first edition, moving beyond the Mediterranean to discuss the foods of Asia and Mexico. Almost every single page of this edition has been rewritten, but the book retains the same light touch as the original. McGee has successfully revised the bible of food science—and produced a fascinating, charming text.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Buy On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Hardcover) at Amazon
