Six Basic Cooking Techniques: Culinary Essentials for the Home Cook

Those intimidated by the prospect of entering a kitchen, let alone preparing a dish, will benefit from this simple and slim debut by Clair (Gourmet Cooking on a Budget), a former food editor at Martha Stewart Living and founder of the Home Cooking New York cooking school. In this bare-bones tutorial, she clearly and patiently guides readers through six techniques: basic knife skills, cooking meats, preparing pan sauces, blanching green vegetables, roasting vegetables, and cooking leafy greens. With that knowledge, readers can prepare and serve a number of classic mains and sides, such as pan-roasted lemon-rosemary chicken; steak with a red wine sauce; mashed potatoes and gravy; and braised collard greens with bacon and onions. A recipe for Best Vegetable Soup You’ll Ever Make calls for store-bought chicken stock rather than homemade (a simple but important skill one could master). Still, beginning cooks will appreciate Clair’s insight and recommendations on outfitting one’s kitchen with the proper tools, the art of seasoning, knife-sharpening 101, and cooking with convection ovens. The book’s simplistic design and layout feels amateurish, but those hoping to learn fundamental skills and techniques will find this to be a terrifically helpful guide. (BookLife)