Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Though it's not an all-purpose cookbook, this volume by Kamozawa and Talbot, the Ideas in Food bloggers and "Kitchen Alchemy" columnists for Popular Science, could easily be an everyday reference tool and a source of go-to recipes for anyone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen. The authors break down the science behind correctly and deliciously preparing everything from bread, pasta, and eggs (including soft scrambled eggs; hard-boiled eggs, and brown butter hollandaise sauce) to homemade butter and yogurt. Most recipes fall into the "Ideas for Everyone" category, which composes about the first three-quarters of the book; the final section is "Ideas for Professionals," which explores trendy molecular gastronomy topics like liquid nitrogen—used to make popcorn gelato—and carbon dioxide, a necessary tool for making coffee onion rings. Straightforward prose and anecdotes with personality keep this from being a dry food science tome. And accessible recipes for such dishes as a simple roast chicken, green beans almondine, and root beer-braised short ribs mean it never gets too lofty. (Dec.)